Special O2 Delivery

Today I received the oxygen concentrator. Here's a picture of the lovely machine.

My prescription is to set it at 2 liters/minute and use it 12 hours per day; aka, when I'm asleep, and a few hours during the day.

So, I used it for a couple hours earlier today:

Can you tell by my face how I'm feeling?

Over the past couple of days, I've had time to really think about this. This has been one the first big things to happen to me since this blog started. To be honest, I've been feeling embarrassed and ashamed of myself. I'm feel like I'm 60 years old with the "nasal cannula" on my face. I'm learning about things that I wish I never had to even think about for another 30-40 years minimum. The simple fact of the matter is right now the overall feeling is this:

I hate my body. 

I loathe my body.

I'm not just talking about my size. I just feel as if every single piece of my body is working against me. In psychology, a commonly discussed topic is the mind /body problem. 

Answer this question for yourself:

I am a/my body.

I have a body.

For me the answer is "I have a body". I feel like the person I truly am is the person in my head (although I'm not completely happy with that person either. I feel like that nothing you "see" when you look at me is the real me. My body, in fact, gets in the way of me. My body is the tool for my mind to use, and its broken!!!  

I wish there was an exchange policy.

I'm so angry with my body. I'm angry with my genetics. I'm angry with my mind for not stopping myself so long ago when it was so much easier fix. 

How about you guys? Do you have different feelings toward your body and your mind separately?

 Teaser: Soon, I'll discuss my relationship with food.

Oximetry Results... Not So Good

I didn't have to wait long to receive results from my Overnight Oximetry. Today, I received a call that frightened the hell out of me.

The overall big deal is that I need to be put on oxygen at night.

The respiratory tech was kind enough to explain to me all the statistics that led to this diagnosis.  She told me that the actual "normal" levels of oxygen saturation that they would like to see is 89% and above.

During the night my oxygen saturation went as low as 61%.

I went below 88% saturation level 15 times during the night.

The longest single time I spent below 88% was 8 minutes.

The respiratory tech was shocked with the fact that my oxygen saturation went down to 61%. She said she only usually sees that number in COPD patients, and she has never seen it in someone my age. This oxygen I'm getting is administered through a tube under the nose. I was told that when I do the sleep study, they will find out whether I need a CPAP machine (where the oxygen is delivered by mask).

She also sad that thankfully I don't need oxygen during the day... yet.

So, what am I feeling? Shock obviously. Yet, I am also feeling thankful. If I didn't make the decision to start the gastric bypass process, I would never have gotten this test. If I did get this test, it would have been a long time from now, and I would have gotten much worse. I'm also hopeful for the possibility that I'll be more rested and more able to wake up in the morning. I miss a lot of morning classes because I cannot get up in the morning. This oxygen may change my life.

How does this have anything to do with my weight? It is widely known that there is a strong link between sleep issues involving low oxygen levels and obesity. Obviously, it is now even MORE important that I lose weight. With every second that ticks by, I find out more reasons why I need to lose the weight now or suffer extreme consequences.

My suggestion to all my readers is that if you are having any problems with sleep - ask your doctor for an overnight oximetry. It is a very simple test to complete. The only symptom I ever noticed before last week was a constant tiredness and exhaustion during the day; I never suspected problems of this magnitude. You never know what problems may be going on under the surface.

Overnight Oximetry

I finally have a new update for you guys testing wise. Yesterday my meter for overnight oximetry was finally delivered. This was not without much effort to get it here. I think this was the "third time's a charm rule" or maybe even the fourth. I kind of lost count. One of those times he even scheduled a delivery on the day they're closed. *facepalm*

So, here I was last night all hooked up to the machine saying hi to you guys.

Not my most flattering angle, but you get the picture.

The "meter", as I like to call it, was fairly simple to use. 

Step 1. Wrap the sensor around your middle finger. 

     This was the hardest part. There are two little sensors on the strip. One goes on the top of your fingernail, and the other on the bottom of your finger. Trying to wrap it around tightly enough to stay in place was difficult with one hand. Luckily, I had a handy-dandy husband to help me out. 

Step 2. Apply Wristband.

     The husband also helped me out putting on the wrist band so I didn't pull the cords (isn't he awesome). I wish I had one of my own to use because this one smelled of cigarettes, but alas, I did not. 

Step 3. Turn On The Meter.

     Okay, now everything was all hooked up, and it was time to see if I did it right. Simply by pressing the button on the right, the meter burst into life. The numbers were actually showing, so we did a good job putting the sensors in place. Before I went to bed I watched the meter a little. The number on the top in the picture shows the percentage of oxygen saturation present in my blood stream; 95-100 is considered to be normal. My number stayed at 97 for most of the time I was looking, with a small jump to 98 when the picture was taken. The second number is my heart rate in beats per minute. It ranged form 65 to in the 80s before I went to sleep. 

Step 4. Sleep.

     This is the easy part right? Apparently not. Last night was not a good night for sleeping. I can't even count how many times I woke up and tossed and turned before I could get back to sleep; if you want an estimate, I would say 7 or 8.. You might think this had something to do with the machine, but you would be incorrect. The machine itself was fairly unobtrusive. For some reason, I just couldn't stay asleep. My husband (who went to bed way after me last night) told me that for a little while I was snoring and making noises in my sleep (which I don't usually do). I also got kind of freaked out when one of times I woke up and looked at the meter, my heart rate was around 108. It just seemed odd to see it jump to around 30 BPM higher than the highest I saw it while I was resting before. Futhermore, I woke up this morning with a strong headache. I cannot explain how much I loathe waking up with headaches; Its like someone punching you in the face before you even get out of bed. On another note, I am exhausted writing this blog. I received around 9 hours of sleep last night, but I feel as if I didn't sleep at all. Hmm, I wonder why.

All in all, I suppose having the test on one of my more difficult nights was not such a bad thing.

I don't know when I'm going to get the results. My next test isn't until April (sleep study), but as always, I'll keep you informed on everything I know as it comes in.