Sleep Study

Well, Just came in a short bit ago from my sleep study evaluation..I lost another 4 lbs which was good news but the doc came in concerned about my bp being way too high..I take my meds and watch what I eat so do not know what else I can do to lower it. She said she believes it is from the apnea and some leg thing, not sure what she called it. restless leg syndrome or something maybe?? I donno. Anyways she said she wanted me in asap for the study because she believes I am suffering from a very bad case of apnea and the way she described it suffering from not getting enough oxygen which keeps my bp up, even on my meds and is causing swelling in my heart and therefore I am at risk of heart attack and stroke.. she is confident this cpap thing will help alot, we will see.. she had me scheduled to go back tonight for the sleep study itself but due to transportation problems it will have to wait until the 18th and then the 19th for the cpap study part.. I am NERVOUS now and I wasn't before..Have to be there from 8pm - 7am.. I do not have a clue how I will possibly be able to sleep that long lol.. At home I am lucky to sleep a total of 4 hrs a night and that is in sperts.. but 7 whole hours attached to wires.. I don't see in my future lol.. would sure be nice tho if they can help me to be able to sleep! Has anyone else had thier sleep study done at Baptist sleep Institute? in Knoxville? I am so nervous as to what to expect.. I forgot to ask if I have to wear thier dreaded hospital gowns that NEVER cover even half of this huge bootay! or can I wear my own.. anyways, thanks for lettin me vent Dawn Knoxville

Hello Dawn, when i went for my sleep study,not in knoxville in franklin tenn. where i live i took to much stuff with me including my fan,but didn't need it they have all that stuff thier.I did take my own night gown with me and they gave me something to help me sleep so it was ok.They did give me a hospital gown to wear for a while b/c it was so cold in the room.They say they keep it that way for us big people to sleep better.lol.I think you will do fine. hope this helps. Eva

Thank you Eva.. that is encouraging I just figure I'll not let myself nap any at all the day I go in and maybe, just maybe I will sleep atleast long enough for the study to be read without more pills..we will see. btw, they dont like stand over you when you sleep do they? Would hate to druel all over with someone watching lol not to mention my snoring could raise the DEAD! Dawn

Good Morning Dawn! I'm glad to see your doctor appointment went well! But to answer your question - They don't stand over you! When I had my sleep study down this is what happened.... You go in to a room which looks alot like a hotel room. Big bed, Chair, TV, Bathroom.... They'll have you get ready for bed (Wear something comfortable and big, so the wires won't bug you to much)... Then they'll hook you to the wires - its uncomfortable but to bad! They'll have a video camera facing the bed to watch you while you sleep and keep an eye on the machines and such. The only time they should come in the room is if you've ripped a wire off in your sleep or to check the machines... Don't worry about your snoring and such - This is what they do for a living and I'm sure no matter how bad you think you are sleeping, they've probably seen worse! Hope you get your appointment soon! By the way, It was nice chatting with you the other day! Have a great day... -Katie

Good Morning to you too Katie! Thanks for responding to my post. It sounds ok..I went to bed last night only to toss and turn yet again and couldn't stop worrying about it..I am sure it wont be anything like I have pictured in my mind. She just kinda spooked me yesterday when I was in her office, I knew my bp was up, I can always feel it in my head and my hands and feet always burn like they're on fire and my chest gets to feeling very heavy..so I wasn't surprised at it when she said it was up..however I didn't expect her to tell me that I could wake up to either a heart attack or a stroke due to that and the apnea thing..I guess I was a bit paranoid about going to sleep because it kept echoing in my head. One thing is for sure however, I am gonna stop smoking no matter what it takes! Lord I hope I can do it! Have smoked more than 20 years. Anyways, will see what happens the 18th. Do you know much about the leg thing, restless leg syndrome? was doing some searching on it last night too and I found the description of it and such but nothing about how they treat it or anything. Just curious. This is something I always assumed was due to me not being able to relax enough or taking too many medications I sure never associated it to being a sleeping disorder or thought it was something that could be treated somehow. Maybe there will be help after all I enjoyed talking with you yesterday as well.. you're such a sweety and you will be alot of fun. I hope we get a chance to meet sometime in person, as I think we can have alot of fun together. I stay invisible alot on yahoo but feel free to message anytime. I will answer if I am there. Have a super great day all! Dawn Knoxville

hi there Dawn , relax over that sleep study . i do polysomnography at indian path hospital in kingsport tn and bristol regional hospital in bristol tn . we are here to help you not torture ya with wires .Indeed sleep apnea can be the cause of your blood pressure staying high . sleep apnea effects a whole lot of things they are finding out ,blood pressure just being one of them .as far as you sleeping , most that come in say the same thing , they dont know if they can sleep with all the wires and just the anticipation of somone else watching them sleep but im here to tell ya that most sleep quiet well . very seldom do i have a pt that just cant sleep . your room should be quiet comfy and look somewhat like a motel room with a digital cam . they will watch and monitor you through this cam . the only time the techs come in to disturb you will be if they have a bad wire or you pull one lose and they get a bad connection . we monitor you from the control room and if i have to go into a pt room i will come on the intercom and let you know it before i enter the pt room. if you really think you might need a sleep aide you might want to consult the doctor that ordered the sleep study and make arrangements for this ahead of time . we are not nurses and usually can not give out meds unless we have a doctors order for such. for insurance purposes you will have to have at least 6 hours of recording for your insurance to pay for the study . most places will require 6.5 to insure they have the data they need .if you do qualify most labs will go ahead and do what they call a split night study . they will go ahead and treat the apnea if you indeed have it .this saves you money and the insurance company money .i would suspect if you are not sleeping but a few hours at night that you do have some degree of apnea . the restless leg they find usually in pt that have diabetes or a chronic pain condition . this is usually treated with drugs such as ...klonipine. and yes you can wear your own gown . just dont take anything silky or satiny .Hope this lil bit of info helps you some . Elizabeth

Thank You Elizabeth for your insight of this whole thing. I am relaxing more about it and realizing that in the long run It can only help me and hopefully make me feel better. I have been doing alot of reading about sleep apnea and etc and I have seen alot of comments about how much better these people feel after using the cpap and etc. SO I am anxiously awaiting the 18th in hopes of maybe being able to feel more human after a little help from the sleep clinic. Thank You!! Dawn