Last night I spent the night in the sleep lab for a sleep study!  It was an interesting experience to say the least.  I’m sure some of you have done it and you would attest to that fact.  I arrived at 8pm as scheduled and was taken directly to a hotel like room.  There was a full size (maybe queen?) bed with a nice comforter and a nightstand and desk.  My sleep technician was a very nice woman and she told me to go ahead and put on my pjs and get comfy.  It’s a slightly odd situation to be in your pjs with a total stranger and to know that they will be observing you all night and also filming you while you sleep!  She was really great about it all and made me feel as comfortable as possible.  After I changed we went into a room across the hall to “set up”. The set up involved attaching many wires to my body.  First she cleaned the spots where they attach, then used liquid sandpaper to take a little skin off and make a good contact.  Next the electrodes were attached with a paste.  There were 2 elastic bands – one around my chest and one around my waist, and 3 electrodes were attached to spots on my head.  I don’t even know how many or where the others were.  There were some on my legs.  After it was all done, she made a “ponytail” of all the wires and hooked placed them on me in a way that they would not get tangled before I actually went to sleep.  After that, I went back to my room and was told just to relax.  I normally don’t go to bed for the night until around midnight.  She asked if I thought I could fall asleep a little earlier than that.  Since I was up at 6am that day, I was pretty sure I could.  She asked a couple of questions that weren’t on the paperwork I filled out.  One was if I remember my dreams.  The answer is no.  I rarely remember dreaming at all.  Based on my answers, she was pretty sure I had sleep apnea even before the study.  I relaxed in bed and read and did things on my phone until I got sleepy.  Then she hooked me up to all of the equipment.  She added an oxygen sensor to my finger and two different things in my nose and a microphone on my neck to record any snoring!  Wow!  She also told me that I could sleep on my back or side.  I am used to sleeping on a wedge at home.  Years ago I had some reflux issues, so I started propping up on pillows a little to sleep.  The reflux went away, but when I lie flat on my back I feel like I can’t breathe, so I slept for years propped up on pillows.  My friends and family fondly call it my “pillow palace.”  Before I bought the wedge last year, I would typically have  3 or 4 pillows behind my back and head and one under each arm as an armrest.  I still use 3 with the wedge.  When I saw that the bed wasn’t adjustable like other hospital beds, I asked for some extra pillows.  She told me that I could use some, but that she needed me to sleep fairly flat for the test.  I started out on my back with 2 fairly thin pillows and one under each arm.  It took a bit to fall asleep, but eventually I did.  I remember rolling over to my side for a bit, but it was a little tricky with all the wires and I don’t think I stayed that way too long.  When I rolled back over on my back, at some point she told me she needed me to take away another pillow, so I ended up with one pillow under my head and didn’t really need or want any others at that point.  Before I went to sleep, she also fitted a CPAP mask on me and let me see what it was like.  The one I had only fit over the nose.  She turned it on so I could feel the air pressure and at one point had me open my mouth.  Air that had come in through my nose shot out my mouth!  It was funny!  She explained to me that if I did have abnormal breathing during the night, she would at some point come in and put the mask on me and then determine what pressure was appropriate for me.  Because of my hearing, she stayed in the room with me to calibrate some of the equipment and told me what to do (look to left, right, hold breath, wiggle stomach, etc!) and she told another person in the control room what was going on.  I had a fairly typical night’s sleep for me.  It was a little harder to rest than normal, but I often wake up in the night at home, too, so it really wasn’t that different.  Eventually, she came in during the night and put the mask on me.  I had not problem at all falling back to sleep with it on.  To tell you the truth, it was the first time in years I have slept flat on my back and it was so comfortable!  I liked it!  I woke up eventually and she came in and told me it was morning.  She also told me that I had just been dreaming!  That was weird.  I didn’t remember it at all.  She helped me set up an appointment to be fitted and taught how to use CPAP and left some paperwork for me that basically said “You had abnormal breathing during the night and should use the CPAP for sleep apnea until you follow up with your doctor.”  My appointment for follow up is in June.  I have an appointment to get the CPAP started next week.  

Today I picked up my new stockings.  I also bought some shoes to wear with them.  The poor shoes I have worn constantly for the past year are about to dissintegrate!  They are the main ones I’ve worn because they are easy to slip on and off and can accommodate my swelling feet. I need to throw them away!  Now that I have to wear these stockings, I needed some shoes that would have some flex for the changing size of my feet during the day (although hopefully that will be less with the compressioin) and also still look ok with black stockings.  It took several stops, but I finally found 2 pair at Schuler’s.  

I got several errands run today and then got to pick up my lovely daughter from the airport!  She’s finally home!!!  Big day today!!!!