Sleep Apnea Test

At my first appointment with the WL Clinic, they told me they suspect I might have sleep apnea, and I have to go for testing next Friday.  I know that I will be hooked up to multiple wires, and they will be watching my stats and have a  video feed of the room.  While I find this a little creepy, I can live with it.  I was just wondering if anyone has had this testing done and could tell me what to expect. 

If I do not suffer from sleep apnea - yeah, not another medical problem.  However, if I do suffer from it, it will waive the three month diet observation Medica requires.  Still not sure which way I want that one to go!!

Thanks for any advice you may have.

Nicole

Expect a lack of sleep and a lot of tossing and turning... especially if you usually sleep on your tummy or side. ENJOY!

Here is what I looked like at 300lbs and all wired up:

I have had a sleep study done in the past.  For me, they let me get settled into a hotel-like room with a nice bed, relax a bit, then when I was getting tired they put a bunch of sticky stuff in my hair to attach the monitoring equipment.  After she went out and I laid down to sleep, I didn't see or hear her at all for the rest of the night. 

Normally I would be bothered by people watching me too but they were so unobtrusive!  In the morning I got up, they took out the monitoring equipment and I went and took a shower.  The stuff washed right out of my hair and left no trace or damage at all.

My best advice would be to bring your own pillow and maybe a blanket you like.  We are all different as far as sleeping habits go and you will get better results and a better nights sleep with your familiar things.  Also bring things you need for a shower too as well as a book or something to get you settled in. 

Hope this helps!

I found the sleep study pretty easy.  Although I had trouble falling asleep, once I did they were able to do the test.  No problems here.  (I did have apnea, but it's gone now!!)

Thanks for all the great info.  The photo really helped Elena.  I think I know what I'm in for!  I had better not take a photo of myself all wired up or my kids would never stop laughing at me!  They'd think I'm straight off the ScyFy network!

 I did it and it really wasn't too bad.  Just remember, to them you are just another bod in the bed that they are dx'ing.  I was glad I had it so I could waive the 3 month period and just move on.  You'll most likely be "cured" from the apnea as you lose weight later, so don't worry.

Good luck!

Tess

How did the rest of your visit go?  How many nutritionist visits do you have to have?  How much weight are they having you lose?  If you get your 3 month requirement from Medica waived then how quickly will things move?  How do you feel the visit went?  Look at me Miss 20 Questions.  LoL!  I'll have to catch up with you on Saturday. 

The rest of the visit went pretty well.  I have to lose 10 pounds, and I have to have 2 more dietietion visits.  They said it should still take around the 3-4 month range.  If the diet gets waived, the surgery could be a lot quicker, 2-3 months possibly.

Otherwise feeling good about it.  If you want to be bored, I wrote a blog about it during lunch!!

See you on Saturday,

Nicole

IMHO, you might want to pack a small vial of unleaded... the gunk they used to put the wires in my hair?  Yeah... unleaded, or a chisel.

Ya, I had that done a few years ago.  Afterward, I went home and fell asleep!  You will be woken very frequently and given directions.  They have a huge amount of wires on you and it feels so weird, but tolerable.  I remember the wires kept falling off my ankle :)

Anyway, it is a one time thing and you can do it!  I sleep SO much better now and am able to get through the entire day without needing to go to my car on work breaks to take a nap!  THAT was awful!  I am so much more productive and AWAKE!

I too have Medica.  Because I had that I skipped the three months.  It was quick, but Park Nicollet (where I went) was so incredibly thorough that I was confident and went through it well.

I hope this helps!