Enter The Sandman
Sleep is such a private intimate thing, something you share with loved and trusted ones only. It's the ultimate moment of intimacy, when your guard is down and you are at your most innocent and vulnerable. I wish I could say I've been sharing my nights with Christian Gray (Fifty Shades of Gray), but I haven't been. Instead I've been reporting to the sleep clinic in an effort to get pulmonary clearance for my Gastric Bypass.
A week ago Tuesday, I visited the sleep clinic again. This time I was fitted to the CPAP machine and face mask. It's an interesting experience but maybe not the most restful I have ever had. After filling out a questionnaire you are escorted to your assigned bedroom. From there the sleep technician discusses your bedtime preferences and starts hooking you up to the monitor. At the bedtime you pick, the lights go out, no reading in bed, no watching TV, instead they just want you to sleep. Electrodes are placed all over your head, face and neck as well a couple on your chest and legs. Together they are secured in the back and hang down like dread locks. Breathing bands are secured around your belly and chest. Picture yourself covered with a dozen wires, two breathing bands, an oxygen saturation tab on your finger and an air mask and then it's lights out. Now try to sleep. Good luck, right? But I did fall asleep, though the term "sleep" has become irrelevant. The study ended at 6am when everything was removed and I was discharged home. Bad bed hair has nothing on electrode glue stuck in your hair in a dozen spots, red dots on your face from the stickers, and marks on your nose and face from the mask.
I have severe sleep apnea and a Grade 4 (most severe, very small) oral airway. I have to keep repeating it, because it doesn't seem real. The original report stated I wake up frequently to get a breath and only reach a deep sleep for about 1 hour out of 7. Until then, I actually believed I slept great. Yes, I was tired in the afternoon but I thought it was because I worked hard and was busy. Since learning the results, I feel weary in the afternoons and fight to keep my eyes from closing. I'm waiting to hear from the home care company about getting the system in my home. I'm not looking forward to the bill, insurance only will cover about 50%, but I am looking forward to trying out the mask and machine. Even more so I want to feel rested in a way I haven't felt in years. I look forward to the mornings when I don't reach for an extra drink or food to help wake me up, the long car rides where I eat the whole way so I don't fall asleep, and the afternoons where I no longer have to prop my head up and have the energy to really exercise the way I want. This is just the next step in reclaiming my health and my life. I can do this.
"exit light, enter night, take my hand,
off you go to never never land"
Metallica
A week ago Tuesday, I visited the sleep clinic again. This time I was fitted to the CPAP machine and face mask. It's an interesting experience but maybe not the most restful I have ever had. After filling out a questionnaire you are escorted to your assigned bedroom. From there the sleep technician discusses your bedtime preferences and starts hooking you up to the monitor. At the bedtime you pick, the lights go out, no reading in bed, no watching TV, instead they just want you to sleep. Electrodes are placed all over your head, face and neck as well a couple on your chest and legs. Together they are secured in the back and hang down like dread locks. Breathing bands are secured around your belly and chest. Picture yourself covered with a dozen wires, two breathing bands, an oxygen saturation tab on your finger and an air mask and then it's lights out. Now try to sleep. Good luck, right? But I did fall asleep, though the term "sleep" has become irrelevant. The study ended at 6am when everything was removed and I was discharged home. Bad bed hair has nothing on electrode glue stuck in your hair in a dozen spots, red dots on your face from the stickers, and marks on your nose and face from the mask.
I have severe sleep apnea and a Grade 4 (most severe, very small) oral airway. I have to keep repeating it, because it doesn't seem real. The original report stated I wake up frequently to get a breath and only reach a deep sleep for about 1 hour out of 7. Until then, I actually believed I slept great. Yes, I was tired in the afternoon but I thought it was because I worked hard and was busy. Since learning the results, I feel weary in the afternoons and fight to keep my eyes from closing. I'm waiting to hear from the home care company about getting the system in my home. I'm not looking forward to the bill, insurance only will cover about 50%, but I am looking forward to trying out the mask and machine. Even more so I want to feel rested in a way I haven't felt in years. I look forward to the mornings when I don't reach for an extra drink or food to help wake me up, the long car rides where I eat the whole way so I don't fall asleep, and the afternoons where I no longer have to prop my head up and have the energy to really exercise the way I want. This is just the next step in reclaiming my health and my life. I can do this.
"exit light, enter night, take my hand,
off you go to never never land"
Metallica
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