It happened again

[LolaBelle]

Lola,

I know you are scared. There is no fear like what we experience when our body changes, and starts doing something different... especially in the night. We seem to experience our own mortality, more vividly, when we are most vulnerable.

I am a retired counselor.

I can not give you medical advice, diagnose, or even prescribe. I can talk as a friend (or family member) and perhaps help with, not what is causing the problem, but what to do to help yourself. Make sense?

One of the first things that caught my attention was you said you had been to your MD and they "didn't find anything wrong." Often, that means a Psychology issue, that they either give you a drug for or quietly send you home without any relief. The latter is most common when you don't exactly fit into the diagnostic criteria.

Secondly, the matted spit (sorry about being so graphic too) indicates you were in REM sleep after exhaustion. If you are correct that you are having sleep apnea... the thought explains a world of medical incidents. My own apnea can imitate a Disneyland of signs and symptoms. Sometimes it seems I am the only one hurting with aches and pains that go on for hours or days. (Last week, I was in a foreign city without my power cord. A CPAP without a power cord is a disaster in my life. I have slept with my machine for years and it is necessary).

See? You are talking my language. There are many of us who live the same terrors and anxieties. You just never know what others have to live with because most people won't talk about it.

When I was in grad school (a long time ago), I told a professor I was having panic attacks over school. She said, "Maybe you are not having panic attacks. Maybe you misidentified being excited." Someone else said something similar to you and I believe she is correct. Anticipation. Heavens, will the time never pass? <insert smiley face here>

Until you get your CPAP and get accustomed to a good nights sleep, you can help yourself with a couple of well-placed positive affirmations.

If you like, you are welcome to write to me and I will give you a "relaxation technique" that might be helpful.

And remember we all have friends, we have never met.

ret-doc

Thank you for your kind message and all of the information in it, and as for having sleep apnea I know I do because I was just diagnosed with it a few weeks ago roughly im just waiting to see the doctor to get my cpap I was diagnosed with moderate OSA.

Also I never thought about the fact that people really don't talk about what theyre going through most of the time I guess im the opposite I always describe everything and analyze it and make sure I can explain it the best I can to anyone who is listening lol I drive my family and my husband nuts a lot of the time Im very sensitive and very in touch with everything that happens to me which can be a curse a lot of the time lol but can also be good sometimes because everyone my whole life just said I was lazy cause I needed so much sleep and now I finally know theres a reason for it and I wouldn't have found that out if I wasn't persistant but for a while I just accepted it as normal and it was just a flaw in me but now im really glad im on my way to therapy but I hate the fact that its going to take so long! my appointment is the 31st I feel a bit better than I did yesterday which is good last time it wasn't till a couple weeks later that I started feeling better however my memory and concentration is shot....that hasn't gone away...but im suspecting it may when I start my cpap it will hopefully get better a little each night till all of a sudden im feeling better again

Also the REM after exhaustion is very interesting I could never understand why I could sleep 12 hours sometimes and be really tired after wards which I honestly did a lot! That makes sense Im so glad you told me that I cant wait till im on cpap and need less sleep and have more normal sleep.

And lastly that is very true about having friends we have never met Having this board and some of the people on it that have been so encouraging to me is really helping me through....again Thank you

[okiegal61]

I know I was really worried at first, and could wait to get my cpap, its all new. But I hung in there, and nothing happened. I feel much better since I received it, and still working on getting normal. I feel wayyy much better, and get a good nights sleep now.

Hang in there. Help is on the way.

[LolaBelle]

I know I was really worried at first, and could wait to get my cpap, its all new. But I hung in there, and nothing happened. I feel much better since I received it, and still working on getting normal. I feel wayyy much better, and get a good nights sleep now.

Hang in there. Help is on the way.

That's good im glad to hear your doing a lot better hopefully ill be posting the same thing soon! I managed to get an appointment at the place in Delaware (im gonna stay down here till I get my cpap I think) on Wednesday so im super relieved I don't have to wait till the 31st! I only have to wait till Wednesday Thank The Lord!!

[TBlizz]

Hi Lola, how have you been. I hope you was able to get you an earlier appt.

[LolaBelle]

Hi Lola, how have you been. I hope you was able to get you an earlier appt.

Hi TBlizz Ive still been feeling kinda out of it but not as bad as I was when I wrote my first post just really tired a little depressed from feeling this way and anxious to get better lol Thank you for your prayers <3 Im so beyond relieved that I am going in this Wednesday! Ill just be staying with my mom a little longer my husband wants me back home but I need to get my cpap so I can start feeling better plus I love visiting my mom so im glad I got to stay a little longer Now Im just praying the doctor I get has an open mind and helps me get the right equipment and all that good stuff I will update after my appointment How are you doing ?

[okiegal61]

Hang in there Lola, keep us updated. There are lots of people in this forum that are very helpful. I have learned a lot from them.

[sleepnewjersey]

I am very much aware of this condition. I was so anxious I was in panic attack mode for almost 3.5 months. I had night sweats. I would look for any position to avoid the panic attack mode. It is my belief that my subconscious would not want to go to sleep. I did not want to go to sleep. My apnea would begin as soon as I laid my head down. I had to wait almost 5 weeks for my machine. Thanks to the VA Medical system. You will have relief when you get your machine. I think with the sleep apnea condition you and I both have you will have immediate appreciation for the CPAP machine. If you read the story of the Birth of the CPAP you will see that it was born when a person walked in the Emergency room and had Sleep Apnea so bad it that If I am not mistaken the only recourse was to perfor a tracheotomy. Dr Sullivan used his converted Vacuum cleaner that allowed him to vary the flow rate. After putting the machine on the patient he went into REM immediately. So look forward to the relief.I had the same if not worse symptoms for over 3 months . Now I look forward to sleep.

So this is the third time this has happened im still currently waiting to see the doctor to get my cpap but all the same symptoms happened I felt fine the day before I just healed from the last episode it took a month and a half almost to feel normal again. That's what happened the first time. I woke up at 9 this morning and I was fine but tired so I went back to sleep and I woke up at 1:30 roughly I was on my side cause I remember looking at the table and my mouth was super dry and I had like...dried spit in the corners of both of my mouth which is unusual for the most part, numb feeling, blood sugar is 101-109 (I took it twice just out of curiosity) I was sweating and I have extreme muscle weakness and a headache, the sweating and the headache are new those didn't happen last time and neither did the dried spit in the corners of my mouth (sorry to be graphic)..

So from experience (the last two times this happened) the muscle weakness goes away mostly the first day and is there a small amount the second day but is pretty much gone but the mental impairment lasts for a while getting slowly better each day till im back to normal for the most part. This time the muscle weakness is stronger at least I think so from what I remember, first time I went to the docs for this they didn't find anything they said I was pre diabetic even tho my ac1 was 5.6 and my blood sugar was normal, the second time I went in and that's how I got diagnosed with sleep apnea and iw as praying this wouldn't happen again before I got my machine but it did, and I have to wait till the 31st to see the doc to get my cpap, what I need to know to ease my anxiety and fear is if anyone has ever experienced this, I know a lot of my symptoms are normal for sleep apnea but why would it happen so suddenly.... did I kill some brain cells from oxygen deprivation that need to heal? That's the only thing I can think of? I desperately need to know if this has happened to anyone else before because its making me wonder if its something else even tho ive seen two doctors now and had a blood panel and everything.... any experience or inside would help greatly I just don't know why it would happen so suddenly... Thank you

Sarah

[LolaBelle]

Hang in there Lola, keep us updated. There are lots of people in this forum that are very helpful. I have learned a lot from them.

Thank you I am getting my machine tomorrow! So I just have to make it through one more night Hopefully nothing signifigant happens and than from than on I at least have my machine and I have a feeling things will start to get better, And I have noticed there are definitely a lot of helpful and caring people on here im so glad I found this forum it really makes a difference

I am very much aware of this condition. I was so anxious I was in panic attack mode for almost 3.5 months. I had night sweats. I would look for any position to avoid the panic attack mode. It is my belief that my subconscious would not want to go to sleep. I did not want to go to sleep. My apnea would begin as soon as I laid my head down. I had to wait almost 5 weeks for my machine. Thanks to the VA Medical system. You will have relief when you get your machine. I think with the sleep apnea condition you and I both have you will have immediate appreciation for the CPAP machine. If you read the story of the Birth of the CPAP you will see that it was born when a person walked in the Emergency room and had Sleep Apnea so bad it that If I am not mistaken the only recourse was to perfor a tracheotomy. Dr Sullivan used his converted Vacuum cleaner that allowed him to vary the flow rate. After putting the machine on the patient he went into REM immediately. So look forward to the relief.I had the same if not worse symptoms for over 3 months . Now I look forward to sleep.

I think I will do some research on the birth of the cpap because I think it would be interesting to know And im sorry you had to go through similar things and im SO glad your doing better and have your cpap