(no subject)

[winterbadger]

OK, so I had a very trying day (week, so far, in fact), and I had to rush everywhere, then rush home to have dinner and go do this sleep study that my doctor ordered. I get in there and they've got me all wired up, and telling me I have to sleep a completely different way than I normally do, and every time I move another sensor falls off and someone rushes in to adjust it. And I could tell it was getting later and later, and I wasn't sleepy at all, and I have to work ten hours tomorrow (and the next day), and I know they wake you up at 5 to get you out by 5.30. And it all seemed so pointless. There's no way I'm going to sleep normally under those circumstances. There's no way they're going to be able to tell me anything that has the least applicability to my normal life based on such an irrational, irregular test. And I'm going to get zilch in the way of useful sleep and be tired and stressy and cranky tomorrow. And it's all just a big industry to sell forced-air machines and exotic surgery, when what most of us need is to lose weight, drink less alcohol and caffeine, and get a good night's sleep every night.

So I did something very liberating. I stopped. I said, "I'm sorry, but I think I'm not going to bother with this. And I'm going to leave now." I took off all the monitory stuff and got my things and left.

Oh my goodness! The fluttering and the prevarication and the excuses and the cajoling. Please, I had to sign this form (oh, all right), and I had to talk to their supervisor on the phone (no, in fact, I didn't have to), and did I know my insurance wouldn't pay if I left? (So what? I'll pay myself, then.) Most entertaining! :-) I feel about five years younger, just from seeing people so discombobulated!

I'm going to take (yet another) shower to get all their crap out of my hair. And I'm going to have a nice cup of herbal tea and get into bed with a book and sleep just fine. :-) Until my cats wake me up, way too early. :-)

Comments

[astartesyriaca.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I'm going to wag my finger at you here. We should talk about this, because it is something that I've been through (and live with).

[zoefruitcake.livejournal.com]

well done for following your heart. It feels good, doesn't it x x

[flyingwolf.livejournal.com]

You're such a rebel. :)

[flyingwolf.livejournal.com]

and, btw. this makes NO SENSE. "telling me I have to sleep a completely different way than I normally do" NONE. But then, you knew that.

[winterbadger]

Waggle all you want, my dear. IMO, it's something between actual medical science and a scam, and the people I was dealing with last night are far closer to the "scam" end of that than the other.

[shy-kat.livejournal.com]

Go you!

[winterbadger]

:-) Sorry if I was grumpy and uncommunicative last night. I was feeling very stressy and fed up; telling these people that I didn't want to do their silly test was such a tonic!

[winterbadger]

Yep, telling me that they need to measure the way I sleep, but that I need to sleep differently than the way I normally do, because otherwise the instuments won't work...I actually laughed out loud at that one. The tech had the good grace to say that, well, they just got paid for getting the test equipment to work right, not (by implication) for making sure it actually acquired valuable and useful data.

In fact, the tech was very candid about his perspective on the whole sleep-study industry, and how it is basically a great way for a whole lot of people to get paid for testing folks and selling them equipment they wouldn't need if they'd just change their lifestyle a bit and get healthy.

[snow-lion.livejournal.com]

Good job taking control of your situation. Thanks for the smile.

[peaceful-fox.livejournal.com]

It reminds me of when I was at the allergist and they told me I HAD to get rid of my cats to get my allergies and asthma stabilized. I walked out of the office.

I didn't need to get rid of the cats. I took appropriate precautions like not rubbing my eyes and washing my hands when playing with them. I just needed the correct medications. I haven't had an asthma attack in over 5 years.

I almost went for a sleep study because I had night terrors and also a condition which caused me to sleepwalk and eat at night. It went on for over a decade and was stress related. I thought that if I went for a sleep study they would never be able to replicated an environment where I would have night terrors or sleepwalk.

[winterbadger]

Yeah, if they don't replicate the conditions that are causing you or me to have a problem, how can they determine what might be causing the problem?

It all reminds me of the story about the guy looking for his keys on a dark night. Someone stops to help and says "Where did you drop them, exactly?" He replies "Oh, over there, somewhere," gesturing out into the darkness about 20 yards away from the lamppost they're standing under. "So why are you looking over here?" the passer-by asks. Giving him a rather withering look, the man says "Well, obvisouly, because this is where the light is."

[winterbadger]

You're welcome, my dear lion. :-)

[winterbadger]

It's so wonderfully freeing! :-)