Sleep study w/o sleep

So my beautiful, fretful wife tells me that not only do I snore like a chainsaw, but sometimes I stop breathing in the night. I found out sleep apnea was a likely culprit, and had my doctor refer me to a sleep study.

It was supposed to be tonight (September 5), but I only made it to 3:00am. They stuck about ten electrodes all around my head, chest, arm pit, and legs. I tossed and turned the whole night, although the technicians did say I slept on and off.

I'm going back to me doctor and ask for some sort of sleeping pill if I have to do this over again. I've never had to take a sleeping pill in my life, but I don't know how I can sleep with all those wires attached to me.

Has anyone else had the joy of a sleep study?

I tried to post to this thread a few days ago but for some reason it didn't work. So, I'll try again.

I had the sleep test done in early 2000. How anyone can be expected to go to sleep with all those wires attached to their body while sleeping in a strange bed with out your special pillows is beyond me.

Once I finally got to sleep I was rudely awakened and told it would not be advisable to ever go to sleep again without using a cpap machine.

The nurse put a horrible contraption on my face with Velcro straps holding it snugly on my head. Then they expected me to go back to sleep.

After sleeping about 30 minutes Iwas given my sentence, or I mean my instructions and a prescription to present to the medical supply store.

I went home, washed goo out of my hair the electrodes were attached to my head with and waited for the store to open.

Much to my dismay the salesperson loudly exclaimed that my pressure setting, 14, was one of the highest settings he had encountered since he had been with the company. By then I was feeling like a freak of nature.

That was nearly eight years ago. Since then my hair has gotten very nice and thick and my general health has greatly improved. I was waking every 30 minutes in the past and now I sleep all night with no interruptions.

I'm wondering ATS if there are anymore members who have sleep apnea.
It is no respecter of age or gender.

I thank my daughter for noticing I had a problem one night when we shared a motel room. She probably saved my life.

Thanks for your reply and story. Since my original post I've had another sleep study with the use of Ambien which helped a lot. In the middle of the night they put me on the cpap machine, and I slept like a baby the rest of the night. I go back in for another sleep study where I'll where the cpap the entire night so that they can calibrate it.

This whole experience has made me realize how difficult it must be for people who sleep by themselves to even be aware of potential sleep apnea. Thank God you had your daughter tell you and my wife tell me! Also, I'm really fortunate to have health insurance unlike so many who don't. I can't imagine what all this costs out of pocket, but I surely couldn't do it without insurance.

For anyone curious about sleep apnea, it is a condition where you stop breathing in the middle of the night. Your body wakes you up just enough so that you can reposition yourself, and start breathing again. During my second sleep study, they discovered I did this 38 times in one hour! That's severe sleep apnea.

The CPAP machine is a device that constantly applies air pressure down your windpipe, keep the channel open so you breathe normal. As dizziedame noted, it can take a long time to get used to.

One of the first symptoms of sleep apnea is snoring. When we snore, the airway is partially blocked, thus the snoring noise. When it gets blocked completely, we stop breathing. Also, if anyone has awakened in the middle of the night sweaty, heart pounding, and hard of breath, that could very well be a severe respiratory event caused by sleep apnea. Also, many with sleep apnea are tired and sleepy during the day. I didn't think this applied to me at first, but after a night with the cpap, I now understand what it means to have a good night sleep. I haven't been getting it for years.