Getting serious about health

You’re tired and you don’t feel well.

Maybe you’re tired because you didn’t sleep well.

So you don’t feel like exercising.

So you don’t.

You’re hungry because your body is telling you that you need to boost its energy level.

So you eat.

Maybe you overeat.

But you’re not eating the right kinds or quantities of foods to give yourself enough energy.

So you still don’t feel well enough to exercise.

So you don’t.

So you eat too much and you don’t exercise.

And you gain weight.

And you don’t sleep well.

So you’re tired and you don’t feel well.

It’s a vicious cycle.

I think a lot of you can probably at least relate.

Maybe this doesn’t describe you, but it sure has been the case for me for the past 10 years or so.

I can’t really point to an exact time or place that it all started.

It just kind of sneaked up on me.

So, I really haven’t felt very well for a long time.

Some days I just flat out feel terrible.

I can wake up in the morning and feel like I’ve been in a fistfight with someone who has a penchant for body blows.

I can wake up and, literally, be just as tired as I was when I went to bed.

As I described above, I don’t sleep well. I really haven’t for a long time.

I was fully aware that I wasn’t getting enough sleep, but I had no idea the adverse effects it was having on my health.

I’ve dealt with chronic back pain for about the same amount of time, so I’ve always assumed that the back pain was keeping me from getting good sleep.

I know my lack of sleep was affecting my energy level, my mood, my attitude, etc.

Turns out, maybe it was also causing the back pain.

We still don’t know for sure, but it’s a prime suspect.

I’ve gone to the chiropractor for several years and honestly, I think that’s the only thing that kept me going at times. The pain would subside, but it would never completely go away and it would always come back strong.

The back pain is really what bothers me the most, so I decided after the first of this year, I was going to take a more aggressive approach.

Long story short, my doctor suggested that my pain could be because of sleep apnea.

I had never thought of that.

See, when you stop breathing, your blood oxygen level takes a dive and your muscles and organs — most notably your heart — don’t get the oxygen they need to function properly. And that can cause all sorts of related issues.

Makes sense.

So, following a sleep study, it was determined I have moderate sleep apnea.

During the study I stopped breathing a total of 77 times, five times for more than 10 seconds.

According to my doctor, each time you quit breathing, your brain fires and you wake up.

No wonder I feel like crap in the mornings.

Now I get to be fitted for a CPAP machine, which is designed to keep my airway open so I don’t stop breathing during sleep.

I’m not too excited about wearing something on my face while I’m sleeping, but the thought of feeling better outweighs the fear of looking like a moron.

Did I mention my blood pressure has recently spiked to unacceptable levels?

My hope is that I can reverse the cycle, eventually shedding the machine and avoiding the blood pressure medication I was threatened with at my last doctor’s appointment.

The thought is that if I can get good sleep, I will feel better and have more energy throughout the day, reducing the desire to overeat and increasing the willingness to exercise and be active, thus losing weight and reducing blood pressure and the need for the CPAP.

Wish me luck.

And, by the way, if you ever want to join me for lunch, you’ll find me at Hy-Vee.

I’ll be the guy with the plate full of salad and a tall glass of unsweetened iced tea.