SLEEP STUDY!!! Is it really necessary?
My surgeons office is saying that I have to get a sleep study. I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO do NOT want to do it. To me, the thought of being hooked up head to toe in wires and then sleeping while a team of people watch you sounds like a NIGHTMARE! Did everyone have to do this? Is it as bad as it sounds????????
I don't know if it's really necessary for you or not. Ask your surgeon why they think you need one. It may be necessary if you want that surgeon to operate on you, though.
I did not have to do it before surgery but I've had one before. It wasn't that bad. There wasn't really a team of people watching me. There was a sleep technician in the office but not in the room where I was sleeping. There was a camera in the room but since there were several other rooms with people sleeping, I doubt the technician spent that much time watching me in particularly. The wires were not uncomfortable but it was kind of weird.
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I had a few done and it's not to bad. You are in a bedroom like room and there is a camera and mic and only usually 1 person watching you via the camera from a different room. The most uncomfortable thing is the stuff in your hair measuring brain waves and such. You bring your own pillow and comfy pj's and a book there is a tv and you fall asleep on your own time. They wake you up in the morning and off you go. I suggest if you have thick hair go to a salon and let them wash out the conduit stuff. Go ahead and do it if you do have sleep apnea I was told it could drastically improve or go away after bariatric surgery. It's good to know if you do have it the cpap helps a lot.
Did you speak to your surgeon about it? If your doc asks you for it, its best to just go get it done.
In the discussions I had with my surgeon, it was one of the things she wanted to get checked out (along with a thyroid sonogram and an upper endoscopy). I went in and had the sleep study (which ditto on the icky hair stuff being the worst!), and I'm so glad that I did because it turns out that I have mild-moderate sleep apnea - and I had no clue. What it basically means is that when I sleep I don't always maintain optimum oxygen levels, and that is super important for healing after surgery. So I have a little machine that I sleep with and I'm fine. I'm progressing really well with it as I'm losing weight and hopefully soon I won't need it at all.
It was a bit of a chore to get done, but I didn't have a choice and I'm glad I did it.
They actually told me there are HOME tests but that they dont do it there. :0( but thanks for the reply. glad you didnt have to go in !
I've had three. They're not that big of a deal. I have obstructive sleep apnea and did NOT want to use a CPAP, but it has changed my life.
Most of the wires are on your head. If your surgeon's office requires you to have it, do it. It's just a test that might help you obtain insurance approval as a co-morbidity.
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It was required for my program ... but I explained to my doctor that I do not snore -- at all -- and my husband verified that. He believed me and I did not have one. My BFF on the other hand had to have one and was prescribed a CPAP machine. It is also a co-morbidity that may help the surgery be approved. My husband had one and it is only one person watching you in most places.
Good luck.
on 7/21/14 12:51 pm
You will have to ask your surgeon why you need one. As part of my pre-op evaluation, I was given a sleepiness survey, comprised of a few questions about my level of daytime sleepiness and such. I hadn't had a good nights sleep in years. I scored so high on the survey that I had to have a sleep study. I knew that I snored but sleep apnea was the last thing on my mind. As it turns out, I had sleep apnea. The study was not fun, and I had to have another to determine my CPAP settings, but I am glad I went through it. Sleep apnea is a serious condition, that puts one at higher risk for heart diseases compared to those without it, so if you have it, you will want to know and treat it. One a more practical note, I think the diagnosis helped with my insurance approval as it added another co-morbid condition (I have hypertension and osteoarthritis).