September BP

 

Sleep Study

It’s 7:30 PM and I am sitting in the lobby of St Luke’s Rehab, waiting to spend the night here for a Sleep Study. I’ve been here for 15 minutes and I’m here in the lobby with about 9 other people. They told me to get here at 7:15 and here we all sit. That’s pretty damn efficient. But that will end up being my only complaint of the evening.

This is my second sleep study. I did one about four years ago and it ended up with me sleeping with a mask on my face, attached to a BiPap machine to prevent me from stopping breathing at night.

The first sleep study was done at a place out in the valley called Aspen Sleep Center and it seemed much more efficient than this. I remember I walked in the door and they led me to a room. They got me wired up and then left me alone to watch TV for a while before I decided to go to sleep.

Then I got woken up several times during the night to put different masks on me and see what worked best.

Oh, here comes a team of nurses. Maybe it’s time to go in.

Nope! False alarm. They took pretty much everyone else but I’m still sitting here typing away.

I guess I shall just continue to sit here and wait.

8:15PM: Okay, right after I wrote that last sentence, a guy came and got me. 

I’m in a nice big room with a large bed, maybe a double. It has a TV but I can’t get the Mariners game. 

9:13PM: Josh has been spending the last 45 minutes getting me wired up. Here’s what I look.

Pretty! Huh!

I guess I’m about ready for bed. I really don’t know how well I’m going to sleep with all the wires on me. It will be an interesting night. I’ll complete this post in the morning.

6:27AM: I made it through the night. I don’t feel like I slept very well but then again, I don’t feel any different from when I normally wake up after a night of sleep. I'm surprised they didn't wake me up at all during the night. There was no clock in the room so when Josh walked in and said it was time to get up, I was happy it was over. I had survived!

I’m getting out of here and going to breakfast.

8:18AM: After enjoying a nice morning meal at the local Waffle House, I am home and fresh out of the shower.

All the electrodes they put on my head were held in place by some waxy goo that Josh painted on. I was able to comb some of it out while getting dressed at the facility this morning.

But a shower was required to really get it all out. Now I’m pretty again and happy to be home.

The best news I learned from Josh this morning is that my oxygen levels were good all night. That means I don’t have to sleep with an oxygen tank going. The other thing he told me was I have fewer problems with my breathing when I don't sleep on my back.

All that news makes me happy.

How to Breathe Update

I think I'm really starting to lose it. If we have to pick a space in time for losing it, let's say it's right here.

I was positive that I wrote a post the other day that updated stuff with me and my health...or lack there of. But it is not here and I don't know where else I would have written it.

I guess it doesn't matter. I'm here now and I'm damn sure aware that this is me writing this. Save!

Last Friday I went in the Sacred Heart for a scheduled Right Heart Cath. It's a procedure where they insert a catheter in my neck, and stroll around down to the heart where they can read pressure and get some information.

Apparently, they were not happy with the information and sent me to a hospital room. 

They decided to up the amount of milrinone I'm getting and do a follow up pulmonary function test. Since it was a holiday weekend (Labor Day) and nobody was going to be around to run the tests, they decided to let me go home and figure everything out in an outpatient setting. 

So I spent Friday night in Room 632 and got out Saturday afternoon.

Since then, it feels like a switch has been thrown to screw up my breathing. I'm am using my O2 generator a lot more when I walk and I regularly dip below 90% in my oxygen levels.

Whether my deteriorating heart is causing lung issues or my lungs are just turning to crap on their own has yet to be determined.

But that's where we are for now.

In Bug Bite news, I'm happy to say that my wrist has healed up nicely since I last wrote about it and I am now longer wrapping it. Here is a picture to affirm my statement of healing.

I've been hitting it with moisturizing cream because it is kind hard and crusty. I believe it is helping but I'm keeping an eye on it.

August BP