Our Services

Sleep Disorders Diagnostic and Treatment Lab

Contact:

Chuck Fricks, RPSGT,
903-614-4177

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a condition that causes the throat’s air passage to close repeatedly during sleep, stopping breathing and disrupting the normal stages of sleep. The results of sleep apnea can be serious illness or even death caused by lack of oxygen.

How is Sleep Apnea Diagnosed?

Indicators of sleep apnea include snoring, daytime sleepiness, gasping for air at night, irritability, personality changes, depression, chronic fatigue, insomnia and morning headaches. The best procedure for testing and diagnosing sleep apnea is an overnight polysomnography or sleep study in a sleep diagnostic laboratory. The study reveals information about how you breathe and sleep. This information enables your doctor to determine the type and severity of sleep apnea you may have and how it should be treated.

The CHRISTUS St. Michael
Sleep Disorders Center provides you with:

Tours

Before your sleep study, we offer you a 30-minute orientation designed to lessen anxiety and help you become familiar with the sleep-study environment. This service is unique to CHRISTUS St. Michael.

 Comfort

We understand that spending the night away from home can be uncomfortable.  In our facility, patients are afforded all the comforts of home - spacious private bedroom with comfortable double bed, over-stuffed recliner, television, and private bath - making your night away from home as easy as possible.

Technology

During a study, professional staff including a registered polysomnographic technologist and registered respiratory therapists will monitor your sleep activities from a separate room. State-of-the-art equipment is utilized to measure brain waves, muscle activity, movement, heart rhythms and other indicators. Your study is scored by a registered polysomnographer and read by a pulmonology physician.