Pulmonary Function Testing

So a couple days ago (before our nifty 1 foot snow storm) I went to the hospital to get a test to see if my pulmonary function was adequate for surgery.  You get to blow in a machine to make sure you're breathing well enough.  I think I did okay, they didn't give me like an A or a B...although my over-achiever self wanted to leave with a 4.0 report card on my breathing technique but all I got out of the tech was that I made it above the line....but I wanted to know if I made it above the line better then every body else.  She just looked at me like I might have been a little bit crazy.

Anyhow, I'm assuming I have decent pulmonary function because I'm alive and all.
See how great my nursing expertise is in this whole weight loss/getting ready for surgery journey can be.

She then gave me a pulse ox machine to wear all night that night.  I get to turn it in today (should have been yesterday, but didn't want to drive through town in a foot of snow with crazy drivers, most likely from California or Texas who think they can drive in snow because they bought SUVs when they moved here and then get stuck, because snow is snow and it doesn't matter what you drive, so stop driving like maniacs).  I digress.  I wore this thing all night, but kept waking up, because this thing was stuck to my finger.  I'm not totally a princess of Princess and the Pea mentality.  I mean this was so much bigger then a pea and every time I shifted or changed position this thing would get all tangled up.  Completely annoying.  And since I was up anyway, I'd check the numbers.

Crap.

All night long it would dip below 90% saturation.

Side note: In most states you want above 96% saturation of oxygen, in Colorado we get a pass and only need above 90% because of the altitude (we have to change our recipes to bake too...love it here, but there are sacrifices to be made).  I was dipping into the 85-88 range.  I'd quickly take some deep breaths and go back to sleep, only to wake up and see a low number.

UGH.

Which means, I most likely have sleep apnea.  Which sucks.
Of course, I'm not supposed to diagnose, but I betcha I'll be getting a call to do a sleep study.

I've done one of those before.  I didn't have sleep apnea that time.  So they just gave me some sleeping pills, which felt worse then being tired all the time.  The tech did have her own opinion why I was tired.  At the time I was a housewife.  She asked me if maybe I was bored.  Uh, nope.  I have an uncanny ability to be able to entertain myself.  I actually kinda miss being a housewife at times -- I'll clue you in to a little secret, there wasn't a lot of me time, but there was a lot more me time then there is when working and still doing all the things I did as a housewife.  I digress again.  Anyhow, I hated the sleep study - uncomfortable bed, hooked up to a bunch of wires (more then just the pulse ox, you have them hooked to your chest, legs and forehead), you're being watched (weird...try sleeping knowing someone is watching you, especially knowing they probably think you're a total freak because you took the bed apart looking for bed bugs before getting in) and there was no remote for the TV.  Really a hellish experience.

It is what it is.

At least I have this marked off the list.
Going to my general practitioner next week to get a check up.  I've been postponing it because last time I was there I had just lost a bunch of weight, all of which I've gained back.

It's a really big list, getting ready for this surgery.