What does polysomnography reveal?
The main indication is a suspicion of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: loud snoring with pauses in breathing, daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, night sweats. Apnea is not just an “inconvenience for others”: repeated stops in breathing cause a drop in oxygen in the blood and significantly increase the risk of arterial hypertension, heart attack, stroke and heart rhythm disturbances. The study determines the number of breathing stops per hour (apnea-hypopnea index), the severity and level of oxygen drop - treatment tactics directly depend on this. Polysomnography is also used for insomnia, restless legs syndrome, parasomnias and nocturnal seizures. The study is carried out at night, during normal sleep.
Primary and repeat appointment: what is the difference?
At the initial appointment, the doctor gets to know the patient: collects a detailed history, conducts a full examination, analyzes previously performed studies and builds a diagnostic hypothesis. This is the longest visit, and it is it that determines the entire further route.
A repeat appointment is shorter and solves another problem: to evaluate the results of prescribed studies, the effect of treatment and adjust therapy. You should not skip it - without control it is impossible to understand whether the assigned scheme is working.
How to prepare for your appointment
- collect the results of analyzes and studies, even old ones - dynamics are important
- write down the medications you are taking with doses
- formulate complaints: when did they start, what intensifies and what alleviates
- write down the questions you want to ask
What does the patient get as a result?
Conclusion with a diagnosis or preliminary diagnosis, examination plan, prescriptions with dosages and timing, as well as a guideline for the date of the follow-up visit. If the help of another specialist is required, the doctor gives a referral.