ANOTHER Frickin Sleep Study (#4)

After Etta's Surgery That Wasn't, we were put in a holding pattern waiting on a cpap fitting appointment. We finally made the appointment for the end of July, but received a call that their technician who does the fittings no longer works there or something. So, since we were already scheduled for a sleep study at the end of August (to see if the cpap was positively affecting her sleep), they told us to come on in for that and they would be able to fit her for a mask that night.

Reluctantly, I went. I felt like Etta would be fighting the mask all night and a sleep study would be pointless. Even the very sweet technician asked "why are you here?" with a laugh in her voice. I also laughed and told her it was a last ditch effort to avoid an invasive surgery. I felt fairly sure she would fight it, but we were going to give it a try. So, we did.

Etta was a little reluctant, but she was SO exhausted that she just went with it! The technician and I were both chuckling and shaking our heads in disbelief.

Etta was asleep (with mask on) about 3 minutes after we turned out the lights (around 10:00pm). She slept well until about 4:00am. She woke up, and I believe it was because she had broken mask's the seal around her nose. She wanted to be "all done", and since they got six hours of data, we were able to take the mask off and she went back to sleep for a little longer.

We STILL don't have a cpap for home. According to the tech, we should hear back from one of her doctors regarding the sleep study results and they will order (prescribe) a cpap for her and then we will go through a medical supply company. This could take a few more months (of course).

I am encouraged by our experience at the sleep lab. I feel like we will be able to put the mask on her when she goes to bed at night. I am concerned about her waking in the morning (or in the night) and trying to take it off. I'm concerned she will break the machine. She doesn't just stay in her bed when she's awake. She wanders around her room and a mask would be tethered to a machine. I'm looking into the idea of a bed tent to keep her in her bed. We'll see....

I'm thinking of joining a frequent flyer program for the Vanderbilt Sleep Lab.