Hello, I blog!

… this is the sleep apnea variant of “you don’t look sick!” – the common (but unwanted) remark I get. But unlike the latter, this remark actually makes a lot of sense because this was a shock to me too.

Oops, I’ve disappeared for close to two months. Let’s just say that too many things have happened during this period.

Last month, I was in the hospital for close to 2 and a half weeks for an acute URTI (upper respiratory tract infection) and asthma that went full gangster on me. Then, it led to a secondary URTI because of my immunocompromised status. (Also adding to the drama was 3 blocked IV lines and getting poked a grand total of 10 times.)

And if things weren’t dramatic enough, I was diagnosed with a severe form of sleep apnea in the midst of all this.

What is Sleep Apnea?

It’s a breathing disorder which occurs while you sleep. Basically, you stop breathing for multiple seconds at a time.

As your oxygen saturation drops and carbon dioxide builds up in the body, your body’s autonomic systems will rouse you from your sleep to breathe.

The consequence of this is, due to the multiple (breathless) awakenings it’s impossible to be well-rested.

There are two main types of sleep apnea – Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), where your airway collapses and gets blocked, which causes you to stop breathing. Then, there’s Central Sleep Apnea (CSA), where your brain fails to send a signal to your respiratory system to breathe.

Mine is mainly OSA, with some episodes possibly caused by CSA. At my worst hour, my breathing stopped 54 times with the longest episode lasting 49 seconds.

I can’t even hold my breath this long when I’m awake!

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