I had the PSG and MSLT recently, and am curious about a few things. For one, after the second nap the person told me they probably wouldn't need to take a fifth nap, and indeed they let me go after the fourth. I figured then that this meant I probably didn't fall asleep during the first naps, so the possibility of narcolepsy would be very slim. Then when I was leaving and they asked whether I thought I'd fallen asleep, when I said I didn't think so, they seemed surprised, and asked a couple more times to confirm. So I probably did have some light sleep, but I would guess well after five minutes, but I don't have the results yet so I don't know. I like to see what I can glean from my current limited information, though, as it's an interesting mental exercise.
So what reasons are there for the MSLT to have four naps instead of five?
Four Naps Instead Of Five?
Started by
Corundum_Catapult
, May 03 2012 02:59 PM
6 replies to this topic
#1
Corundum_Catapult
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Posted 03 May 2012 - 02:59 PM
#2
818sis
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Posted 03 May 2012 - 03:39 PM
It's so strange that you asked this question! I was considering asking the very same thing!
I had my MSLT on Tuesday and had a similar experience. But my nurse told me that they don't tell anyone that the fourth nap could be the last one, because it makes them too nervous to fall asleep. Since she said that, I figured I'd keep it quiet, so I don't spoil that for future patients (but since you brought it up...). I was glad I didn't know! I would have been a wreck. My first nap was a disaster for the very same reason.
Also, I'm nervously awaiting the call with the results. I don't want to find out that they only send you home if your sleep patterns are completely normal or something. I'm trying to keep my hopes up that I get a diagnosis. It would just make my entire life make so much more sense.
So, in order to stay optimistic, maybe they saw really unusual patterns during your first 2 naps, and know exactly what's wrong?
I'm relatively certain that I fell asleep 3 out of the 4 times. I also wonder how they're defining "dreaming". But I may write that in a new post.
I had my MSLT on Tuesday and had a similar experience. But my nurse told me that they don't tell anyone that the fourth nap could be the last one, because it makes them too nervous to fall asleep. Since she said that, I figured I'd keep it quiet, so I don't spoil that for future patients (but since you brought it up...). I was glad I didn't know! I would have been a wreck. My first nap was a disaster for the very same reason.
Also, I'm nervously awaiting the call with the results. I don't want to find out that they only send you home if your sleep patterns are completely normal or something. I'm trying to keep my hopes up that I get a diagnosis. It would just make my entire life make so much more sense.
So, in order to stay optimistic, maybe they saw really unusual patterns during your first 2 naps, and know exactly what's wrong?
I'm relatively certain that I fell asleep 3 out of the 4 times. I also wonder how they're defining "dreaming". But I may write that in a new post.
#3
jujufish
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Posted 03 May 2012 - 08:47 PM
i don't think its unusual to only have 4 naps. when i had my MLST i thought i only had 1 nap and they let me go after 4 naps. when i got the results they found that i had mild narcolepsy. they, like the other commenter said, didn't want to make you nervous for the last nap or gathered all the data they need.
#4
sleepywriter
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Posted 07 May 2012 - 11:45 AM
It just means they had all the data they needed. Perhaps you either had no SOREMPs (sleep onset REM periods) or you had two SOREMPs. Two is all ya need to diagnose narcolepsy, and if you had zero, it wouldn't do much good to have the fifth nap either.
I only did four naps, falling asleep in all of them with three SOREMPs. I wasn't even sure I'd fallen asleep in any of them. I felt like I was in a very light sleep sometimes, and there were even times that I'd feel hypnic jerks that jarred me completely awake. I definitely did not recall any dreams, although sometimes I am not sure I am dreaming or if just thinking hard about something. I know that probably doesn't make any sense LOL.
I only did four naps, falling asleep in all of them with three SOREMPs. I wasn't even sure I'd fallen asleep in any of them. I felt like I was in a very light sleep sometimes, and there were even times that I'd feel hypnic jerks that jarred me completely awake. I definitely did not recall any dreams, although sometimes I am not sure I am dreaming or if just thinking hard about something. I know that probably doesn't make any sense LOL.
#5
818sis
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Posted 07 May 2012 - 05:24 PM
I definitely did not recall any dreams, although sometimes I am not sure I am dreaming or if just thinking hard about something. I know that probably doesn't make any sense LOL.
That makes perfect sense to me! I felt the same way, like all of a sudden my stream of consciousness was about things I'd never intentionally come up with.
Your story sounds a lot like mine for the sleep study. I guess we'll see if I actually did fall asleep.
#7
BurningCandles
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Posted 10 April 2013 - 05:46 PM
It just means they had all the data they needed. Perhaps you either had no SOREMPs (sleep onset REM periods) or you had two SOREMPs. Two is all ya need to diagnose narcolepsy, and if you had zero, it wouldn't do much good to have the fifth nap either.
I only did four naps, falling asleep in all of them with three SOREMPs. I wasn't even sure I'd fallen asleep in any of them. I felt like I was in a very light sleep sometimes, and there were even times that I'd feel hypnic jerks that jarred me completely awake. I definitely did not recall any dreams, although sometimes I am not sure I am dreaming or if just thinking hard about something. I know that probably doesn't make any sense LOL.
When was it decided that you only needed four naps? My sleep tech told me after the second nap that I only needed four for the day. I'm guessing because I didn't fall asleep. So is it usually decided that with no SOREMPs during the first two naps that you only need four naps?
