In Focus

I have officially joined the CPAP club, and let me tell you, it has been an interesting experience.

Lately, my exhaustion and fatigue had gotten pretty bad. By the time I finished working, I could barely function, and even simple things seemed to take longer than they should. That started a series of tests that eventually landed me on the CPAP train.

The at-home sleep study wasn’t too bad. I had to sleep two nights with a device strapped to my chest, along with a nasal cannula and a finger monitor. Then came the diagnosis: “mild to severe sleep apnea.” Well, that’s a pretty broad range.

Then came the machine and mask. Being a side sleeper, mouth breather and allergy sufferer, I apparently won the full-face-mask award. Yay. It looks super weird, but it doesn’t really bother me. This particular mask covers my mouth and sits underneath my nose rather than going over it.

The first night started out OK. It took me a while to get the mask adjusted so it didn’t feel like it was taking my breath away. I eventually fell dead asleep, only to be awakened just after midnight by the dog barking in her kennel. Aggravated, I got up to go tell her to knock it off and promptly clothes-lined myself because I forgot I was attached to a machine. Thankfully, I didn’t pull the machine off the nightstand and break it.

The second night, I had some trouble getting the mask to fit properly. It would leak a little depending on how I was laying. At one point, I woke up to Yeti, my seven-toed tabby cat, smacking my mask because it was making a hissing noise. Thankfully, she used her paw and not her claws. She and the other felines are still getting used to this strange new addition to the bedroom, too.

On the third day, I called my “sleep coach” and told her what had been happening. She laughed and turned the pressure down a little. That night started much better—until I woke up at 4 a.m. with a full-blown sore throat. It felt like it was coming from the very back of my sinuses. It took most of the day to clear up.

The following night, I decided to take a break.

After talking with my sleep coach again, she bumped up the humidity a little—hopefully not enough to waterboard me in my sleep.

Adjusting to this whole CPAP thing has definitely been an experience, but I have to admit, my energy is doing much better. I’m starting to feel like I’m getting back to normal-ish.

And the boyfriend appreciates that I’m no longer snoring, so I guess there’s that on the positive side.