As we gain more and more insight into the importance of sleep, we realize the significant impact it has on mental health, inflammation, aging, immune system, weight control, hormone regulation, gut health and most important- our functionality during the day.
This was emulated by one of our clients we recently had the pleasure of seeing. He presented to LX Medical in his early 40s, and was having difficulty losing weight, struggling with daytime fatigue, felt “sluggish” most days, and had a sense that he was overall “inflamed”.
He reported thinking he slept pretty well. He stated he initiated sleep quickly, woke up 2-3 times in the night, and generally took him 20-30 minutes to wake up in the morning. His biggest complaint was he never felt fully recovered in the morning. He wished he still felt like he did in his 20s when would sleep very well throughout the night and be able to “pop up in the morning and get after my day.”
To better understand his sleep and REALLY know how well he was sleeping, we recommended an in-home sleep study. In the past performing a sleep study has been an arduous task requiring cooperation with insurance, scheduling at a hospital or clinic, and spending the night at a sleep study center with follow up sometimes weeks or months after the test.
Using our specialty physician network, we were able to get this client an in-home sleep study device named the Night Owl within a few days. He collected 3 nights of data. This particular sleep study device detects sleep apnea, number of times waking, oxygen throughout the night, and hours spent in light, deep, and REM sleep (amongst other detectable data). This patient was stunned: he had moderate sleep apnea without knowing it, and was getting less than 1 hour of deep sleep every night.
We connected this patient with our sleep specialist – Dr Bijwadia out of Saint Paul – who recommended being evaluated for a cutting edge procedure to reverse the sleep apnea. Just a couple days after that, we were able to connect him with our ENT specialist who performs the procedure, and within a couple weeks he successfully underwent this procedure.
The patient is now apnea free and spends a solid 20-30% of the night in deep sleep. He has returned to a normal daytime cortisol curve, and with the help of a cognitive peptide, his daytime energy has measurably improved. He has lost 8lbs since reversing his sleep apnea. Today this patient feels great, continues his accelerated weight loss journey, and without a doubt has improved his chances of achieving his longevity goals.
Sleep apnea is a serious health condition that impacts all of our bodily systems. But even those without sleep apnea, getting high quality data looking at all the different phases of sleep can be a useful tool to better understand sleep patterns, and decide what techniques, supplements, medications, and/or procedures would be the most beneficial to optimize sleep. As you know, LX Medical believes in getting their members high quality care fast. As an LX Medical member you have access to our “fast pass” specialty physician network. We have every major specialty covered with some of the best physicians in the nation. The above client would have taken months to achieve what he was able through LX Medical in just a matter of weeks.
If you have any questions or would like to speak with our team about how we can help, you may contact us at 651-565-9633 or visit our contact us page to submit call back form.
