The Delta House

It's 7:35am and I have already exercised my Constitutional right. Have you?

But that's not what I wanted to talk about today. No, I need to tell you about my trip to the doctor yesterday.

I had a 4:15 appointment to see my doctor yesterday, a follow-up for a test that I had done a few weeks ago. Actually, it was a sleep study.

Lately I have been noticing that I am always tired. I don't mean that I feel a little run down, I'm talking about nearly falling asleep at traffic lights, and always falling asleep while watching television, reading, and at times, in the middle of conversations.

At first I thought that I just wasn't getting enough sleep, a common problem for new parents. But then I tried sleeping an hour or two more each night and nothing changed. If anything, I felt more tired.

I also thought that my weight and lack of physical activity had something to do with it, so I tried exercising a little. That didn't last long because I was too damn tired to do it!

Then I remembered that for the past few years, my wife has been telling me that I stop breathing sometimes while I sleep, especially when I sleep on my back. She usually wakes me up and makes me roll onto my side, and everything seems alright. Some nights this happens three or four times; other nights, not at all.

I started reading about sleep apnea, and realized that I had every single symptom that is associated with the condition. That is when I went to my doctor and discussed it with him. He said that it sounded like a sleep disorder of one kind or another and that he would set me up for a sleep study at the hospital.

I went in for the sleep study a few weeks ago, and let me tell you, it was quite an experience. They hooked up sensors all over my head, my legs, and my chest. I had to wear a tube up my nose to monitor my breathing, and had to sleep with all of these wires tied into a control unit attached to the headboard of the bed. I took a picture with my camera phone to show just how ridiculous I looked. And it was so cumbersome that I was surprised that I fell asleep at all.

Well the results were sent to my doctor last week, so we set up an appointment for yesterday to review them. Well, somehow the paperwork ended up in my doctor's bried case and he left it at home. I found that out after sitting in the waiting room for 25 minutes, then in the exam room for another 15 minutes.

So he is supposed to call me today to discuss the results, and I hope that there is actually a problem that can be corrected. Being this tired all of the time is miserable. I basically don't want to do anything at all other than sleep. The treatment for sleep apnea is to wear a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure device, or a CPAP. I know what you are thinking, Damn that's sexy!

I'll update this post after I talk to my doctor, and I'll try again to post the picture. Now get out there and vote! If you don't, then you have nothing to complain about!