EDIT:
Where I was and am now
- BP was 215/110 at visit to new doc, he put me on a diuretic & salt-free diet that day, almost admitted me to the hospital but I'd been 200/70 for at least 3 days once before. Eventually ended up on an ARB (Cozaar) which it turns out is one of the best drugs for the oxygen-deprivation caused hypertension untreated apneics experience.
Averaging 128-135/68-70, remain on the diuretic for fluid in lower legs...exercise or no, I still have this & sleep propped up...likely from my excess weight. - Got up to pee 8-10 times/night!!!
Stopped the first night on CPAP! Now, never get up unless I drink a lot before bed. - Obese
Lost 57#s, gained some back & now losing it again. - Incapable of exercising without utter exhaustion, shaky legs almost wouldn't support me.
Took 9 months to begin to improve. At 12 months, I was doing 60-75 mins/day on my exercise bike, then I fell off the wagon when I backslid into apnea 'cause I was losing therapy air (found this site when I had enough functional brain cells to realize being clueless about apnea was dangerous). I'm back to 30-45 mins/day on the bike - Utter exhaustion, easily slept 14-15 hrs & woke up more tired than when I fell asleep.
Sleep 7.5-8 hrs/night...still troubled by wakeups every 2 hrs or so, but sometimes I get a break and sleep the entire night. - Thinking and memory were seriously impaired...I was only vaguely aware of the problem -- that's how bad I was. When I started getting restful sleep I was horrified at all the mistakes I'd been making.
Cognition close to what it was, I can read technical articles now, a habit and work requirement that I'd given up. I read again, for pleasure, several books/month. I play all sorts of games to improve my brain & actually enjoy 'em. I have some short-term memory deficits that a notebook and colored index cards compensate for. Some long-term memories are just gone, gone like the wind (er, I'm a Southerner, we love that phrase )...likely never to come back. - Blood chemistry was a mess and stayed that way for the first yr or so of CPAP therapy.
Now most lab values are in the normal range. I no longer have the profile of someone living at high altitude compensating for those nightly oxygen desaturations when I slept. - Co-workers used to call me a first-class bitc# behind my back because I turned from my usual cheerful optimistic can-do self into a screaming witch with wildly changing moods. I was embarrassed by my completely out of control emotional responses and moodiness.
My old self is pretty much in place again; only fall back into hyper-irritability when I'm really stressed. - and speaking of stress, at the worst of my apnea, I had no patience, was easily frustrated, cried often much to my embarrassment.
Now, stress seldom gets me down and then not for long. - My friends worried about me which made me defensive 'cause I just needed to get some good sleep which of course was impossible with untreated apnea.
My friends enjoy being with me again!
- I dream now, not every night that I fully remember but fragments tell me it's often.
- My sense of humor is back.
- I'm not driving recklessly anymore...and I'm the designated driver for my mom who has glaucoma and my legally-blind diabetic buddy (and no she does not have apnea).
- I no longer fall asleep watching TV, at meetings (how embarrassing), in movies. I'd even fell aleep at a red light..that did it, I started talking on my cell phone driving home (my sleepist time) to stay awake; I had a circle of friends who knew what I doing so it was light talk, nothing too serious, the goal to keep me talking...i. e., awake.
- I'm no longer a recluse avoiding everyone.
- I cook again and enjoy it.
- Haven't had a single sinus infection since starting CPAP therapy, a wonderful side effect of CPAP therapy!
