Me Not Healthy: Always Tired (Part 1)

What you thought the allergies and the lung cysts were the only health issues I had? No, unfortunately not. At this rate I'm going to die pretty soon so enjoy me while you still can.

I wish.

For the last few years, I have always been tired. I fall asleep on car rides, in class, while eating... Actually now that I think about it place me in a sitting position and you risk having me passed out and drooling all over myself. Part of it is my fault. I mean, I probably should go sleep earlier but classes and exams sometimes don't allow for that. And when I don't have work, well, the internet is there to keep me company.

Who needs rest? I have my computer!

But this problem continued even when I get more than 8 hours of sleep. On the few days that I do end up sleeping earlier I still wake up tired. My favorite thing to see in the morning is that it's still dark outside so I can go back to sleep. I began to suspect it could be a medical problem. No amount of sleep was enough for me, I often woke up with headaches, and I snored really loudly. My siblings complain about it on vacation whenever we share a room. These symptoms fit that of someone with sleep apnea.

Basically, sleep apnea is when you wake up numerous times while sleeping, disrupting your sleep cycle. A lot of it has to do with your windpipe being closed due to being too fat or odd sleeping positions. You may not even be aware of it happening because it can last for seconds before you fall back asleep. If it happens enough it can cause 6 hours of sleep to feel more like 3.

Unfortunately I don't share the other symptoms which include smoking, being overweight, and being middle-aged. Regardless, I decided to get a level 3 sleep study done which means I'd bring a device home, it would record things and then I'd bring it back for analysis.

You get the idea.

The results... were inconclusive. Yes they confirmed that I was waking up several times a night and I snored really loudly for large portions of time but I didn't use the device long enough for any conclusive results.

The only thing left for me to do would be to either take a level 1 sleep study (go to a hospital and get even more things stuck to my face) or I could try using a CPAP, a device meant to aid in breathing to help me get a better night's sleep.

I opted for the CPAP and I'll share my experiences and results in a future blog post.

Link to Part 2.