Get a sleep study and treat your sleep apnea today!

If you think you may have sleep apnea, drop everything you are doing right now and schedule a sleep study for yourself. You will be glad you did. Your future self will thank you for giving them a much healthier existence and for increasing the probability that you will live a longer, happier life.

This is not an overstatement. In fact, I feel it would be appropriate to be even more hyperbolic about the benefits of treating your sleep apnea. Let me share my recent story to highlight the many immediate benefits you may experience when you take this important, proactive approach to managing your health.

Treating my complex sleep apnea with that ResMed AirCurve 11 ASV

I had been told for decades by anyone I shared a bed with that my snoring was out of control. One person even said they saw me stop breathing multiple times throughout the night. Even with several people sounding the alarm, my philosophy was always, “That which does not kill me makes me stronger”. In this instance, though, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Fast forward to 2016, when I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. My cardiologist said a sleep study was urgent, as my condition may be the result of or at least exacerbated due to chronic sleep apnea. I knew he was right, but I didn’t have insurance that would cover the entire procedure at the time, and the co-pay was beyond my current means.

Hindsight is 20/20

Looking back, I should have financed the sleep study, because instead I waited another 10 years before addressing my problem, and during that time my a-fib worsened, and my weight began to balloon.

Feeling guilty for my weight gain, I knew my mobility was lessened because of the a-fib but for some reason I blamed my lack of exercise on laziness. Then I began to shame eat any time I thought about the predicament I found myself in. My weight soon reached an all-time high.

By January of this year, my weight gain added insult to injury, and I was barely able to walk to do my everyday chores. In fact, I was unable to shower in my own bathroom because it was not built for someone my size. So, I began to wash myself the best I could without stepping in the shower. This made me feel even worse, because I never felt as clean as I would from standing in a shower.

The shame compounded when every week my ability to walk worsened. Plus, I was unable to work a regular job, so I began driving for Lyft to pay my bills. But existing in a constant state of sleep deprivation because of the unchecked apnea made working more than a few hours per day impossible.

Paying for the study

The loss in income turned out to be a blessing, as I was forced to apply for public assistance and found out that I qualified for Medicaid. My new health plan meant I would be able to methodically address my mounting health issues without breaking the bank. There was no longer any reason to avoid taking a more active approach to my health.

I scheduled a new patient appointment with a primary doctor in April, and he put me on medication for my a-fib that made an immediate positive impact on the way I felt. All year long, my arms and legs had felt they were coated in a blanket of lead. With the addition of this medication, I felt that blank lift overnight.

My doctor said my reaction to the medication was not physiological but rather I was experiencing a placebo effect, that the medication would not have that powerful of an effect on me. “What does he know,” I thought. Everything he knows about the med he learned from a book. I know through experience that the medication increased my energy level by at least 20 percent. I felt like a new man.

Of course, my mobility was still impeded by my weight, which at the time of my doctor’s visit was 455 pounds, but with my newfound confidence in the healthcare system, I booked my appointment for a sleep study and began to eat a more balanced diet, immediately cutting out fast food and candy.

A month later, I had lost about 30 pounds through my efforts. My sleep study revealed I had an extreme case of complex apnea, where I would stop breathing nearly 80 times per hour without support. So they fitted me with an assisted breathing machine, and on that very first time using my ResMed AirCloud 11 ASV I experienced an immediate change in my daytime energy levels.

The brain fog lifted

I also noticed the brain cloud I’d become accustomed to for years had lifted. Achieving REM sleep for the first time in probably many years, my brain was now processing my complicated throughout the night leaving me feeling refreshed and with increased mental clarity and acuity. From one day to the next I was able to work as many as 12 hours at a time.

That’s right, I went from having enough energy to work three hours at a time to 12 hours literally overnight! That is the incredible power of sleep therapy in a nutshell.

I still have a few issues to deal with. I have some arthritis in my hip and knees, which also contributes to limited and painful mobility. And I’m in the process of testing cardiovascular health to see if I am healthy enough for surgery to deal with my a-fib. Once these things are under control, I imagine I will feel even better than I already do.

Don't be afraid to change

Through lifestyle changes and watching what I eat, I have now lost a total of 45 pounds in less than two and a half months. Next for me is increasing my daytime activity, getting my steps up. Currently I average only 1,500 steps on my good days. My goal is to slowly work up to 5,000 steps. Then, I will work on getting back up to the recommended 10,000 steps per day.

I hope by sharing my story you might be encouraged to treat your own sleep apnea or perhaps encourage a family member or friend to get themselves the treatment they need and deserve. If so, please subscribe to my blog, follow me – “Brianopolis” on social media and YouTube – and leave a comment with your experience below.