I get to do a sleep study!

[Trekker4747]

Had a meeting with my PCP today and she's going to set me up in a sleep study, thinking I might suffer from sleep apnea.

Sounds like fun... ?

I just hope it's not too much like how you see it happening in TV shows with all of the electrodes on your head and I certainly hope it doesn't involve sleeping on my back which I can't do as I have very spazy sleep on back and bouts of sleep paralysis.

 

[Misfit Toy]

I've done it and yeah, it was a little awkward with all the sensors and wires, and having to ask for help in disconnecting so I could get up and pee.

The end result was that they recorded that I stopped breathing over 500 times in seven hours. The good news is that I have a CPAP now and sleep better than I ever have...

 

[Amaris]

Hope everything works out for you, Trekker. I've thought about having a sleep study done, because I'm certain that there are times during the night where I stop breathing. I was told that when I was a baby I had that problem. I would just stop breathing, and they'd tape on my arm or my foot and I'd start up again.

 

[Trekker4747]

I've done it and yeah, it was a little awkward with all the sensors and wires, and having to ask for help in disconnecting so I could get up and pee.

The end result was that they recorded that I stopped breathing over 500 times in seven hours. The good news is that I have a CPAP now and sleep better than I ever have...

Is that that stupid thing they had Junior Soprano wear for his sleep apnea? Is that the best we can do of it, not sure how I can sleep with that device in there, and the machine that operates it. But we'll see what happens, I suppose.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I've done it and yeah, it was a little awkward with all the sensors and wires, and having to ask for help in disconnecting so I could get up and pee.

The end result was that they recorded that I stopped breathing over 500 times in seven hours. The good news is that I have a CPAP now and sleep better than I ever have...

Is that that stupid thing they had Junior Soprano wear for his sleep apnea? Is that the best we can do of it, not sure how I can sleep with that device in there, and the machine that operates it. But we'll see what happens, I suppose.

Yeah, CPAPs are the most effective treatment... unless you are interested in a tracheotomy.

 

[Trekker4747]

Ugh.

We, we'll see. I'm not sure if I could sleep with that device but, IIRC, there's other methods too (sleep positions, being one thing.)

But we'll see how the sleep study goes first, I suppose.

But, I saw the doctor today and told her that I'm frequently tired. The other day, I got up and had a cup of coffee at 5am before going to work, half-way into my shift I had a Red Bull with my lunch, then after work while driving to my Sunday DnD game I had a large Coke from McDonalds. So, a LOT of caffeine over the course of 12 hours. I got home after my game at about 6 in the evening and I could've gone to bed right there. I was that tired, and I had a full night's sleep. (About 8 hours.)

Yesterday, I woke up at 9 am (about 10 hours of sleep), a cup of coffee and I ended up still needing a nap by mid-morning and another nap in the afternoon. It's just like whatever sleep I'm getting at night isn't doing me any licks of good.

And I must be immune to caffeine.

 

[Kestra]

Have you had other things checked? Last time I was tired they found that my TSH was over 200. Have your thyroid checked.

 

[Goliath]

Is that that stupid thing they had Junior Soprano wear for his sleep apnea?

Yes. Though I wear a version that covers the mouth as well as the nose.

The sleep study is not so bad, though I wasn't expecting to have electrodes stuck to my head with some kind of goo. It washes off easily enough.

A CPAP machine is fairly easy to get used to, especially if you can get a Bi-PAP. This senses when you're exhaling, and temporarily lowers the air pressure, making it easier. The one problem I've noticed is that it makes it impossible to roll over while you sleep. I generally wind up sleeping on one side all night, which can get pretty uncomfortable by morning.

But it's worth it. My machine has made a huge difference in my life. By the time I was diagnosed and treated, my sleep apnea had worn me down to the point that I was falling asleep at my desk at work, and even nodding off in the middle of conversations. If I drove a car, I probably would have fallen asleep at the wheel and crashed.

Yesterday, I woke up at 9 am (about 10 hours of sleep), a cup of coffee and I ended up still needing a nap by mid-morning and another nap in the afternoon. It's just like whatever sleep I'm getting at night isn't doing me any licks of good.

If you're suffering from sleep apnea, then that is exactly the problem: it isn't doing you any licks of good. You can "sleep" as long as you want, and you'll still be tired.

Two things my doctor pointed out: are you often waking up in the middle of the night, to go to the bathroom? And are you always pulling your bedclothes out while you sleep? Apparently these are both signs and symptoms of sleep apnea.

 

[Trekker4747]

I went through thyroid tests last year, or two years ago, hell I can't remember. It seemed swollen to my PCP and she felt some bumps in it. so she sent me to an otolaryngologist. The ENT doctor had me get an ultrasound on the thyroid where growths were seen and I was then given a radioactive iodine pill and then a scan the next day to see how the thyroid processed it.

In short, the thyroid was "working fine" as my blood levels were all normal and it properly handled the radioactive iodine. (No super powers were granted to me. ) The growths were gone when I was checked over again a year after the initial scan.

My PCP today got some blood from me for more blood work and is going to set me up with a sleep-study.

 

[Kestra]

Well, tests done a year or two years ago aren't representative of your current health so it's good you're getting more done. My TSH shot up from a normal range to over 200 in a month, to give you an idea. I hope the sleep study gives you some answers.

 

[Trekker4747]

I think I last saw the ENT/had the ultrasound done this past Summer where he determined my thyroid fine. But I am having blood work done now so if my thyroid levels are off that may help.

I'm just sick of being tired all of the time.

 

[ancientone51]

Good luck Trekker. I probably should get my sleep check, according to the daughter I snore...a lot.

 

[Trekker4747]

Friend and I took a trip up to Omaha this past June and shared a hotel room, he told me I snore pretty bad.

 

[propita]

Have you had other things checked? Last time I was tired they found that my TSH was over 200. Have your thyroid checked.

Exactly what I thought!

I had a different TSH test. Though "2.0" is in range on the test I had, I do best around 1.5. So when I was over 5.0, I was sleeping about 18 hours a day. Yeah.

A quick check for thyroid problems--have the "moons" at the bases of your fingernails significantly shrunk or outright disappeared? I've read this happens, for some strange reason.

 

[Kestra]

Have you had other things checked? Last time I was tired they found that my TSH was over 200. Have your thyroid checked.

Exactly what I thought!

I had a different TSH test. Though "2.0" is in range on the test I had, I do best around 1.5. So when I was over 5.0, I was sleeping about 18 hours a day. Yeah.

A quick check for thyroid problems--have the "moons" at the bases of your fingernails significantly shrunk or outright disappeared? I've read this happens, for some strange reason.

No, it's the same test. I went from 1.7 to 200+ in the span of a month. It's under better control now.

 

[Misfit Toy]

Have you had other things checked? Last time I was tired they found that my TSH was over 200. Have your thyroid checked.

Exactly what I thought!

I had a different TSH test. Though "2.0" is in range on the test I had, I do best around 1.5. So when I was over 5.0, I was sleeping about 18 hours a day. Yeah.

A quick check for thyroid problems--have the "moons" at the bases of your fingernails significantly shrunk or outright disappeared? I've read this happens, for some strange reason.

No, it's the same test. I went from 1.7 to 200+ in the span of a month. It's under better control now.

I didn't think we were supposed to mention our tushes.

 

[TheSeeker]

Have fun with the sleep study. I went to one after my wife and I started living together and she discovered that I snored like a freight train. I found it very hard to get to sleep with all those wires attached to me.

The good news is that I am just a really loud snorer. I didn't stop breathing once.

Good luck. I hope they can figure out what's making you so tired.

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

I did one about 2 years ago. Wired up like a Christmas tree. Found out I had mild apnea mostly caused by a deviated septum. The right side of my nose was about 95% obstructed.

Following a septoplasty, I don't have the problem any more.

It's so nice to be able to breathe out of both sides of my nose.

 

[T'Baio]

Trekker, one thing I would recommend is to lay off the caffeine, all of it. It's probably making things far worse. It will suck for a week, but then you'll start feeling better. That much caffeine WILL make you MORE tired.

Secondly, do you exercise regularly and well?

 

[RevDMV]

Hey another sleep study thread.

I've had a couple of tests, both negative on apnea.

I too snore like a freight train. Not really over weight, just some excess structure in the soft tissue. So far I've been using a mouth piece that moves and holds my lower jaw in place at night, and I'm quiet.

They tried to put the CPAP on me during the sleep test and I'll have none of it. IT just doesn't work for me. (The whole drowning feeling thing, I have an awful gag reflex)

Good luck with the test, as others have said you'll feel completely different with a good nights sleep.