Sleep Study Review - 2 Thumbs Up!

Finally, after a few months of research, Thursday night was sleep study night!

As mentioned in the post below, I decided to see a sleep doc within the AllinaHealth Clinics network. I had a consultation with a sleep doc a couple of weeks ago, and scheduled my sleep study for this week.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=79586

The sleep clinic is located in a hotel. Four rooms are used as sleeping rooms, and a fifth is used as the office / analysis room. There are two sleep technicians to handle four patients.

I arrived at 8:00 pm. After signing a couple of forms and showing my ID, my tech led me to my room.
I changed into my sleep clothes (I -so- wanted to wear Hugh Hefner satin PJs) and she started to wire me up. Calves, thighs, hips, chest, face, head -- 24 leads in all!

We had a nice conversation while she wired me up. I have to admit, it was sort of like having a head massage, having all those leads attached to my head.

I was scheduled for a split study, as are most who pass through this clinic. The tech had me try 10 minutes on CPAP, so that if she determined that I should try it halfway through the night, I would have a sense of what it felt like.

She had selected a nasal mask - the Philips True Blue. She said they have many mask types, and admitted that each tech seemed to have their favorites, but she said most of her patients didn't care (at least initially) for nasal pillows, as most people are not used to probes up their noses. She also said that this mask had the uncanny ability to seal well without having to be pulled tight. For me, I found this to be true. Very comfortable, and no feelings of being squeezed.

http://www.healthcare.philips.com/us_en ... /index.wpd

Man, it was weird. Initially I found it very hard to exhale, and then tricky to inhale enough air. It got better after a few minutes. it turned out my tech was adjusting the air for me. This led to a discussion where she let on that she really likes the auto-CPAP machines, and believes it reduces the number of people who give up on CPAP treatment.

We were done with the wiring and the test by 9:20. I had about an hour to wind down before she would return to put me to bed. Looking around the room, I noticed the closet was full of Respironics xPAP machines new in boxes (24 of them)!

I started to think about whether or not to take the Ambien I had been prescribed. Generally, I don't like to take unneeded drugs, and I usually fall asleep quickly, even in strange locations. The tech had reminded me that the sleep study was most valuable when they could complete both the initial analysis without PAP, and then later with PAP, which means I would not want to lie awake for a couple of hours. At this point, I was not anxious, and decided to hold off.

Around 10:15 the tech came by to tuck me in. What I had not realized before is that in addition to the previously attached devices, she had a few more, including a couple that went up my nose. After the final hook-up, she turned off the light and went back to the control room. I really started to feel like an astronaut in the shuttle talking to mission control before lift-off!

My sleep tech ran through a series of tests. She had me move first my right leg, then my left. She had me move my eyes up and down. She had me move eyes left and right. I did this both with eyes open and shut. Of course, in addition to the camera, she also had an intercom. After all this I tried to sleep. After about 10 minutes I called out to her over the intercom and suggested that maybe I'd better have that Ambien after all…

After taking the tiny pill, I quickly drifted off to sleep. Next thing I know, she is back putting the CPAP mask on me. I guess the first part of the split study was complete. I did not check my clock, so I'm not sure what time this was. I am generally a side sleeper. Getting the rhythm right on the breathing with the CPAP took a while. Clearly, I was anxious. It reminded me of SCUBA diving, and breathing on a regulator. I kept telling myself to calm down and breathe normally. Eventually things settled down and I fell asleep again. Somewhere in the night the intercom quietly asked me to try sleeping on my back.

Around 6:30 am my tech spoke to me over the intercom to wake me up. She ran me through the series of tests again to make sure all the leads were still connected and working. After that, she came in to the room to help disconnect me from everything. I realized that I had not gotten up during the night to use the bathroom. I don't know if it was the CPAP machine or the Ambien, or just that I knew I would have to call the tech to disconnect me from mission control.

Once detached, she left and I was free to shower and take advantage of the continental breakfast the hotel offers. Once done with that, I headed back to the room for my debriefing.

Sitting on the bed, along with some more forms was a brand-new PR System One REMStar 60 Series Auto CPAP Machine with heated humidifier (but without the heated hose).

"My" sleep technician was leaving as her shift was over, but the morning tech led me through a mask fitting, and machine operation lesson. I learned about the ability to get a different mask within 30 days if needed. I also learned about the timeframes for replacement parts, masks, etc.

Overall, a -very- positive experience. The techs were very pleasant, very knowledgable, and the hotel room set up made sure it was as "normal" (and not like a hospital room) as possible. The fact that AllinaHealth/Aspen have such a well-coordinated system that allows you to walk out with your own machine is fantastic. I read so often about people having to wait a long time to get machines, and then to be faced with folks who are not helpful when trying to size up a mask, or learn how to use the machine.

John,

It sounds like this place really had their act together. I am glad that it went well.

JohnO wrote:I realized that I had not gotten up during the night to use the bathroom. I don't know if it was the CPAP machine or the Ambien, or just that I knew I would have to call the tech to disconnect me from mission control.

This is probably no accident. When you have breathing problems and your O2 level start to drop, your body knows that it is in trouble and that it needs to breathe better. It does that by telling you to wake up and get vertical. The way it does that is by generating the same chemical signal in your body as the signal that tells you that you have to urinate. The fact that you didn't have a nature call suggests that your CPAP treatment is successful. This is a very good indicator. It is also good for long term health since repeated nightly bathroom calls can burn out your kidneys over the long haul.

JohnO wrote:Sitting on the bed, along with some more forms was a brand-new PR System One REMStar 60 Series Auto CPAP Machine with heated humidifier (but without the heated hose).

This is excellent. Many folks end up having to wait several weeks after their study before it gets read, a diagnosis is made, and they get their machine. I had to wait about 10 days. It was really frustrating knowing that the machine could help, but that I had to wait even longer to get started. In contrast, you are off to a running start.

Best of luck, and please post back on how it goes at home with the machine.

-john-

Glad you had a good experience. My first sleep study with PAP I think I slept like 1-2 hours. (not the clinic's fault)

Ahh, if only we should all be so lucky as to encounter a sleep center, sleep techs, etc. as your experience. *sigh* Compliance would be so much higher.

Slinky wrote:Ahh, if only we should all be so lucky as to encounter a sleep center, sleep techs, etc. as your experience. *sigh* Compliance would be so much higher.

Very true. I had a similar experience, though not in a hotel. But the sleep tech was awesome, and the room looked and felt like a hotel room. I did have to wait 2 weeks for the followup with the sleep doctor. But overall, it was a great experience, the titration was spot on my for my needs. My recommendation for prescription was apap 11-17, and my 95% number is 13, and it goes up to 16.9 here and there, but has only hit 17 once. And my ahi is usually below 2 most nights. It was 79 during the diagnosis phase, and I never even reached REM. I suspect it would have bene higher had I been tested all night long. While curious about that, I'm glad to have done a split study, since it really wasn't necessary to get a higher number, and I got it all done in one night.

I am very grateful to the sleep tech, and she made the experience pleasant and *useful*. And her choice and fitting of the mask gave me a huge head start. It was the correct mask for me, so I got the right mask on the first try. And while i had trouble fitting it correctly at home, I knew it was the right mask and could fit correctly. So, I was able to keep at it until I got it right.

zoocrewphoto wrote: My recommendation for prescription was apap 11-17, and my 95% number is 13, and it goes up to 16.9 here and there, but has only hit 17 once.

I should add that my initial prescription was for 9-16 cm H2O.

They suggested I use the machine for 3-4 days, then contact my sleep doc for a followup. I hope to get a copy of the full report at that time. I've completed four nights on the machine. So far, so good - a few ups and downs. I will write a more detailed note after a full week has gone by.