In my 30s, I developed severe tendinitis and started eating large quantities of carbs to fall asleep. My sugar control problems led me to start changing my diet and seeing doctors for fatigue and tendinitis. I started experimenting with cortisol and thyroid hormone and treatments for intestinal bugs and yeast. As my condition worsened, I also began eating upon waking during the night to help me fall back asleep. I would tell doctors that I suspected some kind of metabolic problem like hypoglycemia. On rare occasions when I was able to sleep five hours continuously, I felt REMARKABLY better.
But, nothing seemed to pull me out of a general decline in health. Not even the 20 or 30 supplements I used daily. Until 2005, I was able to jog a few miles two or three times a week, but after that, it became impossible. Between the supplements and the hormones I developed a persistent stomach pain which I lived with for several years. In 2007 in desperation I moved from Florida to Colorado to get away from the mold in the air there. Around the same time a doctor gave me Ambien. Suddenly, after two or three weeks in Colorado, for the first time in years my head started clearing and energy improved.
Then I forgot to renew the Ambien prescription and I suffered a severe breakdown. My parents and wife convinced me to go to the Mayo Clinic. I didn't want to go and was afraid of the travel and the tests (especially the 12-hour fast required to get scoped) but I felt like I was dying, however slowly, so I agreed. At the Mayo Clinic, they ruled out ulcer and labeled me 'chronic fatigue'. They also suggested a sleep study. On my return, my local doctor gave me a pulse oximeter to sleep with for a night. On the basis of those results, he asked me to have a formal sleep study. But that sleep study was patently pathetic. It was so carelessly set up, that I think it could only serve people who sleep easily and deeply. I resorted to using ativan that night and even then only slept somewhere under two hours continuously. They said it looked like I had mild positional sleep apnea (they also told me that something like all the people that came first study went home without usable results because of the difficulty of sleeping there).
I was not overly impressed with this diagnosis as I had a bewildering array of symptoms and the word 'mild' did not give me reason to think sleep apnea could be the primary cause. But I did buy a used BiPAP machine (respironics BiPAP Pro - did not see that as an option in the profile, maybe too old...) and mask after talking with the generous guy at secondwindcpap.com. I was just interested in doing a trial so I went outside the insurance system as it seemed it would be less expensive. By this time, I had probably spent $20,000 trying to solve my health issues and had been forced to sell our house in Florida at the height of the real estate crisis - so we were running near empty. I'm also sensitive to chemicals and did not want a new smelly machine, so used equipment seemed perfect. But, that machine sat in my basement for nearly 2 years as I was caught up in saving my business from the recession and was forced to move to a new house (very complicated for someone with adrenal burnout, allergies, mcs, kids and home business).
It seemed to me at the time too as if my most severe problems were all the result of seeing doctors and taking medications so I concentrated on eating well, not taking any supplements or medications, exercising and NOT seeing doctors. At my worst, I was unable to walk more than two blocks and rarely slept more than three hours continuously (I get up, eat quickly and go back to sleep). Fortunately, I improved gradually and steadily while my business stabilized and finally I felt like there was enough slack in my life to face my fear of the bipap machine.
I feared the machine because for the past 10 years my quality of life has been so tied to my struggle to sleep. A slight change in my routine generally causes me enough anxiety to give me a bad night. In order to sleep well, I needed to be exhausted, but not too exhausted. When my longest stretch was three hours, I was in survival mode the next day. But usually, the following night I would sleep well and feel 80% better the day after. So I was stuck in this cycle of good sleep, bad sleep, good sleep. On occasion, when something disrupted my routines, I might end up sleeping badly for two or three nights in a row which made me feel like I was living a tragedy. The drag and strain on my marriage and family life frequently felt overwhelming (my kids are 8 and 10 now). My kids live a good life, but have missed out on a lot of things I wished for them but wasn't physically capable of doing.
Which brings me to the present. My first attempt with the BiPAP machine and the fullface mask I had bought was a complete failure as I could not get a fit. After hearing about it, my brother (who also has sleep apnea) mailed me an old comfort gel mask and insisted that I keep trying. The comfort gel gave me a much better seal and I noticed a significant improvement on the second night. After a week, I was virtually certain that I had discovered the source of my health problems. That inspired me to buy a pulse oximeter and the first graph I got from it confirmed sleep apnea as the source of my problems. After sleeping better for a week (unprecedented for me), I've had four bad nights struggling with all kinds of mechanical issues.
So today I ordered two new masks, filters, longer hose etc... Feel a little overwhelmed with the number of variables to experiment with but who am I to complain - I also feel like dancing when I think about the fact that sleep apnea is something I can control and overcome.
With this post, i just wanted to say hello and thank you all for contributing to such a meaningful and valuable resource. Also want to open up for any advice you may feel inclined to give...
For kicks, here is my first oximeter graph: http://screencast.com/t/KvUugPBoA4W. This was done after sleeping relatively well for my first week with the BiPAP. I was sleeping on my back as I normally do for my first stretch and pressure was set at 7/5. and here is a graph showing the duration of my first and second sleep stretches: http://screencast.com/t/F9APF4pBRk . I've kept records for years but never bothered to graph it until recently. As I mentioned, the first week was great and the second one not so much - Among the things that happened during that second week:
- * after my first bad sleep (coincidentally with oximeter) I decided to increase the pressure from 7/5 to 8/6
* started using the BiPAP for my second stretch of sleep
* tried one night to sleep on my side for the first stretch instead of my back
* air leaked out of my mouth (I've taped it shut for at least five years) waking me with dryness
* dust or cat hair caused intense itching in my nostrils waking me
