OMG, Meghan. It is like you and I share a brain, because you spoke my exact feelings on the subject. I've been treating my OSA for about 2 weeks and I am noticing little and gradual differences (tempered by the times I take the mask off in the middle of the night with no recollection). But suffice it to say, I've had 18 jobs in 9 years, granted some were 2nd jobs but most I left because of attendance, which was directly related to my sleeping habits and my suffering from OSA. And people really do say "oh yeah I hate waking up" even when they brag about being early birds who do the bike-to-work crap and the whole bit in the morning. I just felt like I was a lazy, crappy person for how I dealt with mornings. But I *DO* feel like the world is ending when I wake up, at least I used to until recently with CPAP therapy, and nothing made sense, my head pounded, and I would do anything to avoid having to wake up (not to mention I didn't often remember what I would say or do for the first 5-10 minutes, and oftentimes that would include some cursing, kicking my bed partner, turning off my alarm even if it was across the room, and going back to sleep). It was a waking nightmare every day. I am feeling really different since the first CPAP experience, when waking up simply felt like flipping a light switch. Bam, I was awake, alert, and okay. Sure, my eyes were crusty and I had to stretch, but it was nothing like what I had gone through every other night of my adult life.
So anyway, yes, I commiserate, to say the least. And thank you for posting this.
Is waking up TORTURE? Looking to commiserate... :)
Re: Is waking up TORTURE? Looking to commiserate... :)
_________________
| Humidifier | |
 |
Re: Is waking up TORTURE? Looking to commiserate... :)
Thank you everyone for sharing your pain and sharing your hope. For those of us still experiencing the torture of waking up sleep deprived in the morning, may our pain be eased soon. And really, I am so grateful to hear from people that treatment and relief are possible. It's inspiring to hear that one can get used to the cpap machine, and use it on a nightly basis. And that the treatment can offer relief. I'm so glad I found this website. I love all the support!
Re: Is waking up TORTURE? Looking to commiserate... :)
Hey! Just saw your post Brad! Thank you for sharing your experience. You definitely had me laughing, and we probably do share a brain. We may have even just sent posts at the same time.
To your point, I think you named what I hate the most about it... the feeling like a lazy, crappy person for years because of how I deal with mornings. And, while it is great people can get up early, if they are truly just as tortured as I am but still manage these biking feats, then it leads me right back to feeling like WTF is wrong with me? Why can't I just get out of bed and hit the pavement too? I think to myself... I'm so lazy to hit the snooze button for an hour every 5 minutes... but half the time I don't even realized I've snoozed myself out of time until It's too late.
The morning torture? It's...
Setting 2 different alarms, one to start, and one with a different tone to say, okay, now you are officially late and screwed
It's turning off alarms with no recollection
It's incorporating songs/radio/beeping alarms into your dreams so that you no longer have to heed their call
It's forgetting the first 5 minutes of the day
It's being a person NO ONE should try to get out of bed unless they want to face the wrath of the weary
It's knowing how to get dressed, fed and ready to leave the house within 5 minutes
It's a car full of coffee/tea cups taken on the go to dose oneself with caffeine
It's feeling almost psychotic for the first few hours of the day trying to get with it
It's feeling like gum stuck to the bottom a shoe: you're the gum and the bed is the shoe
It's blech
And it's feeling guilty/shameful/bad about yourself because you can't wake up in the morning.
Sleep Apnea kind of sucks doesn't it?
That's my pain and torture elaborated (thanks for listening if you've gotten this far!)... And, I do realize and see that there is hope. And just want to say thank you yet again for the offerings of it. It's good to finally understand what is going on and be able to do something about it.
To your point, I think you named what I hate the most about it... the feeling like a lazy, crappy person for years because of how I deal with mornings. And, while it is great people can get up early, if they are truly just as tortured as I am but still manage these biking feats, then it leads me right back to feeling like WTF is wrong with me? Why can't I just get out of bed and hit the pavement too? I think to myself... I'm so lazy to hit the snooze button for an hour every 5 minutes... but half the time I don't even realized I've snoozed myself out of time until It's too late.
The morning torture? It's...
Setting 2 different alarms, one to start, and one with a different tone to say, okay, now you are officially late and screwed
It's turning off alarms with no recollection
It's incorporating songs/radio/beeping alarms into your dreams so that you no longer have to heed their call
It's forgetting the first 5 minutes of the day
It's being a person NO ONE should try to get out of bed unless they want to face the wrath of the weary
It's knowing how to get dressed, fed and ready to leave the house within 5 minutes
It's a car full of coffee/tea cups taken on the go to dose oneself with caffeine
It's feeling almost psychotic for the first few hours of the day trying to get with it
It's feeling like gum stuck to the bottom a shoe: you're the gum and the bed is the shoe
It's blech
And it's feeling guilty/shameful/bad about yourself because you can't wake up in the morning.
Sleep Apnea kind of sucks doesn't it?
That's my pain and torture elaborated (thanks for listening if you've gotten this far!)... And, I do realize and see that there is hope. And just want to say thank you yet again for the offerings of it. It's good to finally understand what is going on and be able to do something about it.