My New Sleep Journey

A few months ago I told my doctor my stamina has been waning. I couldn't do a lot of my usual activities like cooking and gardening. The last time I was able to scrub our laundry area was January last year. After that my energy continued to dwindle. I brought this up with my doctors and they had me do pulmo rehab. It helped a lot especially since I easily 

My new pulmo is also a sleep specialist and recommended I do a sleep test. I had been having difficulty sleeping for a few years now and I usually wake up still exhausted. I finally did the test last October. Results showed I have sleep apnea. My doctor had me try using a CPAP machine while I was confined in early November. 

When I got home I was able to obtain a CPAP machine. I got confined again, so I only started using it two weeks ago when my throat felt much better. I wanted to be stable before I started using it again. After my post-discharge consultations I started using the CPAP machine again. I have since not skipped a night. 

From my Fitbit

I honestly don't understand the stats from the CPAP machine. I'll leave my doctor to interpret that. My stamina had further declined after my confinement, but it improved a lot once I started using the CPAP machine. To test my stamina I tried gardening last week and re-potted a few plants. By Christmas I was able to cook and bake again. Hooray!

My doctor also said that sleep is essential when you want to lose weight. I was surprised to see my weight started decreasing and I was at my lowest weight all year by Christmas day. Even with the meal plans my weight lose stagnated. Proper sleep is truly key if you want to lose weight. I hope I will finally reach my ideal weight by next Christmas! 

I will re-start my pulmo rehab after new year. My doctors wanted me to fully recover first and let me slack off for Christmas (haha). Better sleep will also help me cope better with my medical conditions. It will help not make things worse and that's what we're after. To be stable so we can make more happier memories together. 

#BeKind #StaySafe 

Wellness Wednesdays: Trouble Falling Asleep

I can commiserate with Grey*. I've been observing him the past few days from my maker room. We moved his bed outside of my room since there was a lot of movement where he used to sleep due to the renovations. The past few days must have been very hard for him because three orange cats have been barging in to attack him. I think they were trying to take over his territory. We had to help break up the fights since it would get so loud and alarming. 

It's pretty much similar to what I go through whenever I go to sleep at night. I have a hard time sleeping because I'm afraid I'd wake up with back pain. I've observed Grey take multiple cat naps . He falls asleep and then wakes up to check the area, probably making sure that the three orange cats aren't lurking. The good news is I'm a deep sleeper, I rarely wake up in the middle of the night. The back pain usually starts in the morning. 

I've been tracking my sleep pattern through Fitbit. It's consistently reported that I fall asleep longer compared to the average time people fall asleep. I've managed to lessen then time by adjusting my lifestyle. I  fall asleep faster when I have more movement or exercise during the day. A tired body seeks rest. I also make sure not to eat at least 3 hours before bed time. Avoid GERD (which also results in asthma). And avoid social media/reading messages before going to sleep. Sometimes I read something that triggers my PTSD. Seek peace and quiet.

One thing I haven't been able to do is get more sun. I take vitamin D3, but getting enough sunshine is better. I came to this conclusion when we went to Bohol. I'd wake up earlier, go out and I end up falling asleep faster. I wish I could just live by the beach (haha). 

My doctor solved my breathing issue after my first PE. He said you get better rest when you don't have breathing issues while asleep. I used to be so tired even when I had 8 hours of sleep. Fitbit showed that I'd actually wake up so many times while asleep. Doing deep breathing exercises and my meds helped. Breathe easy to sleep well.

I've been working on correcting this issue for years now. I was able to wake up earlier already last month, but the holidays ruined it. Well, that's something to work towards again :)

*Grey is the cat who adopted us 

#BeKind Stay Safe