Sleep Disorders

[katgriffi9]

I had a sleep study done. It was a waste of time. I told the doctor all about my sleep habits but they requested the test anyway. I go  to sleep eventually, some nights, I will not sleep at all and that is really a bad feeling for the next day. Anyway I get to sleep and wake up within an hour to two hours. This goes on all night. I never go to sleep and sleep through the night. The sleep study was done with my taking a sleeping pill before the study and the technician still stated I wake up a lot. It was every two hours that night. Is there any help for broken sleep, the neurologist did not have anything for me as I do not have sleep apnea. I already knew that, but he did not listen. However, Is there any help out there?

[KatEyes]

Sorry to hit you with questions instead of answers, but hopefully they will lead to answers. Are you on any meds that could have sleep disturbance as a side effect? Hopefully you already have a copy of your report so you can examine it for anything you do not understand. In the absensce of of a sleep apnea diagnosis, scrutinize your report for info on the the following:

What is said about limb movements?
What is said about arousals (count and cause)?
Is there any mention of UARS?

Maybe the sleep study wasn't a waste of time. Ask your doc that aside from what the study doesn't show (sleep apnea), what DOES it show and what other clues are there to your sleep issues.

[Jules77733]

How old are you? Do you have any other medical conditions that you're aware of? Sleep studies aren't always a waste of time. I had one done two years ago and had "frequent arousals" noted throughout the night (there were A LOT), even though I didn't actually consciously awaken. I also had a nap study done the following day, which indicated that I was incredibly tired...otherwise there was nothing abnormal, so my diagnosis was idiopathic hypersomnolence. In layman's terms, I was considered to be very exhausted for an unknown reason.

I am still incredibly fatigued, so I had another sleep study done two weeks ago. I was very skeptical about going through the process all over again since the study from two years ago hadn't turned anything up, and the first study I had ever had done four years ago showed sleep apnea, which my current doctor thinks may have been inaccurate.

As it turns out, the third time was the charm, but not the overnight study. It was the nap study that finally proved I had narcolepsy when I entered REM sleep within a few minutes during 3 of my 5 naps. My doctor thinks I've had this disorder since I was in high school, but couldn't give an explanation for why it was showing up on the sleep study for the first time, especially given that I had two nap studies in the past 4 years! For someone my age, that's pretty ridiculous...but I'm glad I persevered and figured out what was really going on even though it meant being hooked up a million electrodes three times and being forced to stay awake during most of the day unless it was a designated "nap time".

While I'm not suggesting that you have narcolepsy, I have been reading about it and came across some articles that discussed narcoleptics having difficulty sleeping at night. As of late, I have been waking up a few times during the night for no reason, but I'm usually able to fall right back to sleep. You might want to look into having a nap study done (MSLT) to rule this out. I also know that caffeine (especially if ingested after 2pm) can disrupt sleep as you've mentioned, so pay attention to what you eat or drink in the late afternoon and evening as it may be affecting your sleep. But initially, I shared your feelings about sleep studies since I suffered through two studies before the real problem was exposed.

Good luck, and I hope you figure out what's going on so you can get a good night's sleep!

[katgriffi9]

Apparently my doctor is not very good, as  he did not mention arousals. Also  he did not give me a copy and had no interest in finding out why. I did fall completely asleep and completely wake up to full concensious. I would eventually go back to sleep, but again I would wake up. The longest I would sleep is 2 hours and dreams I do not have. I do not seem to enter the dream state. But I am tired all day long and it is very frustrating. I have had this for a long time, since I can remember and that is a long time as I am now 54 years old.
Thanks,

[katgriffi9]

PS) I do not snore

[KatEyes]

When you get your report, look it over and see if anything jumps out at you. I'd be interested in hearing some of what it says. I know it's frustrating to go through this testing and still not have answers (been there), but not getting an answer yet doesn't mean there is no answer to your sleep issues. When you see the doctor tell him you need answers and ask him what the next step should be. Let us know when you get the report.