Darth Vader is gone

Listening to: Shiny Toy Guns - We Are Pilots

For those first reading this, I've recently lost a great deal of weight. People ask me constantly if I have more energy, and I most certainly do. I recently discovered another health benefit that has me very excited.

Due to my excess weight, I had developed weight-induced sleep apnea. For those unfamiliar, that means that from time to time at night, my windpipe would get pinched shut, forcing me to wake up to breathe again. It's just as unpleasant as it sounds. I would snore in the worst way; my roommates would either shake me awake, ask me to wait to go to bed until they were sound asleep, or in the worst case throw water on me.

My wife tolerated my snoring for a long time, but it got progressively worse and worse, until she had finally had enough and kicked me out of the bed. We spent four years not sleeping together, which led to four years of not doing other things together.

In addition, my job performance was suffering. Since I never really slept well, I was constantly tired, and would fall asleep at work during conference calls or periods of slow time. I would have to stand around or pace during meetings with the lights dimmed, or I would fall asleep. Unfortunately, that happened in front of managers enough times that I was warned to get it straightened out. That drove me (slowly) to go to the doctor to see what was the matter. I was put in a sleep test where they put a hundred different probes and other things on me, and finally diagnosed me with acute sleep apnea.

My therapy was to sleep with a machine called a CPAP, short for Constant Positive Air Pressure, that would force air into my lungs, keeping my windpipe open enough that I could sleep through the night. What a godsend! After getting accustomed to having a mask around my nose, I was able to sleep without snoring. My energy and mood immediately improved, as did my work performance. It didn't matter that my voice sounded funny or that I looked like Darth Vader with the mask on.

Fast forward to this week. My mask no longer fits properly, since I've lost so much weight, so I would have to fuss with it all night, making it more trouble than it was worth. My wife finally suggested that I try sleeping without the mask, to see if I still snored.

The results at present are mixed. My wife noted that I no longer snore, which is good. I feel much more tired, though, and don't sleep as soundly. It may just be a matter of getting accustomed to breathing properly while sleeping, instead of letting the CPAP essentially breathe for me. Stay tuned ...