Sometimes My Life...

My Life is...

I found this button when I went to research this month's featured Etsy Blogger so I could write about her in my other blog. I instantly fell in love because it feels so true sometimes! Or not a soap opera then maybe a comic tragedy? Because it can certainly feel super-tragic at times, but I always try to keep laughing!

The latest update is that I'm apparently really anemic. We found this out because I finally got to go see a neurologist about my migraines earlier this week. He ordered a comprehensive blood work up which, among other things, meant we found out I'm anemic.

I was kinda floored when I first got the letter with the news. I mean seriously, come on, something ELSE is wrong with me? Now that I've had some time to think about it I'm much calmer. Yeah, I'm anemic, but the good news is that this treatable and it explains a lot. Apparently when your iron gets this low it can cause all sorts of neurological problems - which means we may have found the cause for why my migraines have gotten so bad these last few months!

It also explains why I'm always so incredibly tired. I figured I had good reason considering the sleep apnea, asthma, and migraines, but apparently I had even more reason than I thought! Speaking of the sleep apnea - the latest update on dealing with the Darth Vadar mask is that I haven't been. I can't wear it when I have a migraine because the pressure it puts on my face increases the pain of the migraine. *sigh* Hopefully I'll be able to start using it again soon, I was starting to adjust to it, and apparently I need all the rest I can get!

The other thing the neurologist did was he added several new vitamins and an herb to my daily pill regiment. I was NOT happy about even more pills, but I want the pain to go away, so I've been sucking it up. I've been adding them in a day at a time so that if I reacted to one I'd know which one it was. My body does tend to react to weird things after all.

Yesterday I added in Feverfew. Apparently it's an herb often proscribed as a natural treatment for migraines. I was pretty skeptical at first because it smells awful, even though it's in pill form! Good news is I only had a very low level migraine this morning, and nothing all afternoon! I don't know for sure if it's the Feverfew or if I just had one of my "lucky days," but I'm hoping its the nasty smelling herb because I would really love to have found something to ease the pain!

My Journey to The Dark Side

Yesterday my dear hubby and I went and picked up my very own CPAP machine. If you haven't been following my journey dealing with sleep apnea go here and here to read my first posts and get more info about apnea and the CPAP machine :)

I've been calling it my "Darth Vader mask" and the jokes have been FLYING about me joining the dark side! In reality, it's super quiet, none of the classic Vader breathing. Having the mask over my face makes me feel like I'm a cyborg or something though.

My dear hubby is being incredibly supportive. He knows how emotionally draining this adjustment is for me, and he kept telling me his sexy-cyborg last night :D Gosh I'm lucky to have a hubby like him!

Even though I was really tired last night (I'd been having asthma problems) it still took me about 2 1/2 hrs to fall asleep last night. Then I woke up a good hour and a half earlier than I usually do. Can you say - tired? I did manage to take a nap this morning, but I was a good girl and used the machine, and so I woke up yawning.

I could easily go to sleep right now, but I don't want to mess up my night sleep schedule and make things even harder tonight, so I'm sticking it out :)

The lady who set us up with the machine said that the average person takes 3 months to adjust to their cpap machine. I can believe it! The closest analogy I can come up with is that it's like wearing a brace, cast, or head gear. You've got a foreign object on your body, so even though you sleep, you may not feel super rested when you get up. I'm sure that it's better for my lungs, so I'm determined to make it work, but the next few weeks/months might be hard. I'll keep you updated!

Introducing....the Darth Vader Mask!

Remember how I told you about my first sleep study? Well, the results were that I do have moderate sleep apnea, and apparently that means I'm not really getting that much rest at night! So we scheduled a second sleep study for last night, and they tried a "darth vader mask" on me.

Ok, so that's not really what it's called. It's called a CPAP Machine, which is short for continuous positive airway pressure. Basically, when a person experiences sleep apnea (stopping breathing in their sleep) it's because their body relaxes so much while their asleep that their airway starts to collapse. The CPAP machine provides positive air flow that apparently acts like a splint in your throat, so you don't stop breathing!

Well, getting a good nights sleep sounds great, but it's going to be HARD to do with that mask on! Fortunately it's not really as loud as Darth Vaders breathing, but that's what it reminds me of anyway. It was pretty uncomfortable - and I woke up with a really dry throat and a face. The nurse said they could adjust the humidty levels in the air flow and that would help, so I'm trying to think positively.

I'll be hearing back from the sleep doctors office again soon and I'll go into to get my own machine to take home and try to get used to - I'll keep you updated!