I had the sleep study from hell

[Goofproof]

First update....

It got more ludicrous.

My jaw hurts, correct? After they put the TMJ sensors on, I couldn't slack the jaw awake or asleep.
My ribs hurt, correct? The bed was way too hard.
My back hurt, correct? I was sleeping on a pile of wires.
My neck hurts, correct? I was sleeping on a pile of wires.
I couldn't breathe, correct? Crushed by the hard mattress.


Upshot? Evidently, I left the sleep center while they were on the phone to the hospital on my behalf. The nurse took those symptoms and, without checking with me, decided I must be having a heart attack! I'm supposed to go to the emergency room.

========

sometimes i think sleep center techs buy their certs at walmart

It's so handy, they have frames! Jim

[StuUnderPressure]

If that would have been me
(By the way, I am going to "my" Sleep Study tonight)

I would have brought my own pillow.
They should have told you to do that!

I would not have proceeded any further until they found the bed controller & set the hardness to my satisfaction!

And, I certainly would not have allowed them make me sleep on a pile of wires.

Thanks for your answer. This facility does not allow you to bring your own pillow.

"I" would have brought one anyway.

The idea is for you to sleep comfortably!

Why would they object to you bringing anything that makes you able to do that?

Anywho, it is always easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.

[Goofproof]

If that would have been me
(By the way, I am going to "my" Sleep Study tonight)

I would have brought my own pillow.
They should have told you to do that!

I would not have proceeded any further until they found the bed controller & set the hardness to my satisfaction!

And, I certainly would not have allowed them make me sleep on a pile of wires.

Thanks for your answer. This facility does not allow you to bring your own pillow.

"I" would have brought one anyway.

The idea is for you to sleep comfortably!

Why would they object to you bringing anything that makes you able to do that?

Anywho, it is always easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.

There are sanitary reasons for not bringing things into the sleep study, germs and bed bugs are just two. that's why the pillows are sealed in plastic, nasty humans abound.... Jim

[sc0ttt]

There are sanitary reasons for not bringing things into the sleep study, germs and bed bugs are just two. that's why the pillows are sealed in plastic, nasty humans abound.... Jim

I think I got bed bugs from the sleep center - it was either there or the hospital overnight (unrelated but about the same time).

[kteague]

I'm surprised you got anywhere near 6 hours based on that description. I'd say that alone was a win. Let's hope that was enough. If I were you I would succinctly document the facts of the night (minus the colorful descriptives) and hold onto them in case they are needed. Wait for your results and get a copy of them in hand. The report should substantiate the wake times you describe and give credibility to your complaint. If you need another night to make a diagnosis, use that documentation if negotiations are needed to make sure you are not stuck with a double bill when some of it could have been avoided (lost remote & other empty beds). If it turns out the study did capture what was needed to go forward, then just know that the bad-night-in-the-lab club has a large membership, and move forward. Many of us had nights from hell for various reasons. What's more important is that which comes after. You now have experience that can help you avoid some pitfalls if you have to go back for either another diagnostic study or a titration study. Personally, I wouldn't raise too much hell until you're on the other side of this testing phase. You can stand up for yourself without theatrics. An adverserial relationship will not be conducive to a best possible second study. If diagnosed, you could inquire if you are a candidate for taking an apap home for a couple weeks to find your pressure rather than another overnight in the lab.

[RicaLynn]

Aside from that...how did everything go?

"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how'd you like the play?"

[Okie bipap]

I would your doctor know you are not happy with the lab. After my first sleep study, I told the doctor I refused to use them again, and he found a different lab to to do the titration study. The second lab was much better. I ended up having to do the whole thing over because the doctor did not document a face to face meeting prior to scheduling the first sleep study. When his office would not answer the phone or return my calls, I found a different doctor and sleep lab. This lab was very good and had the kind of bed I needed for sleeping on (adjustable bed).

[Zeds]

I'm surprised you got anywhere near 6 hours based on that description.

They never got around to waking me up. I was awake for an hour before I realized they weren't paying attention.

The nurse who did my pre-appointment said I got enough sleep, but I'll bet she's counting the sleep I didn't get in Bed #1 and the sleep-in in Bed #2. This would affect "latency" too? She won't answer my question about whether the sleep study was invalidated.

Does "latency" have significance when analyzing the data?

[Zeds]

Aside from that...how did everything go?

Now I get it....

[RogerSC]

I'm really sympathetic to your sleep study story, I had a similar one. Out of the 7 or 8 hours that I was there, I barely got 3 hours sleep. Just enough sleep data to conclude that I have an apnea problem *smile*. Talked with my sleep doctor about it afterwards, and he said that next time he would prescribe Ambien for me. I told him that there wouldn't be a next time if I had a choice, that was it for me. Titration happened at home with an apap, that was fine, I wasn't going in for another night of that.

To summarize, the bed was also a "select comfort" that was too short and small for me to get comfortable, and the room was too noisy even with the earplugs that I brought. I lay there awake for about 5 hours. Admittedly, I'm a light sleeper at the best of times, but I don't have insomnia, thank goodness. Didn't complain a lot, though, I was trying to sleep *smile*. Went home and slept for several hours. One of the worst experiences in my entire life. Bad enough that it was over 5 years ago, and I still remember it vividly.

I haven't been asked to take another sleep study yet, I think that my sleep doctor can see that nothing has really changed from my sleep data. And I'm not sure that he'd dare to ask *smile*.

[Turner]

With my first sleep study the wires they used were so short that they told me I had to sleep on my right side. I am one that shifts positions all night.

[HoseCrusher]

Zeds, if it wasn't real it would be a very amusing story. Sorry to hear what you went through.

The bigger question is how can you use your experience to protect yourself in the future and to help others before they have similar experiences...?

Perhaps...

A letter to your doctor.

A letter to the sleep lab.

A letter to the insurance company.

A letter to sleep number beds.

There should be a way to turn these "lemons" into "lemonade."

[dbreweur]

The bed was also a "select comfort" that was too short and small for me to get comfortable,

I think the bed at the lab I went to was just a regular bed - but even for me being 5'7", less than 200 lbs for the first one, I had an impossible time fitting on the thing. No taller than I am, I spent most of the night staring at the wall, wondering how people who are 6'3" and taller fit on those beds (the tech later said a lot of people slept sitting up in the recliners that the hospital offered).

the room was too noisy even with the earplugs that I brought. I lay there awake for about 5 hours.

Mine wouldn't have been noisy - but it was so. hot. I get super hot when I sleep, and the tech just kept trying to reassure me that "most patients say it gets cold in the middle of the night". For me, it never did; that part of the hospital just seems to run much warmer than the other half (even the bathrooms in the lobby on that side run unbearably warm), but the tech wasn't able to adjust the temp beyond turning the 20-year-old-barely-operating wall-mounted fan on; Thing sounded like a jet engine half of the night.

he said that next time he would prescribe Ambien for me.

My pulminologist ended up having to prescribe an Ambien after my first study was a giant fail (The ENT that ordered the first one flat out refused to prescribe anything to help me sleep. Then again, that doctor barely told me hello at our first appointment before trying to shove the camera up my nose and down my throat, so he and I have different opinions on what makes good bedside manner)

[kteague]

The nurse who did my pre-appointment said I got enough sleep, but I'll bet she's counting the sleep I didn't get in Bed #1 and the sleep-in in Bed #2. This would affect "latency" too? She won't answer my question about whether the sleep study was invalidated. Does "latency" have significance when analyzing the data?

She can't count sleep you didn't get - your time is based on data and you are either asleep or awake. Your sleep latency will probably be affected, but that time isn't diagnostically significant to sleep apnea, just a factor relating to your sleep efficiency. The only way this would matter to your overall results is if the early hours prohibited you from having enough time to achieve what they need to see. Techs who administer the study are not permitted to give clients any info that is diagnostic. The data has not yet been interpreted by someone qualified to score the data.

[chunkyfrog]

Contact your insurance with a full account of the experience,
in case the results are invalid and the lab tries to bill you or your insurance.