Sleep clinic; what happens?
Sleep clinic; what happens?
I'm going to a sleep clinic, for the first time, soon. Could anybody tell me what happens? Will there be wires sticking out of me? How are you supposed to sleep? It's bad enough on a normal night. What about in a strange environment, hooked up to all sorts of machinery?
"Without haste, but without rest."-Goethe
My recollection is pretty much that. You will have lots of wires/electrodes attached to various parts of your body-top to bottom-- (stickums) and you will be asked to try to sleep. A bit difficult moving about in bed but once you get yourself situated its really not too bad. They don't let you stay up too late or watch tv past a certain time as they want to get the study in. I was able to eat a snack and watch tv for a bit before lights out. The bed and room were quite comfy. Also, dress comfortably as that will help--usual atire. If you have a favorite pillow or something like that, take it along. Actually, you may be able to go home before the night is through if they get the data they need. Really a pretty non-invasive study and no need to worry or anything like that. For me, the hardest part was getting to sleep but being hooked up had little to do with that. Lots of good information can be obtained. Best of luck.
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SquirmingSusan
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I had a sleep study in December. I never thought I'd be able to sleep, but somehow I did. Yes, they put wires all over. The one on my chin kept coming off. 
It's a weird experience, but the results are fascinating. They can tell so much. How many PLMs you have, how many times you stop breathing, if you have cardiac stuff going on, how much time you spend in the various stages of sleep...
Fortunately for me they let me take sleeping pills (Lunesta and Unisom). I woke up about 2am after a couple hours of really restless sleep. Then I did Sudokus for about an hour before falling asleep again. But after that I slept better.
It's really worth it. Just try to relax. The worst that can happen is that they'll document your complete inability to sleep at night.
Susan
It's a weird experience, but the results are fascinating. They can tell so much. How many PLMs you have, how many times you stop breathing, if you have cardiac stuff going on, how much time you spend in the various stages of sleep...
Fortunately for me they let me take sleeping pills (Lunesta and Unisom). I woke up about 2am after a couple hours of really restless sleep. Then I did Sudokus for about an hour before falling asleep again. But after that I slept better.
It's really worth it. Just try to relax. The worst that can happen is that they'll document your complete inability to sleep at night.
Susan
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ViewsAskew
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I wrote a long response that was eaten 
To sum it up, find out the following:
Can you sleep later in the morning than their normal hours (usually 10-6 or 11-7)? To me, it doesn't do much good if you don't fall asleep until 4 AM and have to get up at 6 AM - they don't get to see much in terms of results. Besides, how do you drive home?
Do they have a shower? Some don't and the sticky stuff they use to get the electrodes to stick in your hair is nasty and hard to get out. I had to take public transportation home looking like I had playdoh in my hair.
Do the techs know about RLS and PLMD? If not and you have PLM events that arouse you from your sleep, they may misinterpret is apnea (they did to me).
Can you take your meds? You already know you have RLS. If you couldn't take meds, you'd probably not sleep at all.
Can they wait to completely connect you until you are ready to go to sleep? The first time they wouldn't do this, so they had to disconnect me each time I had to use the bathroom or get up and pace around. The next time, they put on all the connectors, but bundled the wires together unconnected. I was able to move around easily until I was ready to sleep and then they just plugged them in. Made a big difference.
Is this in a "real" sleep facility or in a hospital room where they send techs to you? It really makes a difference in the quality - I've had them both ways. When I was in a real bonafide sleep center, they did a much better job.
Oh, I did sleep by the way. It was weird, but they go out of their way to put the wires on in such a way that they don't bother you as much as they could.
Hope you get some good results from them - that is the most important part!
To sum it up, find out the following:
Can you sleep later in the morning than their normal hours (usually 10-6 or 11-7)? To me, it doesn't do much good if you don't fall asleep until 4 AM and have to get up at 6 AM - they don't get to see much in terms of results. Besides, how do you drive home?
Do they have a shower? Some don't and the sticky stuff they use to get the electrodes to stick in your hair is nasty and hard to get out. I had to take public transportation home looking like I had playdoh in my hair.
Do the techs know about RLS and PLMD? If not and you have PLM events that arouse you from your sleep, they may misinterpret is apnea (they did to me).
Can you take your meds? You already know you have RLS. If you couldn't take meds, you'd probably not sleep at all.
Can they wait to completely connect you until you are ready to go to sleep? The first time they wouldn't do this, so they had to disconnect me each time I had to use the bathroom or get up and pace around. The next time, they put on all the connectors, but bundled the wires together unconnected. I was able to move around easily until I was ready to sleep and then they just plugged them in. Made a big difference.
Is this in a "real" sleep facility or in a hospital room where they send techs to you? It really makes a difference in the quality - I've had them both ways. When I was in a real bonafide sleep center, they did a much better job.
Oh, I did sleep by the way. It was weird, but they go out of their way to put the wires on in such a way that they don't bother you as much as they could.
Hope you get some good results from them - that is the most important part!
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
I've had two sleep studies, and this is what the sleep clinic where I had mine does:
No, they wake you up around 4 or 5 am and send you on your way. You drive yourself--at least I did.
You do not shower at the clinic. Yes, the sticky stuff in your hair is like playdoh and it takes a ton of shampoo to get it out, but it does come out.
The techs who administered both of my sleep studies knew the difference between apnea and PLMD, because with apneal, your oxygen level drops below a certain point. I'm not a tech, but I know they could interrupt the difference between arousals from apnea and other arousals. For instance, they knew how many times I moved my legs.
They bundled my wires together until I was ready to go to bed and go to sleep. If I had to use the restroom in the middle of the night, I told them and the wires were bundled again.
I was in a "real" sleep clinic both times. The room was like a motel room with a TV. I could watch the TV until I got sleep and I was allowed to take all of my regular meds.
I as able to sleep, even though I didn't sleep well---I never did, anyway. LOL It was an interesting test.
Good luck.
Jan
Can you sleep later in the morning than their normal hours (usually 10-6 or 11-7)? To me, it doesn't do much good if you don't fall asleep until 4 AM and have to get up at 6 AM - they don't get to see much in terms of results. Besides, how do you drive home?
No, they wake you up around 4 or 5 am and send you on your way. You drive yourself--at least I did.
Do they have a shower? Some don't and the sticky stuff they use to get the electrodes to stick in your hair is nasty and hard to get out. I had to take public transportation home looking like I had playdoh in my hair.
You do not shower at the clinic. Yes, the sticky stuff in your hair is like playdoh and it takes a ton of shampoo to get it out, but it does come out.
Do the techs know about RLS and PLMD? If not and you have PLM events that arouse you from your sleep, they may misinterpret is apnea (they did to me).
The techs who administered both of my sleep studies knew the difference between apnea and PLMD, because with apneal, your oxygen level drops below a certain point. I'm not a tech, but I know they could interrupt the difference between arousals from apnea and other arousals. For instance, they knew how many times I moved my legs.
Can they wait to completely connect you until you are ready to go to sleep? The first time they wouldn't do this, so they had to disconnect me each time I had to use the bathroom or get up and pace around. The next time, they put on all the connectors, but bundled the wires together unconnected. I was able to move around easily until I was ready to sleep and then they just plugged them in. Made a big difference.
They bundled my wires together until I was ready to go to bed and go to sleep. If I had to use the restroom in the middle of the night, I told them and the wires were bundled again.
I was in a "real" sleep clinic both times. The room was like a motel room with a TV. I could watch the TV until I got sleep and I was allowed to take all of my regular meds.
I as able to sleep, even though I didn't sleep well---I never did, anyway. LOL It was an interesting test.
Good luck.
Jan
No one is alone who had friends.
Thanks for all the replies. You all make it sound not too bad. Feeling better now. No good worrying about it for now i suppose. It's a proper sleep clinic. It should be good because the doctor who's seeing me is interested in all the neurological conditions i have. She studied them before going into the sleep disorder area.
"Without haste, but without rest."-Goethe
