I took the sleep test and ...
... I passed with flying colors as far as falling asleep went.
For a few years now I have been having troubling bouts of sleepiness when driving. That is, I would almost fall asleep at the wheel and wouldn't realize it until I was heading into the other lane. So I went to Nurse Leanne (I don't see a doctor) and asked her what was up. She scheduled a sleep exam to make sure it isn't sleep apnea which would account for my symptoms.
At 9:30 last night I drive up to Boone and checked into The Sleep Clinic with Nurse Cindy. She was very pleasant, showed me to what looked like a nice guest room in some one's home, and hooked me up to dozens of little wires and sensors on my chest, my back, my leg, my head, up my nose, and a cute little click on for my finger that made me look like ET. Then she hooked me up to a couple of machines, one named ALICE-5 and said good night. Apparently I fell asleep a lot quicker than most people do with all those wires pasted on to them. She was impressed. Carmen was reminded of Li'l Abner and his job testing out mattresses at the mattress factory. We both have the talent.
I thought I slept pretty well, except for that one little trip to the bathroom at about 3 am which has become almost obligatory for me lately. Cindy has to monitor the machines all night and listen on the intercom for any requests since I could not get out of bed unless she came in and unhooked all the wires!
She said two significant things in the morning. Since she is a nurse technician and not a doctor she couldn't discuss the results, but said that "This test will answer a lot of questions." She also said that 'the Sleep Doctor (what a great title!) would probably want me to come in for another night to test my sleeping with one of the sleep masks.
So I think I probably do have apnea and it may be correctable if I wear one of those masks. They look goofy as hell, like a scuba mask with a snorkel running up the front, but if it keeps me from falling asleep at 60 mph, I'll wear it and be happy.
Besides, when I go to bed with it strapped on my face it might scare Ben bad enough to keep her from wailing and bumping heads all night.
... I passed with flying colors as far as falling asleep went.
For a few years now I have been having troubling bouts of sleepiness when driving. That is, I would almost fall asleep at the wheel and wouldn't realize it until I was heading into the other lane. So I went to Nurse Leanne (I don't see a doctor) and asked her what was up. She scheduled a sleep exam to make sure it isn't sleep apnea which would account for my symptoms.
At 9:30 last night I drive up to Boone and checked into The Sleep Clinic with Nurse Cindy. She was very pleasant, showed me to what looked like a nice guest room in some one's home, and hooked me up to dozens of little wires and sensors on my chest, my back, my leg, my head, up my nose, and a cute little click on for my finger that made me look like ET. Then she hooked me up to a couple of machines, one named ALICE-5 and said good night. Apparently I fell asleep a lot quicker than most people do with all those wires pasted on to them. She was impressed. Carmen was reminded of Li'l Abner and his job testing out mattresses at the mattress factory. We both have the talent.
I thought I slept pretty well, except for that one little trip to the bathroom at about 3 am which has become almost obligatory for me lately. Cindy has to monitor the machines all night and listen on the intercom for any requests since I could not get out of bed unless she came in and unhooked all the wires!
She said two significant things in the morning. Since she is a nurse technician and not a doctor she couldn't discuss the results, but said that "This test will answer a lot of questions." She also said that 'the Sleep Doctor (what a great title!) would probably want me to come in for another night to test my sleeping with one of the sleep masks.
So I think I probably do have apnea and it may be correctable if I wear one of those masks. They look goofy as hell, like a scuba mask with a snorkel running up the front, but if it keeps me from falling asleep at 60 mph, I'll wear it and be happy.
Besides, when I go to bed with it strapped on my face it might scare Ben bad enough to keep her from wailing and bumping heads all night.
Labels: medical stuff, self-indulgence, sleep
posted by Clemens | 10:25 PM
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