I've had three done over the years. I was told in advance I could request an Ambien if I had trouble settling in and twice I did that. I'd never had an Ambien before and I haven't had one since, but it worked fine both times.

I have three suggestions for you:

- try to limit your sleep the night before (set your alarm to wake early) so that you're especially tired for the night of the test. Don't take a nap that day if that's something you do.

- take your own pillow(s), what's available in the sleep test center may not be to your liking.

- relax, have a good attitude and enjoy the unique experience.

Yes, the electrodes are a bit awkward and uncomfortable. Yes, it's a different environment from home. But, nothing hurts at all, and an accurate diagnosis will lead to an improvement in your sleep. It's so worth it, best of luck.

Email me if you'd like to discuss further.

I've heard they offer a sleeping pill, and that surprised me. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I would think being under the influence of a sedative or hypnotic would skew the results of the test. Surely someone who isn't used to a sleeping pill would sleep differently after taking one, no?

The little I know about it is based upon my personal experience as a patient. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea over 15 years ago. I have been under the continuing care since then of the same medical school's faculty clinic, one that contains several of the pioneers in the sleep medicine field. I sleep well now every night without exception.

I know that a diagnosis of sleep apnea can be suspected by the results of a physical examination by the doc but it's confirmed by an analysis of the data from a sleeping patient - brain waves to determine stages of sleep attained, then correlated with heart activity, respiration rates and blood oxygen concentrations during the sleep session. If taking a sleeping pill distorted the results, they wouldn't be used.

There are many different kinds of sleep disorders and they're neither diagnosed nor treated with the same techniques.

I have done 5 sleep studies. On 3 of those, I would have sworn that I didn't sleep. But they said I did and they got the data they needed.
On the day before the test, get up early. Don't eat or drink anything with caffeine. Don't take a nap.
Take your pillow with you. If you sleep with a fan call and ask about bringing a small fan. Ambien is a mild sleep aid. Ask if you can have one.

Except for the wires and sensors, it's just like sleeping in a motel room.

Pooh Bear

I had one done last night. Take your own pillow and fan if you sleep with one running. These two things helped a lot. The place I went to puts a lead on each shin. I couldn't tell you how many were in my hair or on my face. They put one on each temple and along my jawline. They put a strap around your waist and one around you at the armpit level. I had a nasal cannula and a pulse ox thing taped to my finger. I think I was up half the night worrying about having to use the restroom. I did use it 3 times and each time the person comes in and unhooks you from the machine. They have the wires hooked up to a central box that they hang around your neck on a lanyard while you use the restroom. They let me decide the temp of the room. I was so mad because I had curtailed my liquid intake and I had to get up more than I do at home. Come to find out my infusion set on my insulin pump had come out and my blood sugar was at 535 when I got home and I was throwing a high level of ketones. No wonder I had to pee so much! I almost ended up in the ER but managed to get it down after working at it all morning.
While it was not one of, my most favorite things to do, they did find out that I need a C-pap machine. Now maybe my restless legs will stop. Good luck, I hope to feel better when I start using it.

They usually give you an "at home" sleep test first. It is an oxymeter on your finger and will tell them abnormalities. Then they have you go to the overnight. I did not think I would fall asleep, but I did and they got the results they needed. Stopped breathing 50+ times in the 5 hour period! I then had to go and sleep with a cpap on. That was really hard as the masks did not fit me very well. Luckily they got the info they needed and I now wear a cpap at night with a well fitting nose pillow type mask and sleep SO much better!

Mare, I am your poster child. :-) I have both sleep apnea AND insomnia, something that many professionals don't seem to understand. I've only recently been able to resolve the latter issue, with the help of a terrific specialist.

Not only did I have to address the apnea with a CPAP machine (also with nasal pillows rather than a mask), but figure out why I couldn't fall/stay asleep. I underwent several kinds of testing, exercises, practices, etc. before we found the right solution for me. It turned out to be breathtakingly simple, but I needed to go through the discovery process.

Guess what? With a lot of changes on my part, and some great psychological help, I am pretty much sleeping like the proverbial log every night. It took a year of 'work' on my part, but then....everything suddenly clicked.

I'd be happy to have you contact me, as well, if interested. You can turn this around! Being tested for apnea is just part of the problem for someone with insomnia. I use the CPAP machine every night, but that's not what resolved my debilitating insomnia.

Rhizo, you can't leave us hanging this way! What was the breathtakingly simple solution??

I'm not worried that the test will be painful, but it sounds even worse than I was prepared for. I knew about the electrodes, but not about the bands around the waist and under arms. I do sleep with a fan, but It's a large stand fan, not portable. If they keep the room cool enough that shouldn't be a problem. I was wondering about getting up to use the bathroom. I usually get up about twice a nite to urinate. I guess they have that figured out. I do hope that 1 study will be sufficient. I do nap during the day, maybe if I use a cpap I'll be able to get some deep sleep at nite, not need a nap and be able to fall asleep much earlier. As it is now, I'm dragging myself thru life, too tired to enjoy anything. I really need a resolution. Thanks for all the responses.

I wish my hubby was home, but he's traveling today. He was one of the first one hundred registered Polysomnographic Technologist in the world. He's no longer in the field, but I'm sure he'd be able to answer some questions.
When is your test to take place?

Laurie, if you have restless legs, it is likely that condition is keeping you awake. I'm sorry to tell you that the condition likely needs to be treated with medication, unless it's just an annoyance.

For me, it has been a combination of going to bed later, eliminating naps, making some changes to the bed room, and learning how to reduce by heart rate/ tension by deep breathing exercises. I had been trying too hard to relax, doing all kinds of standard techniques....none of which worked. Believe me, we tried them all.

Then, one day he told me to close my eyes and just concentrate on the sound of my breathing. That's all. Big, slow breaths....and listen to the sound.

Sitting there in his office, I was able to reduce my heart rate significantly in just five minutes. That so impressed me that I knew I was more in charge of my sleep than I ever thought possible. From that day on, I've pretty much been sleeping like a baby. I do the breathing thing every night and am asleep within fifteen minutes. If I get up to pee, I just settle in and calm my brain again with the deep, slow breathing.

That was several weeks/months ago. I was officially "graduated" from his care about three weeks ago, after a year's work.

Mare, the sleep test is simply not as invasive nor as uncomfortable as you think it will be. Using the restroom isn't a problem. Take the pill because it will help you get even a little sleep. They just need to see if apnea is a part of your sleep pattern. I was never aware of the straps around me, you'll feel like a science experiment but nothing is very uncomfortable. Just don't look at yourself in the mirror or you might not be able to stop laughing for five minutes.

Oh, about your hair in the morning......don't plan on going anywhere. Lol

Talk about a great opportunity for a selfie!

Restless leg syndrome has been linked to a magnesium deficiency, Laurie. You might want to check it out.

alisande, NYU Medical Center disagrees with you, saying that there's no proven benefit in attempting to treat RLS with a variety of so-called "supplements", including magnesium. Sorry, but you seem to have a lot of misinformation on this topic.

At least in my case, using a CPAP did nothing for RLS. Nor was it supposed to. But it's very easily controlled. I take a med at bedtime that works great, I've been taking it for 15 years with consistent results.

Edit for PS

The med isn't a sleeping pill. I hardly need one, I'm usually asleep in 5 minutes or less and I usually don't wake until morning. Without the pill to suppress the leg movement, the resulting twitches would wake me every few hours.

Here is a link that might be useful: Benefit not proven for using certain supplements with RLS

This post was edited by snidely on Thu, Jul 3, 14 at 23:17

Edited to remove duplicate.

This post was edited by rhizo_1 on Fri, Jul 4, 14 at 7:58

Edited to remove duplicate.

This post was edited by rhizo_1 on Fri, Jul 4, 14 at 6:50

Snidely, you will always champion the conventional medical approach and challenge self-care. It's a given.

As I've mentioned many times before, my mother has a severe case of rls and is on her second narcotic to keep it at bay, as much as possible. She does take magnesium supplement, as it mostly likely can't hurt. The problem seems to be a lack of iron reaching the brain, which no one can quite figure out....yet.

If "self-care" is a euphemism for not seeking or following the advice of a competent physician, then yes, I think most would challenge that approach to dealing with a medical or health condition

What's the source of your information that connects this problem to a magnesium deficiency?

Snidely - what are you taking for your RLS? My DH has been suffering with this for years. He had a sleep study test done because he doesn't sleep well. He knew he had RLS but he thought it was under control. It wasn't (I knew that because I feel it every night). But it is worse than even I knew. They said his legs are moving all night long. I think I am so used to it, I don't even notice it anymore.

Alisande - how much magnesium should he be taking or should he have some type of blood test to determine if he needs it?

We are willing to explore all options. He's run out of things to try.

Sorry, Scissors, I have no idea. I don't have RLS myself, but have read that there's a correlation.

Mare when I finally said "Yes" to a sleep study I had myself worked up worrying and wondering about what would happen. When it was over I would have sworn I had not slept enough for them to monitor my stats, and I was shocked when they told me I actually slept for 4 hours (rem sleep). When the results came in I found that I had Severe Sleep Apnea - fast forward 3+ years later (I LOVE my CPap machine) I am a totally different person. Believe me the sleep study is nothing to worry about. Good luck and let us know how it went.

scissors, the drug my doc prescribes for RLS is Neurontin. I use the brand, not the generic. A simple solution, it just works. I do remember way back ( >10 years ago) the doc saying "Let's try this, and if it doesn't work for you, there are other drugs we can use".

In the absence of seeing a credible source advocating magnesium as an effective treatment for RLS. I'd stay away from it until and unless the sleep doctor suggests it.

I'm not "worried" about the sleep study in the sense that it might be painful. I'm just concerned that I will be lying there all nite, in a sleepless state, that will seem endless, and nothing will be achieved. I feel a bit better that there is the possibility of having some kind of sleep aid. I don't take anything to help me sleep now, so anything they give me should be helpful. I hope that 1 study will do the trick, I'd hate to have to go thru it several times. I know that after the initial study I'll probably have to go back and sleep with a CPAP. so it can be adjusted to my needs. My initial appt with the sleep specialist isn't til mid Aug, so I know that they will go from there and schedule the study itself. I really appreciate all of the great info from my KT family. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks again.

Scissors,

I also take Neurontin, although I take the generic form, Gabapentin. My problem is non-diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

I have numbness, tingling, and sometimes sharp shooting pains in both my feet and legs. Sharp shooting pains lead to leg jerking and twitching. Of course, everything is much more noticeable at night, LOL, and I have great relief with the gabapentin. I take a relatively small dose in the morning, and a slightly larger one just before sleep.

I have had this test done twice....first time, they said I was okay but called me back saying I quit breathing several times a minute....so had it done again and that time with a Cpac....and I will say it was the worst night of my life! Not only was it uncomfortable, but the bed was terribly hard and I sleep on my side, and I have a hip replacement on both sides, and it hurt badly. The mask must have not fit very well, because the air blew up my face and caused a sinus problem that lasted for weeks! They ordered one for me, but I have not picked it up....nor do I intend to.

I listen to relaxation tapes if I have a hard time falling asleep or take a valium to relax. I also take Gabapentin for my pains in my leg due to a blotched hip surgery that damaged my nerves and it does help a great deal.

Phoggie.....it is not a cpac as some call it. It is a CPAP (CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure) and I can tell you know nothing about it. You may want to read up on it. You said they ordered a cpap machine for you, but you never picked it up. That is really not how it works as the company supplying the cpap will send out a Respiratory Therapist with the machine and show you how to use and care for it and also how important it is to use. If one was ordered for you, you must have stopped breathing several times while asleep. Stroke, heart attack or death can happen to those who have sleep apnea and do not have it treated.
Mare, please go have the test and do as they say. It is not that bad at all, just uncomfortable and you will fall asleep if you set your mind to. Also they will check the stats on your machine (there is a data card in the machine) every 3-6 months to make sure it is still set properly for your needs. Good luck and hope you don't need this, but I will tell you I have not slept this well for years.

Hellion, thanks. I'm committed to having the sleep study done, even tho I'm dreading it. I'm desperate for an answer as to why I'm feeling as if I'm just dragging my self around. I'm barely functional at this energy level. I was hoping to be able to see the specialist sooner, but the 1st opening he had was 2 months from when my Dr's office called. I'll post a follow up after the study is done. Thanks also to everyone else for the encouragement.