Welcome to the insidious world of sleep apnea. One in which energy and patience are in short supply, motivation is minuscule and problems magnified.
As John Steinbeck said, It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it. Imagine the ramifications if the sleep committee is on strike. Chaos - on a personal level, professional level and physical level. A lack of sleep plays with the mind and dampens the spirits. There is a feeling that your life is slow motion while everyone else is is in "fast forward".
This is the world in which I've being living for the last 24 months. My malaise developed gradually so I was caught unaware. As young as I am, I have obstructive sleep apnea! Now my malady has been diagnosed by a careful process of elimination, life is generally looking brighter for everyone here at Number 8 - with one obvious exception which has me trying to reassure myself that "Beauty has a lot to do with character" Kevyn Aucoin.
I have to go to bed looking like a WW2 pilot, with a breathing mask over my face from which protrudes a log tube attached at the other end to an air pump which hums through the night! My frizzy mop pokes out of the sides of the head piece so I resemble Mo from "The 3 Stooges"! Practicality is "the order of the day" - forget feminine, forget romance.
With the current daily temperatures hovering in the high thirties and the night time temperatures in the twenties, the head gear has been so unbearably hot and uncomfortable that I've been removing it in my sleep. Hopefully within the next few weeks, the weather will be cooler so I will be getting the full benefit of the air pump.
I have to go to bed looking like a WW2 pilot, with a breathing mask over my face from which protrudes a log tube attached at the other end to an air pump which hums through the night! My frizzy mop pokes out of the sides of the head piece so I resemble Mo from "The 3 Stooges"! Practicality is "the order of the day" - forget feminine, forget romance.
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| WW2 pilot Courtesy Google |
With the current daily temperatures hovering in the high thirties and the night time temperatures in the twenties, the head gear has been so unbearably hot and uncomfortable that I've been removing it in my sleep. Hopefully within the next few weeks, the weather will be cooler so I will be getting the full benefit of the air pump.
But I'm not alone. A practitioner in hospital said that currently, about 1 in 100 adults wear a similar contraption to bed, but the ratio should be closer to 1 in 5. Age is not an excluding factor. There are children as young as 4 with sleep apnea, some of whom were initially incorrectly diagnosed as having ADHD.
The long term effects of leaving this condition untreated include a significantly increased risk of having a stroke, heart attack, dementia and accidents as well as falling asleep while driving! Type 2 diabetes has also been linked to obstructive sleep apnea.
I no longer snore, but I'm very unattractive when I sleep.
Perhaps you're being visited by the sleep thief?
6 comments:
Oh I'm sorry that you have to sleep with all that, I have friends that do as well. Your cartoons made me laugh out loud this morning.
V
That's not very nice.
A friend of mine has the same problem!
So you are not alone.
All the best for a restaurative sleep!
♥ Franka
So sorry that you have this problem, but if wearing the contraption will give you better health and help you sleep, it sounds like the best option.
Bises,
Genie
Oh, dear French friend, I so feel for you, my mother is dealing with this at the age of 74 and with many sleepless nights her brain and motor skills have taken a nose dive. She more then often dose not wear her mask, I think she thinks she will catch up on sleep during her day time napping in the chair.
They gave my mom a mask that is much smaller and fits to the nostrils a much smaller and less annoying piece.
I have felt at times that maybe I have this same conditition when I awake at night restless and not able to catch my breath, yet my doctor told me it was stress Yikes if not one thing it's another.
Do all you can do to address your health needs, I visit often our local market of health foods and herbal remedies perhaps you can seek out an herbolagist to help in some way, or acupuncture could help, I know it helped me in many ways with my vertigo problem.
Thank you Elizabeth E for taking the time in your sleeplessness to visit me and encourage my art in brocante finds that add to what creates a French brocante home.
Blessings to your health
Praying for a better rest for you.
Xoxo
Doré
Oh I am so glad you have narrowed it down; sleep is so very important.
Elizabeth if you have have heard or read my latest post...I can attest that my body craves rest and sleep to heal!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
I have known quite a few people who have benefited from the pilot look to help with their apnea. Alas I wish there was such a device for my insomnia.
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