Thursday, June 10, 2010

Sleep Clinic

I had my sleep clinic study last night. I had about 10 electrodes stuck to my head with a very hard-to-wash-out glue, one on each side of my face, two under my chin and a larger thing across my voice box. There were also two different nose sensors at the base of my nostrils (those tickled) that looped around behind my ears to hold them in place. In addition I had two large bands, one around my waist and one around my body under my armpits. Plus two more nodes attached to my legs just below my knees on each side. Had I known those were going to be there, I would have shaved my legs. The doctor ripped them off this morning and I think I now have a small inkling of what it must feel like to be waxed. OUCH!So I did not sleep well at all. That's not surprising with all the gadgets attached to me, but apparently I did sleep well enough for them to get a good study. I'm a classic sleep apnea problem. I wake up on average 40 times per hour. When I'm in a dream state I wake up 60 times per hour. I looked at the graph this morning and was really surprised to find out how much of the night my oxygen levels are way below normal. He enlarged so I could see better a 4 minute interval where I had awakened 9 times.

Around 2:00 am they had seen enough and woke me up to let me try a c-pap machine. I tossed and turned awhile but fell asleep and the graphs showed that I slept solid for two one-hour periods before waking up for the morning. During those two hours I didn't snore or quit breathing. Just blissful sleep. Next I have to meet with my doctor again and then get fitted for the type of c-pap machine that will work best for me.

I'm so looking forward to getting this all solved so I sleep better.

12 comments:

tainterturtles said...

I hope you finally get some relief to your sleep problems. Love the picture of yourself. Happy sleeping!

SandyAlaska said...

I have one of those machines and I just don't leave the thing on. I wake up and it's all beautifully curled up blowing nice moist air right next to me. Sometimes I even coil the hose around the machine and then turn it off... ALL while I'm sleeping. I'd love to get it to work... I've tried multiple, very expensive and different face masks and keep doing the same thing... Now it sits in the cupboard all alone. Good Luck ! Patty.. apparently most people leave the face mask on ....

S dot

Aunt Krissy said...

We can chat about your new friend. I love it, I hug it and I kiss it! In a few months you will wonder how to got along without it. I use mine for a 15 min nap if I need to.

marianne said...

A friend of ours had the same problem and has a machine now and sleeps better (so does his wife :))

I am glad there is a solution for your problem
\
Take care

janice said...

So very happy for you Patty! Sleep is one of my favorite things!

Mim said...

I did the initial study and didn't have actual apnea...but Pre-apnea or something like that. The dr suggested losing weight (what fun) which I have been trying to do. but it ain't working so well. Anyway, I am going to go back and do the study with the machine also...my endocrinologist just got one and says he feels better than he ever has now that he is sleeping!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I don't see how you went to sleep with all those things stuck to you. Geez. I hope you get your problems straightened out. Sleep is necessary to be healthy.

What do you think of that 16 year old girl that was trying to sail around the world. They found her after she set off alarms that she was in trouble in horrible seas in the Indian Ocean. Crazy I say.

Kellie said...

Wow PAK! I can't believe you've been able to function on such poor sleep for so long. I hope you're able to sleep better after you get your cpap.

crochet lady said...

Glad they were able to see good results from the study. I think that will make a big difference. My hubby wears one at night too, he has seen a dramatic decrease in his daytime headaches as well plus finally getting the rest he needs.

Anonymous said...

hey.. maybe it will help your headaches too like crochet lady says. wouldnt that be great? are you going to get the battery back up like Krissy has so you can take it to the cabin? Hope you have as good success as Krissy does. when she came to visit us, she used to take lots of naps and SNORE!! the dogs loved it :-)

Rose

Becky from Alaska said...

Oh man, I can't imagine how unrestful sleep must be when you are constantly waking up! Hope that you get it all figured out soon :) By the way, I rode my bike to work yesterday, and it felt great! Let's have a bike to work club! . . . oh wait, they already have one of those don't they.

soulbrush said...

oh my goodness, i didn't realise that you had sleep problems, i would hate that...gosh i hope all of this helps and soon.