*CPAP... for me??*

With all that's gone on with Delilah in the past year why would anyone think I should sleep well??! And for the record, I DON'T!
There are many things I can blame on Delilah like having my stomach look like a road map that was drawn on an inflated balloon but then someone left the balloon in a dark room for months and it slowly deflated leaving only left a small squishy remnant of what was once a balloon. But I cannot blame my sleep issues fully on her. I do blame most of it though. I mean HELLO my child would stop breathing and turn BLUE people up to (but not including) 10+ times PER NIGHT!! She wore an external monitor that was a belt around her chest and would alarm if she stopped breathing for 20 sec or more. Boy did that thing like to go off and off and off and off some more. So I guess in that amount of time (she wore it 24/7 for 5 months, even at naps or when i wasn't in the room with her) my body decided sleep was for wusses. I am proud to say I am a WUSS. I tried everything over the counter to no avail. I went to my doctor and got prescribed "sleeping meds" but I like to call them "legal acid" because every time I take them I hallucinate like crazy and see "things" and "shadows" and think people are coming to get me. If I was smart I would take them during the day and sit and watch Yo Gabba Gabba with Delilah....now THAT would be a trip AND make the day go by quicker :) Ok I really wouldn't do that...I don't want any of you using this blog to turn me in for "legal acid" use while I'm supposed to be watching my child but instead was laughing at the monsters on tv.

So, back to my sleep issues. After the "acid" wasn't working I decided I needed a more clinical test to determine why I am not sleeping. I wanted to know if I have sleep apnea like both my parents AND Scott's father among others in my family or just the run of the mill insomnia. I put money on the later just for fun. My doctor ordered a Polysomnography (Sleep Study) and the test was scheduled. I figured if I had put my under 12 month old daughter through 2 of these I could suck it up and do it too.

They hooked me up to a bunch of wires on my face, body and head and hooked me up to a nasal cannula to monitor my breathing as well as a microphone to monitor any snoring. From what Scott tells me I only snore when I am sick so that was another reason I put my money on me just having insomnia. I got all settled in and adjusted my sleep number bed. *When I found out I would have a sleep number bed I was a little more excited to do the test! Ive wanted one for  a long time but now I actually got to try one out for a whole night! I woke up less sore than normal and actually slept for a little bit! I was thinking about it and why do they give you the most comfortable mattress and any amenity you could think of and then have you NOT sleep? It seems like putting you in a dark room away from your husband that tosses and turns and your baby that snores in the other room would make anyone sleep! EVEN ME!

2 weeks went by and I found out my results. It said that I have Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS) which is actually a legitimate reason I don't sleep! Who would have thought I actually had a reason?! Not this gal! In my study it said I only had 37 minutes of REM sleep (which is the sleep you should be in every night to feel rested...no wonder I'm always tired!), I awoke 36.9 times PER HOUR due to the UARS. So the physician (who I never saw) said that UARS can be aggravated by having nasal allergies (check!), sleeping supine or on your back (check!), traveling to high altitudes (live in Utah..check!), using anti anxiety medication's (check!) using sedatives to sleep (check!) using alcohol (double check! hehe) and using analgesics like Tylenol/Motrin (check!). Ok so since those were all things that could cause it and if I didn't do or have any of the above I could sleep! SO basically I need to move to a low altitude state, not have allergies, sleep on my side, not have anxiety, not use sleep meds, not drink grape vodka, and not take Tylenol/Motrin for my chronic back/neck pain and headaches. Well if I do all that I will be able to sleep! YAY!! That list is completely doable, right? Oh they also suggested I lose weight (do they think I'm trying to gain weight?) should sleep 8-9 hours a night (Id like them to tell my 18mo old this!) not have pain at night (again tell my muscles this and see what response you get!) oh and by far the best bit of advise.....CUT MY CAFFEINE ABUSE...yes they called it caffeine abuse. HAHAHA! Dude if I needed someone to tell me all that, which all of which i already KNEW, I wouldn't have had them charge my insurance $2,500...but the bed was nice :)

After getting the results they suggested I go back for another Sleep Study this time using a CPAP machine. I was just excited i got to go sleep in the sleep number bed again! I went back in and got all hooked up again but this time with a mask that made me look like an elephant with a nice long trunk. It was strange to have a mask on my face but i actually slept better and woke up feeling like i slept and didn't hurt anywhere (although again i think this was from the amazing bed that I HAVE talked Scott into getting us for Christmas! YAY!) I waited another 2 wks and got the call yesterday saying that my CPAP titration was at 12 and it completely controlled the UARS! So I go next week to be formally fitted and I will be one of the millions of people who hook up to a CPAP machine before sleeping. But honestly as horrible as I think it will be to get used to I'm VERY excited at the prospect of sleeping and sleeping well for the first time in my life!

Now for some funny pictures of me all hooked up :)