My first Stanford Health ENT (“Eyes, Nose, Throat”) visit was held at the same Redwood City spot where I picked up my Zio XT sleep test in January. The visit had to be in-person because of the camerawork done. The doctor and his assistants numbed my nose with a fluid and then poked around inside with a camera on a wire.
Long story short, they found nothing wrong.
I tried explaining how my jaw drops after a few hours of sleep and that what they are seeing now might not correlate to what’s there at 4am in the morning. However, I didn’t really seem to get through to them.
I was told that with my current numbers, I might not need to wear CPAP at night anymore. To help with my nose getting clogged, they would prescribe a once-a-day “Flonase” nasal spray for me. (The nurse confessed that what they prescribed was easy to buy over-the-counter and might even be cheaper that way.)
Overall, the visit wasn’t as productive as I hoped it would be. Before going, I had dreams of finding a cure once and for all; once again, I came back empty handed.
PS: as for skipping out on CPAP at night, I might give it a shot. After all, the Stanford doctor that recommended it has the title of “Chief, Sleep Medicine” on his business card.
