If you have other Heath issues besides OSA

[Goofproof]

The reason I am so frustrated though is I want to badly to wake up with energy and feel like cleaning my house, taking a walk, going out with friends.

Ummmmm, when you do start to wake up and feel like cleaning the house, you are welcome to come for a visit!

When you get the psych meds mix correct! Jim

[Finnc]

Nice, real nice.

[Goofproof]

Nice, real nice.

Comment was in answer to david NOT you. Jim

Meaning it would take a correct mix of psych meds to make house cleaning fun!

[Finnc]

Ah gotcha. Sorry, I'm a little on the sensitive side these days.

[jencat824]

Well, I too have multiple medical issues. Mine weren't brought on by menopause but started in my late 20's when I was diagnosed with MS. That led to various diagnoses, the worst of which was my 9 years I call 'seizure hell'. Several Drs did not think I would survive, let alone drive or live a normal life again. With the help of my neurologist, I proved them wrong. Just in time too, since I'm now the caregiver for my mother-in-law & brother in-law.

I've been on CPAP since 2000, 14 years. Without it I don't think I would have survived those really bad years that started in 2003. I'm lucky because CPAP is what sent me to my wonderful neurologist, a specialist in sleep medicine and who never gave up on finding the right combination of seizure drugs to give me back my life. Now I can no longer tell you from experience which stores in our area have the dirtiest floors. During those 'seizure' years, my family used to joke about this because I spent a lot of time waking up on floors wherever we went.

I feel very blessed to have the health I have now. I do have damaged feet, chronic pain, back & neck issues, fibromyalgia, thyroid issues that are causing me some problems now, pititutary gland tumors & a pesky meningyoma in my brain. BUT I am still blessed because I get out of bed every day. I may have to deal with my issues & some limitations, but I've just spent the last 10 months visiting my mother-in-law daily in a rehab facility. She lost a leg & had multiple complications, but she has been lucky that with a lot of hard work in PT & OT she is finally in her own apartment in a assisted living facility. We moved her in last weekend.

I learned along the way that nothing in life is perfect & we've got to take the bad & look for the good within it. I saw a lot of people in the rehab facility that may never recover & many more who will call it home for the rest of their lives. The last 10 months have been a humbling experience, watching so many people fighting to learn a 'new normal' after losing limbs, learning to walk after auto accidents, learning to cope with daily living again & fighting to regain their lives.

I'm blessed beyond words to be able to care for two very special family members who did so much for me during the worst years of my life. When I'm having a bad day & don't really have any energy when I wake up I remember how blessed I am that I have two feet to put on the floor when I get out of bed. How blessed I am that I don't have oxygen strapped to me as I go about my day. How blessed I am as I get into my car to drive to appointments with my two family members that I can function, maybe not with enough energy that others would consider 'normal' but I cherish each day I can function at all.

Without CPAP I know I could not function & probably would be dead now. Not just from my severe OSA & other sleep problems, but because the OSA led me to a Dr who made my recovery possible. I've been blessed to find this forum & have learned to better fine tune my therapy. Also I was blessed to have found the forum a few months prior to my hubby being diagnosed with OSA too. This forum & the many wonderful members helped me to ease his transition into a CPAP life & have provided me with much needed info that he needed as a CDL holder.

I think having medical issues are as Pugsy put it a PITA part of growing older. But the positive side of that is that we are GETTING to grow older. The key is to look for your blessings.

Jen

[kteague]

Many of us are learning to live our new normal. If you'd have asked me in 2006 if I'd make it another year, I'd have doubted it. But here I am - and better than I was then. Some people decline and their circumstances dictate there will be no comeback. For others, we do the best we can do to give our bodies the best opportunity for recovery and hope for the best. Some of us get pleasantly surprised. It sounds like your situation is not without hope that things can improve. There is a thread at the top of the page on this forum full of success stories. Maybe one day yours will be there.

[ems]

I learned along the way that nothing in life is perfect & we've got to take the bad & look for the good within it. I saw a lot of people in the rehab facility that may never recover & many more who will call it home for the rest of their lives. The last 10 months have been a humbling experience, watching so many people fighting to learn a 'new normal' after losing limbs, learning to walk after auto accidents, learning to cope with daily living again & fighting to regain their lives.

I'm blessed beyond words to be able to care for two very special family members who did so much for me during the worst years of my life. When I'm having a bad day & don't really have any energy when I wake up I remember how blessed I am that I have two feet to put on the floor when I get out of bed. How blessed I am that I don't have oxygen strapped to me as I go about my day. How blessed I am as I get into my car to drive to appointments with my two family members that I can function, maybe not with enough energy that others would consider 'normal' but I cherish each day I can function at all.

Jan... you are an amazing woman! I'm going to think about what you wrote when I get out of bed in the morning. If a person can cherish each day no matter what their problems are, they are truly living that day. Thank you for your remarkable post.

[ems]

My OSA was a nice little gift from menopause...not only did my boobs, belly and butt start to sag...so did my airway tissues.
Zero apnea symptoms prior to menopause. It's very common for menopause to give us women that little gift of saggy airway tissues along with everything else going south too.

+1 -- but I did ask you not to give away all my secrets.

[BlackSpinner]

The reason I am so frustrated though is I want to badly to wake up with energy and feel like cleaning my house,

I have only ever felt good about cleaning house when I knew that the cleaning lady was coming that day and I should pick up my knitting and art projects and tuck them away.

And yes that menopause thing.

[chunkyfrog]

Only one thing can make me feel good about house cleaning--somebody else helping.
When I was sleep-deprived, I had so little energy that the only way I could get anything done was
to get worked up into a rage.

[RicaLynn]

Only one thing can make me feel good about house cleaning--somebody else helping.
When I was sleep-deprived, I had so little energy that the only way I could get anything done was
to get worked up into a rage.

Me too, Froggy! I'm never as efficient at cleaning as when I'm PO'D!

[cathyf]

I call Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis my "auto-immune hat trick".

It's just SOOOOO wonderful (not!) knowing how very special I am!

[RicaLynn]

I call Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis my "auto-immune hat trick".

It's just SOOOOO wonderful (not!) knowing how very special I am!

Oh Cathy, my sympathies! My daughter's bio dad has psoriasis (which may eventually lead to PA), I have hypothyroid (which I suspect may eventually be identified as Hashi's), I can't imagine anyone dealing with all three!

[dannythemuppet]

I have narcolepsy which sucks because how much of my tiredness is due to that, and how much is sleep apnea? I've also had a bunch of sport related injuries over the years that cause day-today issues. I've had both shoulders repaired for rotator cuff and slap tears (cartilage), one has four anchors in the bone, the other five, and have two herniated discs lower lumbar. This basically means sleeping on either side is uncomfortable, and sleeping on my back is no better, hehe. Back pain is horrible and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone, it's pretty much constant. At my worst I had to have multiple cortisone shots, just to be able to walk without looking like a 90 year old bull rider who just got bucked, miserable time of my life.

With that said though, my biggest issue is sleep. I'd happily be in pain in exchange for a great night's sleep. I like to think I'm a happy person, but lack of sleep can drain that, I just have to remind myself to smile sometimes. So you if you see someone walking down the street randomly smiling, he might not be crazy, he might be me

[Greg Riddle]

The only other health issue I have is a severe allergy to dust mites. It has huge effect on cpap