Ugh, another sleep study

I decided today that I was going to be proactive and contact Kaiser's sleep clinic to pick up where I left off from a couple of years ago in getting a CPAP machine for the sleep apnea I have.  I know that it will be required for me to get the machine if I have a sleep apnea diagnosis leading up to getting the weight loss surgery so I thought I'd give myself the six months or so to try to adapt to it on my face.  The huge problem I had before is that the machine they gave me to test on a few years ago felt like a mask a firefighter uses on his face before he rushes into a burning house to save lives.  A friend and I went on Google Images and looked up various types of CPAPs to see if all the styles were huge on your face or if perhaps there were different styles that made it a little easier to sleep.

Firefighter or ...

"Hellooo Clarice!"

In all seriousness, there are masks where I don't look like Hannibal Lecter.  In fact, they have some that are just nasal.  I called the clinic and talked to them about my various options.  My next step is to participate in another sleep study.  If anyone's counting (because I sure am), this will be sleep study number three.  They gave me the option of doing it at home first because the doctors wanted me to participate in a formal sleep study, which includes an overnight stay.  I can't imagine I would sleep very well with people staring at me from behind a one-way mirror on top of having the machine on my face.  As I thought about it, my list of medical appointments is growing and growing.  Here's what I have going on in the next couple of months:

• 11/13 - Mammogram
• 11/14 - Physical Therapy (which will be weekly) and beginning of my Mind Body Path 10-week class at Kaiser (which will also be weekly)
• 11/19 - Colonoscopy
• 11/21 - Bariatric Surgery Info Session and therapist appointment
• 12/2 - Lifestyle & Weight Management class, part of the bariatric surgery process
• 12/3 - Beginning of third sleep study
• 12/6 - Meeting with physical medicine doctor to follow up with my leg pain
• 12/9 - Therapist appointment
• 1/7 - Follow-up appointment with GI Specialist

Is it no wonder why I am moving forward on the surgery?  While some of these things are routine types of appointments, others are weight-related.  As I have stressed before, this is a quality of life issue.  I was thinking today about how I am going to tell my father, who is extremely anti-surgery, that I will be going through with this medically necessary path.  I think, as with everything else, I am going to have to take this one step at a time.  I can't worry about his reaction at the same time that I am dealing with my own feelings around all of this.  I am walking forward in a positive light, knowing God walks with me, so I can't be too concerned about how upset my dad will be about this.  Besides, this is early on in the process so I can deal with telling him further along after I have approval to move forward.  Right now, this is about me and no one else.  My needs must come first when I am dealing with life-altering (albeit very positive) surgery.