Testing week is finished: Sleep Study

 


    Last night I wrapped up testing week with a sleep study.  I've been meaning to get around to doing one of these for a long time, decades really, but I never prioritized it.  When I saw the sleep doctor a few weeks ago, he ordered this home study for me.  My insurance, like most others, requires a home test to be done before they authorize an in person study.  The rigmarole I had to go through to get it checked out and picked up was quite extra in my opinion.  They were not able to send it via post, but I had to go into the office and pick it up, and then they wanted it returned first thing the next open morning.  Of course, they don't have any offices near me, so I chose one that I could detour to after my PT appointment yesterday, and by detour I mean adding a couple of extra hours of travel in :(.

    When we got to the hospital we had a little trouble finding our way to the clinic, but a helpful staff person pointed us in the right direction.  I checked in and after a short wait we were brought back to a room where we were given instructions about how to perform the test at home that night.  We were given the kit and sent on our way - to sit in traffic for well over an hour.  But at least I was finally getting things done!

    At bedtime last night, I attached a probe to my chest that I had threaded through the sleeve of my nightshirt.  Then I put on a watch-style device and attached a probe to my index finger of the same hand.  While bracing the probe on a hard surface, I pulled the tab out to initiate the probe and then turned on the watch part.  It took about a minute to boot up, then wished me a good night's sleep and I was set.  I found my regular sleeping position and eventually drifted off.

    As it goes with most things like this, I didn't experience any of the things I was primarily concerned about during the test - things like waking up choking/coughing and feeling like I had stopped breathing.  I have no idea what the test found as it doesn't give you any feedback, I'll have to wait until I hear back from the sleep clinic.

    So this wraps up a long week of testing.  It's funny, I didn't intentionally set things up this way, but it came together as it was supposed to.  I'm looking forward to something completely different next week as I head to Orlando, Florida to learn about Walt Disney World and take my first MSC cruise!

Here's the thing: All you can do is be faithful to show up for a test and do your best to perform it correctly.  The results are not up to you, or at least they shouldn't be!

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