Gearing Up

Ok.  I'm getting ready for the A-Z challenge.  I've already got ideas set out for several of the letters and am working on more even as I'm writing this.  I'm so glad that my nephew has given me a bit of a push to write more. 

Thanks, Don.

CPAP Tales -- Day 5

I actually had to count the days to determine what day I am on.  I'm already so accustomed to my CPAP that I automatically put it on if I go to lie down for a potential nap.  Of course, I usually do that when I'm having trouble breathing because of the smokers here or because I have to expend so much energy on taking care of my grandkids. Of course I don't do it when I'm here alone with the kids and they're not asleep.  I'd be afraid of what might happen.  Anyway, I know I was already used to a CPAP but this one is totally different than the older one, and not only because they added oxygen.  I am still sleeping amazingly well. 

I know this is probably boring, but I'm trying to make myself write something on my blog every day.

Out Of The Frying Pan

I decided to try a new background.  This one feels right for the moment because I feel like I've jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire as far as my writing is concerned.

CPAP Tales -- Day 4

Ok.  I've decided that my new CPAP truly is my best friend in the world. Normally when I have a sore throat and a cough I don't sleep at all because it turns into a "no air night."  With the new CPAP and the oxygen they have added to it, I actually slept last night rather than propping up and barely dozing or sucking on my inhaler every hour.  I still feel rotten but I'd feel a hundred times worse if I hadn't slept well.

When I got up this morning I didn't think I could consume anything other than ice water and hot tea because my throat was so sore.  By 10:30 my stomach thought my throat had been cut because I couldn't eat. My throat, on the other hand, was convinced that I swallowed a cheese grater with a razor blade chaser. I have never appreciated hot oatmeal more in my life. It soothed my thraot AND my stomach.

Now on to the business of watching my 3 and 4 year old granddaughters until their parents get home. Normally the older one would be going to pre-k at noon, but she has had a fever and we are keeping her home.  Thank goodness for Dora the Explorer. lol...

CPAP Tales -- Day 3

For possibly the first time in years I look forward to going to bed at night.  This new CPAP has done me a world of good.  I'm not tossing and turning, waking up feeling like I'm choking, etc....  I was fully awake by 8:30 this morning, admittedly because I'm watching my grandkids, and I'm not grumpy or headachey.  Normally I'd be dozing off or trying to find a way to go back to sleep, but that's not the case today.

Not only that, I haven't been drifting off to sleep if I'm reading a book or watching a movie.  If this keeps up, this new CPAP is the greatest thing (to me) since sliced bread. 

CPAP Tales

I think I've had sleep apnea for most of my life. I don't remember a time when I didn't tend to wake up with a headache, usually a blinding headache. I've been using a CPAP since 2003 and for the first few years it helped a lot, but over the last few months it has become painfully obvious that it was no longer working well enough. Because of this I have had trouble staying awake during the days and often woke up with blinding headaches like the ones I had before I got the CPAP. I had a new sleep study done on Tuesday night and got my new CPAP with higher pressure and oxygen on Wednesday, March 24, 2011. Last night was my first night with the new CPAP and I can already tell the difference. The first improvement was that I woke up with very little headache this morning. If that was all the new CPAP did I'd be happy, but its not. I have drifted off into a dazed state or fallen asleep while sitting today. I tried to lie back down this morning and didn't really HAVE to sleep any more like I usually do. I also fell asleep much faster last night than usual.