Cleverly, or maybe not so much, borrowed that line from the famous verse, Stay….just a little bit longer….say you will! Inserted my sleep issues into the line intentionally. Well. I wont bore you with too many details…Those who know me well know that when I do not get enough sleep I have the potential to crash and burn quite literally. To make matters worse, this exact time of year I run the risk of becoming incredibly symptomatic with my primary mental health diagnosis of BPI disorder. So I have some environmental factors working against me. Lucky for me, I have a very good treatment team, peer and family support, and self-awareness to know that I must tread lightly. My medication is working thankfully, just enough to keep me from teetering the wrong way with my mood fluctuations. Now I am putting in place to my close friends and family. I will allow any check-ups generally and promise not to get salty. (I will state however, not to get used to this. I will enact boundaries as needed :) )

So back to the sleep story. I recently underwent a sleep study for my general mental and physical health that has been greatly sacrificed as a result of decreased well rested sleep. I was diagnosed as a result of the study with the most severe case of sleep apnea the pulminologist had seen in months. They found through the study that I had 95 occurences or “apneas” per hour, where my airway either tightens or closes completly. My O2 levels during the study were as low as 50% at times. I have always been a mouth breather. Add sedentary work in front of the computer, continued bad eating habits, covid, stress, and putting my general well being in last place, is a perfect mix for rapid weight gain. Not to mention psychiatric atypical anti-psychotics and mood stabilizers that I have been prescribed for the bi-polar dx, have a tendency to add weight as well. I have struggled further for the past year with quitting smoking, at times subbing oral fixation with snacking. I have gained nearly 100 lbs in two short years, after I had just recently lowered my weight to a healthy limit in 2018 with combined diet and exercise. The rapid weight gain, even under the guidance of a nutrionist (who strangely enough her first name is also Sarah, and first initial of her last name starts with G…i know…weird) I met with monthly and still managed to gain regardless. I have made the careful decision in the last six months to undergo Gastric Sleeve bariatric surgery. Workups and consults, nutrition classes and sleep studies. I am almost officially a go for scheduling.

Long story short, I have used the C-pap machine for sleep therapy now for one full week. My O2 levels are back to a healthy 95%, I am extending slowly the time that I am sleeping soundly. The app on my phone is connected with bluetooth technology to my C-Pap machine, storing the data to allow me to view it and my treatment team of multiple drs at mayo clinic. Below, is the data from last night’s sleep record. I slept for 6 full hours nearly with the C-pap machine. To me, this is the best news I have received all week. I have been able to drop alittle weight on my own accord with the sleep improving. 5lbs lost in the past week, and I have been walking 45 minutes in the morning, 3-4x a week and lifting light weights. I am seeing improvement and I am working hard mentally and emotionally to preserve my sanity and not go into hypo-mania. Trust me, this is proving to be very difficult. I was able to stay focused at work, with some minor distractions. I am now heading home after a long productive work day. My goal for tomorrow is to take a much needed rest day (mental health day). I will report back to you what happens and how restful the day proves to be. So far only one major chore on my itinerary. I have the priveledge of escorting one of my GAL kids to a “lunch date”, which is actually to a walk-in drug test for her. She is a sneaky teen doing silly things. I look forward to her lunch date and escorting her to the appointment. Otherwise…rest….that is all I intend to do tomorrrow. After all, tomorrow is another day!!

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