sleep study appointment suddenly arrived - what to expect?

hello

I was told it would be 40 weeks before I got to see the sleep consultant but I go a letter today saying I have a “click and collect” appointment mid April THIS YEAR!

this is to collect equipment for use overnight as requested by the consultant.

Very very happy and surprised but a little concerned they brought it so much forward and going straight to a overnight test. Is this normal? Why would they do this?

The only thing I can think is when I realised my GP admin had not uploaded my recent angiogram report diagnosing my congenital heart defect as affecting blood flow they realised they hadn’t updated the “e referral” information either so the sleep consultant would not know of my heart condition. They said would update the consultant But to be belt and braces I emailed the angiogram report directly to the consultant’s secretary just to ensure they had my full medical history. What I didn’t know before is when GP sends an e referral it’s accompanied by a list of ailments and meds since birth!!!!

I am utterly grateful the sleep people took a second look at my records.

What can I expect from the test and what usually happens after?

thanks in advance!

[kaliska0]

Medical procedures are frequently rescheduled as available. Sometimes someone else cancels for various reasons, the place might bring in another doctor because they are getting so backed up, or occasionally they hold reserve spots for if they decide someone has more immediate need. Unless they suspect sleep apnea with a heart condition then that shouldn't make it an emergency to fit you in sooner but a situation where sleep disturbance are having a much greater negative effect on health and daily life may get given an open slot instead of filling it with someone who has milder symptoms or very recently developed symptoms and has no other health risks. That decision might not be made until after all your medical records arrive and someone has time to go over them.

I wasn't supposed to have abdominal surgery until this past Feb but last Nov I got a call it would be in 5 days. Most likely reason is that someone realized they had scheduled surgery right before what are the most major holidays for majority of people or their holiday plans changed so they delayed their surgery. First I couldn't find the paperwork they told me to take into a lab for blood tests within a couple weeks before surgery because I didn't expect to need it for months. I also would have tapered off some medications so they didn't interact with anesthesia but no time. We had to have them call in an order directly to a specific lab and then I couldn't stay awake for 2 days afterward because of sleep medication + anesthesia + precautionary medications given before surgery.

Scheduling medical procedures is kinda messy no matter what it is or where you are because there are so many variables and random changes.

During a sleep study they check how long it takes you to fall asleep under controlled, ideal conditions with no distractions. Then while sleeping record any movements for disorders like restless leg syndrome, respiration rate and oxygen saturation as well as snoring or pauses in breathing to determine if there is any respiratory condition, and they do record all stages of sleep.

There are no specific treatments for issues like reduced deep sleep or micro-awakenings where you very briefly wake up in the middle of rem cycles but not enough to realize you ever were awake. Those sleep architecture or quality problems are the most difficult to find a way to improve since most sleep aids actually decrease rem or deep sleep and increase light, less restful sleep stages. Seeing the brain waves that result from different sleep stages may be useful for issues like night terrors, sleep talking, sleep paralysis, or other parasomnia disorders-"a sleep disorder that involves unusual and undesirable physical events or experiences that disrupt your sleep". Occasionally those things may point to an issue that can be treated by a neurologist or with psychiatric medicine besides sleep aids.

They may check for seizure activity using lights prior to you going to sleep and will watch for any signs of it while sleeping. Some types of seizures have very mild symptoms and are very brief so symptoms are not obvious until someone monitors it happening. That's a very rare situation.

You used to have to always get the sensors glued to your head but with how common wearable eeg devices have become that may not be true anymore. The caps with sensors may be inexpensive and common enough these days they can just place it over your head and make sure it directly touches your scalp where necessary. After about 5 different sleep studies every doctor has given up using them for any useful information to help treat my symptoms and I haven't had one in probably 8 years. One time I wanted to get it over with, laid down immediately, and got my head glued to the pillow because the sensor adhesive hadn't finished drying yet.

It can be annoying but it's not complicated or require much on your part. Follow any directions for food/drink (having to get up to pee is really annoying), make sure your skin and hair is relatively clean without any lotions, hair sprays, etc... to interfere with the sensors, comfortable clothes to sleep in, and anything you need before bed or the next morning like brushing your teeth or sometimes they'll let you read a book for awhile before trying to sleep.

They may attempt to test out treatment for obvious things and especially significant respiratory problems but usually you just get attached to flat, flexible sensors and when you are ready left alone to sleep in a clean, allergy free, dark room. Someone watches the monitors in a nearby room to make sure you keep breathing, the sensors don't get dislodged, and if you need anything. Then all the info is sent to a specialist so they can look at any abnormalities in the data and decide the best recommendations to pass along to your doctor.

If there are no abnormalities and you end up sleeping well then you will probably get given many environmental and behavioral changes to try in order to reduce things that might be interfering with your sleep at home.

[Hidden in reply to kaliska0]

thank you for that comprehensive explanation really helps. I guess I got lucky with earlier appointment. You’ll have to forgive me for a little laugh at getting your head glued to the pillow but an important tip.😊