It’s all interconnected, isn’t it?

The body, I mean.

I had a long talk with the head of the Sleep Disorders Center at St. Anthony’s Hospital yesterday. We are scheduling a sleep study for me – a “parasomnia montage” to be specific – in a few weeks. That sure sounds fancy, huh? I want to get down the to bottom of my night terrors once and for all (especially while I we have maxed out our deductible!). She told me that they don’t really officially call them night terrors for adults, but they would run tests to see what time of night I go haywire, because it could also be R.E.M. Behavior Disorder. I told her I was pretty certain that it happened during the more deep stages of sleep and not during R.E.M. She then said there were various other possible causes then, including something as “simple” (quotes because we know it’s not really all that simple) as sleep apnea. She said, if you have sleep apnea, your brain may not be getting enough oxygen and it could be panicking you awake.

Wait a second.

I asked her if something like a deviated septum could cause that. And she said “absolutely.”

“But of course, we need to run the full range of tests to see,” – because of course she is not going to give me a diagnosis over the phone. That would be just crazy. And she would miss out on all that money from my insurance company.

But my wheels started turning. I am having a CAT scan on Monday because of repeated and perpetual sinus infections. If I do have a deviated septum as my ENT suspects, I will be discussing surgery options to basically rout out my nose and make the pathways properly sized. Which, in my humble opinion, would probably make it easier to breathe, don’t you think?

Wouldn’t it be hilarious if, after all this time, THAT is what has been causing my night terrors?

I’m not holding my breath. Oh wait, maybe I am.