Initially, I thought I just snored embarrassingly LOUD! I live alone but on trips with friends and/or family, anyone sleeping in the same room with me had to wear ear plugs AND complained. Seriously, I felt like a pariah, a total social outcast, an Untouchable! Truth be known, sometimes I even woke my own self up and scared my dog too. Eventually, I sought out medical advice.
Well, there are no blood tests for sleep apnea and it cannot be detected during a routine office visit, so on the outside chance that it was some form of sleep apnea, I was advised to schedule a sleep diagnostic test. None of this was covered on my health insurance either, but had to be addressed. It was one of those situations wherein you are required to sleep in a clinic setting, wired from head to toe and hooked up to some device that is being monitored by a technician all night long. Honestly, I did not think I would be able to sleep at all under those circumstances, but I did just fine. Turns out the diagnosis was severe obstructive sleep apnea.
Obstructive sleep apnea is apparently a very common disorder in which you can have somewhere between five and thirty pauses in your breathing per hour. What happens is that your airway collapses or is blocked during sleep and any air that squeezes past the blockage causes loud snoring. Usually, you awaken with a piggy snort or choking feelings. So beyond the embarrassment, beyond the poor quality of sleep, beyond the marriage problems it causes, it can be pretty dangerous. (And no wonder I was so sleepy during the day.)
If it goes untreated, sleep apnea can increase the risks for:
High blood pressure
Heart attack
Heart failure
Irregular heartbeats
Stroke
Obesity
Diabetes
I was required to begin using an assisted breathing device referred to as a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). A somewhat less than attractive headgear/mask is worn which forces air into your nostrils. (The styles of the mask vary, but all of them remind me of Hannibal Lechter.) The mask is attached to a machine by about a six-foot flexible hose or tube. The medical specialist prescribes the amount of air pressure for each patient individually.
I have had no problems whatsoever in using my CPAP nightly for over a year now and I know I sleep better and feel better than I did prior to using it. No snoring either. And I’m not so afraid my heart will do something weird in the middle of the night.
There are presently no effective medications prescribed for obstructive sleep apnea, however, there are several surgical procedures available depending on the patient. With surgery comes risks and no guarantee that the problem will be completely alleviated, so I opted for the CPAP.
If you even suspect that you could be a victim of this sleep disorder, I strongly encourage you to get it checked out by a specialist. If you do not have it, maybe you just snore loud. But, maybe you can get some help for that condition too. Either way, it ain’t no laughin’ matter!
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