Breathing is, for most, something we take for granted, I know I have. I have been told by many partners that I snore loudly, and have even been told that I stop breathing when I sleep. So I finally decided to do something about it and did a sleep study. I’ll tell you, it was a little uncomfortable trying to sleep with all of the wires (about 22 in all) attached to you, as anyone who has done the test will tell you. So I did the test on a Thursday night (April 21st 2011), and was called on Friday the 22nd and it was confirmed that I have pretty severe sleep apnea. I was also told that I would be getting a call to setup an appointment for my new CPAP machine, while at lunch with a friend I received the call for my appointment, so I called my fiance and asked if she would come along, of course she agreed, as I was a bit of a nervous wreck (it took all of about 3 hours into the study for them to realize that I had sleep apnea, then proceeded to put me on O2, which is a bit disconcerting).
So I have been sleeping with my new machine, and I’ll tell you that I haven’t known sleep like that since I was a little kid. I don’t think that I have slept soundly for the last 25 years. So when picking up the machine a couple of things that I noticed that scared me a little;
1. the paperwork said Urgent at the top, and I got the machine the day after the test (Medicine doesn’t usually move that fast, at least in my experience)
2. I stop breathing, on average about 133 times an hour.
3. all combined I stop breathing for about 25 seconds per hour (doesn’t sound like much, but it’s enough to interrupt restful sleep)
Sleeping with the machine is a little strange at first, as it’s name implies it provides constant pressure so you have to breathe against it with a mask over your nose, so you have to keep your mouth closed (or it feels like you’re gagging), and you cannot talk (as you cannot force the air back through your vocal chords). I am still adjusting to the whole experience, but I am grateful everyday that my fiance pushed me, and gave the courage to do the test.
Remember that we sometimes take for granted the little things, so stop, smell the roses, and enjoy.
Tom’s makes a huge difference for him, too. And I certainly sleep better as well!
Yeah, the results of a sleep study can be pretty scary. I had about 59 “events” per hour and my pulse ox dipped to 73%. Which means if we were in the hospital hooked up on monitors, we’d have nurses and doctors running in the room to see why we’re not getting oxygen.
Hope you continue to feel better!