Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Sleep(less) Study

I had a sleep study done last night and what an ordeal that was!!  I checked in at 7:30 and the technician started getting me ready.  It took about 30 minutes to get all the monitoring electrodes in place: on my scalp, on my face, on my neck, chest, back, and two on each lower leg; a belt loosely around my chest and one around my waist;  and last but not least, a face mask over my nose and mouth with a tube attached to a CPAP machine.  Good night, sleep well…How on earth can anybody sleep with all that??—and don’t forget the camera staring down at you.  I turned the lights off at 10pm and lay there sleepless until about 1 am, dozed/slept until 5am.  I can’t imagine how that is reflective of a normal night but I suppose it is the best that can be done to get the information.  I should get the results in about a week.  The cost to me so far has been $45 co-pay to the sleep doc, $42 for the mask and tubing, and $289 for the sleep study itself (insurance paid 80% and I paid 20%).

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