I’ve always felt tired. When I wake up in the morning most days I can’t wait to get back into bed that night. I thought everyone felt that way. Apparently, that’s not the case.
My wife Kali has been asking me to be checked for sleep apnea for years. My snoring can be a bit but much and Kali has noticed I stop breathing from time to time. Again, something I thought most guys my age and size experienced. Something I didn’t feel was worth the hassle.
But lately, my tiredness has been getting out of hand. Falling asleep when I shouldn’t be. NEVER feeling motivated. Gaining weight despite being mindful of diet and exercise. What the hell is going on? I get that I’m busy. But man, how do other people physically carry on like this. Apparently, most don’t feel like this.
The last push was when a close family member was diagnosed with sleep apnea. It gave me the extra push I needed to at least get checked. (And gave Kali more fuel to push me to go for an assessment.). “So, fine! I’ll do it.” I said and booked an appointment with my doctor. She booked an appointment with a sleep clinic. I thought it would take months to get in ( I had heard horror stories about backed up waitlists). I received a call from the clinic that day. I’d be picking up my home sleep assessment kit the following week. Again, I didn’t think I had apnea. This was to appease my wife.
Last week, I rigged up before bed. How was I going to sleep in this getup? (annoying finger monitor not pictured).
It ends up that I had the best sleep I’ve had in weeks. For some reason, I was out like a light that night. This unit does not aid my sleep at all. It just assesses it. But yet, I slept all night. I think I actually got around 9 hours of sleep that night. Kali said I didn’t even snore that night. Well, this is gonna be cake walk. I’ll hand it back to the clinic, they’ll retrieve the results, it will be nothing, and I’ll be on my merry way. I’m sure you know by now (judging by the title of this blog and general tone that wasn’t the case.).
The clinic called yesterday. I stop breathing 41 times an hour in my sleep. 41! I have officially been diagnosed with SEVERE sleep apnea. What the hell? This was supposed to be a nothing test. I don’t wake up in the middle of the night. Or at least I don’t feel like I do. This is something other people deal with. People who complain about bad sleep. I don’t get bad sleep. I’m just tired all the time. Right?
So, now what? Well…time for the dreaded CPAP. The dreaded “hose to the nose” at night to keep my airway open. I go in next week to get rigged up with the new outfit. Any tips on how to deal with this new piece of luggage?
-Chad