Tag: sleep apnea

sleep

5 years of sleeping with a CPAP

natalieh (she/her)1 Comment

Recommended listening: Sleeping Sickness by City and Colour

I’ve written a few times about getting diagnosed with sleep apnea and starting CPAP therapy. You can read my posts in reverse order starting here

My Facebook memories prompted me this week that five years ago I was getting my first sleep assessment.

The Past

Back then it was hard for me to accept my snoring was so serious I needed to wear this contraption. Spoilers, whenever I nap spontaneously I always wake myself up with my snoring. So. It’s a thing.

I took a long time to get used to donning and keeping on the mask. I credit my friends who shared lots of wisdom with why I stuck with it.

Neutral is a good word

I honestly feel neutral about the CPAP and slip it on quickly before bed. It’s done wonders for my sleep hygiene as I can’t do anything else but go to sleep once it’s on. I’m also wearing my handy dandy night guard 2.0. It’s bigger, it’s on the top instead of the bottom and meant to not let me indulge in grinding.

I do not get fussy about the maintenance. I wash it when it looks like it needs it. The prescribed maintenance of rinsing everyday is way way too much for me to keep with. And. I’ve had no problems from being slack with the washing.

The Gross Stuff

The one downside is when I get a cold. Apologies for the gross analogy but it basically becomes the mucas equivalent of a cotton candy ( aka candy floss) machine. The pressure wrecks havoc as I cough and gag on my own bodily fluids, you know, because I have a flappy throat.

Is five years of compliance remarkable?

I was curious how many people stay using their CPAP on the regular. Most information I found said one third to half of people stop using it after one year. So. Here I am committed to doing this thing every night.

The Wins

I am more rested. I no longer have chronic black circles under my eyes. No, I did not magically lose a bunch of weight and “get my life back” like the prescribing doctor claimed I would. My hair is really thick and shiny, more than it’s been in decades. I feel generally rested and good. I sleep like a champ. It is worth it.

Natalie takes a selfie wearing glasses and a shit eating grin. Her beloved and two grown ass adult children are behind her looking equally happy around a black table covered in art supplies.

And of course, the real win is reducing my risks of heart attack and stroke, turns out having enough oxygen is way important!

Sat with Nat · sleep

Nat confused fatigue with caffeine addiction aka CPAP year 2

natalieh (she/her)1 Comment

Recommended soundtrack: Breathing Underwater by Metric

Folks I recently had the great joy and privilege to come home to New Brunswick after not seeing family & friends for 2 years due to travel restrictions to mitigate COVID 19.

Some Canadians, especially those of us born on the East Coast and who live somewhere else, love a good road trip. I certainly do, having made the trek from Ontario to New Brunswick regularly since 1993. Ya. That’s a lot of kilometers friends, roughly 1,600 km each way!

I was nervous about being on major highways after an 18 month hiatus. I hadn’t left London since Christmas 2019. I was worried about how achy I would be, but especially how tired I would get.

But then something unexpected happened, I didn’t get bone tired. I didn’t reach for coffee the first leg of the drive. It was after 6pm and we drove from London, Ontario to Brockville. It’s roughly 5 hours and a third of the way. It makes the second day much more reasonable.

We arrived later than expected because traffic and life. But. I wasn’t dead tired.

The next morning I got up, packed and was on the road for an hour before we grabbed coffees and breakfast. So. Weird.

The thing is, for almost 30 years, I was the walking dead in the morning. Frighteningly tired. Every. Morning.

So I drank coffee, a lot of it. I blamed a weak will, a hedonistic personality, and a myriad of other character flaws because “everyone knows” caffeine addiction makes for terrible mornings.

But. Uh. Folks. There’s something that changed since my last road trip, regular use of a CPAP machine.

It wasn’t an easy transition. I’m now thinking I’m almost to neutral about wearing it, which is tremendous progress. I definitely don’t love it but now I am appreciative of its slow but steady support of my sleep and rest.

I still love coffee but I can wait a few hours in the morning. I have become a bit of a morning person. No one is more surprised than I!

So when we drove into my parents’ dooryard I arrived tired but not a mess. It was such a huge change. I don’t know I would have noticed if it hadn’t been so long since I had a road trip and enough CPAP time to recover from a lifetime of sleep deficits.

So I am grateful for the insight and the impact of my daily sleep routine.

As you emerged from restrictions this year did you notice something new?

Natalie smiles, slightly surprised or bemused at not being tired all the time. She is in a super cute turquoise paisley dress she got for five dollars at a thrift shop. She is leaning against a pine plank wall and sees that she definitely needs a haircut but that’s ok.
Sat with Nat · sleep

Nat gets cozy with her new CPAP

natalieh (she/her)13 Comments

Fitness friends I do love talking about health, wellness and fitness as they intersect in my life.

Last fall I had gone to my family doctor about my snoring. I was referred to a sleep clinic. Both at no cost to me as I am a resident in Ontario, Canada. Go public health care!

I didn’t have a great time at the sleep clinic. The setting, the wires digging into my scalp and the pressure of the sensors on my throat triggered a series of panic attacks and migraines. Ya. It sucked.

Natalie lies in bed with over 12 wires and sensors attached to her face, scalp and neck. There are two sensors up her nose. Her head is on a pillow and we can see the trail of wires going out of shot.

The downside of public health care is it took 4 months to get my results. Despite only sleeping for just over 2 hours there was enough data to diagnose me with sleep apnea.

I had hoped it would be more of a manage my allergies type of solution to help reduce swelling in my airway.

The doctor recommended Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). I had a vague sense of what the machines were and was not prepared to take that on.

I asked about options. There’s a dental appliance that is more expensive and less effective. Surgery works in some cases 50% of the time. After a quick look at my nose and throat the specialist didn’t recommend surgery. Apparently the floppy throat bits they usually remove aren’t the ones causing my type of snoring. DAMNIT

The doctor outlined the dangers of sleep apnea both to help me understand why some intervention was required and to motivate me not to wait.

Friends, I have pretty serious sleep apnea, the kind that causes heart attacks in your fifties, and I was super upset. I was supposed to go into work after my appointment but ended up taking the day off and getting my CPAP.

The adjustment phase has been challenging. I’ve experienced every possible side effect from sinus infections, rashes on my face, condensation in the tube, swollen face, actually getting significantly less sleep. GAH!

Plus, the mask, is, well….not an invitation for spontaneous intimacy.

Natalie tried to smile with a five point harness that is holding a nose covering mask and a tube coming out of the middle.

I’m motivated to getting used to this therapy for my health. My partner is committed to learning more and helping me advocate for my health. He got me a Red Velvet Cake in celebration of taking a positive step for my health. Through the awesomeness of social media I have tapped into a deep well of peer support of friends who I never knew used CPAP.

I’m thinking back to how much mornings have truly sucked over the past decade and kicking myself for not seeking help sooner.

The sleep clinic doctor mentioned that the degree of sleep apnea I have is highly correlated to weight gain and type 2 diabetes. He explained that oxygen deprivation suppresses metabolic rates as well as reducing the energy you have to do the activities you love.

Headshot of Natalie looking very tired.
I get to be more tired before I get to feel rested.

So I’m committed to my health and I’m very fortunate that 75% of the cost of my machine is covered by my public health care. The remainder will be covered by my private insurance.

I had a twinge of ableist reaction to learning that sleep apnea is clustered under disability funding. I don’t feel disabled by my sleep apnea. I’m annoyed. I’m tired. I’m fortunate my daily activities weren’t drastically impacted.

The CPAP machine is a necessary assistive device in my life, like my night guard, my reading glasses, insoles and my blood pressure medication.

I’m hopeful that once I adjust to this change I’ll feel more rested and able to do more of the things I enjoy in life.

Currently I’m saving up to buy a portable power source so I can continue to enjoy off grid camping in the near future.

Tell me about your own CPAP adventures!