1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:27,520
Hi everyone, and welcome back to Airway First, the podcast from the Children's Airway First

2
00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:34,520
Foundation. I'm your host, Rebecca St. James. Today we're kicking off episode three in our

3
00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:42,960
Sleep Lab Sleep Study series with today's guests, Jordan Russ. Jordan is a registered polysomnographic

4
00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:49,280
technologist and sleep educator in Texas. Today, Jordan is going to walk us through

5
00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:55,360
the final steps of understanding what it is to get a sleep lab, what you can expect as

6
00:00:55,360 --> 00:01:00,880
far as the results and reporting go, and questions you may want to ask your sleep specialist

7
00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:06,680
or your sleep technician during the process. So let's go ahead and get right to it and

8
00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:11,320
jump into today's episode with our guests, Jordan Russ.

9
00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:15,440
Good morning, Jordan. Thank you so much for being on the podcast today.

10
00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:17,000
Thank you for having me.

11
00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:24,000
Yeah, super excited. So for parents that might just be hearing this, this is actually the

12
00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:31,680
third in a series of four for our sleep study series. So if you missed it, go back and grab

13
00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:37,200
the first two. The first one was with JT. The second one is with Dmitri. Third is with

14
00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:42,200
you and the fourth one will be with Dr. Gerald Simmons. So by the end of the series, our

15
00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:48,600
goal is for parents to have a complete understanding of what a sleep study is, what to expect,

16
00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:51,120
how to work with your kids, just everything. Yes.

17
00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:56,560
Because it's a better experience for everyone. Right. That's so important and helpful.

18
00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:01,520
Yeah, because it's a scary thing. I mean, even as an adult, I'm kind of intimidated

19
00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:06,520
by this. Well, I'm not now, but I didn't know what went into a sleep study.

20
00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:10,760
No, it is. It's intimidating. You walk in, you see all of the things. Someone's going

21
00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:17,200
to watch you sleep or watch your child sleep. It's very eerie. And so anything that can

22
00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:22,240
make the parents or the patients feel more comfortable and be a little bit more informed

23
00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:28,160
going into it, I think is really important and helpful. And that helps some of the nervousness

24
00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:34,480
and the anxiety of going into a medical procedure. Any medical procedure is scary. Then if you're

25
00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:37,480
anxious, you're not going to sleep. But if you know a little bit about what's going to

26
00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:42,240
go on, hopefully you'll sleep a little bit better so they can get better information

27
00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:43,240
too.

28
00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:45,080
Exactly. Right. And that's our goal.

29
00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:46,080
Yeah.

30
00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:52,560
And so, before we get into everything, let's just take a minute and talk about your personal

31
00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,240
journey and how you got into this field.

32
00:02:55,240 --> 00:03:01,880
Yeah. So I got into sleep in a very roundabout way. It was never my goal to even be in healthcare.

33
00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:07,960
I grew up as a competitive dancer and went to the Performing Arts High School in Houston

34
00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:12,400
for dance. And so my whole life was, you're going to be a dancer. You're going to either

35
00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:17,800
be on Broadway or with a dance company in the Performing Arts in some capacity. And I originally

36
00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:23,560
went to college in Boston to the Boston Conservatory that's now merged with Berkeley College of

37
00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:29,120
Music for dance. So like I said, that was going to be my goal. My whole life was dance.

38
00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:34,040
That's what my whole life revolved around. One injury kind of set me back and really

39
00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:40,280
made me reevaluate, is this what I want to do for the rest of my life? I'm 19. I'm in

40
00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:46,120
a ton of pain. I've been diagnosed with arthritis now. Am I going to have to work five or six

41
00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:52,640
jobs just to be able to support my lifestyle that I want? And so I left after my second

42
00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:57,640
year, much to my parents. They were not super happy because it was a very expensive school.

43
00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:04,000
It was a lot to move to from Texas to Boston. And I had spent my whole life working towards

44
00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:09,360
something. So I moved back home and I was like, I have no idea what I want to do. I'd

45
00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:13,200
been to physical therapy. So I thought, well, maybe physical therapy, I could kind of work

46
00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:18,680
in my knowledge of just your body and your muscles and how things work or nursing because

47
00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:23,240
that's kind of what everybody knows. So I went to the local community college by where

48
00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:28,600
I lived, just started taking some general science classes, just working towards kind

49
00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:34,560
of my basics. And I applied to the nursing program, which is extremely competitive and

50
00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:39,080
was put on the wait list. And so anyone who was put on the wait list, all of the other

51
00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:44,440
healthcare programs reached out to them and said, hey, we have these other programs here,

52
00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:49,480
if you want to look into something else. And so sleep was one of them. So I went to the

53
00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:54,080
information session and the program director at the time talked about the program, talked

54
00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:58,040
about the career. And I was like, oh, this is really interesting. Like I didn't even

55
00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:05,520
know this was a career. And so I on a whim applied was accepted and then kind of the rest

56
00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:12,320
is history. And so I've been in since 2013 is when I graduated from that program. So

57
00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:20,120
it's just kind of evolved. I loved sleep. I loved the gratification of helping patients

58
00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:25,640
being a part of their health journey. When you sleep, not great, you feel not great.

59
00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:29,760
And you start to sleep better and feel better. And you kind of get that instant gratification

60
00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,800
like, oh my gosh, they slept so good. And they feel good when they woke up and they

61
00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:40,680
haven't felt good when they woke up in years. So I really loved that part of sleep itself.

62
00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:44,920
So wrote round A, but unhappy and here.

63
00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:49,960
Yeah, and we're happy you're here too. And it's so funny. I mean, I can relate a little

64
00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:56,240
bit. My sister got accepted at HSPVA and she was a dancer like you. And I watched her,

65
00:05:56,240 --> 00:06:01,400
I mean, she was my idol. And I watched her and what it did to her body. And now here

66
00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:06,280
she is as an adult with arthritis and other things. And you just don't realize and she

67
00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:09,680
ended up becoming a teacher and a chalet and all these great things.

68
00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:10,680
Awesome.

69
00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:15,280
It's funny, something maybe your passion and you may be just exceptional at it. Sometimes

70
00:06:15,280 --> 00:06:19,040
the universe just kind of takes you the other way, doesn't it?

71
00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,320
And you're young and you don't know how to take care of your body. So maybe you're not

72
00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:23,920
doing the best things for it.

73
00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:28,520
And it was such a hard field you were in too. I mean, people don't realize the wear and

74
00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:29,520
tear.

75
00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:30,520
It is hard.

76
00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:35,720
It's hard emotionally. It's hard physically. It's all of those things. There's a lot of

77
00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:41,200
rejection and at some point you kind of go, is this what I want to subject the rest of

78
00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:48,560
my life to? And if it is amazing, do it. But it was one of those things where it was like,

79
00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:54,120
can I get out while I can before I invest too much? And at the point of almost no return

80
00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:58,240
with your physical being and your mental health too.

81
00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:03,760
So I'm grateful for it. It taught me so much, taught me discipline and independence and

82
00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:08,320
things that I never probably would have learned. And as a mom now, I see those things in my

83
00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:16,320
kids. Oh, I had a lot of independence early on because I was kind of in this trajectory

84
00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:23,120
that made you a little bit independent and where so it I'm grateful for it. I'm grateful.

85
00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:26,400
But it led me to the knowledge that it gave me.

86
00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:31,240
And you can use that now. That's the other thing I find so interesting. I mean, going

87
00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:35,800
and looking at you and my sister that's completely different careers than where you started.

88
00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:39,360
But like you said, you can take that discipline and you can take, you have a different, I

89
00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:44,320
would think perspective of relating to people because of what you experienced and what you

90
00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:49,120
had to go through and you understand pain and life pain and having to squish it down

91
00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,920
and just keep moving. I would think that that actually helps you a little bit.

92
00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:57,760
It does. It helps you relate and have some a little bit more empathy for patients to

93
00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:03,920
understanding sleep itself. When you don't sleep, you feel awful and it can be chronic

94
00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,880
pain and can lead to the depression and lead to a lot of different things that you don't

95
00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:12,880
even realize kind of all ties back to it. And so just being able to relate to patients

96
00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:17,920
is really huge. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I would think so.

97
00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:21,640
So okay, so we're going to kind of build on all of this appearance. Don't think we're

98
00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:26,280
just off on a limb here, but stay with us. So today we're going to talk really, we're

99
00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:30,720
going to dig a little bit deeper and build on what we went over with JT and Demetri.

100
00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:37,520
And we're going to talk more about what it's like to have a sleep study and prepare for

101
00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:42,680
it and all just the little ins and outs that go with it. So you are in and I'm going to

102
00:08:42,680 --> 00:08:48,520
slaughter this. So I do apologize. I registered Holly Somnac graphic technologist. Not sure

103
00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:54,960
that is so hard for me to say. So let's just start there. We kind of have a high level

104
00:08:54,960 --> 00:09:01,040
because of the two previous episodes of what this role does and how parents would interact

105
00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:06,240
with it. So let's just talk a little bit more about, for start to finish when you walk in

106
00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:10,480
with your child. This is like you're Julie McCoy of the night. You will walk them through

107
00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:14,080
everything. You're going to guide them through everything. How does this interaction take

108
00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:18,480
place? Yeah. So the role of the sleep technologist

109
00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:26,040
is to get information from the parent and the patient to apply all of the electrodes

110
00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:31,520
that we're going to put on. They also are going to be in charge of the recording and

111
00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:36,920
getting all of that data and information for the physician to look at. We're really the

112
00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:43,240
eyes and ears as well. It takes about 45 minutes to put all of the electrodes on. So in that

113
00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:48,080
time, the tech is talking with the patient, talking with the parent. And in those conversations,

114
00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:54,080
sometimes you learn things about maybe sleep habits or maybe what's going on in their life

115
00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:58,840
that could be causing some of these sleep issues that they're having. And so you get

116
00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:04,000
a lot of information as well that you don't always get from the physician in a clinic

117
00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:10,760
appointment. And so our job is to get that information, really be the eyes and ears,

118
00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:17,120
put on all of the electrodes, make sure that we maintain a really good quality study so

119
00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:21,120
that the physician has all of the data that we need because we would hate for you to have

120
00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:26,000
to come back because something fell off or we didn't get them what we need. And then

121
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:32,240
in the morning, we will let you know when the results would be ready. Our scope of practice,

122
00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:37,200
we cannot give you any results or tell you how you did. So in the morning, a lot of times

123
00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:40,400
I'll be like, okay, well, how did my kiddo do? And it's well, we got the information

124
00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:44,760
that we need. And then the physician will look at it and run the reports and figure

125
00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:49,200
out kind of what's going on with your child and what's an appropriate treatment plan.

126
00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:53,520
So we cannot give you any results. We can't tell you how you did other than, hey, we did

127
00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:58,880
get the information that we need. And then we take everything off of them in the morning,

128
00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:04,960
clean them up. And then from there, the physician kind of takes over after that with appointments

129
00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:09,840
and going over the information that they gather, the diagnosis if there is any and what the

130
00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:11,480
treatment plan is.

131
00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:17,800
Gotcha. As far as your engagement throughout the night, so obviously you're there in the

132
00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:21,960
beginning, you're there at the end. And as we saw with Dmitri, you're actually not in

133
00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:26,720
the room all night. You're in the facility, you're just in a different location monitoring

134
00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:27,720
all night.

135
00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:32,200
Yeah. So most places, it depends kind of where you are if you're in a private lab or a hospital

136
00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:35,960
lab. They're all set up a little different, but all the techs are in a control room. And

137
00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:41,200
so that can either be right outside of the patient's room or it could be down the hall,

138
00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:45,880
but we're very close in proximity. And what we're doing all night is where you're being

139
00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:50,800
recorded video wise. And that is just to see what position you're sleeping in. Are you

140
00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:56,400
kicking your legs, doing any kind of weird movements that is not typical for sleep that's

141
00:11:56,400 --> 00:12:02,360
going to help with a sleep disorder diagnosis. We're also looking for, are you talking in

142
00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:07,840
your sleep? Are you audibly snoring? Where not only are we getting a signal on our snore

143
00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:13,520
sensor that's on their neck, but also can we hear you snoring? There's an intercom in

144
00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:17,440
there. So if you have to get up or you have anything, you just talk out and we can hear

145
00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:22,240
you and communicate with you that way. And then we're also monitoring all of those electrodes

146
00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:27,720
that we have on you are displayed on a computer screen. And so we're monitoring that all night

147
00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:32,960
long. And so our job is to make sure that all of those electrodes are staying on, we're

148
00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:38,240
getting a good signal. And then we're also making sure, are you safe? So if something

149
00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:44,840
starts to change clinically and do you need any interventions, we are observing you that

150
00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:49,540
whole time. So if anything changes with your heart rate or your breathing or your brain

151
00:12:49,540 --> 00:12:54,800
waves even, we are monitoring that. So if we need to intervene in any way in that capacity,

152
00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:58,760
we can. So yeah, we're with you the whole night, even though we're not right there next

153
00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:04,240
to you, we are right all night long. We don't leave the facility. We're right there with

154
00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:08,760
you and making sure that we are safe and that we're getting really good information. So

155
00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:13,400
the physician has a really good data to look at to come up with a diagnosis and a treatment

156
00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:14,400
plan for you.

157
00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:18,880
Right, which makes total sense. And then the parents and just to clarify so that parents

158
00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:23,000
if they didn't hear it before, they are in the room with the child all night. Your child

159
00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:24,000
is never alone.

160
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:28,240
Correct. Yeah. And minors, we can't leave them alone. So if they have to run into their

161
00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:32,680
car, they need to take their kiddo with them. Usually they allow one parent to stay and

162
00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:37,480
they sleep in the room with them, whether it be like a couch or a pullout bed, depending

163
00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:41,960
kind of what the facility has, but they will be with the patient all night. They don't

164
00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:47,120
encourage the parent to sleep in the same bed as the child if possible. And that's just

165
00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:52,440
for a couple of reasons. So the snore sensor is a lot of times a microphone. So if the

166
00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:57,960
parents are right next to the kiddo and think it's the child, or if the parents moving

167
00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:02,000
around, it moves the kiddo around and makes it look like maybe they're waking up more

168
00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:06,680
often than they really are. But if that's the norm and that's the only way your child

169
00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:11,720
sleeps, the most places will allow it. And then that may be a conversation of, is this

170
00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:16,280
our normal? Is this just because it's a new environment and so they need your comfort

171
00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:21,000
to be able to fall asleep and then kind of go from there? Or is it they don't sleep?

172
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:25,040
And this is the only way I can get them to sleep, right? And so it's just what I've had

173
00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:31,200
to do for them and for me. So that's our normal. And those are conversations then that they

174
00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:36,800
can have with a doctor to kind of go, okay, how do we go from here? And so all these things

175
00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:41,280
are just good observations that the tech is observing as well. And they may ask those

176
00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:46,000
questions too of, is this a normal thing? Is this just because we're having a sleep study

177
00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:50,800
and they're a little nervous? And then they're just documenting that the tech is not judging

178
00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:55,360
anyone either. A lot of us are parents, right? You do things as parents that you're like,

179
00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:57,840
maybe you said you would never... It's what you have to do, right?

180
00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:04,000
Have to do. And so if they're writing those things down, it's not to be judgmental or

181
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,440
to ridicule or anything. It's just to kind of be the eyes and ears for the physician.

182
00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:12,720
So they have an understanding of, hey, yeah, the parent is sleeping with the child because

183
00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:17,880
this is the only way they can get them to sleep. And for their well-being and the child's well-being,

184
00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:21,800
this is what they've had to do. That's how we're going to test it. That's how we're going to do it. Yeah, exactly.

185
00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:24,920
Yeah. And that's one thing too, by the way, just to remind parents, I think that is an

186
00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:30,680
excellent reminder. When it comes to sleep and airway issues in general, if you're just

187
00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:35,720
finding the podcast and starting to learn about airway and health, take that mom or dad guilt,

188
00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:42,920
work that just out of the way. We want no part of that. I didn't know with my kids. And when I'm here

189
00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:49,880
and to your point, as a single parent, my tiny people hung out with me a lot, right? Especially

190
00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:54,520
when we had moved into a new place or it happened. We all do what we do as parents and we're doing

191
00:15:54,520 --> 00:16:01,720
what we think is best for our children. So it's all good. Yes. I need to be a sleep professional.

192
00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:07,240
I mean, my kids have slept with me from time to time. My oldest, he was a terrible sleeper.

193
00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,840
And I knew all the tips and tricks and things, right? From being in sleep with them,

194
00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:16,440
add issues with them sleeping. And so it's really important to be honest with your sleep tech. And

195
00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:22,520
sometimes it's easier to be because they're not that physician. They're sometimes easier to talk to.

196
00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:28,360
And so really letting them know, like, hey, this is what we had to do because maybe you've had a big

197
00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:33,000
life event that has happened and your kid is going through some things. And that's the whole day

198
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:38,920
they're finding comfort. That's okay. It's not this taboo thing that you don't want to tell.

199
00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:43,560
It's really important for the physician to get the whole picture of what's going on

200
00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:48,840
so that they can support you. And if your physician's being judgy or rude, find a new one.

201
00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:54,600
Right? There's so many out there that are going to be supportive and understanding of your situation

202
00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:59,320
or whatever is going on with your life that it's important to find one that's going to,

203
00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:03,320
that you feel comfortable with and feel like, okay, this is a good thing.

204
00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:08,120
Right. Exactly. Right. Because we're all walking each other through this journey

205
00:17:08,120 --> 00:17:13,080
together, you want the people surrounding you that you can trust and be honest with and

206
00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:18,200
not have that judgment. Or this should be a judgment reason. Yes. Totally agree.

207
00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:23,240
Yep. Okay. So let's talk a little bit more. So parent, child, we've entered the facility,

208
00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:28,920
we've met our attack, we're having a good time, calm, we're giggling, right? We're getting the

209
00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:34,520
tiny person all hooked up. Now, Dmitri showed us a couple of items so that parents can kind of get

210
00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:39,880
some of these, their bearings, but there's a lot of equipment that is about to go in this tiny person.

211
00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:46,280
Yes. There is a lot and it all serves a purpose. So you walk in a lot of times at NARD, you plugged

212
00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:51,960
into a little head box. There's a lot of colorful wires and there's a lot of things. And so when

213
00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:57,400
we're doing sleep setting, we really want to get all of the information that we can from the patient

214
00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:06,360
head to toe. So your brain waves, their eyes, chin, snoring, breathing, their heart, their legs,

215
00:18:06,360 --> 00:18:11,800
we want to look at a lot of different things. And that is one so that we can get all of the

216
00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:17,480
information in one setting. You're not having to come back three or four times to get all of that

217
00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:24,840
information. And like I said, it all serves a purpose. Sleep is relatively new in terms of

218
00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:29,960
technology and healthcare. And so there are a lot of really cool things coming out that are

219
00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:35,880
hopefully going to reduce the number of electrodes and things that we have to put on the patient.

220
00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:40,840
But for right now, there is a lot and it is overwhelming. It's important to know that no

221
00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:45,800
needles, by the way, no needles. Yep, nothing. They're all just sticky. They're all sticky. If

222
00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:51,160
anything hurts, tell your tech. Can it be a little uncomfortable just because it's a lot of stuff?

223
00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:59,560
Yes, but nothing. Burn, hurt, irritate you. If it does, please tell your technologist.

224
00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:04,920
That's a good question. What if your child has latex sensitivities?

225
00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,560
Do any of this bother them or do they need to tell the tech about?

226
00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:11,560
They could tech ahead of time because they could use some different tape. They can

227
00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:17,160
put the electrodes on a little bit differently in terms of cleaning the site that we put the

228
00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:25,080
electrodes on. So if your child has any allergies, sensitivities, blonde kiddos, tend to get a

229
00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:29,480
little red with the cleaning solution that we use. Interesting.

230
00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:37,080
It will be normal, but if it, and it may kind of not burn, but tingle a little bit, if it tingles for

231
00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:42,680
a few minutes and longer and isn't going away, let the tech know. They may have to take the

232
00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:47,800
electrode off, wipe underneath it with a paper towel, make sure they get it all off of there,

233
00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:51,960
and put the electrodes back on. I feel like the only thing that sometimes causes some irritation

234
00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:58,120
is the solution that we clean the patient's scalp with for where the electrodes go. Sometimes

235
00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:02,200
can be a little irritating just because it's a little bit abrasive, kind of like a

236
00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:09,400
toothpaste consistency with little beads in it, and it's meant to be in the skin, get any dead skin,

237
00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:15,880
oil, dirt, anything from where you're going to put that electrode. And so because of that can be a

238
00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:21,400
little irritating. So if it's lingering in your child's, oh, my head's burning or itching, let

239
00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:26,200
your tech know because they can make sure they go in and really make sure they got it all out,

240
00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:31,160
and so that it stops irritating them. Maybe they could, if you have a child that's sensitive,

241
00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,200
maybe they could test the arm or something when you first get there.

242
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:40,920
Yeah, and if your kid has some sensory issues too, a lot of times we are standing behind the

243
00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:45,800
patient, and sometimes that can be a little jarring to the patient because they can't see what's

244
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:52,040
going on. So a lot of times, techs will take their hands, the patient's hand, scrub a little,

245
00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:57,400
actually put the electrode on their hand so they can see what's going on before they start

246
00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:02,360
putting all the electrodes on their head. So yeah, if your kid has any sensitivities, any

247
00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:09,320
sensory sensitivities, bringing things to distract them, letting the tech know, being involved,

248
00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:15,240
don't feel like as a parent that you can't be right there next to them helping, talking through.

249
00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:19,640
Some parents like, oh, I'm going to be in the way. I'd rather you be in the way and me tell you,

250
00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:25,640
like, hey, you want to sit down, I think I got this, or then you kind of sitting off to the side

251
00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:31,160
and your kid freaking out because I'm a stranger, I'm putting all this on them. So don't be afraid

252
00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:37,640
to be in there. Ask what can I do to help? Bring those iPads, bring whatever games, snacks, whatever

253
00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:42,680
you need to do to kind of be able to distract them a little bit because it is, it's a little scary,

254
00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:47,800
especially if you're a beginner or they don't truly understand what's going on and we're messing

255
00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:53,400
with their head and putting all of these things on their body. It can be a little uneasy. So...

256
00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:58,680
Well, yeah, and especially if you think about, you know, and it didn't even occur to me until you

257
00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:03,720
said it, to them, you're the stranger and you're touching all over them. And, you know, we've all

258
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:08,840
had surgery and so you have to lift up your shirt and a lecture then. So here's the stranger

259
00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:14,680
all over them. So yeah, I could see maybe sitting beside them, talking to them is going to help

260
00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:19,000
them realize it's okay because we've spent so much time saying, don't let a stranger touch you,

261
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:23,320
don't do this. And they're going to be all up on them. They're going to be all over them. And having

262
00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:30,360
pajamas that are looser are helpful too so that we can just kind of put stuff over the pajamas or

263
00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:35,800
if we do have to put in the EKG electrodes, we can just kind of gently put them in and they

264
00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:41,080
don't have to take anything off or anything like that. Does one shirt and loosey shorts better?

265
00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:47,480
Or whatever it your child's comfortable in two pieces. Ideal. The electrodes that we put on

266
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:53,880
their leg is going to go kind of under their knee on that muscle. So if they have pants on, we need

267
00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:59,000
to be able to roll the pants up at least to their knee to put those electrodes on. So if they're

268
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:04,280
tighter, they just still are they stretchy enough that we can get those electrodes on their leg

269
00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:09,960
and then still be able to kind of pull the pants over or shorts are great. It's comfortable that

270
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:15,000
we can still put this stuff kind of over and still get to everything without them having to take

271
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:20,040
anything off. And what happens if the child suddenly has to get a restroom in the middle of

272
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:24,120
the night? Nothing has to be removed, right? We just kind of march it into the bathroom and then

273
00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:28,680
then march them back. Exactly. So there's that intercom in the room so they can yell out. You

274
00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:33,640
can yell out as the parent, hey, they got it for the bathroom. We'll come in the box that all of

275
00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:39,000
the electrodes are plugged into, detaches from the wire that kind of sends all the signals to the

276
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:45,000
computer. So we'll detach it, give the box either to the patient or the parent, depending on their age,

277
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:49,400
and they go to the bathroom. They're wearing everything and then they come back and we just

278
00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:54,200
plug that right back in. If anything falls off in the trip, we can put it back on. It's no problem

279
00:23:54,200 --> 00:24:00,440
at all. Diaper change in the night, totally fine. Just let your tech know, especially if your kid is

280
00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:06,520
maybe older and has bathroom needs, letting the tech know, hey, if they have to go to the bathroom,

281
00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:12,520
we got to go quick or, hey, I need to change their diaper or they have feeds in the night.

282
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:18,440
Anything like that, let your tech know who started so they can know priority. You know what I mean?

283
00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:23,720
Okay, if they have to go to the bathroom, I need to be in there quick and getting them to the

284
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:28,280
bathroom and things like that. Or if they need diaper changes, I may have to take off those

285
00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:32,520
leg electrodes just to unsnap them so they can change the diaper real quick and I could snap

286
00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:38,840
them back on. All of those things are just helpful to tell your technologists before you get started

287
00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:45,080
so that they know, hey, I'm going to anticipate this happening. I can be in there to help the parent.

288
00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:49,960
Okay, and that makes total sense. I was just going to head out. The other thing I was going to

289
00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:56,760
clarify because I do believe Dmitri touched on this, especially with the younger's routine is so

290
00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:04,360
important. So if they're used to a nighttime snack or, hey, we can watch Disney or whatever it is,

291
00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:09,400
I'm going to read a book, you can bring all that to the facility and still do all that, correct?

292
00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:15,800
Yes. We want to see the patients in normal, right? What does their every single night's

293
00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:21,640
week look like? Now, you're in a different place in a different bed, but try to keep as much of

294
00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:27,560
that routine as possible. So one, that they're comfortable and two, we can really kind of see,

295
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:33,000
is it normal for your child to ask for all of these things and then take an hour to fall asleep?

296
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:37,640
Or is that kind of abnormal because they're in a different environment? So yeah, if they

297
00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:43,560
have a special snack or a bottle, anything that they need, make sure you ring with you.

298
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:50,200
Most sleep labs do not have snacks or drinks. They may have a water or something like that,

299
00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:55,880
but anything that you need, ring with you. It is considered an outpatient procedure.

300
00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:01,880
So if they need formula or diapers, make sure you bring all of that with you because

301
00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:07,560
they may have an extra diaper or two, but they won't have any formula. They won't have anything kind

302
00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:12,840
of special tea that your child may need. So bring everything with you. The more the merrier, if you

303
00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:18,200
don't use it, that's okay. You had it with you just in case. I'm talking blanket, stuffed animals.

304
00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:21,160
What if they have one of those little nightlights that lights up the room? I mean,

305
00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:28,680
anything that they need, if they have white noise, a lot of pediatric labs have noise machines in

306
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:34,280
the lab, but if your child has to sleep with this certain rain sound, that's my children.

307
00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:38,280
They all fell asleep to the same exact rain sound, to the say they can't sleep without it. So it would

308
00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:43,560
be something I could bring with me just so that I had it just in case. Anything, bring a suitcase

309
00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:48,760
if you need to. That's totally fine of whatever it is that they need so that they're comfortable

310
00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:53,800
and that they're going to sleep because if they come and don't sleep, they're probably have to

311
00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,480
come back again because that's the whole point, right? We need them to sleep. We need to be able

312
00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:04,520
to see what's going on with them and what is their norm. In the morning, if it took them a

313
00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:09,480
long time to fall asleep in the morning, tell your tech that, hey, that's not really their normal

314
00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:14,440
or yes, that is their normal. The tech will just write that down and that'll help the physician

315
00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:20,360
know as well. Okay, yeah, it took them longer to fall asleep, but that's not an issue they normally

316
00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:25,640
have. So we're going to talk that up to being in the sleep lab or yeah, they normally take an hour

317
00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:30,360
to fall asleep and they did that tonight. That is their normal. That's an issue that the parents

318
00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:35,080
are dealing with. And so all of those things are just super helpful because again, we're the eyes

319
00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:41,800
and ears for the doctor. And so any you share with us is super helpful in the doctor coming up

320
00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:47,400
with a plan for your child and for you. Which makes sense. And I mean, I would assume you would

321
00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:52,040
know these things before they get there, but do you handle it differently? Should the parents

322
00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:57,480
prepare differently if you're the parent of a child of that as Down syndrome, for example,

323
00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:05,720
or severity or on the spectrum? Does that change things that change how you as the tech would

324
00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:11,400
work with them or is everything still pretty consistent? Yeah, so I would approach everything

325
00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:17,240
the same way. I'd go in, try to feel what's the vibe, right? How is the kid interacting just

326
00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:22,120
from the time we walked from the lobby to the room? How is the parent interacting with them?

327
00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:27,400
I think it's really important for if the child has anything like their hyper, they're not going to

328
00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:32,120
sit in that bed. Okay, they don't need to sit in the bed until we're ready to get going. All of

329
00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:37,800
those things are super helpful for us. Anything we know ahead of time would just help us with how

330
00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:43,400
long it may take us to put those electrodes on. Is your kid maybe going to need a break halfway

331
00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:49,000
through because that's a long time for them to sit. Can they not sit for 45 minutes? Am I going to

332
00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:54,120
need another tech and maybe we can tag team it to speed it along? All of those things are just kind

333
00:28:54,120 --> 00:29:00,520
of good for us to know, to judge how long is it going to take us to get everything on your child

334
00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:09,000
and to get the study going. Insurance requires at least six hours of recording. We need to prioritize

335
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:14,760
a little bit timing. We have plenty of time, but also if your kid is going to need breaks or if we

336
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:20,440
anticipate it's going to take a lot longer to put everything on them, how do we gauge that so that we

337
00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:25,560
can still get the amount of time that we need of recording. Maybe bring them in earlier or something

338
00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:31,000
like it we know ahead of time. Yeah, or grab another co-worker and say, hey, we're going to team this

339
00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:36,600
and that way we can get it done a little bit quicker. If possible, I can have some toys pulled

340
00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:42,760
out already or child life maybe can bring some sensory things and already have that available

341
00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:47,400
if those are things that are helpful. So anything that you can tell ahead of time,

342
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:52,760
whoever calls you to kind of confirm your appointment is so, so helpful because that gets

343
00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:57,880
relayed to the techs and then they know kind of what they're going to be walking into and what they

344
00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:04,200
can anticipate a little bit throughout the night. What makes sense? So speaking of walking into

345
00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:10,600
Excellent Segway. So let's talk a little bit about as the parents, you're there at night and boop,

346
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:15,800
tech shows up. Right. So that you're not startled and you know it's going to happen.

347
00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:20,440
What are some reasons the tech may come in and then when the tech is there, as a parent, is it okay

348
00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:26,040
to ask questions? Do we just need to be quiet, just kind of wave and what's the protocol for that?

349
00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:31,160
So whatever you're comfortable with, if you have questions, ask those questions. They may not be

350
00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:36,920
able to answer them because of our scope of what we can and can't answer, say or give results or

351
00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:41,560
information or things like that. But don't be afraid to ask them if they don't know the answer or

352
00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:46,120
can't give you the answer. They'll tell you that. If we have to come in the middle of the night, a lot

353
00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:51,000
of times it's because an electrode has either fallen off or they're laying in a position that

354
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:56,760
we're not getting a good signal or a good reading or maybe we're getting a kind of a weird reading

355
00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:02,920
on our computer and we want to come look, lay our eyes on your kiddo and see is that accurate.

356
00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:08,280
So that'd be something in before the study starts. A lot of techs will ask the parent,

357
00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:13,240
do you want me to wake you up every time I come in the room? Is it okay to just kind of sneak in

358
00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:19,160
and try to fix what I need to fix? Let you sleep, let the kiddos sleep. What are you comfortable with?

359
00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:24,440
Those are questions that the tech should be asking the parents. Doesn't always happen.

360
00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:29,480
Things can get a little busy or they can get a little. Sure. So if the tech has to come in

361
00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:35,640
the middle of the night, it's usually to fix one of the electrodes or sensors that are on the kiddos.

362
00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:40,920
Kiddos like to be a little bit snotty and one of the electrodes that we put on is like a nasal

363
00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:46,520
cannula like you would give oxygen. We're not giving oxygen, we're actually measuring the pressure

364
00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:51,320
of the air coming out of your nose, but it gets moist especially if they're a little bit snotty

365
00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:58,040
or been crying and if any moisture gets in there, our signal is not so fabulous. So we may have to

366
00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:04,200
come in, clean it out or replace it completely and that's a common sensor issue that we have,

367
00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:08,600
especially with little ones that are a little bit snotty or they've been crying or anything like that.

368
00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:13,640
The pulse ox that we put either on their finger, on their toes, sometimes they like to play with

369
00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:18,920
it because that has a little bit of a red light on it. So if they do, if they pull it off or we're

370
00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:24,360
not getting a great reading, we'll have to come in and move it around. So any reason we come in

371
00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:29,640
is just to fix any electrode that it may be. And so a lot of times we can come in and kind of

372
00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:34,840
sneakily fix things without ever waking up the patient or the parent. If for some reason they

373
00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:41,080
come in and they say, hey, we have to put a CPAP mask on your child and that was not planned,

374
00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:47,960
that could be because they did show obstructive sleep apnea and it was severe enough that we

375
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:54,440
need to intervene in the middle of the night and put a mask on them and go ahead and put them on tap.

376
00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:59,800
If it was ordered for the study to be that way, like a half-and-half diagnostic, half-treatment,

377
00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:04,600
we would have discussed that ahead of time before the study started so that you knew, hey,

378
00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:09,320
there's a possibility I'm going to come in the middle of the night, put this mask on your child

379
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:11,240
and this is what the purpose is to help.

380
00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:14,200
That's nice because the child would see it too so they're not startled.

381
00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:21,320
Yes. Now sometimes it's not planned. They are so significantly having some issues breathing

382
00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:25,400
that we need to come in and intervene in the middle of the night and if that's the case,

383
00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:30,600
we'll wake the parent up, let them know the purpose of it, put the mask on the child and

384
00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:35,560
start our titration in the middle of the night. That's rare. It doesn't always happen.

385
00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:40,600
If they're there and maybe they have a trach and we're doing some trials of capping their

386
00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:46,360
trach or uncapping their trach, we may be coming in and maybe it was planned to be capped but

387
00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:50,840
they're not doing so fabulous so we need to come in and uncap it. We would wake the parent

388
00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:55,880
up and let them know so that they understand what's going on with their child as well and

389
00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:59,640
we're not beginning doing a bunch of things and they're sound asleep and they don't know what's

390
00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:06,200
happened. So whatever you feel comfortable with, if you have a medically complex child in any capacity,

391
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:13,960
ask those questions. The tech may not always know it or know what answer to give you but they can

392
00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:19,240
at least write it down and let the physician know that, hey, the parent had a lot of questions about

393
00:34:19,240 --> 00:34:24,120
their trach or about next steps or what is this going to look like in the future so that the

394
00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:35,160
physician knows they need to discuss those things with you when you have your clinic appointment.

395
00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:53,160
You're listening to Airway First with today's guest, Jordan Rass. You can find out more about

396
00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:58,120
the Children's Airway First Foundation and our mission to fix before six on our website at

397
00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:04,280
childrensairwayfirst.org. The CAF website offers tons of great resources for both parents and

398
00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:10,360
medical professionals. In our parents' portal and clinicians' corner areas, you can find educational

399
00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:17,400
and informational content including videos, blogs, our recommended reading lists, comprehensive medical

400
00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:24,680
research, podcasts, events, parent support, and several educational opportunities. Parents are

401
00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:29,640
also encouraged to join the Airway Huddle, our Facebook support group which was created for

402
00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:35,000
parents of children with airway and sleep-related issues. You can access the Airway Huddle support

403
00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:41,640
group at facebook.com backslash groups backslash airway huddle. Are you a medical professional

404
00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:46,440
or parent that is interested in being a guest on the show? Then shoot us a note via our contact

405
00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:54,120
page on our website or send us an email directly at infoatchildrensairwayfirst.org. As a reminder,

406
00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:59,560
this podcast and the opinions expressed here are not a medical diagnosis. If you suspect your child

407
00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:05,400
might have an airway issue, contact your pediatric airway dentist or pediatrician. And now let's

408
00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:35,240
jump back into my interview with today's guest, Jordan Russ.

409
00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:41,080
Okay, so let's say we've gone through the night you got at least six hours that you needed recorded.

410
00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:47,000
How does this wrap up process? Yeah, so we come in the morning and we'll let you know the study is

411
00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:53,800
over. We have to do some things called bio-calibrations before we take everything off. And that is

412
00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:58,920
an insurance thing to show that, hey, yes, everything was working throughout the night.

413
00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:02,760
We did them before you went to sleep and then we do them again when you wake up.

414
00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:08,280
Just simple things. We ask you to open your eyes, close your eyes, blink, breathe normally,

415
00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:14,120
move your legs. It's just to check all of those sensors and electrodes that we have on you to

416
00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:18,840
make sure that, yeah, they were working throughout the night. Once we do that, then we'll come in

417
00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:24,200
and we'll unhook you. So we'll take all of the electrodes off of you, clean up your head. You

418
00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:31,240
probably will have some gunk in your hair. It's the paste that the electrodes stick with and conduct

419
00:37:31,240 --> 00:37:36,840
electricity, shampoo and lots and lots of conditioner. It's heat activated, so the hotter

420
00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:42,360
the water, the better it kind of melts away. But you will have some of that in your hair. The tech

421
00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:47,560
will try to clean it up as much as you can. The plan to be able to go home and release, scrub

422
00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:53,480
your patient's hair, they may have the body too. Sometimes it leaves it on there too.

423
00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:58,760
So we'll have sometimes you'll have tape residue, some patients, we have that electrode on your

424
00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:02,920
neck that's for your snore and we tape it down. Sometimes when you take that tape off, they'll

425
00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:08,440
have a little redness around it. Totally normal. It's just from having that tape on for so long.

426
00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:15,960
We try to use some tricks like alcohol pads or hand sanitizer to put on the tape first,

427
00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:21,720
so we're not ripping it and giving you a wax job very quickly. Nice. It's about it. So we'll take

428
00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:27,560
everything off. There may be paperwork that you ask your child depending on their age.

429
00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:32,600
How did they feel like they slept? They feel like that was normal. Did they feel like they had any

430
00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:39,480
dreams? They'll ask those kind of questions. They will let you know the typical time that it takes

431
00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:44,040
for the physician to read the study and get back with you. So whether that be a couple days,

432
00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:49,880
a couple weeks, let them know, hey, someone will be contacting you to schedule an appointment to

433
00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:56,840
go over your results. Again, we can't give you results in real time at that moment. So you may

434
00:38:56,840 --> 00:39:00,520
feel like they're a little vague with you, but it's just because we can't give you that information

435
00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:05,400
as much as we would love to sometimes because we kind of know what was going on. Answer any

436
00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:10,920
questions and then you're free to go after that. Free to go home. Usually they don't serve breakfast,

437
00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:16,120
so they tend to wake up about 6 a.m. Get everything off of you so that you're out of there by about

438
00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:22,520
6.30 in the morning is typical for most pediatric sleep labs. Yeah, so you can actually get out.

439
00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:29,320
If you need to get to work or get to school, you have time. Right. So as far as a sleep study

440
00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:34,200
itself, just for kids, because I mean, as you mentioned, it is a new field, but especially

441
00:39:34,200 --> 00:39:40,360
for kids and parents, I mean, this is a whole new work hold for most of us. Why would a child need

442
00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:49,400
a sleep study and why are at home studies really not great options for our tiny people?

443
00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:56,600
Yeah, so there's a couple of reasons. So there's 80 plus diagnosable sleep disorders. So a lot of

444
00:39:56,600 --> 00:40:02,040
times the physician may not truly know what's going on with them. So the best thing is let's

445
00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:07,800
have a sleep study and try to see what is going on with their sleep. A lot of times it's the parent

446
00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:14,280
has witnessed them sleeping with their mouth open a lot or snoring. Maybe even the dentist has seen

447
00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:19,720
some decay in their teeth because they're sleeping with their mouth open. If they have a larger tongue,

448
00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:24,760
a lot of times before they get their tonsils and adenoids out, they'll have a sleep study.

449
00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:31,880
Then say, yes, they have sleep apnea. Let's take out their tonsils and adenoids. Let that heal.

450
00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:36,680
Have another sleep study to make sure everything is... That's a lot of what we see is the tonsils

451
00:40:36,680 --> 00:40:42,680
and adenoids. If they're enlarged, you want to see if, hey, is it causing some issues? Yes. Okay,

452
00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:48,120
let's take those out and see if those issues resolved. It could be they have a respiratory

453
00:40:48,120 --> 00:40:55,400
illness and we need to get that long-term data of their oxygen, their carbon dioxide, their breathing.

454
00:40:55,400 --> 00:40:59,800
What does their heart look like? Do they have a trach? How are they doing with their trach

455
00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:05,000
throughout the night? Do they still need to be on a ventilator or any sort of respiratory support

456
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:10,520
at night? We see that a lot. They're overweight or they have Down syndrome where they typically

457
00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:16,120
have a smaller mouth and a larger tongue. As we sleep, our tongue likes to fall back and is our

458
00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:23,880
tongue falling back and closing operator weight. Different childhood diseases and disorders have

459
00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:32,280
a lot of sleep issues because of either anatomy or their lungs need some more support. Let's get a

460
00:41:32,280 --> 00:41:37,800
good comprehensive data of what it looks like when they're sleeping for a long period of time

461
00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:43,480
and see what kind of support do they need throughout the night. That's a lot of what we see.

462
00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:52,200
Homesleep testing doesn't record as much as an in-lab study. In an in-lab study, we're recording

463
00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:59,160
your brain waves, we're recording your eye movement, your chin movement. If you're soaring,

464
00:41:59,160 --> 00:42:04,520
are your legs moving? How are you breathing? What's your oxygen? What's your carbon dioxide?

465
00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:10,040
What's your heart doing? We're recording, like I said, a lot head to tail. For a home study,

466
00:42:10,040 --> 00:42:16,840
we're only monitoring a few parameters, mostly respiratory. We're not going to have those brain

467
00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:23,480
waves. I'm not going to be able to see how much sleep you actually got, be able to see how often

468
00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:29,880
did you wake up throughout the night. We're not going to be able to maybe see what your heart rate

469
00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:35,000
was throughout the night or if you snored, depending on the type of homesleep study that you had.

470
00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:41,320
There's different types that record different parameters. Most of them, like I said, are going

471
00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:46,600
to record your breathing. They may have a chest belt and they'll probably have a pulse ock. We'll

472
00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:52,360
know your heart rate and your oxygen saturation, but we won't be able to see your heart rhythm

473
00:42:52,360 --> 00:42:57,640
necessarily like we can in an in-lab study. It's just less parameters. It's really to see,

474
00:42:57,640 --> 00:43:03,640
do you have sleep apnea or not necessarily looking for some of these other disorders?

475
00:43:04,920 --> 00:43:09,000
It sounds kind of snotty about this, but just to clarify, because I know if my mind went here,

476
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:15,080
someone else's mind went here. It kind of sounds like just in general, home study is really not

477
00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:21,000
much better than your Apple Watch. I was thinking you could record a little bit more, but I guess

478
00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:27,480
you really can't. That's where the technology is coming out, is really how to

479
00:43:27,480 --> 00:43:32,520
we record more with these home studies about having the patient have to put it all on.

480
00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:37,480
So you have to remember for a homesleep study, the patient is responsible for putting those

481
00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:41,640
items on themselves. So we want to make it as simple as possible.

482
00:43:42,200 --> 00:43:45,880
Right. Right. Because what if you put that monitor in the wrong place and you're really

483
00:43:45,880 --> 00:43:48,600
going to get something? There's a lot of room for human error. There's a lot of,

484
00:43:48,600 --> 00:43:53,560
I think, falls off. There's not someone watching you to say, oh, we need to take that back on.

485
00:43:53,560 --> 00:44:02,120
So for home studies, it really was designed for adults who probably have a really high

486
00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:07,160
pre-test probability to have obstructive sleep apnea. So maybe they've met with their

487
00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:13,720
primary care doctor and the doctors. Yes, you have OSA. Insurance doesn't want to pay for an

488
00:44:13,720 --> 00:44:19,560
in-lapse study because maybe they're otherwise relatively healthy as an adult. So they'll pay

489
00:44:19,560 --> 00:44:25,880
for a homesleep study as like a, let's see, do you or don't you? And so the homesleep study can

490
00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:32,360
give us the information of, yeah, they probably have OSA so we can treat them. Or maybe it was

491
00:44:32,360 --> 00:44:37,800
inconclusive and now insurance will pay for an in-lapse study. Gotcha.

492
00:44:37,800 --> 00:44:43,240
You know, we can't really narrow it down to you're one of these 80 with a homesleep study.

493
00:44:43,240 --> 00:44:50,200
That's literally kind of a yes or no. Exactly. And so with kids, we really need to be able to

494
00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:57,160
identify what is going on with them. And so in the world of sleep, 13 is kind of the age that

495
00:44:57,160 --> 00:45:05,960
they categorize pediatric and adults. So when we're looking at sleep, pediatrics is considered

496
00:45:05,960 --> 00:45:15,800
12 and under and 13 and over is adults. However, the physician can use the pediatric rules for 18

497
00:45:15,800 --> 00:45:21,800
and under. So that's where the study is like, it's not approved for anyone 13 and under because

498
00:45:21,800 --> 00:45:28,360
that's where in the world of sleep, our rules and guidelines separate 13 as you can use adult

499
00:45:28,360 --> 00:45:36,360
rules for interpreting and treating your patient. So with that said, most 13 year olds are still

500
00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:42,520
probably having in-lapse sleep studies unless it is maybe they're just overweight and the doctor's

501
00:45:42,520 --> 00:45:49,480
trying to see how much is maybe they're overweight affecting their sleep and things like that. So

502
00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:55,320
that's where that home study is really more designed for our adult population who don't

503
00:45:55,320 --> 00:46:02,200
really have a lot of health issues or medical issues and insurance is saying, hey, we're only

504
00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:08,440
going to pay for this. And so we're going to start there. Okay. These kiddos, insurance will pay for

505
00:46:08,440 --> 00:46:14,760
an in-lapse study and allow them to get that more comprehensive data and information for the physician.

506
00:46:14,760 --> 00:46:19,560
And that makes more sense to me too that we would definitely go that extra step. We're going to skip

507
00:46:19,560 --> 00:46:25,080
this and just go straight for the big money because these are developing humans and we've

508
00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:29,800
got to get to them fast because this is impacting their brain and their brain functions and their

509
00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:34,200
overall health and they'll carry this into adulthood. So I understand the urgency. It does

510
00:46:34,200 --> 00:46:41,400
make a little more sense. Yeah. And insurance and as sleep is becoming more recognized and more of a

511
00:46:41,400 --> 00:46:48,120
topic that general practitioners are having more knowledge of, that they're being educated on more

512
00:46:48,120 --> 00:46:53,640
in medical school and residency. And it's just more of a common place that we're seeing the

513
00:46:53,640 --> 00:47:00,680
importance of good quality sleep and overall health outcomes. Right. If you have sleep apnea

514
00:47:00,680 --> 00:47:06,600
that's untreated, you're more at risk for heart attack and stroke and high blood pressure, gaining

515
00:47:06,600 --> 00:47:11,960
weights, diabetes, all of those things. So if we can treat their sleep and lower their risk for all

516
00:47:11,960 --> 00:47:16,600
of those other things, why wouldn't we do that? Right. And insurance is starting to realize that

517
00:47:16,600 --> 00:47:22,680
as well that, hey, if we maybe spend a lot of money upfront, but it can help them long-term

518
00:47:22,680 --> 00:47:27,640
to help kind of mitigate and hopefully reduce their risk for a lot of other health issues.

519
00:47:28,200 --> 00:47:32,760
Same for kids. We're seeing their school performance suffer because they're not getting

520
00:47:32,760 --> 00:47:39,240
good quality sleep. Kiddos who don't have good sleep are not necessarily fatigued and tired.

521
00:47:39,240 --> 00:47:45,880
They're super hyper and crazy. ADHD. ADHD. And so there's that correlation now of,

522
00:47:45,880 --> 00:47:50,440
are these kids really ADHD or what does their sleep look like? Are they just not getting enough

523
00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:56,680
sleep? Is that education that the pediatrician can help the parent with? So now more pediatricians

524
00:47:56,680 --> 00:48:02,920
are having those conversations with, hey, a six-year-old still needs 10 to 11 hours of sleep.

525
00:48:03,560 --> 00:48:07,720
So yes, they may be able to stay up till nine o'clock, but if they're having to get up at six

526
00:48:07,720 --> 00:48:16,920
o'clock for school, that may not be good. And so we may negative behaviors or things that can just

527
00:48:16,920 --> 00:48:23,000
be mitigated by going to sleep an hour earlier. Little conversations like that are happening

528
00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:27,560
more and more as more information is coming out and more research is coming out showing

529
00:48:28,200 --> 00:48:37,000
how important good quality sleep is for everybody. Yeah. For kids, for teenagers. Okay,

530
00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:42,200
teenagers like to stay up all night. Well, that's normal because of their hormone changes.

531
00:48:42,200 --> 00:48:48,360
They're wired, yeah. So their circadian rhythm is changing. So it kind of helps the narrative of

532
00:48:48,360 --> 00:48:55,000
later start times for school. Exactly. And all of those things. So as sleep is getting more research

533
00:48:55,000 --> 00:49:02,440
and more mainstream, I think we're going to start to see the emphasis on really supporting patient

534
00:49:02,440 --> 00:49:09,240
sleep and supporting them as their overall health. Yeah, which I love that. And by the way,

535
00:49:09,240 --> 00:49:14,200
it just doesn't hurt to mention this again, if you go through this with your child and

536
00:49:14,200 --> 00:49:20,200
previously they've been diagnosed with ADHD and you've been giving them medication and we find

537
00:49:20,200 --> 00:49:25,640
out it was an airway or sleep issue, please don't feel guilty doing what you thought was best for

538
00:49:25,640 --> 00:49:30,040
your child. You did what you know and here's where you are now and keep moving on. It's all good.

539
00:49:30,040 --> 00:49:34,120
It's all good. And that's, it's one of those things you don't know what you don't know. And if you were

540
00:49:34,120 --> 00:49:40,440
never educated on how much sleep your kiddo needs or they're doing all these extracurriculars, you

541
00:49:40,440 --> 00:49:45,480
have to get up to go to work. So maybe they're going to daycare before school because of your

542
00:49:45,480 --> 00:49:51,160
job schedule. That's okay. And so what are some little changes that maybe we can make

543
00:49:51,800 --> 00:49:57,480
to support not only you, but also support your child and reevaluating constantly of,

544
00:49:57,480 --> 00:50:01,480
hey, all of a sudden we're starting to have issues and we've never had issues before.

545
00:50:01,480 --> 00:50:06,520
What are some little things maybe we can start changing and see, do we see a change in behavior?

546
00:50:06,520 --> 00:50:13,320
If not, that's okay. There's true ADHD kids out there. It's not always a big issue. But sleep is

547
00:50:13,320 --> 00:50:19,400
a big issue and especially in kiddos when they don't act tired or they get a second wind and get

548
00:50:19,400 --> 00:50:23,560
real hyper at night. Sometimes they're a little tired and then we've kind of missed that window

549
00:50:23,560 --> 00:50:29,240
to get them to sleep and that's okay. And I've been seeing pediatricians even from my first

550
00:50:29,240 --> 00:50:36,840
child to my third child where the pediatrician is now educating on sleep and how much sleep they need

551
00:50:36,840 --> 00:50:42,280
and what is normal sleep at different ages. Where with my first, he never expressed that to me and

552
00:50:42,280 --> 00:50:47,560
he didn't even know I was in sleep. So just the education in general that parents are getting and

553
00:50:47,560 --> 00:50:52,840
their pediatrician appointments, I think is improving too and helping with that narrative of

554
00:50:52,840 --> 00:50:57,640
getting good quality sleep. I totally agree. I agree. And I'll put links in the show notes to some

555
00:50:57,640 --> 00:51:01,000
of these things, but there's some really, really great books. If you want to read some of them,

556
00:51:01,000 --> 00:51:07,560
there's Why We Sleep, a fantastic book for sleep-wrecked kids sharing more. Fantastic. And that gives

557
00:51:07,560 --> 00:51:11,880
you as a parent a lot of sleep hygiene and a lot of tips that you can do that like you've been

558
00:51:11,880 --> 00:51:17,160
discussing that you can try with your child. Brave parent is another one. We'll put a link to that

559
00:51:17,160 --> 00:51:20,920
one in there. And then our website's got some really great stuff. We've collaborated with some

560
00:51:20,920 --> 00:51:25,240
of these authors. So we're not just pulling this out of thin air, but there's also the Texas Sleep

561
00:51:25,240 --> 00:51:32,280
Society and the Sleep Education Consortium. And that's for physicians and ballet professionals

562
00:51:32,280 --> 00:51:37,480
as well. Check out these resources. But as parent, as you mentioned, there's 80 different

563
00:51:38,040 --> 00:51:42,760
diagnosis you can come up to. Head on over to the Sleep Education Consortium and check some of

564
00:51:42,760 --> 00:51:47,320
these out because I think as a parent, once you understand and you have this knowledge,

565
00:51:47,960 --> 00:51:53,080
you can make better decisions to help your child. Exactly. And it goes back to that guilt, right?

566
00:51:53,080 --> 00:51:57,000
We don't know what's going on. Well, I mean, you feel like, oh, is it something I did? Did I

567
00:51:58,040 --> 00:52:03,240
get them up with good sleep habits or we had this great schedule, but we had this huge life

568
00:52:03,240 --> 00:52:08,040
change and job changes and maybe we had to move or whatever. And now they're all out of whack.

569
00:52:08,040 --> 00:52:14,520
It's okay. It happens even with us as adults, right? We go through loads of our sleep. And so

570
00:52:14,520 --> 00:52:19,480
there's so many resources out there, like you said, now that you can find, even if you're just

571
00:52:19,480 --> 00:52:24,840
searching, I have a six-year-old boy, how much should he sleep? Right? And there's tons of data

572
00:52:24,840 --> 00:52:30,120
out there and, oh, my six-year-old is having this issue. What could it potentially be? Because a lot

573
00:52:30,120 --> 00:52:36,360
of those AD sleep disorders are more adult-based or maybe more age-based. And little kids, we see a

574
00:52:36,360 --> 00:52:42,840
lot of sleep talking, sleepwalking, night terrors. All of that's normal. We expect them to grow out

575
00:52:42,840 --> 00:52:49,160
of it as they get older. It's due to how much deep sleep that they get. So sometimes it's just

576
00:52:49,160 --> 00:52:53,640
looking at those things and realizing, okay, night terrors are terrifying for the parent,

577
00:52:53,640 --> 00:52:57,800
but the child has no idea what's going on. They are sound asleep when it's happening.

578
00:52:57,800 --> 00:53:01,640
They will not remember it. I was gonna say they're not gonna remember it. That's the right thing.

579
00:53:01,640 --> 00:53:07,320
So sometimes it's just giving yourself that peace of mind of my child is standing screaming at

580
00:53:08,120 --> 00:53:13,240
midnight. And it's hard for the parent, but the kid has no idea they're gonna go back to sleep.

581
00:53:13,240 --> 00:53:17,320
They've been asleep the whole time. They're gonna grow out of it. So just sometimes giving the

582
00:53:17,320 --> 00:53:22,200
parent some of that peace of mind is super helpful too. So like you said, there's so many resources

583
00:53:22,200 --> 00:53:28,840
out there. It can be daunting, but ask pediatricians, start there if they don't know and say, hey,

584
00:53:28,840 --> 00:53:33,640
who can you refer me to? You may go to a sleep doctor and they say, no, they don't need a sleep

585
00:53:33,640 --> 00:53:39,800
study. Maybe let's just keep a sleep diary for two weeks and kind of see what is normally happening.

586
00:53:40,600 --> 00:53:46,280
Medications affect sleep a lot. So if your kiddo is on some medications, look up the effects of

587
00:53:46,280 --> 00:53:50,840
Swiss. It's something maybe it just the time of day that they take it changes. So there's a lot

588
00:53:50,840 --> 00:53:57,000
of little tweaks that can be made that can help your sleep. Yeah. And I'll just throw this out here

589
00:53:57,880 --> 00:54:01,800
if I were a betting person because I've heard this from other parents and I went through this.

590
00:54:01,800 --> 00:54:05,640
I'm sure you went through this. I've heard this from other guests. As you're going along your

591
00:54:05,640 --> 00:54:09,800
child's sleep and airway journey and you're doing your research, you're going to these websites,

592
00:54:09,800 --> 00:54:13,320
you're reading the books, you're listening to the podcast, you're talking to your providers,

593
00:54:13,320 --> 00:54:17,800
you're going to have these moments where you look in the mirror and go, because you realize, oh,

594
00:54:18,520 --> 00:54:22,760
I could be doing better. This is impacting me. I mean, I come from a long line of people that

595
00:54:23,720 --> 00:54:27,240
wore the fact that we got about four hours of sleep because that's just how we're built.

596
00:54:27,240 --> 00:54:32,760
Like I came out of the womb, not sleeping. I've heard this my entire life as a badge of honor.

597
00:54:32,760 --> 00:54:36,440
Yes. And people would always joke me, why do you ever sleep? No. Well, guess what? Your girl

598
00:54:36,440 --> 00:54:42,520
sleeps now. I've worked really hard to tell my body, no, that's not good for you because you also

599
00:54:42,520 --> 00:54:47,640
start as you do the research looking down the road. While dementia, Alzheimer's runs in my family,

600
00:54:47,640 --> 00:54:53,480
high blood pressure, diabetes, guess what's all related to sleep and airway? Yes. Like mind blowing

601
00:54:53,480 --> 00:54:59,320
and you realize, oh, I didn't know. My parents didn't know. Let's make some changes. And I think

602
00:54:59,320 --> 00:55:04,680
that also trickles down because now your children are seeing, mom or dad is adjusting and look at

603
00:55:04,680 --> 00:55:09,560
what it's doing for them. Oh, maybe it's not so scary. I can do it. Right. It's how we prioritize

604
00:55:09,560 --> 00:55:15,640
eating. Right. We prioritize maybe, okay, I could start changing little habits here and there. Same

605
00:55:15,640 --> 00:55:22,840
way with sleep. Prioritizing sleep is a prescription almost of how much sleep should I get? What kind

606
00:55:22,840 --> 00:55:30,120
of little things can I change? How can I adapt my schedule to support me because I will ultimately

607
00:55:30,120 --> 00:55:34,920
feel better if I'm getting the amount of sleep that I need. Women need more sleep than men.

608
00:55:34,920 --> 00:55:40,760
We need different sleep needs throughout the month, depending on our hormones and our cycle

609
00:55:40,760 --> 00:55:46,040
and things like that. And so understanding that and prioritizing that, like you said, it trickles

610
00:55:46,040 --> 00:55:51,560
down. Your kids watch everything you do, whether you realize it or not. So if they see mom and dad

611
00:55:51,560 --> 00:55:57,880
going to bed and shutting everything off and having a nice, cool, quiet environment, they're

612
00:55:57,880 --> 00:56:02,280
going to do that too. And all of the things that I used to fall asleep with the TV on because

613
00:56:02,280 --> 00:56:07,960
that's what I did as a kid because that's my parents did. And so, exactly. I did that. And then

614
00:56:07,960 --> 00:56:12,760
learning, oh my gosh, that's light, those blue light and all the light that I'm getting. It's

615
00:56:12,760 --> 00:56:18,440
impacting how I'm sleeping even though I feel like I'm sleeping and making those changes. And

616
00:56:18,440 --> 00:56:24,920
it's not wrong. It is what it is. And so, what are the things that we make that then will support

617
00:56:24,920 --> 00:56:30,040
our kids too. And they'll do better. They'll have better attitudes. They'll have less meltdowns.

618
00:56:30,040 --> 00:56:35,480
Right. If they do have any chronic illnesses, those will hopefully improve a little bit because

619
00:56:35,480 --> 00:56:40,920
their body is now able to rest and repair the way it's intended to when we're sleeping.

620
00:56:41,560 --> 00:56:46,680
Yep. And I will tell parents that don't think it's real. As somebody that has been through this

621
00:56:46,680 --> 00:56:52,040
process because I do have an airway disease, which even page in the term disease, I know,

622
00:56:52,040 --> 00:56:57,480
has been an airway issue for 20 years, but it's an issue. These changes, the little things,

623
00:56:57,480 --> 00:57:02,840
make impacts. There's meds I'm not on anymore. I actually do sleep six to seven hours a night,

624
00:57:02,840 --> 00:57:08,040
which is phenomenal. That's great. I'm not tired during the day. And yeah, I do still have the

625
00:57:08,040 --> 00:57:15,560
airway issue, but just these little changes, it does matter. Right? So, yeah. And take advantage

626
00:57:15,560 --> 00:57:22,280
of something as simple as your phone, you can mute it at night. You can set it up to where it goes

627
00:57:22,280 --> 00:57:28,680
into hibernation at night and only certain people can get through. My people are away at school,

628
00:57:28,680 --> 00:57:33,880
because they're older, but if they need me, I will hear that, but I won't hear anything else at night.

629
00:57:34,440 --> 00:57:39,400
And you think, oh, that's not a big deal, but these tiny little sounds and every time your phone

630
00:57:39,400 --> 00:57:45,240
goes off, the light comes on. You don't realize it and it does make an impact. So just do your

631
00:57:45,240 --> 00:57:48,920
research and check out these books and these websites and you're going to learn so much.

632
00:57:48,920 --> 00:57:54,360
And no, you really are. And even if you can just find a sleep hygiene handout, there's some great

633
00:57:54,360 --> 00:57:59,800
picture ones too. And just give it to your kiddo if they're at the reading age or understanding age

634
00:57:59,800 --> 00:58:04,360
and say, okay, what are some of these things that maybe we can all do as a family and make it like

635
00:58:04,360 --> 00:58:09,640
a full of that? Yeah, do it as it is. Yeah, let them be involved. Is that then when they're empowered

636
00:58:09,640 --> 00:58:15,640
and they feel like they're involved, they're going to buy into it. And then they see mom and dad

637
00:58:15,640 --> 00:58:21,480
doing it, their siblings doing it, they're doing it. And like I said, it's just going to improve

638
00:58:21,480 --> 00:58:27,320
everybody's quality of life, well-being, happiness, health, yeah, everything. It's just, it makes

639
00:58:27,320 --> 00:58:32,120
everybody feel better when you sleep because when you don't sleep, you feel like crap and you know,

640
00:58:32,760 --> 00:58:37,240
feel good and you don't have the energy or motivation and then you can get into this kind

641
00:58:37,240 --> 00:58:44,360
of cycle of sadness or frustration or guilt, anxiety, there's everything because of it.

642
00:58:44,360 --> 00:58:49,400
Yes, of all of these things. Yeah, which is crazy because you don't realize it. So, and I know we've

643
00:58:49,400 --> 00:58:53,240
touched on some of this because that's just kind of how it went, but I am still going to ask the

644
00:58:53,240 --> 00:58:58,280
question because I always ask it at the end of every episode. What are some of your final thoughts

645
00:58:58,280 --> 00:59:03,560
that you would want to leave with parents when it comes to sleep studies or sleep hygiene?

646
00:59:03,560 --> 00:59:09,640
I think the most important thing is to remember, you may go in and they may not find anything

647
00:59:09,640 --> 00:59:13,560
going on just because they order a sleep study doesn't necessarily mean there's something going

648
00:59:13,560 --> 00:59:19,160
on. It could just be, okay, we need to narrow down or figure out what is going on and that could

649
00:59:19,160 --> 00:59:24,840
just be sleep hygiene changes or a medication change because they're on this medication that's

650
00:59:24,840 --> 00:59:30,360
causing them to have some sleep issues or you go in and you may get a diagnosis of something

651
00:59:30,360 --> 00:59:35,640
and that's okay because you're going in, you're trying to find the help and support for your child

652
00:59:35,640 --> 00:59:41,560
and so if they have to wear a CPAP mask or have some sort of support throughout the night, that's

653
00:59:41,560 --> 00:59:47,000
okay. It doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be forever either. It could be they grow out of it or

654
00:59:47,000 --> 00:59:52,200
hey, we're going to do this in the meantime and make some changes and see if that helps support them.

655
00:59:53,960 --> 00:59:57,720
So many times people, especially in the adult world, I don't want to wear that mask the rest of

656
00:59:57,720 --> 01:00:03,640
my life. I don't want to wear this the rest of my life. Okay, but why is it after having you wear

657
01:00:03,640 --> 01:00:10,520
this? Because you're not breathing for at least 10 seconds, more than five times an hour if you're

658
01:00:10,520 --> 01:00:15,400
an adult, that's a lot. It's hard to even hold your breath for that long, that often. And so

659
01:00:15,400 --> 01:00:20,920
understanding there's a reason for the treatment plan and that it doesn't have to be forever and

660
01:00:20,920 --> 01:00:26,040
the more you can educate yourself and ask those questions, the more you're informed and can make

661
01:00:26,040 --> 01:00:30,920
the decision that you feel is best for your child. And so in letting the kids know that there's

662
01:00:30,920 --> 01:00:35,160
nothing necessarily wrong with them, if they have to wear it at night, it's just helping them breathe,

663
01:00:35,160 --> 01:00:40,600
helping keep that airway open so they can grow and be big and strong and be good at school and be

664
01:00:40,600 --> 01:00:44,360
able to do whatever they enjoy to do. They're going to want to do it because they're going to feel

665
01:00:44,360 --> 01:00:49,160
better. So I think it's just important for parents because it's easy to be like, oh my gosh, this

666
01:00:49,160 --> 01:00:54,120
is another thing, right? Or they're going to be on this the rest of their life, well, not necessarily.

667
01:00:54,120 --> 01:00:59,480
Maybe as they get older, they won't need it. Maybe just a short-term thing or maybe they

668
01:00:59,480 --> 01:01:04,040
took their tonsils and adenoids out and they still need some support. But as they grow and their

669
01:01:04,040 --> 01:01:08,760
airway gets bigger, they won't need that support. And so just asking the questions, don't be afraid

670
01:01:08,760 --> 01:01:13,800
to ask the questions. It can be scary. If it's not working, freaking out why is your math isn't it

671
01:01:13,800 --> 01:01:18,680
working? Don't feel like, oh, I'm just going to throw it in the corner and not use it anymore.

672
01:01:18,680 --> 01:01:24,520
There's other masks out there. There's other options out there. Sleep is so new in terms of

673
01:01:24,520 --> 01:01:30,200
health care that there's so many things coming out. I was just at the Texas Sleep Society meeting

674
01:01:30,200 --> 01:01:34,600
and just to see all of the new things coming out and hear all of the things coming out,

675
01:01:35,240 --> 01:01:42,120
it's amazing. And so, 10 years, I think sleep's going to look very different in terms of treatment

676
01:01:42,120 --> 01:01:47,240
options for patients and long-term options for patients. So I think just take it one day at a

677
01:01:47,240 --> 01:01:54,040
time. It's okay. If something's not working, talk to your doctor about it. Get a new mask. Say, hey,

678
01:01:54,680 --> 01:01:58,840
I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing with this. That's okay. They don't expect every parent

679
01:01:58,840 --> 01:02:05,880
to know exactly what they need to be doing. It's daunting. Having your kids help you with it.

680
01:02:05,880 --> 01:02:09,960
If you need a therapist's support in the meantime to maybe help with some

681
01:02:10,520 --> 01:02:15,080
acclimation therapy or anything like that, don't be afraid to reach out and see what kind of

682
01:02:15,080 --> 01:02:19,080
resources are available, especially if your kid's going to be on CPAP. And maybe they're

683
01:02:19,080 --> 01:02:23,800
really having a hard time with it. School counselors are really great too. So my friend was just

684
01:02:24,440 --> 01:02:27,800
diagnosed with a lot of allergy issues and has to do some allergy shots and he was

685
01:02:27,800 --> 01:02:33,240
devastated. He's eight and he's like, why? This is not fair. My brother doesn't have to do this.

686
01:02:33,240 --> 01:02:37,080
And I reached out to his school counselor and she talked to him and he felt so much better.

687
01:02:37,080 --> 01:02:39,640
And that's like, that's a free resource, right? That's their friend.

688
01:02:39,640 --> 01:02:40,840
Yeah, that's true.

689
01:02:40,840 --> 01:02:48,040
If you're feeling kind of stuck or your kiddos maybe having a hard time understanding

690
01:02:48,040 --> 01:02:52,600
what's going on with them, reach out to those resources because if they

691
01:02:52,600 --> 01:02:56,680
understand what's going on with them, they're going to want to do the therapy, right? Whether

692
01:02:56,680 --> 01:03:01,720
that be some little changes here and there or where that or anything like that. And they know,

693
01:03:01,720 --> 01:03:07,560
hey, mom and dad are on board too with what's going on. I likely to do it and to buy into it.

694
01:03:07,560 --> 01:03:11,960
And that's big. You've got to get them to buy in or it's going to be a struggle for everybody.

695
01:03:11,960 --> 01:03:17,720
It gives you a struggle and you need to ask for another one from your DME company so their

696
01:03:17,720 --> 01:03:23,240
bear can have a mask on too or their stuff. The animal can have a mask on too or little things

697
01:03:23,240 --> 01:03:27,880
like that. Finding communities, there's so many ways to connect with people.

698
01:03:27,880 --> 01:03:35,080
Truly now, forums or support group, anything like that so that you feel supported and you're not

699
01:03:35,080 --> 01:03:39,160
alone because you're not alone as a parent. You're not alone either. They're not the only one in the

700
01:03:39,160 --> 01:03:44,360
world with this. It's very common. And so letting them know that, hey, yeah, it doesn't mean that

701
01:03:44,360 --> 01:03:49,640
there's anything wrong with you. It's just we want your body to be able to grow and sleep and support

702
01:03:49,640 --> 01:03:54,200
and all of those things you learned at school. We want to stay in your brain. And so that,

703
01:03:54,200 --> 01:03:57,880
when we're sleeping, we're processing all of those things and it's storing it.

704
01:03:58,440 --> 01:04:01,800
And so we're just wanting to support you while you're sleeping.

705
01:04:02,440 --> 01:04:06,600
Yep, I agree. And it's so funny because some of these groups, we have the airway huddle,

706
01:04:06,600 --> 01:04:11,000
for example, is our parents support group, but there's others out there. And there's even some

707
01:04:11,000 --> 01:04:15,480
stuff I've seen people lost on Pinterest. And if you're a crafty person, the funniest one I saw,

708
01:04:15,480 --> 01:04:18,280
and there is a little thing on there about how careful they had to be, but it's only on the

709
01:04:18,280 --> 01:04:25,960
outside. They painted a bit of the mask. So they could be Darth Vader. And I just thought, first

710
01:04:25,960 --> 01:04:30,280
of all, that parent and I need to be best friends. But second of all, that's brilliant because you're

711
01:04:30,280 --> 01:04:34,120
making it. I don't know what kid's not going to love that with smoke. Manel, I'm thinking it's the

712
01:04:34,120 --> 01:04:40,520
greatest thing. I mean, I love that. So these are, you can find a way. You've got to put it out there.

713
01:04:40,520 --> 01:04:45,160
And like after the Top Gun movie came out, you saw all those things on the air and the men with their

714
01:04:45,160 --> 01:04:51,640
CPAP masks, looking like they're all of those kinds of things. Find pictures of fighter pilots or

715
01:04:51,640 --> 01:04:58,920
whatever wearing the mask. All are cooler and see through and all of those things that help them buy

716
01:04:58,920 --> 01:05:06,200
in and realize, this is kind of cool. It'll be okay. It's totally fine. And it's, I always tell my kids,

717
01:05:06,200 --> 01:05:11,800
I'm not doing anything to be mean or to hurt you. It's to support you and to make sure that you have

718
01:05:11,800 --> 01:05:19,240
everything that you can and everything available to you so that I feel like, okay, you're supported

719
01:05:19,240 --> 01:05:24,120
in your health journey, whatever that may be and whatever I can do to support them. And so letting

720
01:05:24,120 --> 01:05:29,240
the parents know that by getting them to the sleep study, that's the biggest hurdle because you relate

721
01:05:29,240 --> 01:05:34,040
some concerns that you had and you're wanting to help your child and figure out what's going on with

722
01:05:34,040 --> 01:05:38,360
them. And so that's the biggest step is just getting there and showing up. And everything after that,

723
01:05:38,360 --> 01:05:42,520
we can figure out and work through and there's tons of support for you and that you're doing

724
01:05:42,520 --> 01:05:48,760
the right thing for your child too. Yeah, you're doing these short-term things for a long-term goal.

725
01:05:48,760 --> 01:05:55,000
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Thank you so much, Jordan, for being here and for really kind of bringing it

726
01:05:55,000 --> 01:05:58,680
all together and just building on some of the things we learned in the other two episodes.

727
01:05:58,680 --> 01:06:01,800
Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

728
01:06:01,800 --> 01:06:09,800
Thanks again to today's guests, Jordan Russ, for being on our show and to each of you for listening.

729
01:06:09,800 --> 01:06:14,680
You can stay connected with the Children's Airway First Foundation by following us on Instagram,

730
01:06:14,680 --> 01:06:22,200
Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Don't forget to subscribe to the Airway First podcast on your

731
01:06:22,200 --> 01:06:27,560
favorite podcasting platform so you won't miss an upcoming episode. If you'd like to be a guest

732
01:06:27,560 --> 01:06:33,080
or have an idea for an upcoming show, shoot us a note via the contact page on our website or

733
01:06:33,080 --> 01:06:39,720
send us an email directly at infoatchildrensairwayfirst.org. Today's episode was written and

734
01:06:39,720 --> 01:06:46,280
directed by Rebecca St. James, video editing and promotion by Ryan Drone and guest outreach by

735
01:06:46,280 --> 01:06:51,960
Christy Bochinkian. And finally, thanks to all the parents and medical professionals out there

736
01:06:51,960 --> 01:06:56,200
that are working hard to help make the lives of kids around the globe just a little bit better.

737
01:06:56,200 --> 01:07:00,200
Take care, stay safe, and happy breathing, everyone.