I Am Rebelling

Sometimes I need to let my inner rebel out and stop being such a good patient. I usually try to be a good patient (and go to my appointments, take my meds as prescribed, talk to my doctors honestly and generally do what they want me to). But not right now.

Last fall I was told I have sleep apnea and my doctors want me to have a CPAP machine for sleeping. I got my CPAP machine and hate it. I can’t stand having anything on my face while I sleep. I am on my second mask and still cannot deal with it. I wake up and want to rip it off my face. If I sleep with the mask on, I don’t ever feel rested and have the weirdest dreams.

I went back to my NP for the sleep department yesterday to talk about how I am doing with my (damn) CPAP machine. She said that because of the problems I am having, I could go to a plastic surgeon and they would do some kind of ‘adjustment’ and then I wouldn’t need a machine. (The idea of any kind of surgery like that makes my skin crawl.) Since I have rheumatoid arthritis, no one wants to operate on me because I will not heal well. So we nixed that idea.

My next step is to go see the sleep clinic for CPAP mask for desensitization therapy to get used to the (damn) mask. I am not sure this is going to work for me. I have already tried everything from taking naps with the mask, wearing it when not trying to sleep and just resting, but its not working.

If I fall asleep with it, I end up taking it off shortly afterward because I can’t sleep with it. And the whole point of a CPAP machine is to sleep better. I haven’t slept better with it at all. And I got it at the end of January.

This is a long way of saying that, while I am willing to actually try a little more to get used to the (damn) mask, I am running out of patience and am not going to try that hard based on two months of treatment so far. Frankly, I do not expect the machine to work for me at all. So my inner rebel is saying, while I will give it a try, I am done making a giant effort.

The (damn) mask has been hanging on the back of the bathroom door for a couple of weeks. It is staying there until they explain the desensitivity therapy to me and I get to try it.

I know apnea leaves to all sorts of issues including fatigue, sleepiness, weight gain, snoring, etc. I also know that I really hate the (damn) mask.

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