However, a lot of it has been very eye opening, and is reinforcing the notion that I am not crazy, or weak willed, or just lazy and trying to make up excuses for not wanting to do things. This is very important to me. I don't want to be one of those people who just gives up on life at the first little sign of adversity, and frankly, that's exactly what I felt like I was doing. I had no idea the effects long term sleep deprivation could have on a person's mind and body. Now I do. And it is mind boggling.
Taken from WebMD (yes, I use them often as a resource):
In the long term, the clinical consequences of untreated sleep disorders are large indeed. They are associated with numerous, serious medical illnesses, including:
- High blood pressure
- Heart attack
- Heart failure
- Stroke
- Obesity
- Psychiatric problems, including depression and other mood disorders
- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
- Mental impairment
- Fetal and childhood growth retardation
- Injury from accidents
- Disruption of bed partner's sleep quality
- Poor quality of life
And from another source:
Sleep deprivation can create problems in many areas of the body and the effects will only get worse the longer the person has been denied proper sleep. The body can experience muscle fatigue, pallor of the skin, nausea, muscle tremors, significant weight gain or loss, and a weakened immune system. The eyes may experience blurred vision, dark circles beneath the eyes, color blindness, or involuntary eye ticks.
Sleep deprivation has been known to cause dizziness, fainting, headaches, irritability, and slurred speech. If the lack of sleep continues, memory loss, confusion, loss of concentration, hallucinations, and clinical depression can occur.
The inadequate rest associated with sleep deprivation can impair a person's ability to think, to control their emotions, to react to external stimuli, and to handle everyday stresses.
Hmmm ... sound familiar?
Yeah, even the part about being cold all the time, totally attributable to chronic sleep deprivation.
So since I "announced" my diagnosis (of course I posted it on Facebook ... if I'm going to post a picture of my dinner there, I'm sure as heck going to post something as important as this), I've had a lot of friends come to me to share experiences they have had with sleep apnea, either their own or a partner's. Most of them have gone the CPAP route and been very pleased with the results. For some, it took a while to get used to. I have read some accounts on line where it took several months and multiple readjustments and trying new masks. However, I know personally people who slept amazingly well for the first time in years the first night with a CPAP. I'm really, really hoping to be closer to the latter category than the former.
We won't go in to the former "friend" who thought he would "help" by suggesting that all I needed to do was work out harder during the day, and that should allow me to get to sleep just fine, since that helped him so much. Yeah. Sometimes I really do wish being stupid was physically painful. Or at least, saying/writing/doing stupid things. Might make some people think first.
I've also started tracking my sleep patterns with a FitBit device. I know this isn't a valid replacement for medical advice, but I do find it interesting. And I may share it with my doctor, just to get his take on it. The first night I wore it, it was showing me having had 7.5 hours of restful sleep. I started laughing hysterically and declaring that FitBit was obviously smoking crack, as I had distinctly remembered waking several times during that night and sure as hell didn't feel 7.5 hours of restful sleep refreshed. In fact, that night felt about as disrupted and unsatisfying as most other nights of sleep. Then I learned about the "sensitive" mode. In "sensitive" mode, I average between 3 and 4 hours of "restful" sleep a night, which feels about right. Granted, most of those are what FitBit calls "restless", even though I know I am awake and conscious during those periods. I think you have to actually sit upright or get out of bed for FitBit to register as "awake". But still, a useful tool.
Okay ... fine ... you caught me. I'm just obsessed with playing with my new FitBit toy. I confess. Though I am looking forward to seeing how my step and activity level improves once I have energy again. Should be interesting to observe.
Okay, that's it for now. I may not post until after my appointment on Wednesday. Then again, I may. Who knows? Gotta keep it mysterious for you, right? :)
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