SLEEP STUDY . . .

For as long as I can remember, I've always been tired.  Like, can't keep my eyes open, fall asleep at the wheel, tired.  T-I-R-E-D.  And I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know what it was.  We checked my thyroid, fine.  Iron level, fine.  BP, fine.  Blood sugar, fine.  Everything is fine.  But I'M not.  I KNOW there's something wrong.  Yeah, I'm overweight, but not everything is weight related.  I have no energy.  NONE.  ZERO.  ZILCH.  ZIP.  You get the point?  NO ENERGY!

Finally my doctor suggested I go have a Sleep Apnea test.  She actually suggested it a few years ago, but it was right before we moved to China so I told her I'd do it when we got back.  But of course, I put it off.  But after seeing her about some other things a few weeks ago, she told me again to have the study.  She was 100% convinced that I have Sleep Apnea.

They scheduled the consultation and I went in to meet with the doctor.  A few people were skeptical.  'Of course you have sleep apnea, everybody has it.'  'I've never known anyone to go in for the test and NOT have it.'  Statements like that were very frustrating.  So I got a little discouraged.  But I still kept my appointment and I went in to see the doctor.  And I told him the things I was hearing.  He said that's not true, not EVERYONE that comes in has it, but that I needed to keep in mind that they weren't just pulling people off the street and having them tested.  If you go in, you are there for a REASON.  Or maybe lots of them.  People are sent there by their doctors because they have morning headaches, or they're tired all the time, or they fall asleep at the wheel.  They don't just send every patient they have.  True.  So after the consultation, he decided to schedule a sleep test because he was pretty convinced that I have Sleep Apnea.

I went in for the test on a Tuesday night.  You go in, and they hook you up to a TON of wires.  It took over an hour for her to completely hook me up to the probes. 

This is what they looked like before she started separating them

and putting them on me.

That's A LOT of wires!

All of them are intertwined.  I don't even know how many there were total.  But it was A LOT!

 

And they just keep coming!  

On the plus side?  

I got to sleep in the bed ALL BY MYSELF!

YIPPEEE!!!!!

As she was hooking me up she explained to me what everything was monitoring and how they measure the results.  Anything from 1-4 "episodes" an hour is not really a concern.  Anything 5-29 is a concern, and it's a diagnosable problem, but she's not allowed to tell me anything or do anything about it.  If I have 30 or more episodes an hour for 2 hours straight, then she will come in and wake me up.  It's considered severe - 6 times the diagnosable level, and she will put me on the C-PAP machine to use the rest of the night to see how well I sleep with it on. 

So after an hour of her hooking me up to the probes and explaining to me how the study works, I looked like this:

And this:

Last one:

Told you it was a lot of wires!  :)

Then I just laid down and fell asleep watching "Big Bang Theory".  LOVE that show!  :)  She came in at 1 and told me that I had 30 or more episodes for the first 2 hours so she was going to put me on the C-PAP machine for the rest of the night.  Some of my episodes were so close together that I wasn't getting oxygen for 1-2 minutes at a time.  And every time I stopped breathing, I woke up.  So I was waking up 30 times an hour.  Is it any wonder I was tired all the time?!

Because my case is severe, insurance will cover a lot of it.  I received my machine last week.  

This is what I now get to sleep with every night.  I look like Darth Vader!

I've only been using it for a couple of days, but I THINK I can tell a difference.  I'm sure I'll know within the next week or so whether it's working.  If so, and I continue to use it correctly, then insurance will purchase the machine instead of just renting it.  

At least now I know what my problem is.  (One of them anyway).  I hope it helps.  Everyone I talk to seems to think it will.  I hope they're right.  I'll keep you posted and let you know how I feel in a couple of week.  Wish me luck!  *crossing fingers*

DAY 11 . . .

I took this last night, but I'm just now posting it here.  Sorry for the delay.  I know you've been sitting on pins and needles waiting for it!  :)

Sarah and all her bling bling! 

DAY 10 . . . .

One of my goals for the new year is to get some things organized around here.  Here is a couple of before and after pictures of my desk.  IT ONLY TOOK ME 2 DAYS!!   

I'll show you the before pictures first.  Sorry Erin, I know you HATE people like me.  But if it's any consolation, I'm TRYING to be more like you!  :)

 

I know, scary, right?!

 

And now for the AFTER pictures.  

A little better don't ya think?  I wonder how long it'll last?!  :)

#PROJECT366 . . .

World's GREATEST Uncle! 

Day 9

DAY 8:

A lazy Sunday playing Glee Karaoke on Wii.

A YEAR IN PICTURES - DAY 7 . . .

My newest obsession.  And my FAVORITE little girl!

A YEAR IN PICTURES: DAY 6 . . .

Sarah and Daddy playing Apples to Apples with the family.

A YEAR IN PICTURES: DAY 5 . . .

A day late, again.  It was TAKEN yesterday, just not posted until today.  

This is Andrew.  He's my middle child.  And unfortunately, he's the typical middle child.  He never thinks he's good enough and that everyone is better than him.  And that's a shame.  Because he's funny, and smart, and can make you laugh with just one word.  And he has the biggest heart of anyone you'll ever meet.  He's my star.  

PYHO: CHINA . . .

 

As many of you know, we spent a year living in China.  We were transferred there for my husband's job.  It all happened very quickly.  We were on vacation with some good friends on the Monday that we found out.  We returned home on the following Monday.  Four weeks and a day later we were on a plane heading to China.  

I believe I spent the first 8-10 weeks crying.  I was NOT happy to be there.  I missed my family.  I missed my friends.  I missed my LIFE.  But slowly, VERY SLOWLY, I started to adjust to our new life.  I started making friends.  I started finding things that I enjoyed doing.  

Now don't get me wrong, I'm VERY glad to be home, but by the time we left, I was sad to leave.  Part of me wishes that we had stayed a little longer.  I don't think 1 year was long enough.  It was a GREAT experience for all of us.  We learned a lot.  We saw things we never would have been able to see.  We traveled to new places. 

But Sarah will never remember any of it.  She'll have the pictures, but not really any memories.  And imagine how far in life the kids would go if they'd spent 4 or 5 years living in another country.  As a parent, we want our kids to have the best things in life.  We want them to have opportunities we never had.  We want them to do better than we did.  The school they were attending was an AMAZING school.  Imagine the college scholarships they could get if they spent years overseas.  

Yes, I'm glad to be home.  But some days, I miss our life in China.  I miss my Ayi!  :)  I miss being able to walk to just about anywhere we wanted to go.  I miss walking across the street and buying a movie for $2.  I miss Hot Pot.  I miss my friends.  (Although most of them are gone by now).  I miss learning new things and seeing new places.  I miss the closeness we had as a family.  Being away made us closer.  We had no one else to depend on, so we HAD to depend on each other.  Yes, we're still close.  We'll always be close.  But it was different there.  

So yeah, I'm VERY glad to be home.  But I also miss China.  And I don't regret for ONE MINUTE the opportunity we had to live there.

A YEAR IN PICTURES: DAY 4 . . .

I took this picture of Sarah yesterday before her dance class but by the time we got home I was sick as can be so I just went straight to bed.  

She got this outfit and ballet shoes for Christmas.  She LOVED them!  And she's such a HAM!  :)

DAY 3 PICTURE . . .

Jason helped me take the tree down today.  They all want it up, but no one wants to HELP put it up or take it down! 

PICTURE DAY 2 . . .

Okay, so I'm not off to a good start.  I didn't take a picture yesterday.  But I WILL take one today.  

Since I don't have one from yesterday, I'm posting another one from New Years Eve.  

These are 2 of my closest and dearest friends.  Laura, the one on the right, has been my friend since Freshman year of high school.  I don't have a lot of good memories of high school, so I tell her all the time that she's the only GOOD thing for me that came out of high school.

Sandy and I have been friends since Sophomore year of college.  Luckily, I have LOTS of good memories of college, and she's in a lot of them.  As a matter of fact, we still go to EKU's Homecoming every year.  It's a trip that WE enjoy, but our kiddoes also enjoy it.

They've both been with me through thick and thin, and they've helped me through a lot of hard times.  I can't even imagine my life without them.  

I love you girls!

A PICTURE A DAY . . .

I'm borrowing this from a fellow blogger.  I realize that I don't take nearly enough pictures throughout the year, so I'm going to try to take a picture a day, EVERY DAY, and post it on here.  (Let's see how long I can keep this up)!

Today is the 2nd of January.  I'll post today's picture later.  Right now I need to post one from January 1st.  

We have a New Years Eve party every year and this picture was taken, (just after midnight, so it counts for January 1st!), with a bunch of the kids.  It's my favorite picture of the night.

I can't think of a better way to ring in the New Year than with wonderful friends.

What did YOU do to celebrate?  Did you make it to midnight?!  :)