redelk
Moderator
Please... speak to the hand.
Posts: 3212
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posted June 28, 2002 06:01 PM
MY GAWD! What are they doing to Red Elk?
Just think... your getting sleepy... very sleepy...
Yeah... what fuckin' ever!
Welcome to the world of sleep disorders and sleep studies. This is where those little "sleepy sheep" wear black leather and go by the name Mistress Fluffy! Over 28 sensors that measure everything from brain waves (I could have told them I didn't have any!), O2 (note middle finger - they moved it to my pinky after the photo), heart & respiratory rate, REM, respiratory pressure, chin, chest, abdomen & leg movement, and even your snoring! The also video tape you with a IR camera for the whole night (no playing with yourself)!
They also expect you to sleep with all this crap and to make matters worse, they transfer all this info from your room to their computers via a parallel cable! Haven't these folks ever heard of USB or FireWire? Geez!
Being one who has suffered and still suffers from from several sleep disorders ranging from obstructive sleep apnea (snoring), which I had surgery for, to narcolepsy (can sleep 20+ hours a day and still be tired)... let me tell you, sleep disorders ain't no fuckin' laughing matter. They can kill you and I'm fuckin' serious!
It can be something as "minor" as not staying in a deep or REM sleep (imagine someone nudging you every 15 seconds... not enough to wake you, but just enough to keep you from getting any rest) to where you will actually stop breathing for periods of 30 seconds or MORE! Imagine falling asleep while riding your 12R! Been there, done that! Let me tell you, having to take a serious amphetamine just so you can fuckin' function... really sucks!
Think of it as the most expensive non-smoking (gotta go 5 floors down and then outside), crappy cable (no Speed or porn - not even Cinamax), meals come in a styrofoam box (only if your doing a "daytime study" as well - otherwise.... NOTHING) hotel you could find and multiply that cost by about TEN! Even after my very comprehensive insurance pays, I'll still have to pay about the same as half of my WHOLE DEAL'S GAP TRIP!
Anyway, I thought ya'll would at least get a chuckle out of them torturing me again (I've been through three of these "studies")!
BTW - no, I didn't sleep worth a shit, thank you for asking!
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There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.
-Ernest Hemingway
   
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phil
Expert Class
Posts: 420
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posted June 28, 2002 07:27 PM
 Edited By: phil on 28 Jun 2002 20:29
Yea, sleep apnea. Already did the sensor thing and am going back in a few weeks for another test with the air mask. Ought to be a real scream. The wife say's I quit breathing sometimes for 40 seconds.
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ZXtra
Expert Class
Posts: 490
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posted June 29, 2002 01:00 AM
Re: MY GAWD!...
So...looks like they got you hooked up to a PC111. They doin' yer fuel curve?  -ZXtra
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The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick!
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Scooter
Zone Head
Posts: 899
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posted June 29, 2002 03:14 AM
Dad has the air mask, hope you can keep your mouth shut, otherwise it'll puff your cheeks like a balloon. You could always get a job working a 12 hr swing shift like me and really screw up your system. .....melatonin my ass.
Speaking of which, I just finished a night shift, think I'll go for a spin on the ZRX and wake the neighbors BUWAAHAAHAA!!
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"Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional."
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12RPilot
Pro
Posts: 1094
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posted June 29, 2002 10:43 AM
Keep us posted, Red. My apnea got a little better when I knocked off a bunch of weight to fit in my new leathers. Still wake up several times with heart racing and sometimes sweating. About time to find a sleep lab myself.
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If you aren't an AMA member, you're part of the problem.
NESBA #209
http://www.bikepics.com/members/12rpilot/04zx10r/
 
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TedG
Moderator
Posts: 8222
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posted July 01, 2002 04:12 PM
quote:
So...looks like they got you hooked up to a PC111. They doin' yer fuel curve? -ZXtra
Good thing they ain't using a pcIII for life support!!!
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Ted
2000 Green ZX12 sold
The fast color!!
Green 2005 ZX10R
2009 Concours Black ABS
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redelk
Moderator
Please... speak to the hand.
Posts: 3212
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posted July 01, 2002 06:42 PM
If it was a PCIII...
... I'd be downloading my OWN frikkin' maps!
It just all so damn frustrating! I didn't get a good night's sleep for almost a week before the test. For a couple of days prior, it was just the anxiety of doing a test that I've put off for almost TWO YEARS! Compounding the problem, I have three different sleep disorders.
1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea - which I have had surgery for about 7 years ago, but my neck size has grown TWO INCHES since then.
2. Narcolepsy - that is so sever, that I have to take at least 300 mg of Cylert (Pemoline), just to function. I'm one of my doctor's few remaining patients still taking this specific drug. Ritalin and Provigil (Modafinil) just doesn't work for me (for various reasons).
Also, since I've been know to "self medicate" myself in the past with, let's say, not "legitimate" forms of medication, my doctor has completely ruled out Dexedrine (Dextroamphetamine-Sulfate) and Desoxyn (Methamphetamine-HCl). Darn (do I know my drugs, or what?)!
Because I take Cylert, I have to get liver enzyme blood work done EVERY TWO WEEKS, thanks to federal laws regulating the use of this drug. Being a "neurological disorder" (don't go there!), it's not like I can have some form of surgery to make it just go away. It commonly referred to as a "life long" disorder.
3. Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD) - a.k.a. Night Leg Twitches. This is the one we are really wrestling with right now.
Sinemet (Carbidopa-Levodopa - also used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease) is the drug most commonly used for this disorder. The problem I have with taking this drug is that it causes sever, bed and pillow soaking, night sweats as well as wildly vivid dreams and nightmares (even for me!).
Now that I've been taking Sinemet again,(which they have upped my dosage), I have YET to get a decent night's sleep! ARRRRRRRRRGH!
I just spoke with the doctor today about my appointment to fitted for a "TAP Device". It's kinda like an upper and lower retainer that hooks to each other. This is so when I lay on my back, my lower jaw will not drop and reduce the airway opening. We'll see what shakes down from that.
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There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.
-Ernest Hemingway
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Bikelover
Novice Class
Posts: 64
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posted July 01, 2002 07:17 PM
Damn Dude. I can sympathize, my wife just went through the same testing. Damn was it expensive. Over $2K. I don't think they have helped her yet. Hope they do better with you.
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swft
Needs a life
Full throttle!
Posts: One MEEEEEELLION
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posted July 01, 2002 07:21 PM
Hey RedElk, talk to Hans. He could get you a carbon fiber ram air snorkel to cure that snoring. 
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Ballisticzx12r
Zone Head
& Deals Gap Board Member
Posts: 940
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posted July 01, 2002 07:54 PM
RED
Don't show us the anal probe PLEASE PLEASE>
Bart
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Be fast and Be safe
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Ballisticzx12r
Zone Head
& Deals Gap Board Member
Posts: 940
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posted July 01, 2002 07:55 PM
RED
Don't show us the anal probe PLEASE PLEASE>
Bart
____________
Be fast and Be safe
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