Who knew snoring was a warning?

OK; this is ridiculous to think about because I have probably snored since I was in my 20's and skinny.  But who knew that snoring could be a sign of a dangerous problem?  Certainly not I.  Now it appears that my heart damage could have been caused by sleep apnea.  When you stop breathing while sleeping, your heart has to pump wildly to keep you alive, thus causing damage, enlargement, and ultimately failure.  Treatment is wearing a crazy thing on your face that makes you look like Miss Piggy.  No one thinks that is fun, but consider the alternative and you can find a way to deal with it, right?  

Blood tests after 3 months without Crestor showed all of my levels going up - bad cholesterol and triglycerides.  So I'm guessing that my cardiologist was correct when he said it was hereditary.  Dang, I guess those guys do get something out of medical school.  My new PCP (did I mention that I love her?) put me on a much lower dose of a generic Lipitor and I am not having side effects anymore now.  

Still tired most of the time....but saw my cardiologist yesterday and he said drink more water and exercise more.  Have to admit that the cold weather has me slacking on the walking, but I will start again.  I have gone off almost all sugar and white bread to try and get my triglycerides down too.  It is not as hard to find 100% whole wheat pastas and breads as it used to be.  But I still refuse to pay $3 for whole wheat macaroni instead of .89 for white, so no macaroni for now.  

Will have another echocardiogram before the end of the year to check my ejection fraction again.  Until then, I just keep feeling great and trying to exercise and drink more water.  I feel so blessed that I feel so good.

Seriously, if you snore, please talk to your doctor about a sleep test; it may just save your heart.

Tari

Wonderful News about My Son

Boy, I re-read the last post and I made the Sleep Study sound horrible.  Little did I know that the second one would be almost as bad, just in a different way.  I changed offices this time, thinking that perhaps one closer to home would be more hospitable.  Little did I know......  So I show up at my appointed time and again, it's a little creepy because you are going to an office building at night and there is no one there except you and the technician and perhaps another patient or two who you don't see.  I think sleep apnea must be a secret shameful ailment because you apparently aren't ever supposed to see your fellow sufferers.  This time there was a big hairy centipede in my water cup, dirty sheets, and stained pillows.  But at least the technician was nice, just like last time.  So after feeling like I couldn't breathe (the mask thingy) and I was gonna throw up (a different mask thingy), I got adjusted and actually slept.  In a couple of weeks I'll get my very own face distorting mask and perhaps be able to sleep and breathe at the same time.

Fitness Pal is great.  I haven't been as faithful as I should be but I am back "on the wagon" today.  It sends you snotty messages when you don't log in for a while.  It actually tells you when your fellow FP friends....."so and so hasn't logged in for a week".  And of course then I can send her a message like, "do you need a Snickers bar for encouragement?"  I especially like the messages I get when I've went over my calorie count for the day and I get, "If you continue to eat like this, you will weigh (some amount way over what I weigh now) by November 1st.  I wish you could talk back to FP; I sure would have some comebacks.

I did a blood test on Saturday and should know the results next week when I see my new GP again.  I can't wait to hear about my cholesterol and triglycerides since I went off Crestor.  (sarcasm font).  I did find out that iron drops have nothing to do with dilated cardiomyopathy; too much iron can only cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Children's Hospital is the best!  We took my son for three hours of testing and consultation.  We met with all kinds of doctors and were very relieved to find out that he does NOT have DCM.  Thank you Jesus!

Here's to your health!