Harry's Sleep Study (my 6-year-old) Do I Need to Follow Up?

[Pineapple]

Sock,

When I was about 19 I was at the doctor's office with a mother and her young child whose behavior was outragous. After thier appointment the doctor was walking her out and he made the statement "We should make sure that there is nothing physical causing these behavoir issues" I would keep the appointment. Yes it's time out of school, but if there is a physical problem to correct, in the long run you will be better off.

As I remember Harry is your oldest - it's normal to feel you worry to much, you don't have any experiences to judge against.

[DarkSideOfTheMoon]

Last weekend I met a woman who was diagnosed with Narcolepsy. I was telling her that at one point I thought I had it until I was diagnosed with OSA instead. I was saying that I hallucinated while I was falling asleep (dreaming when I just layed down) which was why I thought I had it.

When I got my sleep study I had no REM so I ruled out Narcolepsy (like I'm a freakin doctor or something). Anyway, she said she had no REM either and was still diagnosed with Narcolepsy. It was diagonsed during the day with several nap sessions. She had shown nothing on the night sleep study. She doesn't have the falling asleep while standing issues that we all think of with Narcolepsy.

In college I started seeing a figure all dressed in white out of the corner of my eye. It only lasted a few weeks and he was gone. Not sure what the hell that was. Maybe it was Luke Skywalker!!!


Keep the appt. It will be worth it if you settle your nerves.

Good luck,
Cathy

[socknitster]

You know, I remember seeing a man in black when I was little, too. I have very large tonsils (still do), and could have had apnea since then. It's possible, but no one really talked about that in the mid-to-late 70s, especially with kids, as far as I know. I would have some night terrors and sleep paralysis myself and went through a bed-wetting phase, but it resolved itself on its own as I grew older.

Hey Tattooyu,

You should know that having a tonsilectomy now could do you some good and may be worth the pain and trouble. I had one done (along with adenoids) 2 years ago and the change is remarkable. I breathe better not only when asleep, but awake as well. The recovery is not fun but it reduced my bipap pressure by 5-6 cm of water which has made cpap much more comfortable. You should talk to an ent about it.

Thanks everyone for your input. It is going to be a rough day, but I guess I will take him. I just found the paperwork and they want us there early, plus there is construction around the hospital--fun! But it should be early enough in the morn that not many people will be around, so traffic should be relatively easy. We are going to have to get up super early. I already called and asked if I could just do a phone interview with the doc instead of coming down and the person on the other end acted like I was nuts! She says the doctor will want to do an exam on Harry--betcha $10 she barely takes a look at him after I drag them both down there with me (dh will, of course, be out of town).

Jen

Jen

[Julie]

Hi, just wanted to say that the old idea that bedwetting has an emotional basis is considered by MD's today to be completely unfounded, for what it's worth.

[Muse-Inc]

Hey SockN, if I were in your shoes, I'd go to the doc, better checked than sorry. If he asks, this is a new adventure just like many of the ones that mommy's had, something new to learn about. Now if there's nothing physical and this is an imaginary friend and not something else: I had an imaginary friend for quite a while when I was his age, hadda set a place setting at the table & knowing me tiny dabs of food, hadda open the door too if they closed it too soon and my friend was on the 'wrong' side, my friend was with me much of the time. While orginally thought to be some form of compensation by a lonely child, psychologists now associate having imaginary friends with high levels of creativity. My mom would certainly agree with that; she always had to find & suggest positive creative outlets or who knew what I'd come up with on my own .

[ozij]

Good luck Jen, keep us posted.
O.

[jskinner]

I'm still worried. There was one thing the sleep study mentioned that was odd--he had zero REM sleep during the study. Now I'm worried that he has abnormal sleep architecture. ...

So, what do you guys think? Am I overreacting? Should I take him to the appointment I made 3 months ago when I was more concerned? Or take a wait and see approach? He is having an easier time falling asleep and is sleeping through the night without getting up multiple times like he used to. I'm wondering if the wetting the bed isn't a sign that he is sleeping better and more deeply than ever before and is actually a good thing!

I think your reading too much into one nights sleep. That's the problem with single night sleep studies, they don't tell you how you are actually sleeping on a regular basis. If you are really that concerned buy a Zeo so that you can test his sleep over a week or even a month.

[ozij]

My apologies for butting in instead of Jen -- but I would like to point out that the neurological problems Jen is concerned about have nothing to do with SDB -- and an pulse oximeter is just irrelevant to that.

O.

[goose]

Hey Jen -- great to see you back for now (you too jennmary!!)

It sounds like a very normal 6 year old to me.....BUT, that said, if only for your own peace of mind I'd keep the appointment. It will cost you the co-pay and some time -- if there is something at issue, the doc's can start working on it post haste, if there's nothing there it will put your mind at ease.....

My "man" in black story is far too long and involved for here....suffice it to say, it was my "guide" that I find at my center that told me what the image was and was doing when I spotted it......

Good luck, and please keep us up on how Harry's doing!!!!!

take care
cheers
goose

[roster]

What is "SleepDoc"?
Based on this ground breaking discovery of the compensatory function of enuresis, a revolutionary method of bedwetting control was developed, using the "SleepDoc" device. Special sensors of time, body position and other parameters allow a computer inside of the " SleepDoc" predict when the act of bedwetting is about to come, and it turns on the mild vibrations that produces scratching or body position changes (this is usually leads to switch in sleep stages.

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-r ... -72839.php

[socknitster]

I have seen the zeo on tv and I have thought about it a lot--having him (or myself) wear one from time to time could provide a lot of reassurance that a rushed doctor appointment could not. It is not a pulse oximeter, O., but a brain wave monitor. I saw it on "the doctors" on tv. Apparantly it costs about $400.

I thought it was a prescription item. Interesting to note it is available OTC. I will be looking into this.

He sure is sleeping more normally since we took him off of milk and I'm wondering if that is what was causing all the sleep problems all along!

The man in black was never an imaginary friend. He didn't talk to him or interact with him in any way. Just saw him out of the corner of his eye for a split second and then he was gone. I just asked him and he says he hasn't seen him since the day that we "saw" him in the window when I explained that what he saw was my reflection wearing a black shirt.

It sure is good to "see" all of you again. I should stop by more often!

Now for some gratuitous kid photos!




Hope these links worked! TIme to walk to school!

Jen

[socknitster]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29376015@N00/3931515000/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29376015@N00/3931515096/

Since I can't get them to work, here are some links to my flickr account.

Jen

[Pad A Cheek]

Jen,
Thank you for sharing your photos of your boys. They are adorable and bring back many memories of when my kids were small. I love the spagetti face too. They do love to enjoy their 'sgetti.


Karen