Guest guest Posted June 6, 2000 Report Share Posted June 6, 2000 Hi, Keeley, One of the ways you might know you have it is if you are waking up with headaches that go away after you've been up and around (and breathing) for awhile. I also would wake up with heart palpitations if I was laying on my left side. To diagnose it, you spend the night in a sleep lab in a hospital. They hook you up with about 20 wires hooked to different places - put you in a strange bed, and tell you to go to sleep - no pressure here! (I had to go back for a second night because I couldn't get to sleep! lol!) They monitor your breathing, your blood oxygen levels, leg movements, stuff like that and it all gets recorded on a sizemograph-like machine. It records what level of sleep you are in - and when you stop breathing for 10 seconds or more - it is an " episode " . Once you have had 50 episodes, they come in and put you on a CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) machine - so they can tell how much pressure it needs to operate at to keep your airway open and you breathing. I did this last August and have been sleeping with the CPAP ever since. I feel a little like " Miss Piggy " when I have it on - but I sleep longer and more deeply and . . . I love it! Hope this helps. Kandy in Missouri ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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