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Sleep Study completed! I have sleep apnea but don't know any details.

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I had my sleep study April 23-24th. It was held in a hotel a few minutes from my home. I didn't know what to expect when I went. I arrived at the same time as another woman, and we were put in separate rooms. I brought my own pillow and blanket because I figured I'd sleep better with familiar things from home. I got there at 8pm. I filled out some paperwork about my sleeping habits and then they left me alone for a while- they said that they had to have me hooked up by midnight for insurance purposes, but that I could stay awake and unhooked for a while. By 10pm, I was already yawning. The tech came in the room (she was super nice) and hooked me up. It involved putting a bunch of electrodes on my body, including on my face. I had a nasal cannula that I had to wear too- that was the one part of the sleep study that I really didn't like. It was irritating and just felt weird. I was allowed to lie in bed all hooked up and read my cell phone if I wanted. Before I got settled, the tech asked if I thought I had apnea. I said no-- but I knew I was fat, and when I lay on my back or my right side, I felt like I slept a lot worse. I usually sleep on my left side. I know from nursing school that this position (sleeping on the left side) is easiest for the body because of the heart's position. Anyhow, I told her that I was going to start out on my back because I felt like I slept the worse there-- I told her I was worried if I started on my left she wouldn't see anything if there was anything there to see. She assured me that the position didn't matter so much. So-- she left me alone. I was self-conscious because I could see there were cameras in the room- it felt kinda creepy. And although I'm usually not one to be too concerned, I was also glad that it was a female tech. In the middle of the night, I forget what time-- maybe 2am?-- she came back into the room and woke me up. She said that some sensors had gotten loose and she needed to reattach them. She also told me that I should go ahead and sleep on my left side. I did, and woke up at around 6:45-- she came in, took all the wires off my body, told me about the free hotel lobby breakfast (I passed-- I was eager to get home)-- and said that I'd get the results from my doctor at my follow-up sleep study appt. The bummer for me was that the first available appt isn't until JULY 10th. So-- I had the test in April-- and wouldn't talk to the sleep doc until July. That's nuts.

Update: I went to the first of my medical weight management meetings on May 4th at 2:30pm at U Penn. The nurse practitioner who met with me told me that YES, I did have apnea. I honestly am really surprised. I didn't think I was fat enough to have it (even though, duh, of course I am)-- and also I don't snore. I AM always tired, but I figured that's because I am fat and have 4 kids. So--- even though I was like "Oh, shit. I have something!" I was also relieved-- relieved to find out that there's a medical condition which can be treated (hopefully I'll get a CPAP machine-- I'll need to wait to July to find out)-- and of course if I am able to get the surgery, I'm hopeful that losing weight will help make the sleep apnea go away. It was also a relief to hear that I have apnea because I feel like it's another reason to proceed with the surgery. I am obviously overweight-- my weight at MWM#1 (medical weight management meeting #1) was up to 290.4-- and they told me it HAS to be 286 or maybe 285 on the last visit (MWM#3) if there's any chance that the insurance company will cover it. I was hoping that having sleep apnea would mean that I could potentially lose more (or at least really really try!) if I just needed to keep by BMI above 35-- but the insurance guru at Penn has that to be approved, she would recommend a BMI of 40 and a weight of 286 or 285. I have never been one to closely monitor weight-- I know how big I am by how my clothes fit-- so this is a weird thing to be doing. I have now started weighting myself twice a day-- once when I get up, and once at night-- and my plan is to eat less if rise above 290 again. I know that a gallon of water weighs 8 lbs, so if I do manage to drop weight, I can always drink before my weigh-in to try to get to the proper weight. But really-- I have battled weight for years, so I know it's unlikely that I'll be able to get it much lower.

I talked the nutritionist at MWM#1 meeting too-- she picked out a few things for me to start working on. One of the hardest (I though) was to start separating my drinking (water) from my eating. I need to wait 30 minutes before or after eating to drink. I'm so used to having a big glass of tea or soda or milk or water next to me when I drink- it's weird to not have that.

I also want to cut out soda from my diet. Right now, I use it for the caffeine (since I don't drink coffee). I'm hoping that once I get my sleeping issues fixed that I will feel less tired and have less need for soda. I've always drunk (drank?) regular Coke-- but I've gone long periods without drinking any-- and I feel like I would be able to switch to iced tea if I tried really hard. My kids drink of choice is Crystal Light Iced Tea-- we buy it from Costco and always have it on hand.

I'm also trying to decrease sugar in my diet. Hard, since that's an addiction for me, but I was told at MWM#1 that I am starting to have a fatty liver. It's probably because of all the sugar I consume. I think by cutting out chocolate milk and soda, I could really drop my levels. I will have a hard time giving up sweet foods (like M&Ms and cookies). I need to start stocking my fridge with some pre-portioned easy to grab snacks. A big reason I eat cookies/candy is because they don't spoil, they taste great, and they're easy to carry. I know I can do better.

Besides the sleep study, I had a few other tests done. Luckily, I was able to schedule three things back to back. I had a chest x-ray 2 views (clear), an ultrasound of the abdomen, and a double contrast examination of the upper GI tract. That last test was the hardest because the barium was pretty gross. The test showed a "small hiatal hernia with moderate gastroesophageal reflux" -- at my next appt I might ask if they plan to fix the hernia or let it be. I'm surprised about the reflux-- I had no idea.

The only test that I need to schedule between now and MWM#2 is lab work.

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  1. GigiUSA's Avatar
    You are well on your way!!!!! Congrats