To Sleep...Perchance To Dream...
I'm never been a big fan of Monty Python, which is sacrilege to Amy who can quote Monty Python chapter and verse. I think it's due in part that I'm half deaf and I don't follow some of the dialogue real well, or it may be it's not my type of humor.
However I will admit that I have repeatedly used the audio from one of the Monty Python films in various radio pieces I've produced over the years. The audio? This quote.
I bring that up because on a fairly regular basis Amy thinks I might be dead.
It's not a judgement as to my mental acuity, it's the fact that I stop breathing. I don't notice. I'm asleep. Amy notices. She's noticed since we were first married and has been gently, and not so gently on occasion, prodding me to "see a doctor."
I know what sleep apnea is, I know it can shorten my life....I know... I know...
I'm a guy. I don't go to the doctor too often....however, when your wife is losing sleep because she's "timing" you when you're not breathing, and I suspect has compiled a spread sheet to document it, it's probably time to face facts.
It's like my rule with breath mints...if someone offers you one, take it...don't assume you don't need it and they're just being polite.
So I've been to our family doctor, explained that I'm tired a lot...I wake up at 1 a.m. and am often lucky to get 4 hours sleep, I figure who wouldn't be tired...but that Amy insists that sometimes she thinks I'm dead, because I stop breathing for long periods of time. The doc kinda...okay...completely came down on her side of the argument. He's a guy, but he's a doctor guy, so he's not really a traitor...completely. He ordered me to undergo a sleep study, something I fully expected.
So now I'm negotiating my way through the process of going to yet another doctor to explain the exact same thing so that the insurance company will believe my doctor, and they'll put me in a sleep study.
I tried to get this all accomplished last Friday, but the insurance company seemed confused, this new doctor's office seemed chaotic, and I ended up leaving a bunch of messages trying to get all the pre-approvals, etc. No one returned my calls.
So today, I began the process again with a little more fervor and perhaps a little less tact, and I've at least got an appointment with doctor #2. Of course, then the very kind woman I spoke with started outlining options for the sleep study saying patients are told to go to sleep at 11 p.m..
I wake up at 1 a.m....
I asked her if 2 hours was enough for them to get the needed data, and she didn't quite get my humor. So I explained that if she wanted me to stay up until 11 p.m. there better be a marching band in the room for about 6 hours prior playing loud and continuously because odds are, I would fall asleep before then.
So now we're trying to arrange a sleep study more in accordance with my lifestyle (good luck), which hasn't been formally approved by the insurance company, but must be scheduled NOW because apparently everyone on earth is having sleep studies done and if I don't schedule it NOW, Rip Van Winkle will get in line ahead of me and I'll have to wait 20 years or so for him to wake up and for them to change the sheets to make room for me.
In the meantime, the insurance company - depending on who answers the phone - is trying to decide if they'll cover it. Apparently that verdict depends on how much I snore.
I'm not kidding.
The insurance won't cover a sleep study for people who snore...but people who may die in their sleep - apparently snoring or not - those folks will be covered. I'm not certain if that's determined by a "snore meter" , a much studied "snore-line" that has to be crossed, or some other type of nasal audio scale they use in weighing these considerations....they're an insurance company, they have machinations all their own.
I snore. Sometimes I snore a lot, sometimes I snore a little, sometimes I don't snore at all. I could probably dig more into this weighty issue factoring in things like which way I'm sleeping, how long it's been since I've slept, and the amount of snot in my nose, but I really was never even good at geometry and this sounds like at least algebra would be involved, not to mention the potential for being really gross.
I'm going to leave it up to the doctors, and having dealt with a lot of doctors over the years with Amy's health needs, I'm fairly certain they know how to write things down so that I don't end up with a massive bill for a night's sleep that says, "We've determined you snore. Please pay $_____ ."
The truth is, I am tired a lot...and it's gotten worse as I've gotten older. I have a complicated sleep schedule that I often have to abandon and, of course, my wife occasionally thinks I'm dead.
I figure that should be enough.
In the interim though, I am now worrying about doctor's appointments, scheduling conflicts, and then having someone say, "Okay, go to sleep," with some expectation that I will be able to do that sans someone clubbing me over the head.
Which means I will lose sleep thinking about stuff like that...
Anyone got an Ambien? Just kidding.
There is an upside to this I suppose...at least when I can't sleep because I'm stressing about sleeping Amy will know I'm not dead, so she should be able to get some rest....at least one of us will.
posted by Michael
©The Main Point by Michael Main
3 Comments
3 Comments:
Michael, you have classic symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. If your idiotic insurance company won't cover a sleep study to determine the appropriate treatment, they should get their pants sued off. Although snoring is common amongst sufferers of OSA, the fact that your sleep partner has repeatedly feared you might not begin breathing again coupled with your reports of insomnia and your complaints of fatigue are enough for an arm chair diagnosis. The report that it has grown progressively worse with age is also a significant cause for concern, and evidence that treatment is necessary.
The symptoms you don't list that would clinch things for me are morning headaches, occasional episodes of gasping as you wake or waking up with your heart racing. Thing is, it's also common to be so used to them that you don't even recognize them as a symptom of OSA.
As for how they'll measure your apnea, I can fill you in. They'll set you up with a standard set of EEG and EKG leads, an elastic band around your chest and one or more sorts of blood oxygen sensors. All of these will be used to track the rate at which you breathe through the night, what happens with your
heart and brain activity and how all of that relates to your blood oxygen level. Granted, you may at first think "How the heck am I going to sleep with all these wires stuck to me?" Rest assured, that bit about it taking a marching band to keep you awake will kick in.
If they can gather enough information in the first few hours, they will likely wake you up to try you on CPAP, which is the standard treatment. With any luck, they should be able to determine whether you can tolerate CPAP therapy, what level of pressure is effective for you without disturbing your ability to sleep, and you'll be using a CPAP and sleeping soundly in a matter of days.
Good luck!
Oh yeah, he gasps!
His chest rises and falls, but no air is going in or coming out. The longest I've timed him is about 00:02:15. Then, he gasps for air, his breathing speeds up, and I'm sure his heart is racing. And it starts all over again within 30 to 45 minutes. Sometimes even less.
It scares the crap out of me... so much so that I have to sleep on the couch because I can't stand the thought of ... well, you know.
Thanks for the info, Casey. And thanks for the affirmation that I'M NOT CRAZY!
Mrs. Main
Mr and Mrs Main
Michael - Carey put the description of the wires very nicely, as though there is not about 5,000 wires coming from your head, nose, mouth, and even attached to your fingers!Hope you can sleep on your back - cause moving over onto your stomach is absolutely impossible, and even on your side is guaranteed to disconnect a wire, and they come running in to connect you up again.
Having said that, I had a satisfactory sleep - it may have even been more than my usual 2 hours!!!
I came out of my study with very mild sleep apnoea - not worth treating.
Amy - I understand your worry, my darls does just that. Getting him to even think about a sleep study is about as hard as as it was for Michael. 'xept - Bob can stop breathing, in my opinion, every 2-3 minutes.
However, I am told by those who need and use a CPAP, that it makes such a difference to their energy levels the next day, they would not be without it.
All the best - trust it goes well for you. And then Amy will have to get used to a machine beside the bed every night!!!
Janet McKinney
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