Polysomnogram....Sleep Study

[daisy.girl]

I had an overnight sleep study last night to see if they can figure out a reason I am having so many migraines.
I don't know how they expect to record my 'typical' night of sleep. I had electrodes on my head, face, chin, neck, chest and legs. An elastic band around my waist and another around my chest. Electrodes up my nose and a O2 nasal cannula.
I had difficulty falling asleep and got a migraine around 2AM, had to take Maxalt at that time. After that, I think I just fell asleep from exhaustion.
This morning, at 5:45. the study was over, I asked the tech if she 'saw' anything that would help to explain the migraines.
She said, of course, that the doctor will have to read it.....but she didn't see any severe apnea or any seizures. I know the doctor may see something she did not.
I feel like this was just another waste of my time and money. Not that I want to have sleep apnea, I just want these migraines to stop!!
Will I ever get any answers??
Anyone here ever had a sleep study?

 

[neilB]

The closest I've had is a 72 hour EEG with video. I was able to do it at home but after 3 days of looking like a mummy from a bad horror movie I was glad it was over. Still haven't got the results back, hopefully this week.

 

[daisy.girl]

I too had the 72 hour EEG at home, no video though.....this was soooo much more difficult with the bands and nasal electrodes and cannula....and the leads were not as long, so I could only turn from my right side to my back and I am use to changing from leftside to rightside frequently through the night.
I hope you get your results soon. How long has it been? I would call and ask them to fax a copy to you. Keep us posted!

 

[neilB]

I did call the other day. After the 72 Hour I had an MRI later in the week. I got that result back (no change from the last!). From your description the polysomnogram sounds like SO MUCH FUN :evil2: I'll keep ya posted. Good Luck

 

[Nakamova]

Wow, that sounds unpleasant, to say the least! Keep in ind that even if the test is frustrating (and pretty uncomfortable), it can be a big help for ruling something in or out. If you don't have sleep apnea, that's a good thing. And it's possible the doctor will see something the tech didn't.

If there's something about the way you sleep that's problematic, that's worth knowing about; changing it can be the difference between having chronic migraines as opposed to occasional ones:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17883522

 

[Endless]

Yes, sleep studies aren't the most comfortable thing in the world. If you have it again ask your doctor, well in advance, to prescribe a sleeping pill for you for the night of the study. It doesn't effect the results much and it helps in getting you to sleep.

I've had a sleep study. I stopped breathing about 200 times per hour. No wonder bad sleep is a seizure trigger for me. I have both a CPAP and a dental device to help prevent apnea. The dental device is really nice for traveling. With those I'm down to 4 episodes an hour. That's really not good enough when it's a seizure trigger, but that's as good as it'll get for me.

Now I won't go anywhere without either the dental device or the cpap. I feel like a zombie the next day when I don't use them.

P.S. If you have partial seizures they may not see it on your eeg. It's mostly to track your brain waves so they know when you are sleeping. So they don't have as many electrodes in the places that are needed (as opposed to an eeg). They didn't even put electrodes over my temporal lobe.

 

[daisy.girl]

I think a sleeping pill should be manatory for a sleep study!!

I do have partial seizures, and I do realize that the sleep study does not do a complete EEG. I just so want someone to find out why I have sooooo many migraines. If they are from the seizures, then hopefully when I get to the correct dose of Lamictal, the migraines will stop. BUT, right now, I feel like the Lamictal is giving me more.......and I am having a hard time staying on it.

 

[daisy.girl]

I received the results of my sleep study. I do have a SLEEP DISTURBANCE.

I have ALPHA INTRUSION INTO DELTA SLEEP. Which means that my 'awake brain waves' (alpha waves) are firing during delta (deep) sleep. I also had REDUCED REM AND DELTA SLEEP.

All this means that I do not have a very restorative sleep, and therefore and tired and fatiqued all day.

Not sure what, if any, correlation this has to do my seizures or migraines.

 

[Nakamova]

Well fatigue is the #1 seizure trigger. You should ask the doc how the sleep problem is impacting seizures and migraines. It's not clear here if the abnormal brainwaves during sleep are the cause or result of seizure activity, but either way, finding a way to deal with that would be great.

 

[Endless]

Interesting... what did the sleep doctor say is the fix for that? I'm guessing a CPAP isn't the answer, or isn't the whole answer.

Gosh, I hope the doc can fix this for you. Good sleep is pretty critical.

 

[daisy.girl]

no to the CPAP...I do not have apnea.

The sleep doctor's office called to schedule a follow up, but I wasn't sure if I should see him. It was my neuro that ordered the study.....so I am going to call my neuro's office on Monday to see if they want me to follow up with the sleep doc. My neuro is also board certified in electrodiagnostic medicine, but not sure if that includes sleep studies.

I looked up ALPHA INTRUSION IN DELTA SLEEP, it is commonly found in patients with chronic pain and fibromyagia. Not sure if migraines consititue chronic pain by definition, but they do in my book.