Severe Sleep Apnea



Amongst the aches and pains and other nuisances of being fragilely mortal, I recently got to add a new one: severe sleep apnea.

This latest bad health adventure started about a month ago, when I became extremely dizzy while typing at one of my PCs.  I had stupidly positioned this PC on a small "kiddie desk", and thus had been hunched over it, day after day, for several months.  My neck and upper back were getting stiffer and sorer, and finally one day had decided enough is enough, and rewarded my lack of self-care with a bad case of vertigo. 

Of course nausea accompanied this vertigo, (try not to feel sick to your stomach when it feels like the room is spinning around you!), so my wife was concerned that I may be having a stroke, as high blood pressure is another bad trait I possess.  We took my blood pressure, and it was awful: 175/105, or something like that.  Yikes!

My wife immediately insisted that she drive me to a nearby medical clinic, and thus began a health odyssey that involved three separate doctor's visits, a trip to a heart specialist, two increases in my blood pressure  medication, a home test kit for the afore mentioned sleep apnea, and finally the diagnosis of severe sleep apnea.  And since we live in the United States, every step of this journey came with a hefty fee.  (If you live in the United States, don't get sick!)

As I was hoping that all my maladies would be traced to the relatively benign source of a few sore muscles, I was disappointed, to say the least.  Why just a few weeks ago, most of my health concerns were centered on a certain pesky virus, and the ridiculous measures we were forced to adopt when going out in public.

What does a future with sleep apnea look like for me?  

Is there a medicine, (a pill), I can take to help keep my body from trying to suffocate itself?

Will I have to sleep attached to damned CPAP machine for the rest of my life?

And finally ..... why the heck am I so fat?  


This post contains affiliate links, which are WAY better than sleep apnea. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Humble Opinion on "Black Lives Matter"

Image
So what's an ignorant, old, grumpy, white man 's opinion of this recent " Black Lives Matter " movement? To begin with, I'm not comfortable with ANY organization that separates people based on, well, anything other than behavior or gender.  (Yes, I'm reactionary enough to believe in only two genders !)  Physical traits, (excepting gender, of course), is absolutely the WORST criteria by which to judge people.   Lump me in with all the folks who proclaim that " ALL Lives Matter ". As for the BLM movement itself, I have serious misgivings with many of their " beliefs ", particularly this one quoted directly from their website : "We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable." Considering that over 60% of black children
Read more

Driveway Improvements!

Image
Working on the Road Yesterday folks here got tired of my bitching-and-moaning about the horrid condition of the access road and driveway here, so Sweetie paid for some gravel to be delivered, and the neighborhood guys pitched in to help spread it over the muddy ruts. If you remember the prior post, ( A Very Wet Dry Season ), when it rains our driveway turns into a gross mess.  Well, I am very pleased to report that the driveway has been improved, at least temporarily: Our New and Improved Driveway I don't know what will happen to this gravel once the torrential rains of true Wet Season start, but at least this is a much needed temporary improvement.  (I even helped spread some of the gravel across the driveway!) Long term I'd like to put a cement path/patio outside the kitchen door, and cement paths to both the front door and the dreaded outdoor CR, (or at least stepping stones), but I understand that progress here must be incremental.
Read more

Posting on Noise.Cash

Image
So for the last month or so I have been ignoring this blog, and posting my "fascinating" accounts of life in rural Philippines on Noise.Cash.  Why?  Because I get paid, (a penny or two), for my activity there. Woo hoo!  I'm a PAID writer!! Unfortunately, Noise.Cash doesn't have a good way to list your posts, so I'm going to give links to some, (15 or so), of my more relevant posts here, in order of oldest to newest. Another Day in Dry Season  -   https://noise.cash/post/l25q7v3q Outside the LTO Office  -   https://noise.cash/post/1qg4gwr6 Our House in Mindanao  -   https://noise.cash/post/1zj24qw3 Kuya Just Got Braces!  -   https://noise.cash/post/1r062p4v Driving in the Philippines  -   https://noise.cash/post/1vv8z3r0 Watermelon!  -   https://noise.cash/post/1krn878k Our Puppies  -   https://noise.cash/post/103r8qxw Swimming at a "Resort"  -   https://noise.cash/post/1xv32kpk Lola's Orchid Flowers  -   https://noise.cash/post/1wj4vng3 Keeping the R
Read more