The Study Is Over

I wont bore you guy swith the details,but according to the sleep tech,he saw nothing wrong. Nada. When we talked about those "jolts" that wake me up before going to sleep, he mentioned "if it is what I think it is, it's benign, if its what the doctor thinks it is (osa) its treatable.So before I let, I asked him "so what do you think it is?" and he said hypnic jerks. possible, because the startling feeling is there, but rarely do I see/feel my body move. Guess we'll see what the doctor says, but for now, no apnea. I didnt even wear the mask for half a night like I wanted.

I can understand. I was worried what the test would find, but I was actually more worried they wouldn't find anything to explain my waking up feeling like crap.

Hopefully the tech is just wrong or not telling you anything - they're not supposed to.

Wait for the doctor's report. While techs have opinions, doctors put the whole test together and interpret it for you... and legally they're the only ones who can do that.

What the tech said may well be true (hypnic jerks that you don't necessarily 'feel') but that may or may not be the whole story, if it is valid at all (and it may be).

I agree, technicians are not supposed to say anything.

At my first overnight sleep study in 2015 when I was ready to go in the morning I asked the tech if it had all gone alright. She indicated all was good, no indication of a problem that she saw, just some leg movements. I wasn't woken up to use CPAP during the night either so I assumed if that was the case, I didn't have apnea.

Over two months later (I'd almost forgotten I'd had the sleep study!) I received a call from my NP to tell me she'd finally received my report from the sleep specialist and I have moderate OSA. AHI 16

So until you get the final report you can't be sure.

I was told in advance that the techs are not supposed to answer questions about what they find and diagnosis, so please do not ask them.

I had a split night study, so I knew that if met the criteria (didn't know the actual minimum numbers), I would be put on the machine during the night. Since that happened, I knew I was diagnosed with sleep apnea (which was not a surprise). I did ask the tech one question in the morning. Did the machine go up in pressure while I was asleep? Answer was yes. Cool, I didn't notice a thing.

MaxINTJ wrote:I can understand. I was worried what the test would find, but I was actually more worried they wouldn't find anything to explain my waking up feeling like crap.

Hopefully the tech is just wrong or not telling you anything - they're not supposed to.

Yes, I can identify with this! I was very afraid that they're find nothing wrong, and I'd just continue to suffer.

The first time I saw the sleep doc, he said that he suspected "very severe" sleep apnea. The test confirmed that. It was supposed to take six weeks to score due to the backlog, but it was scored in two days because the tech was alarmed and moved it to the top of the stack. However, the tech did not mention anything to me the next morning, as he is not supposed to.

He didnt really tell me much, just that I was sleeping (I told him I felt like I wasnt) and that the wake up jolts I was getting that brought me in could just be hypnic jerks (i dont think it is because my body doesnt move during these episodes.) Guess we'll see

MaxINTJ wrote:I can understand. I was worried what the test would find, but I was actually more worried they wouldn't find anything to explain my waking up feeling like crap.

Hopefully the tech is just wrong or not telling you anything - they're not supposed to.

True. I asked if he noticed anything with my breathing and he didnt say anything. All he said was that I slept even though i didnt feel asleep much at all

D.H. wrote:

MaxINTJ wrote:I can understand. I was worried what the test would find, but I was actually more worried they wouldn't find anything to explain my waking up feeling like crap.

Hopefully the tech is just wrong or not telling you anything - they're not supposed to.

Yes, I can identify with this! I was very afraid that they're find nothing wrong, and I'd just continue to suffer.

The first time I saw the sleep doc, he said that he suspected "very severe" sleep apnea. The test confirmed that. It was supposed to take six weeks to score due to the backlog, but it was scored in two days because the tech was alarmed and moved it to the top of the stack. However, the tech did not mention anything to me the next morning, as he is not supposed to.

I trust the tech and the results even though i havent gotten them. Idk. I just wanna be able to sleep normally at this point. If its not apnea, cool, but I would hope to get some answers about what it is, then

If you're talking about a jerk or jolt that happens right as you're dozing off, I used to get those whenever I was under stress. And mine were totally unrelated to sleep apnea.

I have no idea if this is what you are expressing as your experience, but back when I was in school, I learned there are things called petite mal and grand mal.

Its when we all of a sudden jerk for no reason. It does not last long and I don't think it automatically indicates an issue.. inasmuch as I think many people experience them. I do. On the other hand, there is much information on them if you Google to find out more. I do not want to mislead but I do know I do small jerks and they are just an interrupt in my brain wave or something(?)

Please do get a copy of the detailed report when it is available. Don't just accept a few highlights given verbally. Sometimes there are details that make a difference. For you to feel you didn't sleep much and them to say you slept is common. Perception on sleep is not always accurate.. What you'll want to know is how much of each stage and position to know whether your results represent a good sampling of what they would need to see for a definitive diagnosis. You'll want to know if those jerks are limited to when falling asleep or if they continue while you sleep. I'm with those who say to get the report. You may find all your wonderings are totally off target. If a patient goes for their follow-up and says that the tech told them this or that, the tech could be in a lot of trouble. Their lack of being forthcoming with information does not necessarily mean a lack of relevant data was gathered.

When y get to see the results, there should be some graphs. The ones I got were smaller than the ones they showed me at the doctor's office, but still very useful. You can clearly see my sleep cycles and when I was awake. I was diagnosed as severe with about 2 1/2 hours of sleep. I could also see the obvious changes in oxygen saturation s well as when the cpap treatment started.

xxyzx wrote:

sleepygary314 wrote:I wont bore you guy swith the details,but according to the sleep tech,he saw nothing wrong. Nada. When we talked about those "jolts" that wake me up before going to sleep, he mentioned "if it is what I think it is, it's benign, if its what the doctor thinks it is (osa) its treatable.So before I let, I asked him "so what do you think it is?" and he said hypnic jerks. possible, because the startling feeling is there, but rarely do I see/feel my body move. Guess we'll see what the doctor says, but for now, no apnea. I didnt even wear the mask for half a night like I wanted.

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were the jolts while you were wearing the mask during the sleep test ?
they could be related to centrals caused by the pressure

if no mask then those random jerks do happen to some folks occasionally
they usually happen jsut before i am asleep so dont wake me
but they are very rare in my case

I never got the mask..its so hard to even describe the jolts. They occur as a sensation in the brain more than an actual physical activity

lliann wrote:I have no idea if this is what you are expressing as your experience, but back when I was in school, I learned there are things called petite mal and grand mal.

Its when we all of a sudden jerk for no reason. It does not last long and I don't think it automatically indicates an issue.. inasmuch as I think many people experience them. I do. On the other hand, there is much information on them if you Google to find out more. I do not want to mislead but I do know I do small jerks and they are just an interrupt in my brain wave or something(?)

Whatever the jerks or jolts are, they occur exclusively as a sensation in my brain. No physical jerks that Ive seen