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+--- Thread: [Diagnosis] Will my life change? Recent Diagnosis (/Thread-Diagnosis-Will-my-life-change-Recent-Diagnosis)
Will my life change? Recent Diagnosis - SockPuppetOwl - 04-15-2021
Hello, I am fairly young, only 23 and have recently been diagnosed after a sleep test with severe level sleep apnea.
I have a feeling this will be life changing for me.
My whole life I've dealt with health issues and I'm starting to wonder if it all stems from this.
I was originally diagnosed with Autism, Depression and Anxiety due to situational hallucinations I dealt with during stressful situations along with constantly napping and chronic fatigue The medication I was prescribed increased my fatigue and weight gain. I don't doubt I deal with some mental illness (as the medication was successful in removing hallucinations) but I wonder if it's been worsened due to sleep apnea?
It started to get worse after a breakdown, causing me to drop out of work and university, I was a wreck and eventually went on a Disability Pension from 2017-current day to allow me to survive without my own income.
I was sleeping 10-12 hours a day and still felt tired, and eventually it worsened to a consistent 16-20 hours a day recently, which finally caused me to push for a sleep test since everything felt impossible and I was getting none of my personal projects or freelance lowest points they blamed my medication or sensory overload from autism and I only recently pushed for a sleep test for it to reveal I had 45 'events' in one hour.
I feel like I should be sad about it, but honestly I am so relieved and I am excited to finally use a CPAP machine. I want to know what a good nights sleep feels like and I am hoping my life will finally change for the better as I have so much potential in my creativity, and desire to improve my business... I just never had the energy to back it up. I always felt like I was 'lazy' and told I needed to "try harder" when I would get so overwhelmed feeling as if I couldn't do anymore in life and I was reaching my limit. No matter how hard I tried I could never break the limits given to me... but now I might be able to?
I am worried I am getting too excited. I see alot of stories of how a CPAP changed peoples life and while I don't expect to be 100% functioning at all times (nobody is) I am holding on to this little bit of hope that I can finally achieve my dreams to some extent. I admit I have ugly happy cried more than once...
Thoughts?
RE: Will my life change? Recent Diagnosis - SockPuppetOwl - 04-15-2021
I was getting none of my personal projects or freelance business projects done, and at my lowest points I would push for a test but the doctors blamed my medication*
(Oops I didn't realise this mistake till I went to edit it again but was past the time limit)
RE: Will my life change? Recent Diagnosis - SarcasticDave94 - 04-15-2021
Welcome to Apnea Board.
Sleep apnea can certainly affect us by contributing to many different health issues. Are you about to get a CPAP of some sort? I would suggest if at all possible, get a ResMed 10 series. This brand is proven by most on this board to be more comfortable and effective. Let us know what you're getting and we can help make the therapy do its best to help you. Do look into our free report tool OSCAR so you can view progress on Apnea treatment and can post screenshots for suggestions from members here. Best to your successful treatment.
RE: Will my life change? Recent Diagnosis - mesenteria - 04-15-2021
I don't know if my observations will improve your mood
because I know you're filled with dread. Best to accept all you can manage to accept and to deal with it constructively. Methodically. Try to control the flow at the end of the firehose....if you can. 
I think it is a great boon to have discovered this while your body is still young and can repair any damage. My wife found out she was celiac when she was 50, and we were told much of the damage to the lining of her small intestine would be impossible for her body to repair. You can still repair yourself, fix things that will get you put right, and then resume an essentially normal daytime life, including your studies.
It could be worse. When I found out, I was already 65 and had developed atrial fibrillation. That is permanent. Between competitive running, hard recreational cycling, and sleep apnea (we learned), my heart threw up its hands and said 'Enough!' So, I am now on three medications for life.
I would urge you to take a deep breath or two, and then begin the grim task of entrenching new learning about sleep apnea, how it is managed, and what the machines will tell you each morning about your previous night's 'performance'. It won't be long, at your tender age, to get a solid grip on the nuances, and you'll soon find that it ain't so bad after all. Yeah, it's a bummer having something essentially permanent and possibly highly deleterious affecting your nights, but at least that's all there is to it.
You get to keep your days hands, and CPAP, free, but they'll be somewhat better in quality since you are going to be getting better sleep.
RE: Will my life change? Recent Diagnosis - Jeremy H - 04-16-2021
Sleep is everything, the foundation of your day and ability to make the most out of it. Sounds like your on your way to a better life. This forum is the best place to get started.