LATEST UPDATE ON SLEEP TEST.

This is the latest news.

I went for the sleep test on Tues. night and it was a disaster so I have to go again tonight. I barely slept as three of the hook-ups weren't working right and she kept coming in to change them and reconnect them. Then they had me on one machine that kept waking me as I felt like I was being suffocated. In the morning we went for breakfast (after being woken up at 6:00a.m.) and we had to wait around till 9:00 to get the results. We walked back and forth and sat and watched as hundreds of people went through that place.

I finally got in to see the doctor. Through all the questions again. Weighed again, height again, blood pressure again, etc. etc. Then he sent me for exrays on my chest. Had to wait for the x-rays to bring them back with me. Then I had to go for a blood test. Ended up having a number of breathing tests that made me feel dizzy. Finally the blood test. He was looking for an artery and not a vein for this test. Dug around in my arm till I nearly screamed and couldn't get any blood. Finally he froze the area (which nearly hurt as much as the digging) and began digging again. Finally he got some blood and did the test. Went back to the doctors office with x-rays, blood test results, and breathing test results. Waited. Finally the doctor showed up just to tell me they booked another sleep appointment for me today. They also booked an appointment at 2:00 today to get a CPAP machine which I take with me to the sleep test tonight and also to Gimli Hospital tomorrow night. After all that testing and stuff yesterday, Val drove me back to Gimli and I went for a sleep in the afternoon. Val came to the hosp. in the evening and after he left I read for awhile and then went to sleep. Had a good night sleep and woke refreshed feeling this morning ready to start the new day of whatever they throw at me.

Will update more next time.
Till then have a very restful day.

UPDATE OF HOSPITAL PATIENT - ME

I am out on a day pass so I thought I would let you know what is happening. It’s been 3 ½ weeks since I first went into the hospital.

On Tuesday of this week, April 19th, I went into the city to get the results of my sleep test. As we sat looking through the pages of results the doctor said "It is the worse case of Sleep Apnea I have ever seen." He called another doctor and they made arrangements for me to have some other sleep test to determine if it is just Apnea I am suffering from or if there is an oxygen problem or something else involved. Till then I was sent back to the hospital. I am allowed day passes but have no way of getting home each day so I only get out when my husband or daughter have a day off. Then I have to be back by nine o’clock in the evenings to sleep. I have to be on oxygen each night to sleep.

The Level 1 sleep test will take place at 9:45 in the evening of April 26th at the Health Science Center. My husband will have to drive me in for that but he can sleep at the hospital in a spare room. They will arrange for me to get the test results the next morning (which is a blessing) and then we can drive back. I will probably get the CPAC machine at that time. In this test, I will have my own room and they will be hooking me up to various monitors. I will be watched all night with infared cameras so they can check my breathing and sleep patterns.

Here is a little snippet I copied from the net. Sorry I forgot to get the place where I found it so I could give them credit.

Sleep Apnea can be fatal. It has also been linked to high blood pressure and to increased chances of heart disease, stroke, and irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias). Unfortunately, not all of the long-term effects of untreated sleep apnoea are known, but specialists generally agree that the effects are harmful. If nothing else, the continual lack of quality sleep can affect your life in many ways including depression, irritability, loss of memory, lack of energy, a high risk of auto and workplace accidents, and many other problems.
This is not something to ignore or trifle with. While it isn't usually immediately dangerous, don't take it lightly. If you think it will go away by itself - don't. It won't.

I have had so many problems with my health and now I am finding out that many of them might be related to this sleep Apnea. I am hoping this will all be over soon and I will be on my way to proper sleep and much better health. I hear that people who go on these CPAC machines claim that their lives totally change for the better.

By the way. Some of the side effects of all of this - I have finally quit smoking. After years and years of trying on my own and praying and asking God to help me quit, I was finally able to do it because of all of this and it hasn’t been that hard. It is all His doing and I give Him the praise for it. Also I have lost 10 more pounds. So all in all, it doesn’t seem like this was a bad thing at all but a good thing that happened. If I had tried to get into a sleep clinic on my own I could be waiting 2 to 6 years to get in. Now it has all been arranged for me and will probably help with my other medical problems. The Lord is so Good to me.

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Have yourself a restful day.

WHERE HAVE I BEEN

Apologies to my readers for not writing sooner, but I have been in the hospital for the past two weeks. As a matter of fact, I am still in the hospital, just out on a day pass today. So I thought I would catch you up on what has been happening.

March 28th was like any other day. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Went to bed in the evening like usual. Woke up early Tues. March 29th and went to the bathroom and then went back to bed. That is the last I remember of that day till much later in the evening when I woke up in the hospital.

It seems Val got home from work at his usual time (7:20 p.m.) and I was still sleeping. He asked me if I was getting up and I said "In a minute." A few minutes later he checked on me because something didn’t feel right to him and he said I was already turning blue. He was yelling at me, telling me to wake up and I would respond with "Why?" I don’t remember any of it. That’s when he called the ambulance. I don’t remember any of that either. Seems I was in and out regularly as they would ask me questions and try to get me to wake up.

I’v had a "CAT Scan, an E.K.G., Xrays, and numerous blood tests. I’ve been hooked up to oxygen most of the time. My husband mentioned to them that he thought I might have ‘Sleep Apnea’ so I have been checked for that. I had to sleep, hooked to a monitor, for the night. Now I am awaiting the test results. The doctor will not release me until this is resolved in some way. I have been given day passes in the meantime.

That is about all I am up to writing today.

Have a unforgettable day.