Best way to prepare 11 year old for PSG

[karessamom]

Dr. has ordered a PSG with titration what is the best way to prepare my son for this. he's 11 so who knows it might be kind of cool for him to be hooked up to all those wires?? but really how much should I tell him and what? my husband and I have both been there done that. although I had to go back for titration and hubby was never titrated (just given an autoset machine)

[JohnBFisher]

Dr. has ordered a PSG with titration what is the best way to prepare my son for this. he's 11 so who knows it might be kind of cool for him to be hooked up to all those wires?? but really how much should I tell him and what? my husband and I have both been there done that. although I had to go back for titration and hubby was never titrated (just given an autoset machine)

Greetings! I would show him some of the videos available on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHonyCHsZLc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUtyaS3ga0A

And of course you can answer questions he might have .. If it's a Star Trek fan, you could always tell him that "Resistance is futile!" 8^)

He's at an age where getting wired up should still be interesting and fun to do .. Hope it goes well for him. I wish I had one at his age. I started to snore VERY badly as a teen. It took another twenty years (and a lot of damage to my health) before we realized I needed a sleep study. Keep us updated.

[Bons]

He's eleven. Tell him that he will be hooked up to wires and what they monitor. Tell him it won't hurt, but may be a bit uncomfortable and awkward turning over in bed. Tell him you'll take him out to breakfast when it's done.

[SleepingUgly]

My kid is 8 and he's had 4 NPSGs and 1 titration since age 5. The titration was the bigger deal because kids (and adults) don't like masks on their faces. Still, he did fine. I don't remember what explanation we gave him when he was 5, and by now it's old hat to him, and we just say, "You're having a sleep study." The techs are used to dealing with kids (one would hope) and will help with the explanation should a titration be necessary. Are you having the NPSG one night and the titration the next?

[chunkyfrog]

Encourage him to ask questions of the techs--lots of questions.
A curious kid should make their day.

[GumbyCT]

Dr. has ordered a PSG with titration what is the best way to prepare my son for this. he's 11 so who knows it might be kind of cool for him to be hooked up to all those wires?? but really how much should I tell him and what? my husband and I have both been there done that. although I had to go back for titration and hubby was never titrated (just given an autoset machine)

Make sure he wears comfy clothes like shorts and a T-shirt. Does he have a favorite shirt? By all means share your experience with him. He does know you both have been? Certainly there is a reason he is being tested?

Let him know that sleep is important and they just want to check to make sure that he is indeed sleeping.

Good Luck and by all means do share the results and what you have learned.

[jen4700]

Do you get to sleep in the room with him? At my sleep clinic they don't let anyone under 16 sleep w/o a parent there.

My 15 yo did a sleep study last month. She was anxious - but she's normally that way. I wish I had given her a benadryl before we turned out the lights. She tossed and turned all night. They got enough for her study, but it was a rough night.

It did help that she was chatty with the tech. She asked a lot of questions. She had me take a pic of her after she was all wired up to show her friends. LOL!

A lot will depend on your child - go with your gut.

[Uncle_Bob]

Tell him all the wires are new controller hooked up to a playstation 3 and that he will be playing games all night in his sleep

Good luck
~UB

[karessamom]

Uncle-bob--I like your post! LOL!!! I think he'd appreciate that one! although he'd insist that there be a REAL PS3!

[portiemom]

Just be honest, tell him that when they do a sleep study they monitor the way he is breathing, by having all these cool electrodes send messages to a lab tech sitting in a different place. They do this so one one has to sit by his side and watch him sleep and breathe. The techs can watch more then one kid at a time and the kids can have their own room.
If likes Star Wars, tell him some folks get to breathe in a mask and can make a Darth Vader sound whenever they like. Bet he'll like that!

[SleepingUgly]

Do not give him any medications without prior approval from the doctor, as they can mess with the study results.

[archangle]

If he's nervous about it, tell him he should pretend he's a jet pilot wearing an oxygen mask.

If he's a Trekkie, tell him he gets to be a Borg. If he's a star wars junkie, he's Darth Vader. However, he would have been 4 years or younger the last time the Borg or Vader made an appearance. Gee, I'm getting old.

[carosan]

Yeah agree with Archangle....the jet pilot thing should do the trick.
I think children are more adaptable with this sort of thing than adults & if they are tired they tend to sleep no matter what!
My now 14yr old daughter was jealous when I went for my sleep studies....she wanted to do one as well.
Hope all goes well & you get some answers.

[VikingGnome]

When I had my sleep study, there was a 7-year-old boy there for one. His mother stayed all night with him. The rooms for kids were set up with a partition for the adult to sleep on the other side but was able to hear the child if needed. The mom bought him a special toy she said he could open and play with when the study was over. He clutched it in its original packaging as he waited to be wired up. He heard him crying a little when they were wiring him up. Both the tech and mom were saying, "why are you crying?" Nothing is hurting you or will hurt you. I think he was just scared. He asked if he was going to die. No, no, no. " You're not going to die." He calmed down and I didn't hear a peep from him all night. (Of course, the rooms were so sound insulated, I didn't hear ANYTHING.)

I didn't see him in the morning. I had a split study so maybe I got done before him. If you explain to your 11-year-old about all the wires they are going to attach to him and how, I think he won't be scared. I think the 7-year-old's mom didn't know beforehand so wasn't able to explain. Some kids may have seen very sick people in the hospital or ER with oxygen mask, IVs, etc. on TV or in movie. So they might think that they are really sick or dying. Knowledge before the experience goes along way to alleviate fear.

[insylem]

I hope it goes well. I dont know what a triation or psg is im guessing its some kinda sleep study.
Good luck.