mortality check

My sleep study results arrived today, and it's not good news. I have severe obstructive sleep apnoea. Severe.

Untreated, OSA can lead to cardiovascular problems, including heart attack and stroke, so it's something I need to act on.

The diagnosis does explain a lot of things though - constant fatigue, sleepiness during the day, waking up with headaches, breathlessness, foot and leg swelling, mood disorders, weight gain, and the list goes on. 

The recommended treatment is with a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine, which pumps air through a mask to keep the airways open. What I'm hoping is that using the machine will allow me to sleep better, therefore I will have more energy (and so be capable of increased activity and not need to eat extra just to keep going), less stress (remember what Jon Gabriel said about stress and cortisol and weight?), thereby allowing me to lose weight, which should help take pressure off my airways while I sleep. So the theory is that I won't need the CPAP machine forever.

It all made me realise that I may not be around forever, but I sure can be a bit more vigilant about my health to ensure I'm around for a long while yet. And it starts now.

sleep

Went along to an appointment at a local university sleep clinic today, and came home with a case of contraptions to wire me up for a sleep study tonight. While there, I had an interesting discussion with the doctor about the relationship between sleep (and the lack of it), sleep apnoea, stress, weight, the Gabriel Method, and husbands who think they don't have a problem. And I think the student who was there is going to look into the Gabriel Method for herself.

So not much of a post tonight, because I'm heading off to wire myself up and hit the hay. Amazingly enough, it's not even midnight, and I'm actually yawning (although perhaps not so amazing given that Miss Tizz had a nightmare at 1am this morning and ended up in with us for the rest of the night, and the X-man lobbed in at some appallingly early hour). *Yawn* Goodnight - sleep tight!

the gabriel method

I went to a seminar by Jon Gabriel of the Gabriel Method recently, and today had a interesting telephone conversation with him. More like therapy than talking about losing weight, and working out what your body is protecting you from by holding onto the weight, and convincing it to let go, is pretty much the premise behind his method. Quite confronting when you start getting into it.

I'm still processing it, and will probably talk more about it later.