Today, I got my CPAP machine. For those of you who don't know, I was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea. That means that I stop breathing for 10 seconds or more several times a night. Now, everyone hold your breath for 10 seconds. 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10. And breathe. Ok, not so bad. You could probably go longer. And be just fine. But suppose I woke you up several times during the night to do that. Say, over 200 times to be exact. You'd never get any sleep. Well, that's what happens to be. I don't necessarily fully wake up to hold my breath, but my sleep is disturbed over 200 times...and that was just in the 6 hour test period. In a normal 8 hour period of sleep, I don't breathe for a minimum of 50 minutes. Basically, I fall asleep, hod my breath, wake up enough to breathe, fall back to sleep, wait 45 seconds, hold my breath again, wake up to breathe, fall back to sleep and do it all over again...200 times. I'm sorry I keep emphasizing that but, WOW, that's a LOT of times. It's no wonder I'm exhausted all the time!
So, fast forward to today. I got my breathing machine. In fact, I'm lying here in bed with a mask on my face that totally makes me feel like Darth Vader! Lol! It's kinda weird, but at the same time, I have mentally prepared myself to sleep with it. And, really, the only problem I foresee is learning not to roll over without adjusting my hose. Well, that and making out in bed, but we'll jump off that bridge when we come to it. That's not an IMMEDIATE concern! Hee hee!
So, tonight is the first night I'll have this mask. If I'm like most people, I'll feel better right away. Not 100% better, but improved. If I'm like my dad, it'll take a while to notice a difference. This is the one thing I HOPE and PRAY he DIDN'T pass on to me. We'll see how I feel in the morning.
Monday, May 19, 2008
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3 comments:
My honey has apnea, not to the extent you do. YET. I listen to him all night it seems, punching him to breathe when he doesn't. He loves me. I swear. ;) (( hugs )) Slid over from Liza's blog, hope you don't mind!!
So... how did it work?
Claudia: nope, I don't mind at all! The more the merrier, I say!
You should really get him to a doctor. It's nothing to mess with. In fact, there are some studies that hypothesize that sleep apnea is what causes SIDS. Scary...
Sarah: I just finished blogging aboutit, but it did good. I didn't feel AMAZING this morning, but I think it has potential. I woke up several times to adjust my mask, but when I did sleep, it was good.
I'm not giving up...the clinic is going to check up on me in a few days to see how things are going, so we'll see!
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