You mean I have to start taking care of myself?

Well, the verdict from my sleep study is in. I do not have narcolepsy (yea!--so much for all those friends who were revving up for jokes about narcoleptic librarians.) However, I do have sleep apnea, meaning that sometimes I just stop breathing at night, or breathe so shallowly that my brain wakes me up in an effort to get me to start breathing again. I don't remember waking up (the brain dumps its short-term memory when this happens,) but it means I don't get any real rest, which is why I'm always so tired.

So, what is there to do about it? Well, for mild cases they make a dental appliance that holds your jaw at a better angle so you're not obstructed. Mine's moderate, so they're going to put me on a CPAP machine. I haven't the foggiest idea what that stands for, but basically it's a mask that goes over my nose/mouth that is hooked to a machine that forces air down my airway at sufficient pressure to keep the airway open. I have to use it for a couple of weeks and then go back for another sleep study so they can check it and decide on the final titration of airflow.

Another possibility is to cut the back part of my mouth out, including a part of my palate and the uvula. This, may I just say, is not my first choice. That's what they do when nothing else works. Here's to CPAP! The other reason they tell you this, I suspect, is that one thing that will definitely help is if I can lose weight. I'm going to go back to eating alternatives to the foods I'm allergic to (wheat, eggs, milk=just about everything.) When I did that before, I lost about 20 lbs in water weight immediately. Apparently the allergies cause me to retain water. And my allergy season just started for pollen, so I'll feel better if I cut my allergen load. Since I started back on regular foods I've gained about 40 lbs. Sigh. Dr Westerfield also suggested Weight Watchers, because it's pretty flexible but not as expensive as some of the other programmes in town. I've never tried that. I've never really dieted, for that matter, so at least I don't have the whole yo-yo dieting thing going on. With my problems with blood sugar, being a vegetarian, and having the food allergies, I'm going to try to get some professional advice from a dietician. Oh, and I'm going to check where Zabet and hubby traded in their Gazelle; maybe I can get it cheap. Dr Westerfield also suggested yard sales--apparently they're full of items well-intentioned but chronically flabby people bought but never used.

I had one glitch tonight; my entire exhaust system decided to try to fall off the car. I went by a Marathon station (after slowly negotiating one of the bumpiest roads in Lexington) and got them to temporarily wire everything back into place. I get paid tomorrow, so I guess part of that had better go to the car. I really need to name the car--between what John and Momma have put into it and what I have, the thing nearly has gone through nine lives. Maybe something cat-like? E-mail me with suggestions using the link to the left.

Well, that's it for now!