Iโm Heather, and my spouse Mike* would snore all night long. It was unbearable. Heโd have these never-ending bouts of snoring, and Iโd have to nudge him (I say nudge, but the โnudgesโ became more pointed as the night wore on) to stop the room-shaking noise for a minute or two. There were times when I couldnโt get him to stop snoring no matter how much I nudged him, and many nights ended with me putting a pillow over my ears to deaden the noise. As you can guess, this was not a recipe for a good nightโs sleep.
Sometimes heโd wake up with a jolt and act disoriented, causing me to wake up quickly, too. Iโd look at him and say, โAre you okay? What happened?โ though I already knew the answer. It was almost like he was having a panic attack, and these episodes would often come several times a night. He later visited a doctor and was diagnosed with high blood pressure and put on meds. This did nothing to address the sleep apnea symptoms, but it helped his blood pressure and made both of us feel a little better about his health. I was honestly still very worried, and since we were both waking up really tired each morning, we knew something else had to be done.
Then, Mike had a sleep study done. The findings? He had sleep apnea! After the diagnosis, our doctor helped us understand how to treat sleep apnea. Mike began wearing a full-face mask (he breathes through his mouth) and struggled a bit getting used to the device. Heโd wear it for a few hours each night and then take it off. The thing is, the longer he wore it each night, the better he felt in the morning. He eventually adapted to wearing it every night and now sleeps wonderfully.
I sleep great knowing he is sleeping well, and his heart isnโt being strained due to the OSA. His blood pressure is much better, and our doctor was able to take him off his normal medication! We both wake up feeling relaxed, refreshed, and ready to goโnot tired or stressed out, like before. Itโs been ten years now, and I canโt imagine him going to sleep without his CPAP device. It has truly saved us.
*Names have been changed for anonymity