My patient gig is up...for now

Recently, I got to go on the other side of the fence. I had a sleep study in a sleep lab, after my two home studies looked funny.

I got basic prep over the phone, but I still had to call to make sure it was okay to take my meds in advance, etc. Preparing Dahey and Bubba was fun, too. They are always wanting instant communication when I am gone, so I had to let them know I was going to spend most of my time there sleeping. Translation: Don't call and send me a bunch of text messages. 

To keep the environment quiet, I had to turn off my cell phone and all my electronic devices since I was going to be wired up in bed. They budget 45 minutes to do this. My tech was great. I got wires on my head, which seemed to involve sandpaper, to make sure the electrodes and the goop got a good seal. I also got belts around my chest and waist. For good measure, I even had some leg electrodes with weights (kind of like those used when fishing). All the leg ones were attached with a good amount of goop and sealed with Medipore tape.

My room looked just like a hotel: heavenly bed type setup with a million pillows, flat screen TV and there was even a very nice leather recliner. Since I hadn't had any caffeine all day, I was ready to go to sleep when I got there.

Lights out were at 9PM for me. It took me about another hour to fall asleep. Then the fun started. My cannulas came off, not once, but twice. My room got hot, so the tech had to come in and cool it down. She warned me of this earlier, because if you sweat, the electrodes can come loose. (No way I was going to do this one twice!) Finally, the room got cooler (I think the duvet and the pillow top on the bed made me hot, but not sure.) I slept, but it was not quality sleep. I could hear trucks going down the road outside.

Miraculously, I woke up and it was nearly the wake up time we discussed when I started. I had to take all the wires in the bathroom with me, but when I got back, she took them all off. Relief!

The PhD who interprets the labs was in before I left, so I got a report. Yes, I have periods of apnea, but since none was severe enough for CPAP during the night, I probably won't get one. (My best sleep is on my side, so he recommended that). I just missed the score for a CPAP (barely). What does this mean? I will have to discuss with my doctor and see what he can wrangle with the insurance company.

As Dr. X, the pulmonologist told me, the PhD said he'd just put me on one, too. A borderline score shouldn't be an eliminator, but since insurance companies look at the almighty dollar, it is. CMS even has guidelines on this for Medicare. There are alternatives which I will have to check.

Now, I just have to wait until my next appointment to see what the verdict is.

Add a little on top

So, since we've had the eye saga of late, I now get to add a little more fun to the mix: sleep apnea.

Yes, sleep apnea can indeed affect your eyes. Dr. X, our CPAP prophet, would be patting me on the head for getting my doc to get me a home sleep study. Unfortunately, I get to go spend the night with the sleep specialists. The prep sheet doesn't sound too bad, but I am sure I will not sleep well.

And yes, it had to happen. Someone may be infected with ebola here in RehabLand. 

Can you tell I'm glad tomorrow is Friday and I'd like to do this (see below)?

More later...

Happy hump day to me!

Well, it's not really Wednesday, but I'm on the downward slide of my evening rotation, so this is always a good thing.

My patients have been pretty good and I'm secretly hoping we're fully staffed tonight so I can ditch the med wagon, even if it means I get another patient. I have one good one and one wacky one, so hopefully, if I end up with a third, it'll be a good one to tip the scales and keep my sanity.

I got acquainted with a new drug yesterday--the belladonna/opium suppository. One of my patient's gets this for his pain (he's a quad who's been getting up a ton for therapy since his debilitating illness). He's quite a character. At least, he's liking his CPAP now, but he still needs his "muscle relaxer" once he's ready to put it on every night at 2300. I found out that his "relaxer" is not Baclofen or something else, but rather, good old Ativan.

I still feel cruddy, but with rest and fluids and good old Mucinex, I'm tackling work pretty well. All this resting makes me feel like I'm slacking at home, but I'm hoping it'll pay off later and I'll be done with this virus soon enough.

I'm still working on my CRRN stuff. Since this is the first week of the year, I'm going to have to start a countdown.

More later on that...gotta get ready for work!