Had my sleep study last night and soooo confused

[jeninAZ]

Im bummed. I had my sleep test last night and even though on any given night it takes me milliseconds to fall asleep, I couldnt sleep. At 2 am I finally took some tylenol sleep aid and fell asleep for about 2.5 hours but so lightly. When I woke up (on my own) at 5 am, the sleep tech said I didnt even snore. I ALWAYS snore!!!! I dont want to sound like I want to have sleep apnea, but it was the only thing that explains why I feel the way I feel and I so deperately wanted answers. I dont feel like the study is going to be even remotely accurate. I am 27 and although Im not seriously over weight I have gained 30 pounds in the last 2 years. I snore loudly, my husband says I stop breathing during the night then either sit up and say something (but never remember doing this) or gasp loudly. I now have high blood pressure that I have to take meds for but no family history of it. I hallucinate so frequently and wake up screaming that my daughter is now afraid to go to sleep at night because even though she is at the other end of the house, it wakes her up and scares her. Again, I never remember any of this. I wake up with severe headaches that sometimes last for days and I cant even begin to talk about how tired I always am. I've had MRI's, heart monitors, and no one can find anything. I swear Im not crazy! I feel so defeated and just dont know what to do next......[/i]

[Pad A Cheek]

yes it can be frustrating not feeling like you had a successful sleep study. Don't fret about the study, I thought I had not slept enough for them to make a diagnosis either and they said they got plenty of data. That is why they have so many wires and probes on you, they don't go by just snoring.
Try to be patient until the doctor can talk to you about what the study showed.
It is very hard for most of us to sleep the same in a strange place, much less all wired up that way. I would just try very hard to be patient for the results and then you can make the next move. If they did not get enough data, they will let you know.

I hope if it is sleep apnea that they work quickly to get your second sleep study done so you can begin treatment.
Take care and keep us posted, there are many kind people who have been where you are now who can help you deal with the feelings.

I hope to hear back soon how you are doing,

[NightHawkeye]

JeninAZ, rest assured you are not alone. You aren't even the first person today to talk about a sleep study which did not detect their apnea. Check out this post from earlier today:
viewtopic.php?t=8440

I failed two sleep studies myself. In my case, I wasn't sure I even had apnea, but an overnight oximeter indicated frequent oxygen desaturations, and so I got a prescription for a machine and software. Sure enough, it recorded apneas. More importantly, from the very first day with it I felt better.

One thing about xPAP therapy is that it has almost no serious side effects. That's why physicians sometimes prescribe an APAP in lieu of a sleep study. If your sleep study is negative, but you're convinced that you want to try CPAP therapy, ask your physician to prescribe an APAP. Get the monitoring software for it and simply monitor your results for a week or two at home. You'll find out very quickly whether or not apnea is the source of your problems.

One of the members here has a link to a presentation by a physician suggesting that very thing. I'll look for the link to it and post it if I find it.

Regards,
Bill

[jeninAZ]

Thanks for all your input. I guess I just wanted answers so bad I'm driving myself crazy before I get any. I'll keep you updated and thanks again. I guess I just need a voice of reason from someone who has been there. Hmph, I knew I wasnt crazy

[MichelleRae]

I kind of had the same experience I didn't sleep well despite the prescribed sleep meds and the very comfortable bed. The technician who reviewed my study called me the next day and said that my apnea was very very borderline. However she decided to review my study again and told me that I have so much pressure on my airways that my brain thinks I am not breathing which is why I always feel like someone is holding a pillow over my face when I'm sleeping.

I wish you all the luck in the world in getting a diagnosis of some sort. I just wanted to let you know you're not alone.

[snoozie_suzy]

Jen

I had a somewhat inconclusive sleep test 4 years ago, I only slept 3 out of the 6 hours, and much lighter than normal, i kept waking up, i mean consciously waking up looking at my watch, which never happened at home. My report was less than 5 AHI an hour, and for that, many insurance companies consider "sleep apnea" so i pretty much thought that the Mono I had in high school many years ago was the cause of my fatigue. Like some kind of Epstein-Barre syndrome.

In the back of my mind I wondered if the study was really a thorough or good enough one. As it turns out 4 years later, I found out it wasn't accurate. My study this past October showed I stopped breathing every minute and my AHI was almost 60/hour, which they consider severe.

So as Bill suggested in the previous post, if your report comes back negative, see if your doctor could write a script for an Auto CPAP. I wish I had found this forum 4 years ago, instead of suffering for those years thinking my test was negative and I must be crazy.

All of your symptoms seem suggestive of OSA. I will say a word of note about my sleep tech at this last study in October. He was FABULOUS. I explained that the reason my last test was so inconclusive, was the sleep tech then, kept waking me up everytime I rolled on my stomach, by calling out over the intercom. I have been a stomach sleeper since i was a baby, and I have no control over it, so instead of her just coming in the room and quietly rolling me over she woke me up startling me. This tech this time let me start out sleeping however I wanted and then after 45 mins came in and quietly turned me, I hardly remember it. The point is, my test was more thorough and less interruptions by external environmental things.

Good luck, we all look forward to hearing what happens next with your results. The people on this forum are fantastic. I am so much more educated due to the information and compassion found here.

Suzy

[Jere]

I had a horrid experience the first time I had a study. I KNOW I did not sleep a wink that night (and then they had me stay for the next day - figuring that eventually I would fall asleep). The techs and docs were rude and officious. And this was at John Hopkins - supposedly the No. 1 sleep lab in the country (at the time).

Fast forward 7 years and (after a little arm twisting) I agreed to a second test, which went very well (especially since this doctor would let me take sleep meds). The techs were terrific and put me at ease.

So, don't let one bad experience keep you from getting treatment. Get info advance, find out if you can take a sleep med (or 2). Reading these boards will give you a good understanding of what to expect.

[rested gal]

One thing about xPAP therapy is that it has almost no serious side effects. That's why physicians sometimes prescribe an APAP in lieu of a sleep study. If your sleep study is negative, but you're convinced that you want to try CPAP therapy, ask your physician to prescribe an APAP. Get the monitoring software for it and simply monitor your results for a week or two at home. You'll find out very quickly whether or not apnea is the source of your problems.

One of the members here has a link to a presentation by a physician suggesting that very thing. I'll look for the link to it and post it if I find it.

Regards,
Bill

Not Every Patient Needs to Go to the Sleep Lab Powerpoint presentation by a well respected board certified sleep doctor/pulmonologist, Dr. Barbara Phillips, at a meeting of the American Lung Association of the Central Coast - November 2004

[Guest]

One thing you need to consider is the impact of any meds that you may be taking, if any.

I have an unoperable pinched nerve in my neck that causes me tremendous pain at times and after going to numerous pain specialists, I was prescribed high dose of Oxycotin.(I previously had major spine surgery to repair the problem, but it was not effective) This medicine was causing all kind of problems to include central sleep apnea.

I was finally convinced to stop taking the Oxycotin and my last sleep lab, while still finding sleep disorders, showed no more central apnea and the recommended pressure was quite different from the first three studies., I originally was recommended setting up to the max (20 cm). Last study recommended 10 cm max pressure. Because of the meds, I needed 4 studies to get reasonable results! Of course, the pain from the pinched nerve is now worse than ever, but that's a difference story!!!

[jeninAZ]

Thank you Bill for that link, it was oh so helpful. How insulted would my Dr. be if I emailed it to her!! (Actually, she has been great so far).

Guest- I dont think my meds affected my sleep study. Its a prett simple med for high blood pressure. Which at 27 and being in fairly good shape in spite of this odd, unending weight gain that has started recently (past few years), is a little unusual in and of itself. The highblood pressure was found by accident when I went in for a sinus infection! Dr. was sort of thinking that it was likely cause by the sleep apnea. Do you think they could have an affect? Like I said, I dont, but I sure dont know everything!

[NightHawkeye]

Thank you Bill for that link, it was oh so helpful. How insulted would my Dr. be if I emailed it to her!! (Actually, she has been great so far).

Thanks RG for the link!

Jen, I once took in a medical journal article (not apnea related) to my physician on something I hadn't had success with her about previously. There was not even a protest. It becomes very difficult for a physician to argue against something when you've got solid evidence from a respected medical journal supporting your request. It pretty much puts you in the driver's seat for a change (as you need to be when dealing with physicians).

Your physician may be a little uncomfortable with that arrangement, but she'll adjust. From what you say, I doubt she would be insulted though, but I'd recommend that you not be too concerned about that. .

Keep us posted on progress.

Regards,
Bill

[needingu]

Thanks for all your input. I guess I just wanted answers so bad I'm driving myself crazy before I get any. I'll keep you updated and thanks again. I guess I just need a voice of reason from someone who has been there. Hmph, I knew I wasnt crazy

***
I had 2 sleep studies which failed-could not sleep. The third 9 years later I ask for something to make sure I slept as I was prerry sure I had a problem. Ambien 10 mg. was prescribed ..was told it would not interefer with the test.. I slept all night..was waken at 2:30 A.M. by technician to fit the masks. Took the worry from my mind. I was asleep in mnutes.
Good Luck