She lied.
When I was at Mary Washington Hospital with A-fib in September, I was asked by at least seven doctors or nurses if I had sleep apnea. I had done an overnight oxygen and pulse monitor. Based on those results, Anthem had denied coverage of a more comprehensive monitor to detect sleep apnea. I concluded that I did not have sleep apnea.
My sister had sleep apnea, and my parents snored. My ex from the early 2000s told me I snored so badly that it affected her sleep. So, I thought I snored.
After my bout with A-fib, my pulmonologist wanted to eliminate some possible causes. Sleep apnea can cause A-fib. Anthem approved an overnight sleep study to diagnose any breathing issues.
On December 12, 2022, I had an overnight sleep study done at Sleep Solutions in Fredericksburg.
To prepare, I avoided caffeinated drinks and naps during the day. I arrived at 9 pm, changed into sleepwear, and watched TV while the tech worked on another patient.
At 10:15 pm, the tech started attaching wires to my head, chest, and legs. My breathing, heart, muscle movements, and brain waves were to be monitored. It took about an hour to wire me, and I looked like a borg when done. One of the wires was connected to a microphone on my cheek.
I told the tech about the Premature Ventricular Contractions (PVC) I was getting and that we were trying to eliminate sleep apnea as a cause of my A-fib. I asked her if the test was monitoring snore decibel levels. I told her about the ex and wanted to see how bad my snoring was.
My private room had a double-sized bed and private bath. I’m not sure of the room temperature. It was not too hot or too cold. They must have done this before.
Once in bed, the wires were attached to a base unit. Someday, they’ll figure out a blue tooth device. Also in the room was a camera recording me throughout the night.
Via a speaker in the room, the tech had me go through some calibration routines of eye movements, breathing, sounds, and muscle movements. Then, the lights went out.
I sleep on my side and started on my right. The connections were a little uncomfortable. After the wires irritated enough, I woke and rolled to the left.
Having old man’s disease, I had to get up twice during the night. However, I needed to use the speaker in the room to ask to be unhooked.
I had more dreams than usual. One, I was speeding through intersections without stopping. Another dealt with a bag with clothes and other valuables stolen from my room at MWH, and I was irate with the staff.
Around 6 am, they woke me up to conclude the test. We went through the calibration routine again.
I was asked if I had any dreams on a post-study survey. Were the dreams pleasant or unpleasant? I wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Is getting angry pleasant or unpleasant?
My tech told me she saw PVCs and, by not saying anything, no A-fib. She told me she heard “no snoring.”
Somebody in the early 2000s lied or running cured me.
I liked the work of the techs at Sleep Solutions.