Tonight I spend the night as a patient, undergoing a therapeutic sleep study. Having originally been diagnosed with both Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Periodic Limb Movement Disorder during my diagnostic sleep test, I am back again to see if my medications and dental sleep device are working.
A dental sleep device, you ask? Yes, I use a Somno Med dental device, which essentially forces the lower mandible to protrude slightly, giving me a somewhat laughable underbite. Remember how in CPR you were taught to perform a chin-lift maneuver in order to open the airway of a patient with suspected neck or spinal trauma? Well, that's basically what it does.
I think all nurses, doctors, and healthcare providers should undergo slightly uncomfortable procedures in order to generate compassion for our patients. A sleep study is a wired affair which is essentially non-invasive but does indeed involve a multitude of tubes, wires and electrodes, not to mention frequent awakenings by the technician for various tweaks to the equipment.
So, a sleep study is an interesting experience not to be missed. Unless, of course, you like to sleep comfortably!
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written by NPs Save Lives, June 13, 2008
