Sleep Test
For those of you who have never had the pleasure of undergoing a sleep test let me share with you Saturday nights experience.
A sleep test is just that, a test to see how well you sleep. I had one about 2 months ago, which was when I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. This weekend's test was was to test the efficiency of my CPAP machine - was it set at the right level, was I getting a better sleep... that sort of thing.
After waiting in your room, read that as four walls and a murphy bed, for an hour an attendant comes in to wire you up. The processes goes something like this
1. wipe down all areas to be wired with alcohol. This includes the spots in your hair where he agressivly tries to ensure that no hair product remains on your roots. As he is doing this he, in trying to make conversation, asks me if my hair is my natural colour... as he is working in the 1 inch of grey/white hair regrowth. Nice
2. A thick gel is then put on all aforementioned cleaned spots.
3. Sensors are attached. Attached to your head, your forehead, your chin, under your eyes, on your chest and on your legs. You are well and truly wired.
4. The comes the best part. Using long belts he tightens a belt, over the wires, above your chest. This forces the breasts to stick out unaturally and about 2 inches lower than they normally would. I don't need help with the downward migration! And then the other belt is tightened just underneath your breasts. I think you get the picture. It's not a pretty one.
Then you sit for another hour or so before they send you to bed and put on your CPAP mask. So now fully wired with a mask over top of the bulk of the wires you are meant to sleep well in a bed that is lumpier than I am. It just doesn't work well folks!
I was so glad to be out of there. I will get the results of the tests in just under a month but the basic outcome is that they increased the pressure on my CPAP machine from 7 to 9. I now feel like I'm sleeping in a wind tunnel. It's amazing how much difference a small adjustment like that can make.
Despite my less than pretty picture description of the process - if you need to take the test, go. I feel so much better for sleeping with the CPAP machine that I would do it again in a heart beat. Now that I have it though I hope not to have to do it again for a long time.
A sleep test is just that, a test to see how well you sleep. I had one about 2 months ago, which was when I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. This weekend's test was was to test the efficiency of my CPAP machine - was it set at the right level, was I getting a better sleep... that sort of thing.
After waiting in your room, read that as four walls and a murphy bed, for an hour an attendant comes in to wire you up. The processes goes something like this
1. wipe down all areas to be wired with alcohol. This includes the spots in your hair where he agressivly tries to ensure that no hair product remains on your roots. As he is doing this he, in trying to make conversation, asks me if my hair is my natural colour... as he is working in the 1 inch of grey/white hair regrowth. Nice
2. A thick gel is then put on all aforementioned cleaned spots.
3. Sensors are attached. Attached to your head, your forehead, your chin, under your eyes, on your chest and on your legs. You are well and truly wired.
4. The comes the best part. Using long belts he tightens a belt, over the wires, above your chest. This forces the breasts to stick out unaturally and about 2 inches lower than they normally would. I don't need help with the downward migration! And then the other belt is tightened just underneath your breasts. I think you get the picture. It's not a pretty one.
Then you sit for another hour or so before they send you to bed and put on your CPAP mask. So now fully wired with a mask over top of the bulk of the wires you are meant to sleep well in a bed that is lumpier than I am. It just doesn't work well folks!
I was so glad to be out of there. I will get the results of the tests in just under a month but the basic outcome is that they increased the pressure on my CPAP machine from 7 to 9. I now feel like I'm sleeping in a wind tunnel. It's amazing how much difference a small adjustment like that can make.
Despite my less than pretty picture description of the process - if you need to take the test, go. I feel so much better for sleeping with the CPAP machine that I would do it again in a heart beat. Now that I have it though I hope not to have to do it again for a long time.
posted by Aussieabroad at
6:56 AM
1 Comments:
I am trying to talk Joe into seeing the doctor about sleep testing. He stops breathing several times throughout the night and he snores like you wouldn't believe!
I'm going to pressure him more...HUGS to you Ann. I'm glad you are sleeping better now!
By
Anonymous, At
8:58 PM
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