Last night, as Trevor and I were finishing up dinner and watching last Sunday's episode of the Amazing Race (love that show!), I received a call from the sleep center informing me they had a cancellation and asking if I could make it there to have my sleep study completed. As much as I wanted to remain in the comfort of my home, I decided to go in lieu of waiting until December 2. What an experience! I'm so glad Trevor was home from work and able to accompany me. He was a great sport and slept in a recliner all night. (Sleep center rules) I love that man!!!
We arrived after 10pm and were shown to our "suite". Thankfully, the environment didn't feel clinical and was somewhat cozy....until they wired me up. Within about 1.5 hours, they had me connected to an endless number of wires. I'm talking wires for days. I looked like a robot with exposed wires, but Trevor assured me that I looked as beautiful as the day he married me. LOL. Electrodes were attached to my face, collar bone, shins, scalp, and behind my ears using a conductive glue. In total, I had about 15 electrodes and wires dangling from my body. Nasal airflow sensors were taped to my face and situated under my nose (talk about tickling!) and near my mouth, chest and abdomen belts were placed on me, and an oximeter was taped to my finger. I was also fitted for a CPAP mask in the event sleep apnea was detected during the study. Boy are those uncomfortable! One of them made me feel like I was suffocating.
Once I was fully connected, a calibration test was conducted. That was strange. My technician, Evan, directed me to do various things over an intercom to ensure all the electrodes were working. I was told to move my eyes rapidly left to right/up and down, move my ankles one foot at a time, clench my teeth, hold my breath, make breathing motions w/ my stomach while holding my breath, take deep breaths, close my eyes, blink my eyes, etc. Once everything was calibrated, the sleeping began. I was being watched on camera all night and the two-way intercom was always on. Spooky. Twice I awaken by two techs entering my room with flashlights because they weren't getting a good reading on my oximeter. Finally they made the decision to remove my oximeter and....you guessed it, tape it to my face. As if I had any more space on my face for yet another measuring device. When I had to pee I just woke up and told my tech over the intercom. It felt like I was talking to God:
Me: "Evan" (in a groggy voice)
Tech: "Yes, my child."
Me: "I have to pee."
Tech: "No need to fret. I'll be right there, my child." (In enters Evan, disconnects my electrode box, places it around my neck and sends me to my private restroom)
Now, peeing with wires going down my legs, while squatting, was a challenge because I was trying desperately not to pee on the wires. LOL. Plus, (TMI - sorry) since pregnancy brings about its fair share of flatulence, I was trying not to "poot" while peeing because the bathroom had ZERO acoustics so I know it would've echoed over the entire sleep center. LOL.
Thankfully, the "I need to go pee" requests only occurred twice, so that wasn't too bad. When my time was up, Evan came over the intercom with a monotone "Good morning. The sleep study is complete." And just like that it was over. He came in and peeled off all the electrodes and asked the most foolish question I've heard in awhile....."So, how did you sleep?" I wanted to say, "Um, how would you sleep if you were wired up like a bomb?"
Poor Trevor needed some WD-40 to get out of the recliner. LOL. We left the sleep center beat down tired! But it's complete. Evan couldn't tell me how I did; he said the doctor will discuss that with me. However, I was excited that I wasn't made to put on the CPAP mask during the night which must mean that I didn't stop breathing. Fingers crossed....
5 comments:
were you able to sleep at all??? That sounds sooo intense! Like something from a movie. I like how you described talking to the tech like yu were taking to God :)
I was hoping to drop you an email, but don't see any way to do that, so I'll have to ask you here.
So, Contracts in school = love, but contracts as in you do them too much now in your real job, the love is gone. Is it the same stuff, but you're burnt out on them now? Or is there a disconnect between how contracts are handled in school versus how contract-related work manifests itself when it comes time to clock billable hours?
I've known several people who've done these, and everybody is exhausted afterwards. It took my boss 2 days to recover! He was stumbling around for a while there, he was so tired afterward.
Haha "Yes my child". It almost sounded like you had died and gone to heaven and your every wish was granted by an angel calling you child. "I need to pee". "Yes my child I will be right there."
Yeah, were you able to sleep?
Jenni, I did sleep, but it wasn't the best night's rest! I joked with one of my friends and told her they should just call it a "study" because sleeping is difficult. I slept really lightly, which equals no rest!
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