My Life and Sleep Apnea

If you have had a sleep study done to see if you had sleep apnea you know what a strange ordeal that can be. You probably remember how weird it was to have wires stuck to your head, chest and legs with type of glue that took along time to get out of your hair, also the strangeness of sleeping knowing that someone is watching you all night. It was all very odd and usually unsuccessful for me as I have written before. But it seems that you don’t have to leave your own home to be tested for sleep apnea now, there are home sleep monitors that can do the trick. Why would a home sleep monitor be better that a sleep study in a hospital? The first thing that comes to mind is the comfort level. The places that I have had my sleep studies done aren’t really conducive to sleeping, the rooms are generally cold and for some people like me, sleeping on a strange bed isn’t very comfortable. And there is also less wires attached to you which makes for a more comfortable sleep. Not only will the h...

At the time of your first doctor visit concerning your sleep apnea, the doctor will suggest a sleep study . The name applies that there is sleeping involved unfortunately there wasn’t much for me during my test. Just falling asleep is a challenge when you are at a sleep clinic . In order to tell if you indeed have sleep apnea, the doctor will send you on an over night sleep study (Polysomnography). The test can be done at a hospital, a clinic or even an office building. The last one that I had was at an office building. The test determines many things like how long you have slept, how often you wake up (arousals) and how long it took to fall asleep. My problem with all the sleep studies that I have had is that it takes me forever to fall asleep. Uncomfortable sleeping arrangement To say that the sleep study has an uncomfortable sleeping arrangement is an understatement. There are wires attached everywhere on your body, from your head to your feet. With all those wires it is ...

After my first sleep study I was told that I slept with my mouth open all night. I already knew that and so did my wife. Apparently the significance of that was that I would need a full face mask with my cpap machine. The next sleep study was scheduled and this time I would be fitted for a cpap. There was a little mix up at the sleep clinic because when I arrived they didn’t have a full face mask just one that covered over the nose. The mask was put on and the machine started. The technician told me that I had to keep my mouth shut or the air would blow out of my mouth. How was I supposed to do that? I tried to sleep but the thought of just breathing through my nose was unnatural to me. I keep opening my mouth and the weird sensation of the air leaving my mouth occurred. The technician was getting irritated with me. He came into the room carrying what looked like a strap. He wrapped the strap under my jaw and over my head. He assured me that this would help me keep my mouth. It ...

My first experience with a sleep clinic was in 1999. I had just been diagnosed with sleep apnea and my doctor wanted me to have an overnight study done. A friend of mine had the same test just months before me and he told me it wasn ’t bad. You just go there in the evening and sleep. Of course they hook you up to machines that read how well you are sleeping. Well that didn ’t seem bad. It was the night of the study, I had my overnight bag packed and I drove to the clinic around 8. I was given paperwork to fill out by the sleep tech. after that I was taken into what would be my room for the night. They tried to make it cozy with a TV and pictures on the wall but it was still a hospital room. Around 9 o’clock the tech took me into another room to hook me up to monitors. It was very weird. He put this glue like substance in my hair, my face, my chest and my legs. Then he attached metal discs onto the globs of glue all over my body. Wires were then connected to the metal discs. I’m ...