.

[secret agent girl]

.

[roster]

What is the connection between the poll and what you wrote in the OP?

[snnnark]

Having voted yes, I like to say that for you, maybe taking a pill is not the thing to do. You already know you have OSA and have been titrated etc. So doing the study as naturally as possible would bring you closer to your goal.

[MoonBear]

Hi,

You mention pain issues, and I have had decades of chronic pain. Chronic pain needs to be addressed. Whether it's at an 8 or a 3. Minor chronic pain will completely drain you and exhaust you on it's own without apnea. Pain issues are not unlike apnea issues in that you rally need to be forceful to make some doctors set up a regimen for dealing with pain that is effective.

I would highly recommend a book called "Full Catastrophe Living" by Jon Kabbat-Zinn. Whatever pain level you are experiencing, this book and it's accompanying Body Scan CD may make an enormous difference.

As a newbie to this, I can see that cpap will save my life and also greatly enhance e quality of my life, but I also know there may be other issues that cpap will not cure. Getting through all this strikes me as a giant puzzle more than a maze. Maybe for you, the pain issue will need to be addressed so your body has a better chance of surrendering to sleep.

Good luck, and if I can serve you in any way, please write me.

Namaste,
moonBear

[JohnBFisher]

I'm not certain I would take a sleeping pill (in your case) during the sleep study. However, finding an answer to the issue may require medication to help you with your issues. And as another poster noted, mild chronic pain can also distrub sleep.

Do I remember correctly that you had a high number of spontaneous arousals during previous sleep studies? If they are not associated with breathing or movement of your body, they could be due to that pain. Laying still for a long time can cause twinges of pain that arouse you.

The doctor who recommends this, might be hunting to see if your sleep architecture is fairly normal if those mild arousals can be supressed. You might want to ask WHY the doctor recommends the medication.

I have issues with spontaneous arousals - due to my neurological issues. As a result, I find it helps to take the generic of Remeron (an anti-depressant with a known side effect of increasing sleepiness). This is off label work, but it seems to help me improve my sleep. When I don't take it, my sleep is VERY light and frustrating. With it, I do sleep better.

So, just my two cents worth, but hopefully it provides some food for thought.

[brazospearl]

Secret Agent Gal, I'm sorry to hear you're still not feeling better. It certainly seems that some other matters need to be investigated. As another chronic pain sufferer, I completely understand how that can disrupt sleep.

What does the doc think taking a sleep med before the study will do to increase the chance of getting valuable info to help you?

[john_dozer]

I'm sure it limits the value of the study.

But zero hours of sleep in your study has no value.

[jbn3boys]

I voted yes, because I took a sleeping pill for my sleep study. I took one routinely at home, so they wanted me to do whatever I normally do at home.

But after reading your post, I could see why your doctor may want you to go without. If your doctor has been helping you, or is at least aware of all of your issues (apnea, awakening, and pain), then I would take that doctor's advise. If, however, you do not trust this doctor, or feel like something is "off", then it may be time to find a different doctor.

[TheDuke]

Over the years I have had several overnight tests with different doctors. One test at a nationally famous University Hospital suggested that I take Ambien before the test, however my last test at a local hospital specified not to take any sleep aids. I suppose that there are differing views among sleep medicine doctors.As another poster commented, if the patient doesn't sleep reasonably well, the test is not very useful.

TheDuke

[jazzer4]

Before my sleep study I had not slept much in the 4 previous days.
They told me to not take anything.
About 3 hours into the test they came in and gave me Zaleplon.
I had not been asleep yet.
Then, as my results say, I slept for about 60 minutes and there was no rem sleep.

So tell me, what good was that study?

They told me I had apneas and they were right as I feel wonderful on my machine.

I have no good advise, but if I had it to do over again I would be sure to take "something" to make me sleep.

[RDawkinsPhDMPH]

Interesting commentary on the evolution of the sleep field.... Years ago the focus was on sleep disorders but for $$$ reasons it is now almost exclusively sleep apnea ignoring the other 80ish sleep disorders. And it's a misconception that the test is a total waste if the person doesn't sleep well... in fact, it probably tells you more about what they normally do.

In our lab, we do not usually have someone take a sleeping pill if they do not usually take a sleeping pill. On the other hand, if the person is a chronic sleep aid taker (ie hypnotic dependent) then we do not take them off the sleep aid for their study as they will then have a rebound insomnia, which would only prove the obvious. If someone is an occasional sleeping pill taker, then we tell them to bring the sleeping pill and take it only if they need it. In other words, we tell them to do what they would normally do.

[freshair]

On my first visit to the sleep clinic I was told I needed to sleep at least 5 hrs to get a good chart reading--I told them that I took a sleep aid and the technician said that it wouldn't be a problem---the name of the game here folks is getting some good sleep therapy --ever how you get there does take outside intervention or you wouldn't be at a sleep clinic in the first place--pills, machine, rose petals,warm bath,sounds of running water,counting sheep,rain falling,reading, strobe lite, strobe lite???--astral projection--Oops thought I was back in the mid 1960's--peace out to all--FA

[SnoozyQ]

If you don't regularly take medication to sleep, then I would say no. Let them get an accurate view of what's going on in your "natural state" so they can evaluate any patterns or concerns. Something could be going on in that small window of time that you do sleep. If you don't sleep AT ALL, then they can see that and proceed from that point. All of those leads stuck to you can give them all kinds of data, so let them get it and analyze it.

Taking something you are not accustomed to could throw the study way off and delay treatment.


Good luck!

[KimberlyM]

I've had two sleep studies since November. The first was a split study and I only slept 110 minutes, so they couldn't titrate me. They told me I would probably need to get a sleeping pill from my doctor for the next one. I went to the doctor and he said he wouldn't give me one, so on to the titration where they only hit my optimal titration for 69 minutes. Now I am on CPAP at 7cm and experiencing a lot of centrals to where my AHI is around 13 per hour all night. I went to the sleep doctor and of course they want me to have another study, this time with a sleeping pill because he felt enough data had not been collected. I and my insurance company will now be into this for about $8,500 in sleep studies. I would say that if you think you may not sleep, take the pill. If your first tests were not sufficient to get a clear picture of what is going on (other than that you do have OSA), then you may need the pill for the correct amount of data to be collected for proper treatment.

[secret agent girl]

.