Anyone been to a sleep clinic?

[Munchlet]

So I visited the Dr yesterday because I constantly have a dry scratchy throat and my husband has been complaining about my snoring.

Initially I thought it was due to my allergies but having tried steroid nasal sprays and anti histamines etc the Dr thinks I might have Sleep Apnoea and wants to refer me to a sleep clinic.

I just wondered if anyone has been to one or has any experience of Sleep Apnoea.

[countrygirl]

My husband has sleep apnea and wears a cpap mask at night. I was also sent to sleep clinic but I don't have sleep ap.

It was really funny when I went as they stick so many moniters all over your body that you are like the thing from the deep and then they expect you to sleep!
You wear a belt like thing around your chest with sensors on plus sensors pads elsewhere ( can't remember where). I had tubes just under my nose to sense my breathing out from mouth/nose. These were like clear oxygen tubes that looped over my ears but the ends didn't go into nose.

Every so often the technician would come into the room and shine a torch on me to see if I was asleep. I eventually did fall asleep about 2am and was woken up again at 6am to have all the stuff removed.

Its not in anyway painful just a bit uncomfy being so tied up. I could walk around as the sensors send info remotely to the control station.

I took a selfie of my face to make my friends laugh as it was not a good look with tubes taped to my face![

My husband had quite bad sleep ap on test so he was given the cpap machine to wear at night - we call it his darth vader mask as when he breathes it makes same sound as darth vader. It had helped him hugely and he feels milion times better health wise and no more snoring although the darth vader takes some getting used to!

[Munchlet]

Thanks CountryGirl I'm hoping I don't have sleep apnoea but it would explain a lot if I did.

The doctor is just concerned about the snoring, I'm overweight but recently I've lost 1.5 stone and my husband said it's made no difference. I could still do with losing a couple more stone but I had hoped losing some weight would help but it hasn't so need to get to the bottom of it.

My first thought is how am I going to sleep with all the sensors and things over me but I guess tiredness gets the better of you eventually and you will fall asleep!

[MyNameIsTerry]

I've got to say countrygirl, I would be surprised if I could sleep at all with that. Do they do things to help improve the environment to be conducive to sleep? I think when the guy woke me up I would have been pretty cranky! :D

[countrygirl]

I went to Aintree Hospital in Liverpool a very long way from where I live and was horrified at the state of the clinic as they were building a new sleep centre. They had a room with two doors off it ( bedrooms) and another door to a toilet. The room the tech was in was being used a store room and was a total mess and the bedrooms were filthy with a sagging bed in middle of room and all round the room was being used for storage. They had one blanket on the bed as well. The tech advised me to sleep in my dressing gown as it got cold in the early hours!
The tech was really embarrased about the awful state of the sleep clinic and was at pains to explain it was because the new one was nearly ready to move into.
I too found it almost impossible to sleep but must have dozed off around 2am and she woke me up at 6am. The only breakfast on offer was a cup of coffee or tea and then I had appt with consultant at 9am so had to go and wait in the outpatients. I finally got seen at 11am having had no breakfast or anything. It was truly appalling experience, in fact it was so bad it was laughable as only the nhs could subject someone to that in those surroundings!