Sunday, October 26, 2008

Quick Update

I can't believe it's been over two weeks since I last posted. Apologies to those who were wondering what happened to me. It seems like it's been one thing after another.

I finally got my sleep study results (although I'm waiting for a copy of the report so I can see the details) this week after having to postpone my appointment with the neurologist for a week when one of our cars blew its head gasket and required $2300 in repairs and three days in the shop. Since my husband takes Ellie to school as well as being the sole breadwinner in our family, he clearly had priority on our only other vehicle.

Turns out I do not have a sleep apnea. I had a total of 11 episodes during the eight-hour overnight test. The neurologist says anything less than 15 episodes per hour is considered normal, and even people with 15 to 30 episodes per hour might not get put on a CPAP machine.

Although I fell asleep during four of the five 20-minute nap windows the next day, I do not have narcolepsy because I don't go straight to REM sleep when I fall asleep.

So the neurologist has, for now, diagnosed me with idiopathic hypersomnia and prescribed Provigil, which, of course, my insurance won't cover without a diagnosis of narcolepsy, sleep apnea or multiple sclerosis. So she says she will prescribe Ritilin or Adderall, which are stimulants most often prescribed for attention-deficit disorder in children. Adderall is also a popular illegal drug for college (and high school?) students because it increases their ability to focus on their studies and retain information long enough to get through an exam. They call it a smart pill, which actually sounds sort of fun to have since I feel so scatter-brained and unable to focus since I got sick.

Meanwhile, I've had a cold for going on two weeks now, which has knocked me on my butt. Ellie, my almost-4-year-old, came down with croup this week and two days later I suddenly developed a killer sore throat and wondering if I have the adult version of her virus ... it's always something at our house!

I had been scheduled for that allergy testing to the pneumonia vaccine so I could complete my testing for an immunodeficiency, but of course had to postpone it because my lungs have been junky and the immunologist won't do the allergy testing unless my asthma is completely in control. I'm hoping to get over this latest bug soon so I can get that done.




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