Is this normally the way a sleep lab works?

tiredmama · Post by **tiredmama** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 10:00 am

I'm a night owl and have only been to sleep studies that are geared toward earlier sleepers. I had one several years ago where I had to be there relatively early, maybe 7? and I was regularly going to sleep between 12-1. Being in the same room for so long was horrible for my sleep hygiene and it was so hard to sleep with all the stuff hooked up to me. I slept very little and woke frequently (due to wire tangles or pulling them off as I moved) and in the end had mild apnea but not enough to treat. I wish I knew where the results of that study were now because it would be interesting to look at! I also wonder if I really slept long enough to consider it a good study.

Fast forward to this year and I was nervous about being able to sleep, but since I'd been napping so frequently and didn't nap on study day (per instructions), I was able to fall asleep before midnight. The tech woke me up far earlier than I ever wake, apparently because the other study participant was done and she wanted to get stuff cleaned up and go home. She could tell I was anxious about getting enough sleep this time around and tried to soothe my worries as she hooked me up to stuff. She also said many people come in with something to take to help them sleep. If I remember correctly, with the lab for the first study, I wasn't supposed to take anything to help me sleep. So they noted I had trouble falling asleep...well, duh, I had trouble with that in my own comfy bed with no wires. Anyhow, when I went back for my titration, I brought benadryl, which is my go-to sleed aid. It's what's in unisom, etc. And it really did help me sleep! I wish I'd known for the first night.

I've taken Ambien once and did not like the way it affected me. If you know you'll be able to sleep all night, it might be better, but I was waking up to go to the bathroom and was stuck between dream and awake land, hallucinating as I kept dreaming while awake. Most docs and nurses seem to recommend Ambien as a sleep aid, but if your main problem is initiating sleep, I find benadryl works very well.

Sloop · Post by **Sloop** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 10:07 am

No one ever seems to tout melatonin as being effective .... and I don't understand why? The sublingual kind (under the tongue) puts you to sleep in a NY minute.

tiredmama · Post by **tiredmama** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 10:27 am

Sloop, where do you find your sublingual melatonin? I'd be interested in trying it. I try to reserve sleep aids for rare occasions and I know from some times when I needed Benadryl for its antihistamine properties that it will make me very sleepy, so I feel comfortable going for what I know works for the maybe 2 times a year when I take something to help me sleep.

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 10:29 am

Sloop wrote:No one ever seems to tout melatonin as being effective .... and I don't understand why?

I tried Melatonin.. I had a real unpleasant side effect (read the literature as it has some nasty side effects for some people) which was extreme vertigo. Pretty much immediate onset (about 30 minutes) which lasted well into the next morning and this was with the smallest dose possible. I was literally bouncing off walls just getting ready for bed and making last trip to the bathroom.

Any drug (RX or OTC) has the potential to create problems for some people..not all people though.
Ambien is bad news for some people but not bad news for all people. Aspirin is bad news for some people but not all people.
Melatonin is bad news for me but lots of people use it without any problems what ever.
People should evaluate any potential side effects for any drug they take and discuss it with their physician if they are concerned.
Ambien was given to me by my sleep doctor so that I could hopefully get some sleep at the sleep study and even after I was on the machine because of severely fragmented sleep. I have zero issues with Ambien whether I took it every night for 6 months or now on a prn basis. It's been 3 years now.
I educate myself on the potential side effects prior to taking it on a regular or semi regular basis just like I would any medication I might decide to try and this includes OTC stuff even if it is "natural".

I am so sorry that your wife had such an adverse reaction to Ambien. It obviously was bad news for her and she shouldn't have been taking it. Weird things happen to some people even with the most benign of medications. That doesn't make it bad news for everyone though. I had a family member who had a problem with Ambien and doing the weird stuff during the night. So I know it surely does happen to some people but there are many, many people who take it like me and have no issues at all.

All drugs carry risks and side effects. Everyone should educate themselves as to what they are and discuss them with their physician when concerns are present. The risk versus benefits thing applies to anything we ingest.

Sloop · Post by **Sloop** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 10:35 am

tiredmama wrote:Sloop, where do you find your sublingual melatonin? I'd be interested in trying it. I try to reserve sleep aids for rare occasions and I know from some times when I needed Benadryl for its antihistamine properties that it will make me very sleepy, so I feel comfortable going for what I know works for the maybe 2 times a year when I take something to help me sleep.

I buy mine at GNC stores. They have a reputation for quality in all of their products. It comes in a 1 mg tab that is cherry flavored. My wife uses 2 at night, I use 3, but then again I am twice her size.

Being that the sublingual tab is so fast acting, you really shouldn't take it until lights out. Not once in over 10 years has it failed to put me to sleep inside of 5 minutes.

GumbyCT · Post by **GumbyCT** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 1:20 pm

Not all labs work the same way...

Six months after 2 PSG's My sleep lab wanted to charge me for a 3rd bc they failed to get more than 109 min of dx time - 120 min is required by Medicare. So after two back to back nites there they failed to get what was needed and flat refused to do a 3rd at no charge to me. But of course they did NOT sell DME equipment either. They were fired after that.

123.Shawn T.W. wrote:This place does have variety of masks to try, as they are also a DME

DING -DING - DING - DING

This should be sending off alarm bells - loud and clear. You think their interest is where?

GumbyCT · Post by **GumbyCT** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 1:26 pm

tiredmama wrote:Sloop, where do you find your sublingual melatonin?

I think you can place almost any Melatonin tabs under your tongue. That is how I always use mine but I cut a 300mcg tab in half too.

You can put an aspirin under your tongue if you so choose.

Because OTC meds are NOT regulated they can/do contain a wide variety of fillers which can cause side or ill effects easily. Use any OTC med w/caution.

Sir NoddinOff · Post by **Sir NoddinOff** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 4:37 pm

Sloop wrote:No one ever seems to tout melatonin as being effective .... and I don't understand why? The sublingual kind (under the tongue) puts you to sleep in a NY minute.

Some people's neurological systems are not geared to respond to it... I am one of them. Long ago, I took it for something like a month, at a rate of 3mgs per night (I think that's the dose, ie. the middle range). Didn't do squat and my doctor said it just doesn't work for some people. Too bad for me, because it sounds like a good homeopathic solution. Same with Valerian and all the other traditional sleep cures.

GumbyCT · Post by **GumbyCT** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 5:57 pm

Sir NoddinOff wrote:
Sloop wrote:No one ever seems to tout melatonin as being effective .... and I don't understand why? The sublingual kind (under the tongue) puts you to sleep in a NY minute.
Some people's neurological systems are not geared to respond to it... I am one of them. Long ago, I took it for something like a month, at a rate of 3mgs per night (I think that's the dose, ie. the middle range). Didn't do squat and my doctor said it just doesn't work for some people. Too bad for me, because it sounds like a good homeopathic solution. Same with Valerian and all the other traditional sleep cures.

Some say that melatonin should be taken 2-3 hrs before bed. I only take a 1/2 tab IF I have trouble getting top sleep so it's never that early for me.

Taking too much can stop your body from secreting the homegrown stuff.

Sloop · Post by **Sloop** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 6:20 pm

Sir NoddinOff wrote:
Sloop wrote:No one ever seems to tout melatonin as being effective .... and I don't understand why? The sublingual kind (under the tongue) puts you to sleep in a NY minute.
Some people's neurological systems are not geared to respond to it... I am one of them. Long ago, I took it for something like a month, at a rate of 3mgs per night (I think that's the dose, ie. the middle range). Didn't do squat and my doctor said it just doesn't work for some people. Too bad for me, because it sounds like a good homeopathic solution. Same with Valerian and all the other traditional sleep cures.

I have emphasized time and time again that you need to try SUBLINGUAL melatonin. Did you try that?

I too tried regular melaton over the course of several years, all kinds including timed-release. Didn't do squat for me. But the sublingual is a whole new story.

Sir NoddinOff · Post by **Sir NoddinOff** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 6:45 pm

Sloop wrote:
I have emphasized time and time again that you need to try SUBLINGUAL melatonin. Did you try that?

Thanks for the clarification, Sloop, but I really don't need anything these days. I fall asleep naturally.

zoocrewphoto · Post by **zoocrewphoto** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 2:28 am

Sloop wrote:No one ever seems to tout melatonin as being effective .... and I don't understand why? The sublingual kind (under the tongue) puts you to sleep in a NY minute.

I've never tried it, but I used to participate in a group for night owls. Most people there were trying to become normal. And most people had little success with melatonin. I think it depends on what causes the delayed sleep. If it is normal time to sleep, and you can't, then it may work very well. But those of us who have delayed sleep phase syndrome (meaning that our circadian rhythms are off by some period of time), it isn't going to work so well. Why? Because it isn't just sleep that is out of phase. It is ALL of our rhythms. Temperature, hormones, digestive, temperature, etc. Changing one, but not the others, just makes us sick. I can do it when I have to, but I feel horrible. I go back to my normal time, and I feel great again.

I left the group because I had no interested in becoming normal, and clearly that was what most people were discussing. I am used to it, and i like it. Sure, there are times when it is a problem. But I can deal with that.

123.Shawn T.W. · Post by **123.Shawn T.W.** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:56 am

OK, this thread seems to have drifted off into orally taken sleep inhancing substances ... I know ... I did mention it in passing ...

So ... So far it apears that nobody has gotten the second test for free, and one opinion that it is because they also are a DME ... I hope this is not the case ... I DO plan on taking a list in with make, model and price!

archangle · Post by **archangle** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:48 am

123.Shawn T.W. wrote:OK, this thread seems to have drifted off into orally taken sleep inhancing substances ... I know ... I did mention it in passing ...

So ... So far it apears that nobody has gotten the second test for free, and one opinion that it is because they also are a DME ... I hope this is not the case ... I DO plan on taking a list in with make, model and price!

Well, then I must be perfect, because nobody's perfect.

I got the second test free.

Sloop · Post by **Sloop** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:44 am

zoocrewphoto wrote:
Sloop wrote:No one ever seems to tout melatonin as being effective .... and I don't understand why? The sublingual kind (under the tongue) puts you to sleep in a NY minute.

I've never tried it, but I used to participate in a group for night owls. Most people there were trying to become normal. And most people had little success with melatonin.

I can almost guarantee you that the kind of melatonin they were using WAS NOT sublingual.

Is this normally the way a sleep lab works?

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