Can you describe what happens in a sleep study? Can I sleep on my belly flat? I am a belly sleeper and I can't imagine having to sleep on my back looking at the ceiling. I never done it.

How many times did you see the nutritionist and what exactly should I expect besides what I would assume to be a conversation discussing what foods to eat, and trying to stay under a certain amount of calories.

When I went to my nutritionist appointment, I also saw an exercise specialist. We talked about what I can eat now to lose weight. They said they would like to see me try to lose 1-2 lbs. a week. I also got a book, they are calling it my Bible. It has everything I need to know in it about pre-op, and also post-op. We went over vitamins I need to take, we went over my eating habits now, and what they will be. We also went over how the stages will work after surgery for example clear liquids, mushies, and regular food. We even went over protein shakes that people tend to recommend or that they say are good to use. With the exercise specialist we talked about an exercise plan I can do now to help me. I am now watching my intake, and doing an exercise video regularly. It is really neat. I have yet to do any type of sleep study, they haven't told me that I have to do that yet. Hope this helps out some.

You may want to try to train yourself to sleep on your back or at least in such a way that you're sort of propped onto your side, because after surgery you will absolutely NOT be able to sleep on your stomach and if you're not used to it, you will go through hell

I can sleep sideways. I learned that after having my son. Belly sleeping was uncomfy. I am just curious as to if there are monitors on me in a way that I cannot sleep on my tummy or at least a side. I remember when I was in the hospital with my son those beds were in that elevated position. I mean I could sleep, but it was like sleeping in a chair. I would assume it's only for one night and it's a breeze. I'm going to google to see if I can get anything.

Thanks PP. If my nutritionist can give me a free gym membership with babysitting, I could lose all the wait they want. Lol.

In meetings and classes with the nutritionist, I learned about food labels and how to read them, the dangers of sugar alcohols, what a serving is and about my new diet. The first meeting covered the pre-op and immediately following surgery. Later meetings covered how my diet changed. It was good info.

I had a sleep study. I had to arrive around 9 p.m. I was taken to a room that looked like a bedroom rather than a hospital room. It also had its own bathroom. I changed into pajamas, and the tech came in and started getting all of the wires ready.

There was a camera and an intercom system in the room. That stuff isn't turned on until you go to sleep, but I still changed in the bathroom.

I sat in a chair and watched TV while all of the wires and things were hooked up. It took more than a half hour, and there were a LOT of wires. I had some kind of belt thing strapped just under my breasts, and there was a way that they routed the wires that kept them out of the way as possible, which is a feat. Did I mention there were a LOT of wires?

There were even wires in my hair. I remember the tedch told me that the night's sleep would generate over 1,000 pages of data that needed to be analyzed.

I had to get X amount hours of sleep for the study to work. I don't recall the exact time, but I think it was like 6 hours.

When I was all wired up, I was free to spend the evening in the room watching TV or reading. The camera was off. When I was ready to go to sleep, I let the tech know. At that point, the tech came in and did some last minute stuff including putting a heart monitor on my finger that has a little red light on it.

The tech left the room, I shut off the lights and in a few minutes the tech was talking to me over the intercom, and the camera started filming.

I was able to sleep somehow, but I woke up A LOT. Every time I moved and that little red light flashed in front of my eyes, I'd wake up a bit.

I was woken up at 6 a.m. I had the option of getting dressed and just going home or showering first. I live more than an hour away, so I opted to shower first.

The tech warned me that the stuff used to keep the leads in your hair would be difficult to wash out. The tech wasn't exaggerating. I tried very hard that morning to wash it all out, and I didn't get it all. I took another shower when I arrived home, and if I remember right there was still some in my hair the next day when I took my third shower.

I had very thick long hair and the stuff they use has sticking power.

I did snap a picture of me with most of the wires on. It isn't a photo I'd share with anyone.

Before going to bed, the tech did tell me that if a problem was detected that I'd be fitted with a cpap that night to try out. I didn't have any sleep problems, so I didn't experience that part of the study.

Again, it is a lot of wires, but they do a really good job routing them in a way to keep them secure and out of your way as much as they possibly can. I move around a lot when I sleep and no wires came undone. The most annoying thing to me was that little red light on my finger. Apparently my hand goes in front of my face quite a lot when I sleep, and it wasn't fun having a shining red light on my finger when that happened.

All in all, the experience was painless and even pleasant. It was also pretty interesting to see how many wires it took.

What the hell is up with lilyslim?! I try and quote things and a lilyslim page pops up. ARGGGGGGH! Anywho.. How many classes did you have? I might not be able to sleep well knowing someone is watching me. I hope I forget. I use to do some embarassing stuff in my sleep. To be honest I do not even know if I stopped doing it. At the end of the day if the tech sees something oh well.. Hehehe. I probably will forget that they are there. I wonder if I snore??? A bunch of stuff is running through my head. Lol.

I can't remember, but I think that I ended up sleeping on my back for my sleep study. I usually alternate sleeping on my side, but with all of the wires, I just couldn't see trying to turn one way or the other.

For my sleep study, I had to show up around 9pm. The technician showed me to my hotel-like room. She left, then I got into my night clothes. When I was done, she came back and we went to another room to get me set up with all of the little electrodes. I think that the worst part were the electrodes in my hair. The next morning, it was difficult to remove the paste that is used to adhere the electrode. Even though I thought that I had washed my hair rather well in the hottest Water that I could stand, I still found paste in my hair later in the day. After getting wired up, we returned to my room. I had to lie down on the bed, the tech plugged a wire into the box that was connected to all of the electrodes on my body, and then she went back to her station to test everything out. There was an intercom in the room through which the tech instructed me on what to do for the various aspects of testing out the wiring. I had to do things like stimulate rapid eye movement, flex my feet, pretend to snore, etc. There were one or two wires that were bad that the tech had to replace out, and then repeat that aspect of the test until everything was working fine. I was given the option of reading or watching the TV before going to sleep. Then sleep eventually happened. I found it hard to sleep in a strange room with so many wires attached to me, but I guess that I eventually fell asleep.

My study did find that I have sleep apnea, so I did have to go in a second time to run through a second test and this time, they hooked me up to a CPAP machine. That was a scary experience at first...until I finally learned to breath with the mask on. I felt as though I wanted to freak out and tear the mask off of my face because I felt as though I couldn't breath. The tech told me to trust her and to relax and that it would be okay and somehow it was. Also, I got wired up for this test as well.

This site has a pretty good description of what to expect.

I've done both the going to a sleep study facility and I've just finished an at home sleep study...basically they send you a box with a device and wires and stuff and you have to hook yourself up and sleep with a monitor for 3 nights, send the stuff back and they mail your dr the results....so glad to be pass that!!

I had to meet with a nutritionist before my surgery in a small class. There were three patients. In that same day, I also talked to a physical therapist and a nurse from the surgery floor who told us what to expect there. The nurse was really good about making sure we knew to be proactive with pain management.

In the hospital before I was released, the nutritionist came in to talk to me briefly. She just went over my diet again and made sure I had what I needed available. This is when she told me what I'd need to eat for my daily Protein intake. For me, I have to eat 70 grams of protein a day.

About a month later, I had another class with the nutritionist. This time, it was a large class of about 20 people. She went over all the potion sizes and food labels and what we should and shouldn't eat.

My surgery costs included two more visits with the nutritionist, and those would be one-on-one and can happen when I feel I need them. There is no expiration date. So if I'm struggling with an issue, she could help me.

For insurance approval I met with my nutritionist once a month for six months. Our meetings were short ans sweet. We would discuss my eating habits and exercise. She would give me tips and a goal for the next month (ie. Log food, walk more, eat out less..) Nevertheless I gained a few lbs over the six months... oops.

For the sleep study, I met with a rep from my sleep data center. They showed me how to hook myself up to the device (a little box) that was strapped around by torso (right under boobies). It was easy to do at home by myself, easy to follow instruction. Then I slept like normal. Woke up in the morning. Turned off the machine and returned it.... I ended up being diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. I never realized how poorly I was sleeping. CPAP for me. I hope to lose my CPAP machine very soon!

Thanks everyone.

Can you describe what happens in a sleep study? Can I sleep on my belly flat? I am a belly sleeper and I can't imagine having to sleep on my back looking at the ceiling. I never done it.

How many times did you see the nutritionist and what exactly should I expect besides what I would assume to be a conversation discussing what foods to eat, and trying to stay under a certain amount of calories.

I think it depends on your insurance I saw the Nut once and I had a sleep study from hell. I can not sleep on my back and was told by the tech that I must sleep on my back only. I also was having discomfort in my arm from a fall I had the day before. I could not watch TV or listen to music, I laid in bed for about two hours before I fell asleep. I have to say I snore and never had a sleep complaint in my life. After all the wires were place and I sleep for 15 mins the tech came in and placed a cpap mask on me. I now hate the cpap machine I don't get a good night sleep anymore and I have more gas now. I now take naps but I use it because I want to have my surgery in May.

Remeber what you do or have done will not be the same for all locations so the outcome can be different for all.

Good Luck