Sleep study Thursday night
 

Hi,
I have the sleep study Thursday night. I have to report to the neuro's office at 9:30 pm.

I'm worried about driving there. It is way far away.
(the other time I went there I got lost and then started to fall asleep in the car and had to pull over for directions and caffeine.)

I need to make a list of what to bring (directions, sleep meds, . . ) I think I need to bring my own Mountain Dew (caffeine) for the car ride.

I have not been away from home for a night in years. :(

The office folks told me not to take a nap during the day on Thursday. http://bestsmileys.com/lol/2.gif
They gave me something to laugh about.

So I guess I am worried about sleeping in the car and not sleeping in the lab. . . . I sound a little neurotic. :confused:

I'm trying to stay relaxed about the idea.

M.


PS
When I first started talking about this, hubby wanted to drive me. But it is far away. (he can't really just drop me off and then come back in the am)
He is temporarily teaching late at night --- he gets home at 10:00 pm and I have to already be in the lab by then.
I told him that I could handle it.

How far away is far away? When I went for mine I had more trouble on the ride home of wanting to sleep since it was over at about 5am...I wish you luck on this Mari, hopefully it will help offer some much needed insight into what is happening when you sleep. I hope they don't find apnea...Using a CPAP is no fun and I still have yet to set mine back up....BAD pam!

That's kind of late for the study to start, I had to be there around 8:30pm. I can see why you're worried about falling asleep on the way there, I had such trouble trying to sleep it took over an hour for me to fall asleep. Wishing you the best of luck on this Mari! :D Is it tonight or NEXT Thursday night?

It's tonight.
 

Dear Pam,
Thanks.
I just google mapped it. It is 43 miles / 53 mins (not really but google says so) if I go the way I went before and the way I am comfortable with. I want to go on a road I feel ok about.

I plan on getting there before 9:30 pm because I want to be driving when I still have some daylight.

They told me that I would be done by 7:30 am (Fri). That is in the middle of crazy commuter traffic no matter what route I take so I hope that I do get to leave much earlier. 5:30 am would be good.

I have not gone to bed yet for the night and feel wide awake right now.
Yesterday (Weds) I slept from about 10:00 am to 4:00 pm --
-- so I have no idea if I will sleep in their lab tonight.
I'll give it my best.

Clearly I have to get some sleep today.
I also need to sleep tonight in the lab so they can collect some data. :Zzzz:


It is nice to have you here as my expert. :)
Since the machine seemed to help you so much, I hope that you can get back on it when you are ready.

M.

I am glad I have been through it and can help give you an idea of what to expect Mari, it's not easy to sleep with the wires all connected to your head and body, but if you just put yourself in another restful place and relax it will probably happen for you. I hope they get done and get you out of there by 6 am, that traffic around 8 am sounds atrocious!

I would not want to drive in that either. I hope they can get what they need to help you tonight. The CPAP isn't so bad, as long as I have my trusty chinstrap and the nose mask so I can yawn or TRY to yawn. Take care Mari and defnitely let us know what happens. If worst comes to worst you can always reschedule the study, they should be open to that if you just cannot get there tonight. I hope it goes well for you! :hug:

Dear Pam,

Thanks for talking to me.

I called my tdoc's machine to ask for an appointment with her next week and mentioned the sleep study. When she called back with a time, she started to talk about the sleep study but I cut her offi -- we don't have phone chat relationship and I have been on the phone all day with work stuff.

I wish that I had let her talk a bit to make me feel better.

I seriously need to get a nap or something if I am going to drive there. I have been awake since 4:00 pm Wed.

M.

Good luck Mari

Hoping this is something that goes good for you.

Donna

I know they said not to nap but it sounds to me like you really need to if you're going to be able to drive that hour trip there. I hope you can get a short nap in and feel able to sleep tonight in the study. Good luck with it, I'll be sending positive vibes and thoughts your way tonight. :D

Hi,
What was I thinking!
I slept form 4:30 - a little after 7:00 pm.

Now I am sleepy and hungry and worried about it getting dark outside. And I need a shower because I last showered on Saturday.

I have not packed.

I wish that I had packed -- but I was feeling rotten the last few days / weeks.

I don't know what to do.


Maybe I need to find my gym clothes to wear in the car. I can sleep in those. Mostly I need to remember to bring night meds and my self. Everything else is extra.
I'll be back home in a few hours.

But I am hungry -- nothing all day except a can of soup -- haven't felt up to doing much.


I want to be on time for my own sleep study.

M.

Mari,

I'm thinking about you now and how your making out with getting to sleep. I hope all goes well.

barbara

I just caught up with this thread.
I hope it goes ok for :hug:you mari.
((((HUGS)))))
beth

:grouphug: to you Mari

I am looking for Derrick's magnet for a big weekend.

Donna

I missed the bus!
 

Dear Mari,

Well first i'm so proud of you for moving forward on this thing... that is an accomplishment!

I do hope you made it safely to the sleep study place and... are able to sleep by night in their lab. I wish i had been here before to send you off with my blessings. :o Sending them now.

Good luck. :Zzzz::Zzzz::Zzzz:

Look forward to hearing back from you.

:hug:

~ waves ~

Donna
 

OK, Donna, now you got me curious. Forgive me if you've talked about it before, but it escapes me... magnet? what magnet and what role does it play on a big weekend? i'm soooooooo confused! :confused: :o

I hope it went well, can't wait to hear from you Mari! :hug: :D

It was horrible
 

Hi, Friends,

Thanks for your support.

I was wishing for death.
When I was in the freaking hospital for a mixed episode in 1992 I felt less anxiety than I did last night.

I had a real problem about thinking about death. I still feel so bad. I tried. I tried to remember songs to sing to myself -- could only remember a line or two from here and there.
Then I remembered a buddhist chant. I did Christian prayers too -- for everyone on the planet.

I'm still not ok.




The drive back was full of impatient commuters.
I stopped for breakfast --even with the gunk still in my hair and imprints on my face -- because I was still hungry and I hubby isn't cooking and I can't eat most foods because of the braces on my teeth (grits and eggs are easy to eat).



The lab tech watched me on camera all night -- I don't know why I didn't know about that or was freaked out to learn about it. When I did something I was not supposed to do like touch the tubing going into my nose, he told me over the speaker to move my hand away from my face. When I reached for my watch to check the time, he stopped me.

I was allowed to call for help to go to the restroom. I did that twice.

I was freezing. The tech said it was 74 degrees. It felt much colder.


I think I slept for a total of about 3 hours. The tech said that the machines picked up the data they needed.

There was nothing wrong with the tech. I'm sure he saw doing the job he was supposed to do. But I hated him.

I'm not going back.

It was awful.
I have too much anxiety associated w/ sleep and I don't want to have those thoughts again.

M.

:hug: :grouphug: I am so sorry I forgot to think of the camera! Darnit I should have mentioned it but I honestly forgot. :( I wish it had gone better, but at least they got what they needed. Did they put a mask on you? I'm so sorry you had that much anxiety over it Mari, I totally understand, ONE sleep study was enough for me too...

Oh Mari...
 

That does sound like a dreadful experience. I'm so sorry. :(

Thank goodness they got "the data" they needed. Hopefully it will be helpful. At least it is OVER NOW and you don't need to ever do it again.

And cold is subjective and they should have given you extra covers if you felt cold, i'm mad about that. :mad:

I hope you can get in some GOOD sleep during the DAY today. :( If you manage to get unfrazzled enough. :sigh: maybe a klonopin would help if you still have any at this point.

:hug::hug::hug:

~ waves ~

Waves, and Pam,
If they found treatable apnea, they will need another sleep study to calibrate the machine and to try on masks for me.

I'm so unhappy.

The extra blanket they gave me did not help. I shivered the first half of the night.

I tried to do the right thing by keeping that appointment, and yet it was so awful. I really can't explain how horrible I felt not able to get out of the bed unless I called for a bathroom trip.

If I was in that bed one more minute I was going to freak.
I was at my limit.

And I don't want to follow up with that horrid office. They can keep the results.


M.

i am so sorry that it was so dreadful
hugs
bobby

They should mail the results to you then, I would call and ask for them to be mailed. Decide after that what you'll do. Would your insurance cover a CPAP machine? I wish it hadn't gone over so badly for you Mari. I can't believe I forgot the camera thing, I feel bad because had I mentioned it you might have been a little more prepared for it. :( I'm sorry. :( Hopefully you don't have apnea, I'm keeping you in my thoughts, hoping you recover from this bad experience soon. :hug:

I have a huge lifelong anxiety about sleep.
I don't think anxiety is the right word
-- maybe phobic is closer.

. . . So going to a lab where everything is controlled -- including me -- and I am instructed to sleep -- sets off the phobia flares.


M.

I am glad that you are home now and can rest and try to recover from that experience...It sounds awful.:(
I feel for you.
Who thought you needed a sleep study test? your mdoc?
((((HUGS))))beth

Mari

I'm sending you some hugs. Maybe if they do find a need for another
sleep study you can get a woman to monitor the camera.

And also you could see if you can take someone with you. If that would help the anxiety part.

Donna

Mari,

What is the outcome to date on the sleep study?

barbara