I am very concerned about my 69 yr old sister who falls asleep anywhere and at any time. This has been going on for years and is a family joke now. She goes to bed at about 8 or 9, sleeps straight through, and gets up at 4. It can be embarassing for her in church, at a party, or at a dinner (even the daily family dinner). She goes to the theatre, but sleeps through most of the performances. If someone is sitting and talking to her, she falls asleep during the conversation. Her doctor tells her that her health is ok. She leads an active life, exercises daily and her weight and diet are fine. Is there a sleep study that can assess her problem or is it a problem?
2006-12-20 00:35:58 · 7 answers · asked by vernita j 1 in Health ➔ Other - Health
Yes, there are sleep studies that can diagnose sleep disorder such as narcolepsy and sleep apnea. If your doctor can't recommend one, call around to the larger hospitals, check the phone books and call neurologists. Has her thyroid been checked? A neurologist can be a good source of info too. Good luck, I've searched for years and years for answers to the same problem, with no results.
2006-12-20 00:40:27 · answer #1 · answered by SlapHappy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should definitely have her see a physician. She could have sleep apnia which is a very common problem for people of all ages. Several of my family members have it. Basically even though she seems to sleep all the time, there is a flap in her throat that could block her passageway causing the flow of oxygen to be cut off....you can typically find folks with this ailment snoring a lot. The sleep that she does get is not as restful because of the lower flow of oxygen....I'm not saying that she has it, but my sister was falling asleep in the chair in front of the TV and once fell asleep while driving. They did a sleep study on her and found that she has sleep apnia.
2006-12-20 08:40:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There could be various reasons for feeling sleepy like this. One of which I am aware is sleep apnea related to snoring where the sleeper stops breathing and partially wakes up with a start. This keep them form getting proper REM sleep. A doctor can book her in for a sleep study at a sleep clinic. This requires an overnight stay at the clinic with monitoring by various instruments and a technician. It is the only way to really know what is happening.
2006-12-20 08:42:51 · answer #3 · answered by Kenneth H 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's funny, that I just stumble on this question, I just had a sleep test done 3 days ago and I to have the same problem, I thought I was getting a good nights sleep and come to find out that I was though this study, I would suggest you have her go to a sleep therapist, and have her checked out, if she still drives a car, she can fall asleep and kill someone or herself.
2006-12-20 08:47:42 · answer #4 · answered by Diana J 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes she needs to request a sleep study from her doctor. They are very simple they just monitor your sleep habits thru the night.
2006-12-20 09:17:23 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like narcolepsy to me, but im no doctor. u might want to consult another physician
2006-12-20 08:37:51 · answer #6 · answered by gtarplyr98 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
what the first guy said
2006-12-20 08:41:49 · answer #7 · answered by Dream cocoa 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋