BiPap

After clinic back in Sept., my doctor ordered an overnight oxygen test because he wanted to make sure I was getting enough oxygen with the breathing problems I have been having. So, they brought a little machine out overnight that I had to sleep with so it could measure the percent of oxygen in my system. They want the reading over 90% consistently. My awake reading was 98%, but they said that 4% of the night I dropped below 90%. My doctor still feels this could be pregnancy related, but regardless the goal is to make sure I'm over 90% so he ordered a bipap machine for me, which we picked up yesterday.

I would normally fight this, but we went to an ALS seminar a few weeks ago and one of the Mayo docs did a topic on bipap and how it extends life expectancy by six months, which is longer than any medication. I asked my dr. if we'd retest my oxygen after I deliver to determine if it was pregnancy, but he said no. Basically, he'd like to start every patient on bipap immediately, but insurance won't pay for it until there has been oxygen loss so he doesn't want to give them a reason to take it away.

In addition to increasing life expectancy, he said it may help alleviate my nighttime muscle cramps and morning pain and stiffness (I hadn't mentioned this before, but just about every morning I have to give myself a pep talk just to get out of bed because my muscles hurt so much).