Flashback

2/08/2010
I had my pulmonary consult on 2/08/2010. It went…alright. The Dr. says that I have good oxygen intake, no obstructions in the lungs. I was feeling pretty good about myself. Then…he dropped the bomb on me. Okay, not a bomb. More like a 50 lb weight on my chest.

So here’s the deal: I have large tonsils and a large tongue. Always thought was good, but apparently not. He was showing me on this chart how when sleeping, these enlarge organs can press down cause snoring, which I do, and even close off the airways. After showing me this, he asked me a few questions and I don’t think the answers were good ones. He asked me if I wake frequently in the middle of the night and I said yes. My husband said that I don’t, but since he sleeps like the dead, how the hell would he know? There are times when I wake 3 or 4 times, to straighten my night gown, change the pillows, rearrange the covers, go the bathroom…whatever. Then he asked me if find myself tired during the day. I said yes. The question is loaded though, since the heart medication that I’m on makes me tired. He then asked me if I find myself nodding off behind the wheel, maybe almost falling asleep at a stop sign. Oh god, I had to say yes. There are times, when I’m driving and I feel that I could just…close my eyes and sleep. At times it’s the meds, but other times…I don’t know. Maybe I do have sleep apnea. It would have started to develop in the last year though. It’s not something I’ve had for a long time or I would have noticed all of this a LONG time ago.

Now…I have to do the sleep study. Oh yea! This should be a learning experience for me and anyone else that is going to be watching me. Now, I have to go buy some new pajamas so that I don’t show them something they don’t want to see.