7-18-16  Momma Mia's and a sleep study!

So tonight is the night of my sleep study.  So I got out and exercised, didn't drink any caffeine, and had a relatively healthy dinner from Momma Mia's---salad, a grilled pork chop, and veggies.  Momma Mia's is another place we like to go to in the Alton/Wood River area.  Seems like our favorite places to eat in St. Louis are at least 30 minutes away from our house.  Shortly after we found this place, it burned down in a kitchen fire and we had to wait several months to go there again while it was being rebuilt.  Certainly not a fancy place, but the food is good, variety is great, service is good (not that common in the St. Louis area), and it's really cheap.

I had to be at the sleep study place at 8pm.  Seemed odd going there when it was still daylight out.  But the nurse who was in charge of my study was friendly and cheerful, so the first hour went pretty fast.  She had me fill out a couple more forms and I turned in the questionnaire they sent to me to fill out ahead of time:  do you wake up often; do you kick your partner; do you fall asleep during the day a lot; ... .  Then she showed me to my little room complete with sleep number bed and tv.  I was hoping to get to watch a Cardinal game since all we have in our St. Louis home is a digital antennae for our TV.  Turned out their TV selection wasn't much better!  After I changed into my PJs, the nurse attached a bunch of electrodes---or whatever they are---to my head and face and legs.  About 9 she was done and off to greet her other patient.  She checked back in about 10:30, attached the really annoying tubes that go below the nose, and set the timer on the TV.  There I was---ready to go to sleep!  Ordinarily I'm up to after midnight.  I wasn't having much luck falling asleep.  I tossed and turned and rested with my eyes closed.  Earlier she had explained that if my oxygen levels fall below 85% (oh yeah, there was the oxygen reader on my finger, too)---she would come back and have me try out a C-PAP machine.  She said insurance wouldn't cover trying the machine if my oxygen levels don't drop.  I was rather surprised when she came in at 2 am and said she was getting me a C-PAP machine.  I don't think I had really fallen asleep, just got to that twilight stage, but apparently I wasn't breathing deeply enough and my oxygen levels had dropped to about 80%.  I was also surprised that soon after she put the machine on me, I fell into a deep sleep for about 3 1/2 hours.  I woke up about 5:30 am with the machine blowing really hard.  She had mentioned she could adjust it from behind the wall and while I was asleep she sure did.  I kind of liked having the cool air on my face (I was using a nose and mouth mask).  Can't say it was too comfortable when it was blowing so hard, though---it was actually rather hard to keep the masked sealed to my face then!  But if the Dr. recommends I get one and insurance covers it, I'll give it a go.  Now to wait for the Dr. to get in touch with me.  I do hope it's not until after our Hawaii trip, though.  I don't plan to haul a C-PAP machine around with me to Hawaii.

At 6 am, the nurse came back in and said it was time to get up and get ready to leave---which I gladly did.  I went right home and right to bed.  Then I slept very soundly for 4 or 5 more hours!