a little shared intimacy
ok, i don't usually think telling the world every single detail of my life is all that interesting to the world, so i try to avoid it. now if i was living a fairy tale like a couple of friends of mine, i might be of a different mind.
but i have to share this, since it is so significant.
background: my ex-wife complained she could never get a good night's sleep when i was in bed. not because i was randy, but because i would stop breathing for minutes at a time. it drove her crazy. fast forward a life time, and i get some of the same comments from the love of my life.
i am always tired, lacking energy to even give a damn.
i finally convinced my doc (in amongst a ton of other things going on) that i need to fix this problem. i had a sleep study that showed i slept less than an hour a night typically. i stopped breathing for over a minute 28 times in 4 hours, and "desaturated" nearly 500 times during that same time span. desaturation just means i stopped breathing long enough for the oxygen concentration in my blood dropped below 90%. that's bad. it got as low as 61% several times.
last night i slept with a machine providing overpressure to my airway. the machine is called a CPAP. last night's sleep was the best i've had in as long as i can remember. and that was with a foreign object strapped to my face blowing air into me. imagine how good it's going to be when i get used to the damned thing. Merry Christmas indeed.
the only drawback is the straps left marks in my skin. we used to call those rack burns in the navy, and derided the shipmates that had them. the obvious point was that they spent so much time sleeping that their faces creased. since i'm no longer out there looking to hook up with a young sweety, and my wife loves me with or without these big marks across my cheek, i figure this a non-issue.
ahh, now i know what most of you feel like in the morning. i woke up without a headache, jumped out of bed, and didn't feel like i needed to climb back into bed an hour later. i'm pissed at myself for all those years that i could have done something about it, but was too stubborn. and i'm grateful that i finally did something about it. this is good. really, really, really good.
i think i'll celebrate by going to the range and popping a few hundred rounds downrange.
merry christmas everyone. i hope you have a fabulous time, and get great gifts. me, i've just received the best gift, the gift of a real nights sleep.
but i have to share this, since it is so significant.
background: my ex-wife complained she could never get a good night's sleep when i was in bed. not because i was randy, but because i would stop breathing for minutes at a time. it drove her crazy. fast forward a life time, and i get some of the same comments from the love of my life.
i am always tired, lacking energy to even give a damn.
i finally convinced my doc (in amongst a ton of other things going on) that i need to fix this problem. i had a sleep study that showed i slept less than an hour a night typically. i stopped breathing for over a minute 28 times in 4 hours, and "desaturated" nearly 500 times during that same time span. desaturation just means i stopped breathing long enough for the oxygen concentration in my blood dropped below 90%. that's bad. it got as low as 61% several times.
last night i slept with a machine providing overpressure to my airway. the machine is called a CPAP. last night's sleep was the best i've had in as long as i can remember. and that was with a foreign object strapped to my face blowing air into me. imagine how good it's going to be when i get used to the damned thing. Merry Christmas indeed.
the only drawback is the straps left marks in my skin. we used to call those rack burns in the navy, and derided the shipmates that had them. the obvious point was that they spent so much time sleeping that their faces creased. since i'm no longer out there looking to hook up with a young sweety, and my wife loves me with or without these big marks across my cheek, i figure this a non-issue.
ahh, now i know what most of you feel like in the morning. i woke up without a headache, jumped out of bed, and didn't feel like i needed to climb back into bed an hour later. i'm pissed at myself for all those years that i could have done something about it, but was too stubborn. and i'm grateful that i finally did something about it. this is good. really, really, really good.
i think i'll celebrate by going to the range and popping a few hundred rounds downrange.
merry christmas everyone. i hope you have a fabulous time, and get great gifts. me, i've just received the best gift, the gift of a real nights sleep.
posted by bothenook at 11:08
2 Comments:
My dad had/has the same problem. He's had the machine a couple of years now and it's made a lot of difference.
Merry Christmas!
CPAP IS THE BEST THING GOING! PROBABLE SAVED MY LIFE! DOZING ON THE HIWAY DOESN'T WORK! FINALLY GETTING A GOOD NITES SLEEP YES I WAS ORNERY ABOUT GETTING HELP....
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