Trying to breathe

I have chronic congestion which interferes with my sleep.  ENT docs over the years have said nasal sprays can help, some have said surgery would help because the problem is a severely deviated septum, not allergies.  Some have said surgery MIGHT help.

Add to that really chronic fatigue over the last six months or so.  I mean, to the point where I feel like I cannot keep my eyes open at work in the afternoons.  So, my docs sent me to have a sleep study.

The long and short of it is, i have now been diagnosed with sleep apnea.  My rate of apneas plus hypopneas (total, and partial closing of the airway) was 12 per hour when on my side, 57 per hour when on my back, with an average of 18 per hour.   According to my sleep doctor, 5-15 = mild sleep apnea, 15-30 = moderate, and above 30 = severe.  In addition, my oxygen levels dropped below 90% and were down to 87% during the small amount of REM sleep that I eked out during the study.

So.  I met with another ENT (I have been having a heck of a time finding an ENT I like, but I think I finally found one).  She recommended surgery to correct the deviated septum because the CT showed very little passageway for air to travel through.  She said a CPAP would not do much good if there was nowhere for the air to go.

And the sleep doctor recommended a CPAP (yes, Pete, CPAP IS the new prozac!).  She said "cleaning up my nose" with surgery could likely not treat the apnea.  So, just when I thought I could stop spending hours each week in doctors visits, well, it turns I have to continue spending hours each week in doctors visits.  Apparently I was having delusions of having some sort of "back to normal" life.

Ok.  Trying to see the positive.  Although it doesn't feel like it at the moment (i am having a pity party) better to have the problem diagnosed than not.  And maybe it is good to have an explanation for why I am so friggin tired all the time.  And maybe it can be corrected.  But to get there I have to face some of my scariest demons, going back into surgery, having general anesthesia again, having to wear a mask that forces air into my nose, spending several days in recovery from surgery with packing up my nose which, according to the ENT, will make me feel like it's difficult to swallow.  These are issues that I don't do well with.  Oops, not doing a very good job about focusing on the positive.  

On the bright side, unless Congress screws it up, at least I can't be denied health insurance for all my pre-existing conditions, beginning in 2014.  That's something.