Day 126
I went away for the weekend to Rome. I was a great trip, we walked for miles, ate pasta, pizza and saw the wonderful Roman buildings and generally loved every minute of it.
On the Saturday we went back to the hotel for a sleep in the late after noon as we'd been travelling most of the day before and then walking all day. I started to drift off with out my mask but felt that my throat was closing up so I put the mask on and slept for about 3 hours! After waking I removed the mask and snoozed for another 30 mins or so, with out any apnoeas. It seems that when I'm truly exhausted then I'm still prone to have apnoeas. But I have also been able to sleep with out the mask. For example on the plane and the train I was able to fall asleep and did not have an apnoea, in fact I didn't even snore! 4 months ago when I first started this blog, I was semi proud of the fact that I could even snore sat upright on a plane or train. This is no longer true. I can now sleep on public transport without the embarrassment of loud snoring or jumping awake whilst having and apnoea and gasping for air like some kind of freak.
I recorded myself practising the exercises and sent them to the creator of "Singing for Snorers". She very kindly gave me some tips on how to get the most out of them. So I gave them a go and was amazed at how much more work I could get out of adjusting the way I was doing the exercises. So I'm committed to working on CD3 for at least another month before trying to sleep without the CPAP machine again.
pain/tiredness/level
1/4/10
Monday, February 26, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Day 120
Every day in every way, I'm getting a little better.
Yesterday my old boss commented on how well I looked. I thanked him and wondered, if there was one thing that has made this now outwardly visible difference. I can honestly say, I think it's a little bit of everything! Here is a list of the things that I'm doing:-
Singing for Snorers : Almost every day I'm working on the exercises and have notice a difference in my ability to sleep has improved significantly. I have now twice fallen asleep with out the aid of a CPAP machine in the last two weeks. I'm not aware of have ANY apnoea attacks during these naps. I do recall some slight snoring. Almost cute as opposed to highly offensive! In addition both times my partner was unaware of any snoring at all.
Keeping fit at the gym: Since Jan 8th I have lost 12lbs (5.4kgs). According to my electronic scales I have lost around 4% of my body fat. This helps me sleep better at night as I'm burning up the excess energy that I may have allowing me to improve the quality of sleep. When I was first diagnosed with sleep apnoea my resting heart rate was 85-90 bpm. This has now been reduced to 68-72bpm. Without a doubt I have extended my life by improving my health and sleeping practises.
SAD light: Whilst working at home, I found that I needed some kind of desk light. I went for the extra brightness of the SAD light so that I could give myself that natural boost rather than relying on that extra cup of coffee.
Reduce Coffee: First thing in the morning I now drink boiled water with a few drops of lemon juice. It's wonderful at rehydrating the body after it looses a lot of water during sleep. The lemon helps with the taste but also seems to reduce any mucus that may have also built up. I've not had a stuffy nose at all.
Diet: To help with the weight loss and to generally improve my eating habits, I've been following a diet called "The South Beach Diet". After doing a bit of research on the internet and checking a few forums it seemed to be the best way for me to go and most importantly doesn't force you to be hungry all the time. In fact if you get hungry you probably are eating enough! A standard day for me would be:- Breakfast, flourless/sugarless chocolate torte, a fruit juice and a protein shake, 11am snack, Clementine and a babybel light cheese, Lunch any salad, 3pm snack some mixed nuts, Dinner pretty much any meat or vegetarian based meal, replacing potatoes with either butternut squash or sweet potatoes, this is always followed later by a protein rich dessert like greek yoghurt and fruit. Since being on the diet I've not had any heart burn for which was previously so bad I was hospitalised at one point in 2005 for suspected heart attack (aged 35).
I'm sure there are lots of other little things that I'm doing that I will try to highlight in future postings. But above are a few of the main significant changes that I have put in place over the last 120 days.
Soon, very soon, I will try sleeping with out my CPAP and video myself to see how well I'm sleeping now. I have previously recorded myself so I will have something to compare. I'll let you know how I get on.
pain/tiredness/level
0/1/10
Every day in every way, I'm getting a little better.
Yesterday my old boss commented on how well I looked. I thanked him and wondered, if there was one thing that has made this now outwardly visible difference. I can honestly say, I think it's a little bit of everything! Here is a list of the things that I'm doing:-
Singing for Snorers : Almost every day I'm working on the exercises and have notice a difference in my ability to sleep has improved significantly. I have now twice fallen asleep with out the aid of a CPAP machine in the last two weeks. I'm not aware of have ANY apnoea attacks during these naps. I do recall some slight snoring. Almost cute as opposed to highly offensive! In addition both times my partner was unaware of any snoring at all.
Keeping fit at the gym: Since Jan 8th I have lost 12lbs (5.4kgs). According to my electronic scales I have lost around 4% of my body fat. This helps me sleep better at night as I'm burning up the excess energy that I may have allowing me to improve the quality of sleep. When I was first diagnosed with sleep apnoea my resting heart rate was 85-90 bpm. This has now been reduced to 68-72bpm. Without a doubt I have extended my life by improving my health and sleeping practises.
SAD light: Whilst working at home, I found that I needed some kind of desk light. I went for the extra brightness of the SAD light so that I could give myself that natural boost rather than relying on that extra cup of coffee.
Reduce Coffee: First thing in the morning I now drink boiled water with a few drops of lemon juice. It's wonderful at rehydrating the body after it looses a lot of water during sleep. The lemon helps with the taste but also seems to reduce any mucus that may have also built up. I've not had a stuffy nose at all.
Diet: To help with the weight loss and to generally improve my eating habits, I've been following a diet called "The South Beach Diet". After doing a bit of research on the internet and checking a few forums it seemed to be the best way for me to go and most importantly doesn't force you to be hungry all the time. In fact if you get hungry you probably are eating enough! A standard day for me would be:- Breakfast, flourless/sugarless chocolate torte, a fruit juice and a protein shake, 11am snack, Clementine and a babybel light cheese, Lunch any salad, 3pm snack some mixed nuts, Dinner pretty much any meat or vegetarian based meal, replacing potatoes with either butternut squash or sweet potatoes, this is always followed later by a protein rich dessert like greek yoghurt and fruit. Since being on the diet I've not had any heart burn for which was previously so bad I was hospitalised at one point in 2005 for suspected heart attack (aged 35).
I'm sure there are lots of other little things that I'm doing that I will try to highlight in future postings. But above are a few of the main significant changes that I have put in place over the last 120 days.
Soon, very soon, I will try sleeping with out my CPAP and video myself to see how well I'm sleeping now. I have previously recorded myself so I will have something to compare. I'll let you know how I get on.
pain/tiredness/level
0/1/10
Monday, February 12, 2007
Day 112
I was just reading my post from last week and I suddenly noticed a pattern. Again this Sunday I was feeling very grumpy. Although I've reduced the number of visits to the gym, I have been doing a class on Saturdays. This class is very hard and generally at the end of it I'm completely worn out. I think this class is just too hard for me and I've decided to stop doing it until my fitness level has improved some more.
I also had a session with one of the trainers last week and he has given me a routine to follow for the next four weeks. So hopefully now that I have a more structured routine to follow I'll not be over doing it so much.
It's very hard sometimes to notice that your sleepiness is being caused by other things than your sleep apnoea. Having the condition blinds you a little into blaming that for pretty much everything!
During Sunday I was up fairly early, but felt very tired and so went back to bed around 11:30. I decided to try sleeping with out the CPAP machine, but using the MAD to help open my airways a little. I do not recall waking up at any time during my nap gasping for air or even snoring. Although I was pretty tired and may have slept through it or forgotten it. Next weekend I will repeat the trial and this time video myself to see if I do experience any apnoea attacks.
I'm continuing to practice the Singing for Snorers, pretty much every day. I've noticed that now I'm able to really focus on the muscles at the back of the throat and feel them opening and closing with much more vigour.
Although I'm not really able to tell myself, I'm sure that my singing voice does actually sound better and cleaner than it has done. Of course as I've now been singing nearly every day for over three months I'd expect some improvement!
pain/tiredness/level
0/3/10
I was just reading my post from last week and I suddenly noticed a pattern. Again this Sunday I was feeling very grumpy. Although I've reduced the number of visits to the gym, I have been doing a class on Saturdays. This class is very hard and generally at the end of it I'm completely worn out. I think this class is just too hard for me and I've decided to stop doing it until my fitness level has improved some more.
I also had a session with one of the trainers last week and he has given me a routine to follow for the next four weeks. So hopefully now that I have a more structured routine to follow I'll not be over doing it so much.
It's very hard sometimes to notice that your sleepiness is being caused by other things than your sleep apnoea. Having the condition blinds you a little into blaming that for pretty much everything!
During Sunday I was up fairly early, but felt very tired and so went back to bed around 11:30. I decided to try sleeping with out the CPAP machine, but using the MAD to help open my airways a little. I do not recall waking up at any time during my nap gasping for air or even snoring. Although I was pretty tired and may have slept through it or forgotten it. Next weekend I will repeat the trial and this time video myself to see if I do experience any apnoea attacks.
I'm continuing to practice the Singing for Snorers, pretty much every day. I've noticed that now I'm able to really focus on the muscles at the back of the throat and feel them opening and closing with much more vigour.
Although I'm not really able to tell myself, I'm sure that my singing voice does actually sound better and cleaner than it has done. Of course as I've now been singing nearly every day for over three months I'd expect some improvement!
pain/tiredness/level
0/3/10
Monday, February 05, 2007
Day 105
I've reduced the number of times that I'm going to the gym and it has helped a lot. I'm no longer needing to sleep during the day and I'm sleeping and dreaming much better at night.
I've also reduced the pressure on my machine another level, I'm now down to 10. I did this because I was beginning to feel that the mask was too tight again and that the pressure was causing more discomfort and problems that it was helping.
I slept with the machine at 10 all weekend and have had no adverse side effects as far as I can tell yet. Although I was a little grumpy on Sunday, but I think this was more due to a late night on Saturday and some drink. So I'll leave it like that for a week and review how I'm feeling.
Pain/tiredness/level
1/3/10
I've reduced the number of times that I'm going to the gym and it has helped a lot. I'm no longer needing to sleep during the day and I'm sleeping and dreaming much better at night.
I've also reduced the pressure on my machine another level, I'm now down to 10. I did this because I was beginning to feel that the mask was too tight again and that the pressure was causing more discomfort and problems that it was helping.
I slept with the machine at 10 all weekend and have had no adverse side effects as far as I can tell yet. Although I was a little grumpy on Sunday, but I think this was more due to a late night on Saturday and some drink. So I'll leave it like that for a week and review how I'm feeling.
Pain/tiredness/level
1/3/10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
