Sleep Study Tonight

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Beernik

Beernik

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I'm going in for a sleep study to try to figure out why I have sleep aggression. Basically, I'm a fouled mouth jerk in my sleep. My wife didnt tell me that I've been this way for the past 3 years. It wasn't until it got really bad in the last 4 - 6 months that she's talked to me about it.

My doc had 2 theories: it's either non-REM apnea related or REM neurological related. So I'm kind of hoping a CPAP is in my future rather than brain meds.

I'm reading through my sleep center instructions. This **** is funny.

#3. Please shampoo your hair 12-24 hours prior to your study. Avoid hair sprays, oils, hair tonics, or back combing.

WTF is "back combing"? I'm a hairy guy, but I've never felt the urge to comb my back.

#7. ... Two piece pajamas and underpants are necessary as the technicians will be applying approximately 30 sensors to your body and face.

Only 30 sensors? I'm sure I'll sleep fabulously.

#9. Please do not take your sleeping medication until after the technician has prepared you for the study.

Since I'm interactive, I don't get the sleep medication. And since I apparently hate being touched in my sleep, I'm imagining them poking me with a stick all night.
 
They told me I slept pretty well although I felt I sleep horrible. I certainly missed memory foam bed.
 
I'm hanging out waiting to be hooked up to the sensors. I'm trying to think of it like being at a conference hotel... A conference hotel where they bedazzle my ass before I go to sleep.

The room is freaking claustrophobic though. Heavy shades. Super quiet.
 
I'm hooked up to the monitors. Just killing time now until I'm sleepy.

It's weird. With all the sensors glued to me, I feel like I'm wearing a football helmet and I look like I just strolled away from an ICU.
 
My brother had to go trough it for severe apnea... No meds, he moves a lot and kept ripping sensors off, they woke him and reapplied almost 10 times. It would be easier to start with he apnea machine instead of the study... Cheaper on insurance too.
 
I worked as a sleep tech. For like 6 months.. Until the hospital ran out of money ugghh.. Good luck people are never expected to sleep their best but you will sleep.. Good luck
 
I absolutely hated the sleep study.( I did it twice) I hated the idea of wearing a CPAP mask and told them I wouldn't use it. Then they told me if I didn't that my insurance might not pay for the two sleep studies, so I gave it a try. Now I love the damn thing. I've never slept better.
 
gotta say that the sleep studies + the CPAP have, without question and without hyperbole, SAVED MY LIFE

I've always been known for my snoring. the family has stories about me waking up the entire house and even my shipmates in the Navy complained that my snoring was louder than the ships' machinery

first sleep study measured my apnea at 90 episodes per hour. severe enough episodes to wake me up. ain't no way to get a restful nights' sleep 45 seconds at a time. used to lie awake for hours trying to sleep, get up 5 or 6 times to go to the bathroom. sometimes I would just start to fall asleep, only to snore myself awake. it was literally killing me. I would fall asleep at work. fall asleep watching TV. any time I sat still for any length of time, I would fall asleep. I was afraid to drive for long periods of time for fear of falling asleep at the wheel.

so, they gave me a CPAP machine and, while it took me a while to get used to wearing the mask, in the 3 years I've been using the thing, most nights I don't even recall waking. go to bed, wake up 8 hours later.

the studies are kind of a pain. the location isn't very convenient and I have to spend the night away from the BigHair and the Howdy. but these people saved my life, without a doubt. if the only thing they do is learn more about sleep apnea and it helps someone down the road, I will gladly put up with the inconvenience for two nights a year.
 
Looks like I have apnea. They woke me up about 2:30 and made me put a CPAP mask on becausey O2 dropped down to 70%.

Now whether that has anything to do with the aggression, I don't know yet.

I get the feeling that I told her to **** off a couple times when she tried to wake me for the mask. She was kind of shouting my name from the door.

Having the mask on wasn't a problem for me when I was awake. I've worn a SCBA hazmat suit in training before and used to wear a HEPA respirator for work.

Wearing it to sleep in took some getting used to. For 30-45 minutes, I'd start to fall asleep and then suddenly (and ironically) feel like I wasn't breathing and wake back up.

After that I slept fine. Well as fine as I could sleep while strung like a marionette doll.

I can't wait to get in the shower and get all the glue out of my hair and beard.

They are supposed to call me in 3 days to discuss the results.
 
Beernik said:
Looks like I have apnea. They woke me up about 2:30 and made me put a CPAP mask on becausey O2 dropped down to 70%.

Now whether that has anything to do with the aggression, I don't know yet.

I get the feeling that I told her to **** off a couple times when she tried to wake me for the mask. She was kind of shouting my name from the door.

Having the mask on wasn't a problem for me when I was awake. I've worn a SCBA hazmat suit in training before and used to wear a HEPA respirator for work.

Wearing it to sleep in took some getting used to. For 30-45 minutes, I'd start to fall asleep and then suddenly (and ironically) feel like I wasn't breathing and wake back up.

After that I slept fine. Well as fine as I could sleep while strung like a marionette doll.

I can't wait to get in the shower and get all the glue out of my hair and beard.

They are supposed to call me in 3 days to discuss the results.
Click to expand...

My step mother has aptnea.... She found out about 5 years ago... She said she wishes she found out 30 years ago
 
Some years ago my previous Dr agreed I had apnea. New sleep study at the local hospital was inconclusive. Gee,what a surprise. Bed was like a slab,I was hooked up like a science experiment with a "bundle of snakes" as musicians call them,so I couldn't move around in my sleep as I'm want to do.
Waste of time first time out. I always hated the annual EKG portable rig with the stick on terminal things. They kept coming off through the night. BEEEEP! wake up time again. Gee,but this is gangs of fun...pretty soon I'll be dead.
Flash forward to now. I also have developed insomnia,trying to get to sleep,only to snap awake like a sylvania super set 50 minutes later. Sleep study is now done at home,with a strap on chest terninal rig that sounds easier,& a finger o2 monitor thing. They mail it to you,do it that night,& send it back in pre-paid package the next day. I have high hopes that it's bloody positive this time. At 57,I'm worried,as my daughter & boyfriend are,that I may not survive long enough to see grandbabies. It just breaks my heart to worry about that part.
My wife & I's greatest joy at this point would be to have grandchildren. I'd also just like to be able to sleep through the night. Even though with a bad L2 disc,& bad hips,I haven't been able to lay down for a couple of years. My backside's startin to hurt from having to sit so much. Now I know what wheel chair bound folks feel like.
 
unionrdr said:
Some years ago my previous Dr agreed I had apnea. New sleep study at the local hospital was inconclusive. Gee,what a surprise. Bed was like a slab,I was hooked up like a science experiment with a "bundle of snakes" as musicians call them,so I couldn't move around in my sleep as I'm want to do.
Waste of time first time out. I always hated the annual EKG portable rig with the stick on terminal things. They kept coming off through the night. BEEEEP! wake up time again. Gee,but this is gangs of fun...pretty soon I'll be dead.
Flash forward to now. I also have developed insomnia,trying to get to sleep,only to snap awake like a sylvania super set 50 minutes later. Sleep study is now done at home,with a strap on chest terninal rig that sounds easier,& a finger o2 monitor thing. They mail it to you,do it that night,& send it back in pre-paid package the next day. I have high hopes that it's bloody positive this time. At 57,I'm worried,as my daughter & boyfriend are,that I may not survive long enough to see grandbabies. It just breaks my heart to worry about that part.
My wife & I's greatest joy at this point would be to have grandchildren. I'd also just like to be able to sleep through the night. Even though with a bad L2 disc,& bad hips,I haven't been able to lay down for a couple of years. My backside's startin to hurt from having to sit so much. Now I know what wheel chair bound folks feel like.
Click to expand...

hope it works out for you, and to the OP, Beernik

I really can't recommend sleep studies enough, every time I hear someone say they have a problem with snoring or it keeps them awake or they think they might have apnea.

our old insurance would pay for some of it and what they wouldn't pay, the sleep study people would cover it, so there was zero out-of-pocket for us.

that is, until "if you like you insurance, you can keep your insurance" caused us to not keep the insurance we liked.
 
Hope it works out for you too Unionrdr.

I still haven't heard back from my doc yet on the study results. I think the earliest they would have called is yesterday.

I have to admit that I always resisted friends suggestions for getting in for a sleep study. Because while I snore like a banshee in heat, I don't have any of the other classic symptoms. I don't wake up frequently. I don't wake up tired or irritable in the morning. I don't feel like I need to nap during the day. Besides the sleep aggression. The only other symptom was my blood pressure creeping into the high-normal range.
 
GrogNerd said:
hope it works out for you, and to the OP, Beernik

I really can't recommend sleep studies enough, every time I hear someone say they have a problem with snoring or it keeps them awake or they think they might have apnea.

our old insurance would pay for some of it and what they wouldn't pay, the sleep study people would cover it, so there was zero out-of-pocket for us.

that is, until "if you like you insurance, you can keep your insurance" caused us to not keep the insurance we liked.
Click to expand...

Beernik said:
Hope it works out for you too Unionrdr.

I still haven't heard back from my doc yet on the study results. I think the earliest they would have called is yesterday.

I have to admit that I always resisted friends suggestions for getting in for a sleep study. Because while I snore like a banshee in heat, I don't have any of the other classic symptoms. I don't wake up frequently. I don't wake up tired or irritable in the morning. I don't feel like I need to nap during the day. Besides the sleep aggression. The only other symptom was my blood pressure creeping into the high-normal range.
Click to expand...

My insurance has a monetary deductable set that my claims price must meet before it goes down to 10% co-pay for retirees. Goody. At least they have to except what prices they agreed on as full pmt. Good thing there.
I don't snore that often,but I have trouble getting to sleep,then in 50 minutes to an hour or so,I snap awake. Sometimes I don't get to sleep till very early dawn. I'm a zombie many mornings. Computer,cig,coffee,snoooooze. I also take pills for high blood pressure. Gee,this is fun...NOT!
I got the sleep study test equipment chest belt rig in the mail yesterday. Did the test last night. Woke up early again,so I decided to bag it up & send the stuff back to IDS. Now the post office boxes around back (drive ups) don't take stamped envelopes & such over 13ozs anymore. Dang,gotta go back to the counter tomorrow morning to send it back. I hope the fresh batteries last that long for the devices memory.
 
Data loggers these days store information like a computer. It won't lose the data if the battery dies.

I called the sleep center today. My results are in but haven't been reviewed or transcribed yet. Apparently June is a busy month.
 
I'm still waiting on the phone call. It's 3 weeks tonight. I suspect holiday vacations are the reason for some of the delay.

So far the funniest thing I've done since then is tell my wife she can't come to bed if she's "bringing any drama," the worst is screaming at her when she woke up from a nightmare.

Edit: I found out that "back combing" is like Robert Smith of the Cure.
 
I have been on a C-PAP since 2009 and while it took two to three weeks to get used to the mask, I bet that in the last four years I have NOT used it less than three or four times. Once I got used to it and my headaches went away, no getting up in the middle of the night to pee, and not waking myself up snoring, I will not go without it.
When I travel or go on vacation, I go on a motorcycle whether it's an overnight stay or three weeks of playing. My C-PAP will be in the right saddlebag. Does it take up a lot of room? You bet but I am not leaving it behind. It makes that much difference.

Good luck with yours. Give it time and I think you will like it.
 
I hope the test is positive this time so I can get that rig. I'm hoping that it has a positive effect on me as well. Even my daughter is prodding me to try & stick around for grandbabies. Message maybe???! :rockin::ban:
 
The sleep center finally called:

My breathing stopped on average 59 times an hour when on my back and 10 times an hour when on my side. Average was 22 times an hour.

My O2 was 83% without the mask. It was 91% with it. The 11 and 12cm settings were best for me.

They did not observe me acting out or swearing at all.

My deep sleep was better and longer with the machine on.

My apnea is considered "moderate".

They are going to call me back to figure out what my insurance will and will not cover and schedule me to get a machine and a mask. They said there are about 50 different styles on the market now.

The machine they get me will have an SD card in it so they can monitor my early use of the machine and see if it is working.

So, hopefully one problem fixed and the other problem will be fixed with it. Or maybe I should get the nose and mouth mask so I can't be understood.
 
I started CPAP almost 6 years ago. My Wife was terrified because I would actually stop breathing in my sleep. Much like Grognerd I was (in)famous on Submarines for my snoring ability. And also much like him, I have severe Apnea. Since being on the machine, I rest better and tend to wake up more refreshed, than I have in years prior. I still only sleep 5 - 6 hours a night but it is a deeper, better, more restful sleep.
It really didn't take me long to get used to it and I don't go anywhere without it. In fact, when we go camping I take a fully charged deep cycle marine battery and an invertor and still use my CPAP in the cabin or the tent. So far, it supported me for up to 4 nights, as that is the longest we were out.
 
Just realized that I need to rethink the furniture arrangement in my bedroom so my headboard is closer to an outlet.

Oh, the joys of a 75 year old home.

I don't expect it will take me long to get used to it either. I've worn half face HEPA respirators before. Other than the positive pressure and trying to sleep in it, it's not that different.

EDIT: this also explains why I sleep well when I sleep on a couch. It forces me to sleep on my side and I breath 5X better.
 
Got my appointment with the medical supplier Wednesday. It looks like instead of bottling this weekend, I'll be picking up my bedroom and rotating it 90 degrees so that I can set the machine on a nightstand near an electrical outlet.

Oh, and it looks like my insurance covers 80%.
 
Well,the test came back negative. F@$*&$^%$&!!! The one night I'm tested I sleep 4-6 hours straight. it takes a week or two to get to that point. DAMNIT!!! I'll never sleep right again cause I can't either get to sleep,or keep waking up the night of the damn test. I give up. Sometimes I think I should die suddenly from it just to prove there BS tests friggin wrong. Idk why it never works for me. They laugh in my damn face when I try to explain the truth to them. Like I'm some idiotic bold face lying ********* or other...:mad: Not to mention,till I reach my deductable,I have to pay for it as well!!!
 
That sucks. I'm sorry. Maybe it's not apnea. Maybe it's something else.

When I went in, I was expecting a REM Sleep Disorder diagnosis related to a head injury I got when I was 10 and being medicated for life. Instead, I find out I have massive tonsils that make me not breath when sleeping on my back and that turns me into a flaming ******* when I'm asleep.

It took me 7 hours, but I finally got the bedroom rearranged. Well, not completely. I told my wife she has to put her shoes away. If I do it, she never be able to find whatever pair she's looking for.

It actually looks better arranged this way. I wish I had set it up this way 7 years ago when I moved our stuff out of the back bedroom to make a bedroom for our new baby girl.
 
Guess I'll have to talk with the Dr to figure out what else it could be. The test being inconclusive the first time does leave me wondering though. Gotta solve this one or....?...
 
Phase 2 of my plan went into effect last night.

My wife has much more of the classic apnea symptoms: wake up tired and with headaches, bad dreams, gasps. He father is also diagnosed with apnea. She's been putting off the sleep study for over a year. She's afraid to sleep around strangers and sleep with stuff on her head. And it hasn't helped that her bad dreams have been triggering PTSD associated with those fears.

Part of my gusto for doing the sleep study was to show her that she'd be okay.

I got her talked into doing the take home sleep test a week ago. She turned it in this morning. I'm hoping she's a good candidate for a mouth guard.

UPDATE: I have my machine now but the med supply place was out of my mask. They'll ship it to me, but I may not get it until Saturday.

Wife has appointment for a fit test tomorrow.
 
Negative test again. The one night I need to do the test,I sleep at least 4 hours. Damn. i'll never get a decent nights sleep again.
 
I got my mask yesterday.

I tested it out for 30 minutes to get used to the thing. It's a lot quieter than I expected. It also has a ramping up feature that is nice. The pressure starts out at 4 and increases to 11 over 30 minutes.

I had the same problem as the sleep study where I'd start to fall asleep and then the positive pressure would make me feel like I couldn't breath. It took at least 40 minutes to fall alseep. It took long enough that I was aware of my wife coming to bed and rubbing my back a little.

I had my usual 1am wake up. I also woke up at 3am. At 3am I decided I didn't want to fight the machine for 30 minutes only get another 90 minutes of sleep, so I left the mask off.

I overslept to 5:30am. I did not feel like I had been punched in the back all night (I'm assuming this is how my bad apnea nights make me feel). I did feel like I had been inflated like a balloon, like my skin and ribs had been pushed out a little. Also, like the night of the sleep study, in some ways I feel like I slept better and in some ways I feel like I slept worse. Like I had quality sleep, just not enough of it.

My wife woke up early, so I actually got to see her before work. I asked her how I was. She said "Creepy." I said "Creepy how?"

She said when she touched my back and talked to me I didn't react at all.

I told her that I found that funny because when I talk in my sleep, I'm an *******. When I don't talk in my sleep, that makes me creepy.

She said, "We'll, it isn't 'normal'."

So, maybe the CPAP will take care of the sleep aggression. At least last night it seemed to help.

On a side note: my wife's attemp at a mask fitting went poorly with her phobia. She yelled at the med tech and ran out of the clinic. Her doc is going to check into alternatives that might work for her.

Also, I prepared my daughter for seeing me wear it by calling it my Darth Vader mask. She was disappointed that it wasn't more Vader like.
 
It gets better. Now that I have had mine for about 15 months, it feels weird to go to sleep without the mask.

It took me about 3-4 months to really get used to sleeping with the mask.
 
I slept really well last night. Only took about 15 minutes to fall asleep. Still woke up at 1am and 3am and again at 4:30am. I didn't have to work today. So at 4:30am I moved from the bed to the sofa and slept until 7am.

I'm not sure what's with my difficulty sleeping past 3am unless my body is thinking that I'm sleeping so well now that 4 hours is equal to the full nights sleep I was getting before.
 
I spent many years getting up for work at 3-3:30am. Ithink maybe that might be part of the reason I still wake up around 3:34am...?
 
schmoe said:
It gets better. Now that I have had mine for about 15 months, it feels weird to go to sleep without the mask.

It took me about 3-4 months to really get used to sleeping with the mask.
Click to expand...

It didn't take me quite that long, but it did take a while. Now, I don't sleep worth a **** without it.

Once you get used to the mask you will be amazed at how much better you sleep.

I was keeping my wife awake all night with my snoring and snorting. Not only was I tired, but my wife was tired and miserable too.

She laughs now and says it's like sleeping with Darth Vader, but we both sleep better and things are much better around our house:D
 
My typical night now seems to be going to bed around 11:30pm with the mask on. Waking up around 3:30 - 4:30am and taking the mask off. Sleeping without the mask from 3:30 - 4:30am until 5:00 - 7:00am.

When I have my follow up appointment August 27, is the Doc going to grump at me for only wearing it on average 4.5 hours out of the 6.5 hours that I sleep?
 
Beernik said:
My typical night now seems to be going to bed around 11:30pm with the mask on. Waking up around 3:30 - 4:30am and taking the mask off. Sleeping without the mask from 3:30 - 4:30am until 5:00 - 7:00am.

When I have my follow up appointment August 27, is the Doc going to grump at me for only wearing it on average 4.5 hours out of the 6.5 hours that I sleep?
Click to expand...

I had about the same routine when I first got mine. I still take it off in the middle of the night once in a while(but not very often)

If I remember correctly, my follow up was only about taking care of the machine and mask, how to deal with a cold, etc etc.

My guess is that by August 27th you'll probably wearing it through the night more nights than not
 

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