Sleep Stories -- people sharing their experiences with sleep disorders

Beth Ravins

As long as I can remember I was teased about my loud snoring. In my early twenties, my eight year old nephew video taped me snoring. Talk about embarrassing. I always thought snoring was the extent of my problems. I believed it was nothing more than a nuisance to others who had to listen to it.

It wasn't until my late twenties that a friend informed me that I would frequently stop breathing in my sleep and then gasp for air. When I informed my doctor of this problem she scheduled me for an appointment with a specialist at a local hospital that did sleep studies. When I arrived for my appointment at the hospital I was hooked up to a portable machine and told to take this 20 pound gadget home with me and connect a bunch of wires to my fingers, chest, and head, and then sleep. Like that is possible. A couple of weeks later I was contacted and informed I had sleep apnea and that they recommended I purchase a breathing machine and use this bulky machine whenever I wanted to sleep. I am not sure if they informed me of the extreme risks involved with Sleep Apnea, or possibly they did and I really didn't want to hear what they had to say, after all I was in my mid-twenties, I was too young for any health problems.

I blew off the Sleep Study and decided I would just buckle down and lose some weight, and then I wouldn't have anything to worry about. Losing weight did help, but the Sleep Apnea did not regress altogether. In my early thirties I became pregnant and gained all the weight back, I had previously lost. You think then I would have been worried about Sleep Apnea but that little 'pesky' problem I had had a few years back was the furthest thing from my mind. A year later at my son's ear check up at a ENT Doctor's office, I discovered a brochure on laser surgery for snoring. When I read the pamphlet I was convinced that this was the answer to my problem. I could have the surgery and wouldn't have the embarrassment of snoring.

The Doctor informed me that I would first have to have a sleep study done where I would spend the night in a hospital and be observed throughout the night. I was quite annoyed that he would make me undergo another sleep study. I wanted him to do the surgery and be done with it. He didn't work that way however. Which as you will read, is a very good thing. I did the sleep study at a reputable sleep lab this time, it wasn't bad at all. Two days later the doctor called me and said I needed to come to his office that same day.

When the doctor entered the room where I was waiting for him, he just shook his head. I wasn't prepared for what he had to say. He told me that he did not understand my results, and he was very confused and concerned by the outcome. The doctor informed me that during the most restful period of sleep - Rapid Eye Movement, I quit breathing the most. During this period of sleep I quit breathing on an average 120 times per hour. He went on to tell me that I was a walking time bomb. That I should not go another night without having a breathing machine. I received quite an education on Sleep Apnea that day. The doctor informed me that Sleep Apnea could cause a massive stroke, and at the very least it was very hard on the heart since the the heart did not receive the level of oxygen it needed to function properly. The doctor said it was imperative that I lose weight if I wanted to be around to see my son grow up. I think the doctor was trying to scare me into losing weight, but I had tried every diet known to man, and had no hope of losing weight. I knew it would take a miracle to lose weight.

That same day I received a CPAP machine. Not sure what CPAP stands for, but it works, and I would have a very hard time sleeping without it now. I noticed a change within a couple of days. I was definitely getting a more restful night sleep and had an increase in energy within the first couple weeks. I am very lucky that I did not have serious health complications due to my ignorance concerning this very serious health condition. I am also very thankful that a doctor - Dr. Walton of Overland Park, Kansas, spent the time to force me to face the seriousness of this condition. As far as the weight problem, I am very excited to say that I have taken the first step to having Gastric Bypass Surgery. I have spoken to a surgeon, and am waiting for my insurance to approve the surgery. I finally have hope that I can be healthy once again.