Alexander City residents Bennie Tuck and his wife, Peggy, weren’t getting a very good night’s rest. Their nights were interrupted by Mr. Tuck’s loud, consistent snoring. As a result, both of them were always tired and never felt fully rested. “It was a bad way to go through the day,” says Mr. Tuck.

FINDING A SOLUTION
Mr. Tuck began the path to a better night’s sleep with a visit to his family physician. “My doctor suggested I get an overnight sleep study to get an idea of what was going on with me during the night,” he says. “I have all kinds of things going on—high blood pressure, allergies—so it made sense to see if those health issues were affecting my sleep.” He had a consultation with F. Anthony McLeod, M.D., FACS, otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat physician) at Southern Head and Neck Surgery and the directing physician at the Sleep Center at Russell Medical Center (RMC), and scheduled a sleep study.

THE EXPERIENCE
Mr. Tuck had his most recent overnight sleep study in spring 2009. He brought an overnight bag with his pajamas, a change of clothes and his bedtime toiletry items and arrived at the RMC Professional Building (where the Sleep Center is located) around 9 p.m.

First, the technician settled Mr. Tuck into his room, which resembles a nicely furnished hotel room with a queen-size bed, TV and reclining chair. Then the technician placed sensors on Mr. Tuck’s chest and head to monitor his heart rate, breathing patterns and vital signs throughout the night. “It’s really a relaxing experience,” says Mr. Tuck. “The room is nice, and I watched the news and some TV until I was ready to go to sleep, just like at home.”

A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION
It was obvious from Mr. Tuck’s sleep study that he needed the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. He had several episodes of sleep apnea, a condition that causes a person to stop breathing while sleeping. “I’ve been using the CPAP machine for a while now,” says Mr. Tuck. “It’s quiet, like a soft whisper in our bedroom, and I wear the small nosepiece type mask because I find it more comfortable than the larger mouthpiece. I’m sleeping better and I feel rested when I wake up in the morning, with more energy. And thankfully Peggy is sleeping better, too!”