Suggestions for Preparing for a Sleep Study?

I'm having another sleep study. I'm hoping they will do oxygen at this study. I'm trying to do whatever I can to make this study go better than my previous studies, which were pretty awful and didn't yield as much data as they might have because I couldn't sleep much.

If you were going to have another sleep study, what would you do differently (or the same, if it was helpful to you), either as a preparation or at the study itself, to make the most of the one night you have to gather data about your sleep?

I would wear comfy panties.

elena88 wrote:I would wear comfy panties.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah, I already figured that one out from your hilarious story.

Okay, you got that checked off?? good!


now down to business!

did your sleep doc say he/she was going to order oxygen up for your study?

My doctor told them to let me sleep late because I was an insomniac, and they didnt get that message..

so, I think triple checking on what the doc wants the sleep lab to do would be a good idea..

who is in charge of giving you the oxygen? does the sleep lab tech do that? You really want this one to count, so dont leave it up
to the usual suspects!

elena88 wrote:did your sleep doc say he/she was going to order oxygen up for your study?

Yes.

elena88 wrote:so, I think triple checking on what the doc wants the sleep lab to do would be a good idea..

Good idea. He also agreed to my request that there be no wires on my arms and legs for PLM. I should make sure that instruction makes it to the lab.

elena88 wrote:who is in charge of giving you the oxygen? does the sleep lab tech do that?

I presume it is the sleep tech. Why is that (who administers oxygen) a concern if they have the instruction to titrate oxygen?

If I had to do another PSG, I'd:

• Not eat so much protein at dinnner (made falling asleep more challenging)
• I wouldn't haul all my pillows...just my memory foam contour pillow
• Try to use my own mask if at all possible...I have severe claustrophobia & fear of suffocation making nasal & traditional FFM pretty much impossible for me to put on let alone wear. My 1st PSG was with the OptiLife pillow mask.
• Not use so many covers, I got too warm even in a cool room
• The head end of the bed felt like it was lower than the foot and that disconcerting feeling made me somehat anxious -- I'd check this early and be the first one there so I could switch beds if necessary
• Bring my eye mask and a night light so the techs don't turn on the overhead lights and wake me up fully

Hi LoQ

I would take my own pillows,
my incliner for acid reflux,
my switch on luminous clock,
my small long round pillows to separate my legs and keep off my back,
small hankies in case my nose bleeds,
and small bottles of water.

cheers

Mars

Have pasta for supper. Carbs make me sleepy. . .
Use my own pillow--maybe my own mask.
Take a fuzzy throw blanket in case it's colder than at home.
Warm milk about an hour before I'm due there.
Bottled water--nice and cool.
What? I can't bring my CAT?

elena88 wrote:I would wear comfy panties.

Next time try edible panties. Then you could always gnaw through them when the sleep tech isn't looking.

Other than the edible panties suggestion ( ), these are some really great ideas. I'm glad I asked.

For sure bring your own mask and sleeping pillow(s).
I would have sleep medication on hand as a backup. One ambien is not going to hurt you. Since you have a history of not sleeping much at sleep studies, personally I would take it without even trying to sleep without it. But then, I'm a fan of pharmaceuticals.
Sleep in the position that you normally would--ignore any instructions of theirs to the contrary.

No one talks about this but be sure to take the same precautions about bedbugs when staying in a lab for a sleep study as you would take before staying in a motel.

Sleep labs are like motels in that people come in with their suitcases, stay a night, and then leave. Motels have an increasing rate of bedbug infestations. Unfortunately many sleep labs are not aware of the bedbug problem and don't take any steps to avoid bedbugs (such as not permitting patients to bring their bedding from home).

So check for signs of bedbugs. Take as little as you can with you. Seal your clothing and wash and dry on hot when you get home--just as if you were staying at a hotel. Ask about their bedbug policy. Unfortunately some sleep labs will tell you that they can't have bedbugs because they wash the sheets on hot every night and that they clean the room. This is not sufficient. Hotels do that and they have bedbugs. Protect yourself.

I'm not opposed to pharmaceuticals, as I've taken plenty. However, my understanding is that Ambien can interfere with REM sleep. At my last study (titration) I only had events during REM (all central events, oddly enough), but I only had 13 minutes of REM. I can't afford to interfere with REM. At my diagnostic study, most of my events were during REM, though there were a few at other times.

The reason I did not sleep well at my previous studies was largely because of what THEY were doing. Most of what they did that kept me from sleeping could have been done differently. I've had a discussion about my doctor, who is at a different clinic with a different lab. I'm hoping the things I don't control can be different this time. But I also want to do my very best to make sure I do all I can to sleep well.


It does beg the question, why do sleep labs and techs pay so little attention to the things that are keeping patients from sleeping? I told my doctor that I understand the sleep techs have a mission to gather data, but that if I can't sleep, and here he finished my sentence, "the data won't be any good." He clearly understands that without sleep, the test is useless. Why don't more labs and techs GET this? It is a mystery to me.

I think I read that Sonata doesn't change sleep architecture. If I have another PSG, I would like to have Sonata with me. I had such poor diagnostic and titration studies (because of so little and very fragmented sleep) that I don't think the results were valid. My second sleep doc agrees with that.

[quote="LoQ"]I'm not opposed to pharmaceuticals, as I've taken plenty. However, my understanding is that Ambien can interfere with REM sleep. At my last study (titration) I only had events during REM (all central events, oddly enough), but I only had 13 minutes of REM. I can't afford to interfere with REM. At my diagnostic study, most of my events were during REM, though there were a few at other times.

Suppression of REM sleep here means something like reducing the percentage of REM sleep compared to baseline. So if on a normal 8 hr sleep session, you do 2 hrs of REM, on Ambien you do 1.6 (I made that up). If you do a sleep study and end up sleeping 3 hrs total without a sleep aid, you could end up with your 13 minutes again.

I'm just saying sleep studies interfere with REM by inhibiting sleep altogether. It's an open question whether for you, a sleep study without sleep aid is more REM disruptive than a sleep study + sleep aid.