Pardon the Interruption....

Normally, my posts are spiritual in focus with an  random "this has no real purpose" rant added to the mix.  Today, I am taking a break from the spiritual to discuss something personal that may be affecting more than just me...so pardon my commercial interruption.

For as many years as I can remember, I have struggled with breathing (asthma), sleep disturbances, and headaches.  Going back many years, I've a medical record smattered with various complaints involving one, two or all three of these issues.  I've run the gamut of tests, therapies, drugs, etc. to try to combat them.  I've blamed everything from spiritual issues to hormonal ones on why I felt so terrible.  2011 found me at the end of my rope.  After a surgery for removal of a mass that was suspicioned to be causing the most recent rash of severe headaches was unsuccessful, I thought I was literally going to go nuts.  I was tired beyond measure, cranky, lethargic, in a funk, and couldn't make the most simple decisions without great effort.  In a last ditch effort to find relief, I suggested to my physician that we do a sleep study.  The results were telling.  I was diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The 'layman' explanation for this is basically I stop breathing for periods during the night and/or I would have episodic closure of the esophagus which would cause me to wake up to start the air flow again.  This was causing me not to rid my body of the carbon dioxide (the daily headaches and fog I was in), and my brain and other organs weren't getting the oxygen they needed.  As is typical Carla fashion, I wanted to know as much as I could about this problem and was stunned.  It is a far more common problem than I thought...and the National Institute of Health estimates that over 25% of the population may have it and are currently undiagnosed!  This can be a causal factor for hypertension, heart disease and a host of other disease processes.

After diagnosis, the treatment was really simple...I use a breathing machine when I sleep.  I have been on this therapy for two weeks and am ASTOUNDED at how good I feel!! I have energy, my mood and attitude have improved significantly, and I am happy to report I haven't had a headache for two weeks! I haven't had a day where I was headache free for many, many years! 

So what's my point with all of this? Maybe just to vent, or to explain why I've behaved certain ways, or hopefully to help someone who is struggling with a similar issue. Something as simple as a good nights sleep is a very important thing for maintaining good health.  The moral to my story...don't give up until you find an answer!