Sleep Stories -- people sharing their experiences with sleep disorders

Brenda Smith

SLEEPY TIME!
Initially, I thought I was just very, very depressed. I was being medicated for depression.

It all started when I moved out of the city and bought a house in the far northwestern suburbs of Chicago and my commute to work changed from ˝ hour each way to over 2 hours each way per day. I would get irritated when people talked on the train ride and I couldn't sleep. I have always had a weight problem, but during this time, I steadily gained weight. It didn't matter what diet I was on, I was still getting bigger.

This is when I started sleeping all the time. When I wasn't sleeping, I would cry over nothing and then couldn't seem to stop crying. Sleep was my only escape. I changed jobs so my commute was back down to 45 minutes each way, thinking that things would get better. Things got worse with the stress of learning a new job, having to drive back and forth and dealing with difficult people at work. Again, the weight continued to increase.

All during this time - 1˝ years - I was convinced that I was depressed and eventually started seeing a therapist to find out what I was depressed about and how I could correct the wrongs in my life.

My fiancé, John, is the person who "woke" me up to the fact that I snored and would stop breathing at night when asleep. When I mentioned this to my therapist, he told me about sleep apnea and what it was. I then went to my primary care physician and he referred me to Condell Hospital for a polysomnogram test for sleep apnea. It took a long time to get an appointment, but the good thing was that I was able to work with the hospital staff right away. I started attending a support group - A.W.A.K.E. - for sleep apnea sufferers. From that point forward, I was made aware that I was not alone. Millions of people suffer from sleep apnea.

The day finally came (or I should say, the night) for my test. The hospital staff hooked me up to numerous monitoring systems and I layed down and tried to sleep. It was so difficult to go to sleep. It was really ironic to think that at home, all I did was sleep and as soon as I got to the hospital, I couldn't sleep. I was very tired and eventually - maybe 2 a.m. - I finally got to sleep. The test showed that I had 68 apnea events in 2 hours and the longest apnea event lasted for 40 seconds. The test also showed that I never got into REM sleep. REM sleep is where your body gets rejuvenated, where you dream, where your oxygen gets into your bloodstream to heal and revitalize your cells.

Now I had to wait for the test results to get typed up and sent to my doctor. Then the doctor had to get another referral to go back to the hospital for another test which tests you on the actual CPAP machine for the right settings. This took a month or so. While waiting for all these events to transpire I am getting worse sleep. I have to pull over on the highway numerous times because I am starting to fall asleep while driving.

At work I am not getting along with people, crying every time I get stressed out. At home, John has been so cool - he totally understands me. He stood by my side and didn't push me to get up when I wanted to sleep. He would crack jokes when I cried and always, always, loved me and held me until things got better.

After going back to the hospital for the second test, I again have to wait for the test results to get back to my doctor. Now I have to wait for another referral for the Home Health Company to come to my house to deliver and set up my CPAP machine. Then I get to wait for the Home Health Company to make the appointment.

Finally, the day comes! My CPAP machine looked like gold to me. The mask was horrible. It leaked air into my eyes and I got a sinus infection. The Home Health Company delivered the wrong humidifier. I had to get my doctor to order another referral for the Home Health Company to come back to my house with a different mask and a heated humidifier unit. (The Support Group helped to give me ideas on what might work.)

Once I got the right mask and the heated humidifier, it took about a month for me to realize I felt so much better. Not depressed, not crying, not sleeping all the time, still fat, but wanting to do something about it.

The worst part of the whole situation for me was the waiting. HMOs are not very fast moving and I am a very impatient person. Now that my life has settled down somewhat, I am totally devoted to the A.W.A.K.E. Support Group. I am the editor of the monthly newsletter. I even stuff the envelopes. I have lots of help. The people at Condell Sleep Lab are my friends now. This support group has different doctors speak every month on different aspects of sleep apnea. Things are looking good: my depression medication has been lowered to about half of what I used to take, I have seen a surgeon to evaluate my chances of getting gastric bypass and best of all, I still have John in my life and I can see better things for both of us.