A Horror story of Epic proportions / Encouraging for Newbies

I want to share with everyone how I was rudely introduced to sleep apnea. I lived in Houston TX 12 years ago with my wife. I was 32 at the time, and had slept like a baby all of my life with NO issues. We went to a bar with some friends one night, and suddenly my heart started tp race crazily. Minutes later I was on my back having convulsions. When the ambulance came I was near death. After arriving at the ER the Dr determined I was under the influence of Methamphetamine. It had been apparently placed in my drink, and since that drink was a Margarita and was somewhat bitter. I had not noticed it. Whatever the amount that was placed in there, it was a LOT because my heart nearly exploded and the Dr.s thought I had had a heart attack. It threw me into MASSIVE panic attacks, and I was still VERY high in the hospital 5 days later ! This baffled the Dr.s because they all said that drug should be out of my system within 24 to 48 hrs max.

I DID NOT SLEEP FOR 9 DAYS ...

Then when I did try and sleep, I would feel like I was being strangled. I would drift off for 3 seconds and snap awake being strangled ! This went on for a week of hell. They moved me to the Psyche ward and kept sending Dr after Dr in to try and figure out what was wrong with me .... They pumped me full of more and more heavy drugs .... Sleeping drugs and anxiety drugs ... ALL making it worse.

Their diagnosis ??? It was all in my head !

I was just about to literally take my own life when my wife came running into the room and proclaimed " It is sleep apnea " !!! NONE of the Drs had even mentioned it. My wife figured it out by reading on the internet. I went to the sleep study a few days later and found I DID now have sleep apnea. ALL of the Drs said there was no way the overdose could have caused it. But those same Drs said there was no way I should still be feeling the effects of the drug 5 weeks later, and that there was no way my entire body should stay numb all of the time, and that there was no way I should still be having anxiety.

The facts ??? My body stayed smoewhat numb for 4 years after the attack .... I had a MASSIVE anxiety attack 24 hrs per day for 3+ years after the attack, with lessening anxiety for another two years.

So now that you know how severe it was, can you imagine me having to deal with hearing I had an incurable disease ( sleep apnea ) , and that I had to sleep with a mask now ? Can you imagine having to learn to sleep with a mask while experiencing a MASSIVE anxiety attack all night long ? Suicide was never far away from me for several years.

Guess what ? I have now been on CPAP for 10+ years and do wonderful with it for the most part ! I LOVE the comfort of knowing I CAN get good rest, and the mask doesn't bother me at all anymore. My wife CAN NOT sleep now without the wooshing of the machine. LOL

So newbie who is struggling ... YOU CAN do it, and you CAN make it through ! If I could do it with all of that stacked against me, you can definitely do it !

WOW, downsize!!!!! What a story and what h*ll you have been thru!!!! Congratulations on making it thru all this, guy. Youse is one tuff cookie. And your wife is a JEWEL!

Your story will be great encouragement for those who are having trouble with adjusting to their therapy.

BTW, the same thing happened to me. I unknowingly ate brownies with pot in them....thought I was dying.

Louise

Wow, what an incredibly difficult time you've had of it! Mad props to your wife for discovering your apnea. Freakin' physicians...

Great story, and no doubt inspirational to anyone who's struggling with their therapy. Thanks for posting, downsize.

Very inspirational to me sure encourages me to keep going with the apap machine and mask even tho it's hard to het used to .