On Thursday, I had an appointment at the Westmoreland Sleep Center. I was referred to them by the kidney doctor whom I visited the week prior. It was a quick visit and I learned a lot from the doctor there. My appointment was at 3pm. As I usually do, I arrive early, and was able to meet before my scheduled time.
I’m familiar with sleep apnea but here’s a definition and I will talk about this in future blogs as well. Per Wikipedia, it is a sleep-related breathing disorder. Many factors can contribute to sleep disruption and poor ventilation. It is a chronic condition and complications include, but are not limited to, heart attack and stroke. I’ll be doing more research to contribute to future posts.
The Westmoreland Sleep Center is located on Pellis Road, just a few minutes off of U.S. 30. From Greensburg or Jeannette, just take the Pleasant Unity exit off of U.S. 30. If you’re coming from town or from Latrobe, turn at Humphrey Road.
The main office is at Pellis Road, but there is a secondary location at the Fay-West Medical Commons in Scottdale. There are a lot of medical offices along this stretch, including UPMC Outpatient Care and other specialists.
I have a sleep study scheduled in April, with a follow-up a few weeks later. I’ll stay overnight there while they monitor my sleep. I’m interested to see how this will work, as I’m used to sleeping during the day (7:30am to 2:30pm). A sleep study is a non-invasive, overnight diagnostic test that records brain activity, eye movement, heart rate, breathing, and muscle activity to evaluate sleep quality. Conducted in a lab or at home (for apnea), it helps diagnose disorders like apnea, insomnia, and narcolepsy by monitoring sleep cycles.
I’m just getting this done now as it was brought up by the kidney doctor whom I went to see. I would have done it a while back if I had better insurance, or even after I started at Giant Eagle. My sleep habits could be one of the key contributors to my blood pressure being high as well.
Finally, I’m reading through my book on NPR and have arrived into the ‘80s. This brought about the start of Morning Edition and the network’s move into the new decade. While I began listening to NPR around my senior year, it’s fun to learn about the history of the network as well.
Going forward, I’ll have read the book in its entirety sometime in the Spring. I’m planning to buy Governor Josh Shapiro’s new memoir. It was released a few weeks ago during our period of extreme cold after the big snowfall we received.
I’m saying yes to learning more about our Governor, and also when it comes to reading about the Jazzmen (Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie). I’ve been perusing the books on Amazon and plan on buying them soon. Maybe I’ll start once I get to halfway on the NPR book. I’m trying to limit my intake of books on political figures, as I easily get triggered from all I see on social media.
Looking well ahead (late Spring, early Summer), I have another book I’m interested in is “Three Shades of Blue”. This is another jazz-centered read that goes into the cool jazz era. The author has also penned biographies on Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. He also co-wrote with Jerry Lewis and John McEnroe.
Stylish 🍒 