Question by ♥ Shōjo-ai: My father needs to see a doctor for Sleep Issues… What tests should he ask for? What should he tell them?
OK, my father has been sleep talking, sleep walking, not being able to sleep through the night, all since he was a child. We think he might have depression and were told that part of his sleep walking and talking are due to emotional issues, he has sleep apnea, and he was diagnosed as having “Comprehension Problems” back in the 1960’s, which is now called “ADD”.
He sleeps so bad at night that he is tired all day and will fall asleep if he has to sit still for more then a few min’s… He can’t get through a 12 min episode of Squidbillies, let alone watching a movie or even a normal tv show.
He has just gotten health insurance through his job and I want to set up an appointment with a doctor for a “Sleep Study” but I have no idea what that means and what we should be looking for test-wise or even doctor-wise!
What sort of things should he look for in a doctor?
What kind of tests should they do for him?
What, in general, should he expect??
Cynthia, You got it in the first go… He is ALWAYS thinking… When he can’t stop thinking, he will go into the bathroom and read and start to fall asleep and actually add PAGES of plot onto the book he is reading so when he wakes up, he can’t find where he was because he added so much story line to the book!
OK, that makes a LOT of sense…
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR ANSWERS!
Best answer:
Answer by Cynthia
The doctor thing is more or less your opinion. You want someone who is nice or kind then find one of those. If you dont really care then thats up to you too. You obviously want a doctor who care about their patient enough to listen to you. Also look for someone with good marks. Someone with more schooling than some others.
A sleep study is basically where they hook you up to a machine and you go to sleep. It reads your brain waves to show whats going on. If your dad has problems sleeping it will show up on the test and show why he is having problems. Chances are that they will give him a sleep medication to take, and possibly something for his ADD. It all depends on his apnea. They dont want to conk him out too much to where he doesnt remember to breathe but they will want to make sure he is calm enough to acutally get a good nights sleep.
I would guess the main problem with his sleeping is the ADD itself. You have a million things running through your head at night because your still and trying to go to sleep. Lists of things to do, things you forgot. Half the time you want to get up and do those things causing you to loose even more sleep.
Going to the doctor is a great idea. Sleep study is also a really good idea. Just make sure you let them know about the apnea! That can be a very serious thing to know before taking medications. Although the doctors should get a full history before treating you, sometimes they forget.
Hope I helped you. 
C. Adams, RN
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