Health Part 2
Oh my gosh, where did I leave you guys hanging yesterday with the first health blog? You forgot, funny I have that same issue. I think some of my meds do that to me also, and age I am sure does not help.
The light went off, I remembered! It was the last removal of the knot on the gland. I have had several surgeries since then for this that or the other. But those are things I really don't feel like going into, this is more about illnesses.
I developed asthma from two bouts of bronchitis. I had some really bad issues getting that under control but I have not had an issue in about 15 yrs. Not sure I really have it or ever had it.
In 1998 I started chewing tums like mad. Heartburn every time I ate. Then there came another issue with sleep, waking with this burning in my esophagus. To the doc I went, was being treated by over the counter meds. One night while reading to my son I had a really bad bout of something. My brother came and got me and my son and took me to the hospital. I was convinced I was having a heart attack the pain was above and behind my left breast. After the ER treatment I was admitted to the hospital for the night. I did not sleep a wink, was so afraid if I closed my eyes, I would die in my sleep. There was a question in the EKG cause it had a little blip in it but being I had never had one, there was nothing to compare it with and that blip might have just been a normal for me.
The next morning, dragging and still hurting I was sent to a heart doc for a nuke stress test. All came out well with that and I was told it was all acid reflux. Off the over the counter meds and put on something a bit stronger that would work better. I am still on that med for acid reflux.
So there you have that, asthma and reflux within a short time of each other. Crap, my early 30's and I was starting to fall apart. But as you guessed, it did not stop here.
When I was a teen living at home my mother would mention from time to time that it was a wonder I could sleep, that I snored so loud. After I married I remember nights that my ex would wake me up and ask me to turn over so I would stop snoring. Never thought a thing about that, I was good cause it was not bothering me. But then into my early 30's I noticed I was having issues with waking during the night, usually sweating. I had hormone issues before I got pregnant with my son so I figured that I was going into perimenopause. I had heard that could start in your 30's so that was my guess.
As life went on I noticed that I had more issues sleeping. I could be physically dead tired but could not fall off to sleep. That was when I would get things done after the kids were put to bed and I stayed up. That would last about a week to two weeks, than I would get sick and crash. But I could sleep no matter how tired I was. As the years moved on I found that I was waking in the morning feeling like I had never closed my eyes. The difference now was that I could not stay awake. I closed my eyes and slept whenever I got still. By this time I was riding to work with a friend. He drove 3 days a week and I drove 2. On those days that he drove, I would wake, take my shower, take a nap, put on my makeup and head out. I would meet him and I would sleep to work. I took a nap at lunch and I would sleep home. Just barely able to get in my car and get home before I would sack out on the couch or the chair (sitting straight up).
This got worse ever still but I really did not think a lot of it cause I was dealing with major migraines and being treated for them. I guess I just thought that the meds were wearing me out. After being on preventative migraine meds for a little bit and them helping some…..they stopped working. Back to the nuro doc. I just happened to mention that the headaches were there when I woke, with me all day and there when I laid down to sleep. That set up a red flag he wanted me to have a sleep study done. Well the thoughts of having sleep apnea did not settle well with me. I was scared to death.
Off to a study I went and yes, I had sleep apnea. If you know anything about it you will know what I mean when I say my number on the machine started at 8. That is the amount and force of the pressure going into your nose at night to keep the airway open. This was in 2005. Since then I have had two other studies that showed that number had changed. I went to a 12 and now at a 14. You see when you have sleep apnea, you don't feel like doing anything and exercise is a memory, there is no energy there to even get you to walk. Then you gain weight. Weight causes the apnea to get worse. So, there you have what they call a catch 22!
I very seldom suffer from a migraine anymore. But the deal is, I was not told what all sleep apnea would and could cause. Most of what I know about it I have learned from reading about it. Keep in mind, your body needs rest, it needs that deep sleep….most apnea folks never make it to that point and your body starts to suffer.
Next blog will go into some of the issue that can develop and have developed with me just from having sleep apnea.
Stayed tuned to this same station (blog), same time (whenever) and learn more.
Thanks for stopping in,
Pam
The light went off, I remembered! It was the last removal of the knot on the gland. I have had several surgeries since then for this that or the other. But those are things I really don't feel like going into, this is more about illnesses.
I developed asthma from two bouts of bronchitis. I had some really bad issues getting that under control but I have not had an issue in about 15 yrs. Not sure I really have it or ever had it.
In 1998 I started chewing tums like mad. Heartburn every time I ate. Then there came another issue with sleep, waking with this burning in my esophagus. To the doc I went, was being treated by over the counter meds. One night while reading to my son I had a really bad bout of something. My brother came and got me and my son and took me to the hospital. I was convinced I was having a heart attack the pain was above and behind my left breast. After the ER treatment I was admitted to the hospital for the night. I did not sleep a wink, was so afraid if I closed my eyes, I would die in my sleep. There was a question in the EKG cause it had a little blip in it but being I had never had one, there was nothing to compare it with and that blip might have just been a normal for me.
The next morning, dragging and still hurting I was sent to a heart doc for a nuke stress test. All came out well with that and I was told it was all acid reflux. Off the over the counter meds and put on something a bit stronger that would work better. I am still on that med for acid reflux.
So there you have that, asthma and reflux within a short time of each other. Crap, my early 30's and I was starting to fall apart. But as you guessed, it did not stop here.
When I was a teen living at home my mother would mention from time to time that it was a wonder I could sleep, that I snored so loud. After I married I remember nights that my ex would wake me up and ask me to turn over so I would stop snoring. Never thought a thing about that, I was good cause it was not bothering me. But then into my early 30's I noticed I was having issues with waking during the night, usually sweating. I had hormone issues before I got pregnant with my son so I figured that I was going into perimenopause. I had heard that could start in your 30's so that was my guess.
As life went on I noticed that I had more issues sleeping. I could be physically dead tired but could not fall off to sleep. That was when I would get things done after the kids were put to bed and I stayed up. That would last about a week to two weeks, than I would get sick and crash. But I could sleep no matter how tired I was. As the years moved on I found that I was waking in the morning feeling like I had never closed my eyes. The difference now was that I could not stay awake. I closed my eyes and slept whenever I got still. By this time I was riding to work with a friend. He drove 3 days a week and I drove 2. On those days that he drove, I would wake, take my shower, take a nap, put on my makeup and head out. I would meet him and I would sleep to work. I took a nap at lunch and I would sleep home. Just barely able to get in my car and get home before I would sack out on the couch or the chair (sitting straight up).
This got worse ever still but I really did not think a lot of it cause I was dealing with major migraines and being treated for them. I guess I just thought that the meds were wearing me out. After being on preventative migraine meds for a little bit and them helping some…..they stopped working. Back to the nuro doc. I just happened to mention that the headaches were there when I woke, with me all day and there when I laid down to sleep. That set up a red flag he wanted me to have a sleep study done. Well the thoughts of having sleep apnea did not settle well with me. I was scared to death.
Off to a study I went and yes, I had sleep apnea. If you know anything about it you will know what I mean when I say my number on the machine started at 8. That is the amount and force of the pressure going into your nose at night to keep the airway open. This was in 2005. Since then I have had two other studies that showed that number had changed. I went to a 12 and now at a 14. You see when you have sleep apnea, you don't feel like doing anything and exercise is a memory, there is no energy there to even get you to walk. Then you gain weight. Weight causes the apnea to get worse. So, there you have what they call a catch 22!
I very seldom suffer from a migraine anymore. But the deal is, I was not told what all sleep apnea would and could cause. Most of what I know about it I have learned from reading about it. Keep in mind, your body needs rest, it needs that deep sleep….most apnea folks never make it to that point and your body starts to suffer.
Next blog will go into some of the issue that can develop and have developed with me just from having sleep apnea.
Stayed tuned to this same station (blog), same time (whenever) and learn more.
Thanks for stopping in,
Pam
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