Good morning all. I’m just in from my sleep study. Well, to be honest, I had to go and wash my hair first because of the goop the tech had to put in it for the sensors.
It was very interesting. I did found the chest straps a bit uncomfortable—tight but they had to be to measure my breathing. Then I had something on my finger to measure my oxygen levels. I’d seen that many, many times with Mom so I knew what it was and what it was for before he put on me. Then he put a kind of reverse oxygen probe in my nose to see how much I used my nose to breath. After that came the “snore mike”. I laughed when he put that on because I told him if I snored as loud as Thelma said I did, he’d better have that thing on low volume because I would blast him out the booth or room or wherever his equipment was set up. He thought that was funny but said he take it under advisement.
After being wired up and looking like Medusa, I had a very easy time falling asleep. I took my own pillow so I would be sure to be comfortable. I didn’t watch TV (not that I could with my contacts out) or read the book I brought with me. I just laid in bed and drifted off.
I confess I hedged my bet by making myself mow the front lawn the night before and I stayed up until ten thirty so I would be tired and go to sleep. It worked. I could hardly wait to lay down. I also couldn't drink any kind of stimulant the day of so I was a walking zombie at work.
I did hear the next person come in (he was scheduled for a ten o’clock arrival).
I only woke up once because I had to go potty. It was neat that the tech knew right away that I was awake and was on the intercom to ask if I needed to use the restroom almost as soon as I opened my eyes. That was about three this morning.
I asked him if I was snoring and he said I was neck and neck with the guy in the next room.
After I got back into bed and reattached to everything, I had a little bit of a hard time going back to sleep. I knew I was only supposed to stay until about five so I kept waiting for time. I thought I heard the guy in the next room snoring as well. I didn’t think I would go back to sleep when the next thing I knew I heard a “tap, tap, tap” sound. Turned out it was from a Cardinal at the window.
The tech immediately told me he would be right in and he was. He started taking all the wires off of me and I asked him if I stopped breathing during the night. He said he couldn’t tell me that—which makes me think I did because he was pretty forthcoming with telling me that I snored and that I did a lot of dreaming. He said I would have to wait for the doctor’s report.
In fact, it was about seven in the morning and the reason he didn’t wake me at five was because I was having “rolling REMS”, every time I slowed down from one cycle, I started another. So I must have been dreaming one dream after the other.
I remember some of them but only bits and pieces.
He said they don’t wake people up when they are in REM sleep because that’s when they get some of their best readings. He did say he got a lot of information on me and that he thinks the doctor will be able to help me. I hope so.
I’m just sorry I finely got this test when I am so stressed out. I don’t want the doctor to think this is something that just started happening.
So when I left, the other guy was long gone and I stopped off at McD’s to get myself a McGriddle egg and sausage sandwich.
I think that sleep tech has a pretty neat job. If I was younger, I would have considered going back to school to learn to do it. Of course, it would be all night work but I think I could get used to it.
Right now, believe it or not, I feel very tired and I think I might go in and lay down for awhile.
I really do hope they can help me.
The dogs were sure glad to see me. Poor things, they don’t know what is going on.