![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Of the several things that are wrong with me, perhaps the most debilitating is EDS, or Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, one of the symptoms (or results) of sleep apnoea. The apnoea constantly wakes you, preventing you from reaching the deeper stages of sleep; so no matter how much sleep you get, you're always tired. It's a bit like how, if you try to walk across Antarctica, you need more kilojoules to stay alive than your body can actually absorb - so no matter how much you eat, you will eventually starve to death.
EDS is insidious, sneaking up on you, and disguising itself as other problems; for a decade I thought mine was drowsiness from antidepressants. I have it right now and have had it all week. The solution in my case is simple: clean my CPAP headgear. Oil and dirt from the skin build up and prevent the mask from sealing properly. It only takes a moment to wash it in warm soapy water, and it almost always fixes the problem.
I seem to need to constantly relearn this. I'm sure I've posted about it before. But of course one of the cruel and sneaky things about EDS - like depression - is that it robs you of your ability to think straight.
So anyway, what I have to do - besides cleaning my mask, which is done - is to recognise that no matter how hard I try (or how much coffee I drink :), exercise, writing, and running errands are all going to be next to impossible until I get some decent kip. Just take the bloody day off, Kate.
EDS is insidious, sneaking up on you, and disguising itself as other problems; for a decade I thought mine was drowsiness from antidepressants. I have it right now and have had it all week. The solution in my case is simple: clean my CPAP headgear. Oil and dirt from the skin build up and prevent the mask from sealing properly. It only takes a moment to wash it in warm soapy water, and it almost always fixes the problem.
I seem to need to constantly relearn this. I'm sure I've posted about it before. But of course one of the cruel and sneaky things about EDS - like depression - is that it robs you of your ability to think straight.
So anyway, what I have to do - besides cleaning my mask, which is done - is to recognise that no matter how hard I try (or how much coffee I drink :), exercise, writing, and running errands are all going to be next to impossible until I get some decent kip. Just take the bloody day off, Kate.
