sleep study next week! help!

HI! this is my first time here.
After many years of DH telling me that I stop breathing during the night, and snoring, I finally agreed to have the testing done. I have alot of the symptoms. I rarely sleep during the night. I have never slept more than two hours at a time for years. I fall asleep, only to wake up fully two hours later, go pee, and usually go on the computer till I am tired enough to go back to sleep, then the pattern starts all over...all night long. I often stay up from 5am on, till I have to have a nap during the day usually for the two hours that my body is used to. Im tired all the time, headaches constantly when I wake up, crabby from lack of sleep, and my health is declining.
Sooooo....I guess you can say I need this test!

I went to my general Dr. who sent me to a sleep study/wellness clinic. My appt in this week. The question I have is....they called me to tell me when to show up (9pm) and told me that I was scheduled to have TWO consecutive tests done, back to back. I said, What? no one told me anything about this... it seems I am having the first test from 9pm till 5am then the second test starts and runs till 2pm in the afternoon. She told me that I will be ask to sleep every 1 1/2 hours, and they will wake me up after 10 mins. What is this for?
I was also told to bring my own entertainment for the day, ie..books or crocheting or whatever, plus my own food.
What should I bring? is there a list of stuff to take to these tests?
This is not in a hospital, so no cafeteria... it's in a regular Dr. office building.
Im kinda nervous, so what should I expect? will there be a TV? I like to sleep with white noise...such as a fan on..should I bring my own? If it's too quiet, that will drive me nuts! LOL

Thank you for any and all advice. This forum in greatly appreciated.

Your second test is called a multiple sleep latency test to check your daytime sleepiness. It's also sometimes called an MSLT.

As for the fan... you should check with the sleep lab. Sometimes they have one that you can use.

Whatever you would normally use in order to get to sleep (pillows, etc.) should be what you bring with you. Also make sure that you bring stuff for a shower if they have one on site (most do).

Some of the places have a TV, some don't. Some are very comfortable and frankly some just aren't.

I've experienced this so I might be able to shed some light on what's happening.

It doesn't sound like anyone has ever witnessed you having an apnea. I was told when I was scheduled for my sleep study that since there were no witnesses to me having an apnea, they also schedual the multiple sleep latency test following it, the reason being that they must have the sleep data from the previous night to do this test. If they didn't do it this way, they would need to do another sleep study the night before the MSLT. At the time, the scheduling nurse stated "If we find out you have apena, we'll send you home in the morning and not do the MSLT test." I've only heard of one case where a person was found to have apnea and was required to complete the MSL (I would guess the sleep lab saw something during the night that made them believe there was something else there)

I would call the sleep lab back and ask about the food and the fan.

Cflame1 did a good job of listing what you need for the night, you'll also want to take someting with you to do in between naps (if you have to stay for the MSLT)

cflame1 wrote:Your second test is called a multiple sleep latency test to check your daytime sleepiness. It's also sometimes called an MSLT.

As for the fan... you should check with the sleep lab. Sometimes they have one that you can use.

Whatever you would normally use in order to get to sleep (pillows, etc.) should be what you bring with you. Also make sure that you bring stuff for a shower if they have one on site (most do).

Some of the places have a TV, some don't. Some are very comfortable and frankly some just aren't.

It could be that they're doing a split-night study and not the MSLT.

A split-night study is where they wire you up and let you (try to) sleep "normally". Then, after a certain amount of time......if they feel you have apnea, they'll put a mask on you and hook you up to their machine to take you through different pressures to see which is best for you.

Den

Don't be shy about bringing whatever you need to be comfortable. I like my own pillow and more! It is quite an experience getting the wires glued on - it takes awhile for them to do it, but after it's done they're more of an inconvenience than a bother - to me. Here are pictures of a study that was similar to mine. Mine had a more homey atmosphere complete with wood head and footboard, flowered comforter ,and tv in a hutch.

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-bas ... pstudy.htm

I have very long hair and getting the adhesive they use to attach the electrodes out of my hair takes a couple of shampoos and a bit of work. Also a bit of scrubbing to get it off the skin. Not too bothersome though.

Best wishes! Keep in touch and let us know if you have any questions before and how it went after.

yankeeblue wrote: it seems I am having the first test from 9pm till 5am then the second test starts and runs till 2pm in the afternoon.

Wulfman wrote: It could be that they're doing a split-night study and not the MSLT.

Since the second test starts at 5:00 am and goes till 2:00 pm I would assume it's a MSLT, but Wulfman is entirely correct in pointing out that the sleep lab might also choose to do your sleep study as a split night study, so don't be freaked out if half way through the night they bring a CPAP in especially since it sounds like you already filled out a "sympton survey" and they expect to find apnea.

I brought my survey in with me the night of the sleep study. When I made the appointment, they didn't think I had apnea. The sleep tech was telling me about the tests and reading my survey and she suddenly became very flustered. She kept looking back at my referal paperwork. She finally slapped everything closed, looked me straight in the eye and said "I have to have 90 minutes worth of sleep data to complete this sleep study, but if I have 90 minutes and I see apnea, I'm going to hook you up to a CPAP." It took all night to get the 90 mins of data so we didn't get to the CPAP that night. I ended up with a near paniced phone call 2 days later, "You do have apnea. We need to get you back in here for a titration."

Don't know about this one either...... Sounds a little strange to me.

yankeeblue wrote:She told me that I will be ask to sleep every 1 1/2 hours, and they will wake me up after 10 mins.

Den

Edited for afterthought: In theory, sleep cycles MAY cycle through in about 90 minutes......but that varies from person to person (from what I've read). Could be more.....could be a bit less.
IF that's what they were referring to.....but don't know why they would be waking a person up.....

Den

Edited for afterthought: In theory, sleep cycles MAY cycle through in about 90 minutes......but that varies from person to person (from what I've read). Could be more.....could be a bit less.
IF that's what they were referring to.....but don't know why they would be waking a person up.....

i thought the point of this test was to see how long it takes you to fall asleep...sleep deprived people tend to have an abnormally short sleep latency period

Wulfman,

As I understand from what I was told by the sleep lab, they are looking for other sleep disorders such as Narcolepsy.

OK......whatever...... I just had a simple split-night study......went in about 8:00 pm (or thereabouts) and was done around 5:30 the next morning.

Sharon,
I could always fall asleep at the drop of a hat.......ya think I could go right to sleep at my "sleep study"???? Took a LONG time.

I'll go back and sit in my corner now.

Den

I agree with cflame1 and pineapple, that what they have planned for you is a PSG sleep study during the night, and then a whole new test...the MSLT (multiple sleep latency test) the next day.

Personally, unless you and your doctor have good reason to suspect possible narcolepsy (and from what you've described, it doesn't sound like you have that at all) I would call the lab and cancel the "next day" test...the MSLT.

I'd go for just the overnight PSG, whether it's a single night of just gathering data, or a split-night study where "cpap" may be applied during the night.

I think an MSLT -- unless you have expressed symptoms consistent with narcolepsy -- is overkill on the part of the sleep center. If that's their usual procedure (PSG and an MSLT the next day) with everyone who is sent there with suspected OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) I'd wonder if that's simply a way to bill insurance for an additional (and most likely unnecessary) test.

I'd cancel the MSLT. Or find a different sleep lab to go to. Just my opinion, and I'm sure not a doctor.

I guess I forgot to mention that once they discovered I had apnea, the sleep lab cancelled the MSLT.

It wouldn't hurt to call and make sure this is your sleep labs procedure, I agree with Rested Gal that I wouldn't want to pay for a test I didn't need.

Dear Yankeeblu, You will be fine. As far as food, you must bring you own snaks. The break between the two periods might be a good time for your sack lunch? You will have a private room with a bed that has sheets, blanket and so on. Bring your own pillow and favorite blanket. Ther will also be a television, but do bring a book, letter writing or drawing materials. you need to bring things to entertain yourself. When not doing the test you may be allowed to leave(between the main two) depends on your lab.Valgal

Wulfman wrote:Sharon,
I could always fall asleep at the drop of a hat.......ya think I could go right to sleep at my "sleep study"???? Took a LONG time.
I'll go back and sit in my corner now.
Den

hey den,
i hear ya
at my first psg i fell asleep in 4 minutes
at my titration i fell asleep in 6 minutes
this past january, when i went for re-titration, it took 20 minutes...what's up with that?!!
i, too, could always sleep at the drop of a hat...the joke about me was that i could sleep on a clothesline at high noon!
i still fall asleep quickly most nights, except when my mask is giving me fits

rested gal wrote:I agree with cflame1 and pineapple, that what they have planned for you is a PSG sleep study during the night, and then a whole new test...the MSLT (multiple sleep latency test) the next day.

Personally, unless you and your doctor have good reason to suspect possible narcolepsy (and from what you've described, it doesn't sound like you have that at all) I would call the lab and cancel the "next day" test...the MSLT.

I'd go for just the overnight PSG, whether it's a single night of just gathering data, or a split-night study where "cpap" may be applied during the night.

I think an MSLT -- unless you have expressed symptoms consistent with narcolepsy -- is overkill on the part of the sleep center. If that's their usual procedure (PSG and an MSLT the next day) with everyone who is sent there with suspected OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) I'd wonder if that's simply a way to bill insurance for an additional (and most likely unnecessary) test.

I'd cancel the MSLT. Or find a different sleep lab to go to. Just my opinion, and I'm sure not a doctor.

Well, I finally got to the bottom of it all. it seems the second test is for NARCOLEPSY!! I called the sleep study and they said the dr ordered it, so I would have to call the dr to find out why. I called the dr and they said it was because of a couple questions I answered on the office questionaire. I suppose it was about being sleepy during the day, but that is because I don't sleep at night!! I am closer to an Insomniac, than narco! I rarely sleep at night. I never sleep during the day!! that's why I am having a problem! Anyway, I told them that I thought it was a waste of my time and a waste of the insurance company's money for me to have the second test done. I do not have Narco! So they agreed to cancel it and will call the sleep study to cancel it with them.
I feel so much better now. I was dreading the day time testing.
oh, and there is NO TV there!! talk about boring! I have to bring my own bottled water and pillows since it is a regular flat bed, not a hospital type bed that the head can be raised.

thank you all so much for all your help and suggestions!
cheryl