<<<<(C-PAP Apparatus)I really do mean that- I'm not being sarcastic at all.
In response to Paulius' blog-post about my snoring.......
I don't LIKE my snoring either- it disturbs MY sleep as well as Paul's and I know on the occasions Paul snores it can be aggravating for the person not asleep- or woken up by the snoring. I also have horrible dreams on the nights I have bad snoring. Things like I'm drowning or I'm under the weight of a collapsed building and can't get out. Sometimes even if i'm having a good dream about Paul kissing me it turns into me not being able to break the kiss and me smothering and then I wake up gasping for air and I KNOW I've had a sleep apnea episode and I've been snoring and stopped breathing.
It's damn scary. Sometimes I'm afraid Paul is going to wake up one morning with me dead having stopped breathing sometimes in the night.
I know my weight has a LOT to do with my snoring. I'm losing it- but, God, it's going slowly.
I'm supposed to be using a C-Pap machine- but my insurance won't cover it and so I can't afford the 400 dollars a month they require for me to rent it.
I've had an offer of someone to buy it for me- but now in order to do that, I'll have to go for yet ANOTHER sleep study and get the doctor to write out another prescription for the machine- and all that will cost time away from work which I can't afford either.
And with the C-Pap machine comes even more problems. Those things are LOUD!!!
It's like having a wind machine next to your head. I don't know which is worse- the sound of snoring or the sound of the machine. Plus there's all those hoses and the face-mask you have to wear and if the hoses get pinched the machine sets off an alarm and wakes you up til it's fixed. There's also the condensation that occurs and it CAN get in your nose and throat and strangle you and that's one rude-awful way to wake up as well. And you can only sleep in one position and it's not a comfortable one at all and when you wake up you have all these marks on your face from the mask and hoses and they take a couple of hours to go way and for you to look normal again and not like some alien or someone into weird kink. It's horrible.
I never used to snore. Maybe just losing the weight will get rid of the problem. Until then, we'll just have to try and endure.
Maybe he won't divorce me before then.
:-P
3 comments:
Thin people have sleep apnea too so it isn't just a weight issue. My brother in law is rail thin and has a C-Pap machine. My friend Carmine is also thin and has one. He swears that he feels more energetic and years younger since he started using his machine.
Do yourself and Paul a favor and get that sleep study.
I'm pretty sure mine IS primarily my weight since I never snored until I went over 175.
if it's not due to the weight- we'll find out after I hit my goal weight.
Miss chatting with you, sis, during your "Busy" season.
I have been a snorer for a long time. As I got older, my snoring has gotten more frequent and louder. I also noticed I was tired a lot and liked to take naps during the day. I was overweight. People complained about my snoring and I could not sleep in the same room with other people for fear of keeping them awake.
Finally, I asked my doctor about the problem. He sent me home with a machine to check my breathing and pulse while I slept. The results really shocked me! The doc said my airway was closing off up to 70 times each hour, and that I stopped breathing for as long as one full minute at a time! I had severe apnea. He strongly recommended I start using the CPAP machine, since I was risking damage to my heart due to lack of oxygen.
I had read about CPAP machines before and always thought I would never be able to sleep with one, since I am somewhat claustrophobic. Surprisingly, it only took me a few minutes to get used to, and I was able to sleep comfortably from the very beginning with no problem.
The mask portion is just a small apparatus that fits on the nostrils to blow in air that keeps the throat inflated, thus preventing any snoring. Straps over the head are a little annoying, but they are necessary to keep the nose piece in place. If one changes sleeping positions at night, it’s possible for these straps to move, causing the nose piece to slip off.
I have been using a Dreamhelmet, a combination sleep mask sound-muffling pillow for years now, for sleeping at night and for napping during the day. I always find it hard to sleep without the Dreamhelmet, and I was afraid I would not be able to use it with the CPAP mask, but I was wrong about that too.
After I slept with the CPAP machine and mask for a short while, I tried wearing the Dreamhelmet over the CPAP, covering up the straps – voila, it worked like a charm! I found that the Dreamhelmet actually helps keep the straps in place when I change positions, so now I can sleep all night in comfort, not being bothered by sound, light, or changing positions. The CPAP and the Dreamhelmet are the perfect sleeping combination for me.
Now I don’t snore, I wake up rested, and I have energy that lasts all day long. I’m still overweight, but I don’t feel so run down all the time or feel like I need an afternoon nap, but I still carry an extra Dreamhelmet in the car with me just in case I do need a nap.
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