More Medical Tests: Could I Have Sleep Apnea?
Three days ago, I was so close to canceling my sleep consult appointment. Like finger-on-the-green-call-icon close.
I generally face anxiety for three days prior to any scheduled outing. It’s not that I have genuine phobias about people or doctors or medical facilities. It’s just that it’s so hard. I mean, have we talked about how I get dizzy trying to brush my teeth yet? So, yeah. I get worked up about errand and appointment struggles days before I actually have to do them.
I didn’t cancel the appointment though—despite fretting it would be another dead end and waste of spoons—and I’m mostly glad I didn’t.
For one thing, when we got to the parking garage elevators, there were two hospital wheelchairs waiting. I was almost giddy; thought I’d have to make it all the way to the main lobby before landing one. But there was a red one and a blue one right in front of me. The wheelchair version of Take a Penny, Leave a Penny.
“Dan, will you push me in one of these?”
“Hop in!”
It was actually kind of fun. Like back in the day when Dan would take the doors off his Jeep and drive us in circles around the roundabout at the end of our street.
Instead of my usual doc visit blood pressure (in the area of 140/90-something), I was a reasonably stressed 126/88.
***
The nurse practitioner I saw today is recommending me for the on-site sleep study. I don’t know when that will happen yet, because insurance and pre-authorization and blah, blah, blah. But she was optimistic the first study could happen within the next month or so.
Parts of the Sleep Study
- Initial Consult (Did that today.)
- Sleep Study 1: Stay overnight hooked up to wires to determine if I have apnea and or RLS/limb movement.
- Sleep Study 2: Happens if Study 1 determines I have apnea. They’ll fit me for a CPAP and document whether it’s helping.
- Follow-up Consult
***
My fatigue has gone from a 10 to about an 8—which is still shitty, but any improvement is welcome when you’re chronic—and that’s improved my mood. I even had a positive thought: What if I do have sleep apnea and actually getting oxygen through my airways at night fixes everything?
Time will tell, I guess.
