Sleep Study and RLS

Please share your experiences, successes, and failures in using non-drug therapies for RLS/WED (methods of relief that don't involve swallowing or injecting anything), including compression, heat, light, stretches, acupuncture, etc. Also under this heading, medical interventions that don't involve the administration of a medicine to the body (eg. varicose-vein operations, deep-brain stimulation). [This forum contains Topics started prior to 2009 that deal with Non-prescription Medicines, Supplements, & Diet.]
Chipmunk
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Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2011 10:44 pm
Location: Madison, WI

Don't discount sleep studies completely!

Post by Chipmunk »

A sleep study is actually how I got diagnosed with RLS. I had creepy crawly symptoms at night but I have had them for so long I never even noticed them anymore - just unconsciously shifted position constantly. I would have sworn up and down that I wasn't like those people in the commercials but I woke myself up 145 times during the sleep study. Also, my doctor let me sleep in until 10:30 and there was a marked decrease in movement after about 7:00 a.m. which is consistent with RLS. I never would have believed it without the sleep study.

doety
Posts: 486
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 4:25 pm

study

Post by doety »

Hi: Just saw this. I realized that I've been telling people on the Meds site that I was getting a sleep study last Sunday night and I indicated it was for RLS. I swear to God that I can't think anymore. With no sleep or interrupted sleep or no deep sleep, I think my processes are all haywire. I"m assuming others feel this way. I keep trying to read the newspapers and I can't get through one story and figure it out. Since I used to be a reporter, this is pretty depressing.

OF COURSE my study was about sleep apnea -- you're all right. You can't test RLS with a test like that. I think I had the same circumstances as Betty. I could call my monitor and he would unhook me to go to the bathroom. At first he didn't understand about RLS, but I educated him quickly. He got to watch me dance around the room for hours trying to get over the RLS so I could get back in bed. He was amazed.

They were testing to see about the pressure of my CPAP and the supplemental oxygen (which is because a previous doc gave me Methadone, which can cause central apnea and you often need oxygen for that).

I'm looking forward to the results, and to the hour-long appointment I'm supposed to have with my doc. He has promised to work with me to get off Methadone (which I'm hoping will mean the central apnea will go away). I"m not sure what he wants to substitute, but I want to walk out of there with a plan.

I've done 3 home studies. One indicated I had moderate RLS and moderate sleep apnea. The monitor I had for the in-hospital study sort of made fun of the take-home test and I think he was right to. It can't diagnose RLS and it probably can't say much about sleep apnea. The last in-home study didn't come up with any data at all; I'm sure because of the RLS.

Wonder what an RLS study would look like? Maybe just having somebody watch you all night??

I'll copy and paste this in the other place where I was talking about the sleep study.

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