A sleep evaluation, and they expect you to sleep?

Last night I had to go to a sleep evaluation center. I had to spend the night so that they could monitor the level of oxygen that I had while sleeping and if I had sleep apnea. Well, I have to say that the 'ordeal' was quite an experience to say the least!

As I was getting ready before going to the sleep center, I decided to wear my pjs. Why not? I was going there to sleep, after all.

When I got to the sleep center and opened the door there was a very small waiting room. I was directed to a room with a full-size bed and medical equipment beside it. There was a comfy lounge chair and a couple of night stands, and nice pictures on the wall, just like a small comfortable bedroom. I had to fill out paperwork, and then was directed to another room, where they hooked up what felt like a million and a half tiny wires all over my face, head, neck, chest and the lower part of my legs. Two straps were put around my chest area. The wires that were hooked into my hair were afixed with this greasy, gell, yuck that is also used when you get an electrocardigram. It's NASTY.

After I was hooked up to everything and able to lay down in the bed, I told the attendant that I felt like some sort of 'alien experiment.'

Then they shut the light off and go to their room to monitor the patient. She spoke to me over a speaker and asked me to blink my eyes five times, breathe in and out a few times, raise my hand and wave, and I forget all what else. After doing those 'bed aerobics' she said, "now you can go to sleep." SLEEP? Was she kidding me? Try falling asleep with fifteen thousand wires all over hecks half acre! She told me that she would monitor me for two hours and then come in the room. And naturally when she told me that I had 'that' to look forward too, it made anticipating being woken up all the more vivid in my mind and harder than heck to fall asleep. I lay there and just could not sleep. Every few moments my legs would give off an involuntary 'twitch' for no reason. And they didn't stop twitching. She said I fell asleep for brief moments but not very long. No kidding!

When she came in after two hours, she turned on the bright light, (just what I needed,NOT!) and said, 'Your oxygen level is too low, so she straps oxygen on me, like this picture and says, "Go to sleep." ARE YOU KIDDING ME, I thought. But acutally I rolled onto my back, like a petrified mummy and actually did fall asleep. The oxygen immediately made my legs stop twitching and I did get alittle rest. The oxygen mask fell off where it should be twice, so that interrupted things, but all in all it did help me get a couple hours sleep.

After they unstrapped all of the chords, and RIPPED the decals off my face, head, and body, which felt alittle like getting waxed, OUCH!...I got to come home. I was a frightful sight, so I'm glad it was still dark outside. I had hair in every direction, and I do mean EVERY direction. I couldn't brush my hair because it was filled with grease and slime from all of those wires being afixed to my face and scalp. It was horrible. But I survived, and will get my results when I see my Dr. in a couple of weeks.

I have a feeling that I'll be on oxygen when I sleep after I see my Dr. And I guess there are worse things to happen so I am here, at my keyboard and counting my blessings....and thankful as heck to have that gooey, oooey, sticky mess washed out of my hair!

I can tell you that if you have to go through a sleep evaluation you will survive it. I did and all in all it wasn't so bad!