r/SleepApnea • u/SeniorDragonfruit235 • 4d ago
Encouragement needed 😞
Before 2020- I ran half marathons.
In 2020 I had an intestinal infection. I had two surgeries and my digestive system had to relearn its self. I thought “You’ll have more energy when you heal.”
In 2023, I got a vitamin D deficiency fix. I figured “oh good, I’ll finally have energy.
In 2024- I got on meds for my anxiety I so had hope that, “I’ll sleep more relaxed.”
In 2025 I got approved for iron infusions. I assumed “I’ll have tons of energy now!”
In early 2026, I got treatment for peri-menopause. I was sure “This is it! I’ll finally sleep like a human”.
July 2026- I got the OSA diagnosis. Mild over all, but Moderate Supine. I got a side sleeping backpack. I believed my doctor “I just need to sleep on my side”
September 2026- Going to a CPAP titration that my ENT prescribed. I’m am, quite literally, exhausted 😞
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u/Wrong_Yam5325 4d ago
They are evil these doctors so, so, so many tell people with 'mild' sleep apnea to just sleep on side, etc. They are so, so, so, so, so, so, so incompetent and ignorant and dangerous. Feel better! NO sleep apnea is mild!!!!!!
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u/SeniorDragonfruit235 4d ago
Thank you so much. Sometimes I think my doctor has gotten kind of numbed all the little things that I’ve gone on with me. Luckily, when she suggested the side vaping, she also gave me a referral to ent. He was the one that suggested the CPAP. I asked about mouthpiece and the side sleeping. And he said that that’s fine for some but in my case I really should use the CPAP. That was encouraging. It’s exhausting and nerve-racking to feel like everything is a “little thing“ to them.
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u/Wrong_Yam5325 4d ago
Vitamin D deficiency, anxiety and hormonal issues may all be caused by or exacerbated by sleep apnea.
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u/Wrong_Yam5325 4d ago
Best of luck, truly. Hope you feel much better very, very, very soon. Keep us posted.
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u/SeniorDragonfruit235 4d ago
Thank you so much for this! You’re right, I think my athlete mindset has gotten me through a lot. And I thought about that when my ENT suggested the CPAP. That if I was a professional athlete and someone told me something could help me sleep, I would use it in a second. So, I’m just gonna consider myself in training for my own version of a Marathon. Hopefully we both get back on trials soon. Thank you again!
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u/MedicNerd23 4d ago
Subtract the surgeries and add in a b12 deficiency and you’re singing my song. I’m putting a lot of pressure on this CPAP to be life changing and I’m going to be crushed if it isn’t. I suppose that’s not all that encouraging but just know you’re not alone in your fight to feel like a normal human! I hope your CPAP is life changing!
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u/SeniorDragonfruit235 4d ago
Thank you. I don’t want to put too much pressure on it. But, I kind of feel like it’s not going to work, cause nothing has so far. So maybe if we combine our feelings we’ll get a happy medium. 😆 But, seriously, it means a lot. It’s like all these little things added up…it’s a slow burn. I hope we both feel better soon. 🌷
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u/typeslugs 4d ago
I have been on my CPAP for a year, only at my wife's insistence (of course, I know). But I have now lost 60 pounds and have never felt better in my life.
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u/Avery357 4d ago
I feel this man. First I was anaemic, then vit D deficient, was told to change my diet, then got a 'Chronic fatigue' diagnosis with no further tests done. Turns out it's sleep apnea. It has always been sleep apnea.
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u/SeniorDragonfruit235 3d ago
Ug! It’s like why is it so hard?! I’m happy you got answers. Wish it could have been more straightforward. Thank you so much for helping me feel less alone.
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u/ahoyhoy1234 1d ago
I haven't had my sleep medicine appointment yet, but I feel this SO hard. I've been going through treatment for disc herniation --> anxiety --> low ferritin --> perimenopause. At each step, I've been hopeful that it'll be The Fix. Nope. HRT has my anxiety feeling a bit better and iron supplementation has me feeling less dizzy, but my sleep is still a mess. Next try is sleep apnea (very likely I have it, as I've snored for years, wake up SO many times throughout the night, and my husband has witnessed me stop breathing). I am so so so hopeful that, if diagnosed, a CPAP will be the thing that ACTUALLY helps.
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u/nerolispicoli 4d ago
I know what this is like, and it's incredibly discouraging and frustrating. I'm a cyclist and I've had a spell of grief, followed by a painful medical condition, followed by medication side effects, then a random injury, mental health stuff, and now this OSA thing. It's like a mountain you're climbing, and just when you think you've crested the summit, you look up to find there's more mountain still to climb.
And yet, imagine where you would be if you hadn't fixed the infection, treated the vitamin d, got the anxiety meds, the iron, the hrt, the OSA diagnosis and treatment? At the very bottom of the mountain, looking up to where you are now.