When you find yourself saying "I'm a light sleeper"...

Until the last few months I really had no idea or understanding of what that phrase actually means.  To someone who is chronically tired, falling asleep during the day, and just not feeling well at all, those words come to have a greater meaning upon discovering that being in a state of 'light sleep' most of the night can have serious consequences, especially over the long haul.

I can't tell you how many times over the past 15 years I've said "I'm a light sleeper."  My kids are grown with kids of their own, but I remember as far back as the 70's, when my first son was born, how I would wake up quickly and thoroughly when they would make even the slightest sound.  It's 'mother's intuition' or 'mother's hearing,' as some call it.  But in the last 15 years I've come to accept this 'light sleeper' thing as simply remnants of that 'mother's hearing,' due in part to the fact that this works with my pets as well.  Just the slightest sound, especially when it sounds 'wrong'... I awaken.

Over the past 6 years or so, at a guess, my sleep patterns have gotten significantly 'off,' leaving me to awaken at ANY sound.  A car passing by my house, the sound of neighbors' voices, rain, thunder, someone just being awake in the same house I'm in, someone using the restroom... I can't really think of much that WON'T wake me.  And very recently I've come to discover the effects of this sort of sleep is cumulative and damaging.

Several months ago I purchased a machine called a ResMed S+ at Bed, Bath & Beyond.  ResMed is the company that makes CPAP machines and masks, and they made this device to help people measure the quality of sleep, help them fall asleep, and also to help them improve their quality of sleep.  What I discovered by using the S+ surprised and shocked me in many ways.  Using a scoring system, with 100 being the best score, I realized just how poor my sleep quality was.

Then I saw a pulmonologist who ordered, among other things, a sleep study where I discovered I have mild sleep apnea.

While the S+ couldn't tell me if I stopped breathing or how many times, it did measure REM, Light, and DEEP sleep, as well as how long it takes me to fall asleep on any given night.  The score is presented each morning.

The image at the top of this entry is a recent score from a couple of days ago.  This is not the worst score I've gotten--not even close.

As you can see, my DEEP sleep is incredibly short at 16 minutes.  That's BAD.  It should be closer to 1 1/5 hours.  REM sleep, on this particular night, isn't all that bad, really, as I've seen it as low as 15-20 minutes.  And LIGHT sleep always seems to dominate my sleep--also not good.

During light sleep a person is actually aware of their surroundings; sound, light, movement, etc.  And yes, this is why some people wake up easily--because they stay mostly in a state of LIGHT sleep.  This is not restorative sleep, btw.  REM mostly restores the mind, and DEEP mostly restores the body.  It's all quite important.

Again, what this machine does NOT show is the little awakenings, cessation of breathing, and other neurological events like restless leg syndrome, even teeth grinding!, which often comes with sleep apnea.  What it does actually show, however, is how many times I woke up completely and totally.  A person may or may not know they woke up every time, depending on how tired/sleepy you are.  So what's so telling about this?

Well, in MY case, as this ONE example shows, I woke up 8 times in one night; I've had many nights where this number has been as high as 14.  And remember, this is not counting the micro awakenings or cessation of breathing.  However, a sleep study has a very complex system of monitoring so that they can find the micro-awakenings, cessation of breathing, and so on.  In mild sleep apnea, for example, events happen 5-10 times PER HOUR.  In severe sleep apnea this can happen hundreds of times per hour.  Mild or severe, this can cause hypertension, heart attack, and stroke.

Basically what this means is---if you find yourself telling people you're a light sleeper, if sounds, movements in the bed, etc. wake you easily, and especially if you have symptoms of sleep apnea, you may want to consider bringing this up to your doctor; It could actually save your life!

In my personal case, I was actually quite amazed at how i felt after the second sleep study I had using a CPAP machine.  I felt pretty darn good the following day.  And while I'm having issues with my skin being tender and sensitive to the mask, etc., I know I'm going in the right direction.

Sleep apnea can cause heart arrhythmias such as Atrial Fibrillation--which is known for causing stroke.  Sleep apnea can also cause various other heart conditions including, but not limited to, congestive heart failure.  And if THAT isn't enough, do know that it can cause weight gain, muscle fatigue, back pain, joint pain not unlike that which comes with arthritis.. and more.

Do you snore?  That's a tell-tell sign of sleep apnea, btw.  Tired, sleepy during the day, snoring at night, fatigue... please listen to your body.

Damn thing won't stop beeping

Day 2 with the heart monitor, and it just won't stop beeping.  Okay, so there are pauses, but there have been SO many... I didn't get this many when I had SVT, AFib, and atrial flutter.  Weird.  For those who don't know how an event monitor works, you basically wear a portable EKG that comes with a monitor that records everything your heart does, and a wireless communicator that sends the information to the monitoring center.  Yes, you're actually monitored the entire time, 24/7, by real people.  This is not the same thing as a Holter monitor where you have the recorder only.

So when an 'event' occurs, one that you know of, you hit the button at the top of the monitor to mark the EKG, then the communicator asks what happened (palpitations, chest pain, shortness of breath, etc.), then it asks what you were doing when it happened (nothing, walking, exercising, etc.).  And whether or not you FEEL what happens, 'they' know..and it's recorded anyway and uploaded to the monitoring center's software.

When I speak of 'beeps,' there are actually 2 that happen during the event.  The first beep says something is happening and being recorded (blinking green light goes solid)...which takes approximately a minute, and the second beep says that event has been marked and is being uploaded (alternating blinking green and blue lights).  Nothing on the communicator asks you to state what happened or what you were doing because, if you didn't push the button, you're not aware anything happened anyway.

Basically, it beeps often when I'm standing, and it beeps nearly every time I bend over to pick something up off the floor.  It's also been beeping while laying down (like last night), and also when I'm just sitting and talking to someone.  This is not the way this usually goes for me, so I don't know what it's picking up.  Possibly PVCs, which most people have and aren't often aware of.  Thing is... I've never had a monitor go off as much as I have the past 24 hrs.  I have to wear this for 4 days, and it's procedure as a one year follow-up after a cardiac ablation.  It's meant to make sure episodes of the arrhythmia(s) aren't happening and determines wether or not the ablation(s) was/were successful or not.

Now, I have iron deficiency anemia, and it's NOT being treated.  So that could possibly explain anything my heart is doing.  Or it could be something related to the Grade II Diastolic Dysfunction I've recently be diagnosed with.  Not sure.  Honestly, I first thought I had a defective monitor, but the monitoring center ALWAYS knows if something's wrong and calls to recalibrate or decide if they need to send another monitor.  So far, no calls.  This is good in that nothing serious is happening. ;)

I know.  Blah blah blah.  I will get to more personal matters later on.

Slow but sure in this low-carb world

Plugging along and thinking that I could have done better without all of the conflicting information!  Thanks, whoever decided to change the way Dr. Atkins was doing things!  If it aint broke, don't fix it!  Hey, some cliches are still worth reciting and remembering!

For starters, I wasted money on the new edition of the Atkins book.  No joke.  Too much changed, and conflicts out that wazoo!!!  I mean, seriously??!!???  What in "High fat, low calorie" makes sense on ANY planet???

You should have seen me struggle to make THAT work.  No.  Really.  You shouldn't have.  8  days was enough.  Sheesh.  After coming to my senses I ordered the 2002 book and will use that from now on.  Hindsight and all that junk.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

I'm winging it and trying to adjust a few things to make it work.  Not easy, but not that difficult either.  Just takes a little perseverance on my part, and a whole lot of asking questions from the group I belong to.  One must never underestimate the power of such resources, trust me.

Feeling crappy overall, but after being stupid and using salt the way I did... hopefully I'll feel a little better over the next couple of days.  Heart isn't behaving as erratic since I've backed off the salt and upped the water, so that's good.  And I think I need to start taking my Vit-D again (5,000 mcg daily).  I tend to get deficient easily, so that could be one reason I'm feeling low.  Also ordered multi-vitamins that are sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free... basically crap-free.  Those will be here soon.

Begun using more of the pure virgin coconut oil in place of the olive oil, backed down my protein servings by 2 oz each and upped the fat/oils a bit.

So with all this said and done, we will see how things progress from here.

I'm tired and am way late for lunch.

Laters non-taters! lol ;p

Such erratic behavior!!!

Nothing to worry about.  Just uncomfortable.  VERY uncomfortable.  And I'm hoping it will be also short-lived, though I supposed there is a better way to word that given what the issue is.  The feeling of my heart speeding up out of nowhere and staying elevated.  The erratic beats and resulting anxiety, that isn't emotional but physical in nature, and it waking me up, and keeping me up at night.  The weird pressure in my throat...  all I could very well do without.  It's what's kept me absent from here for a few days (for the most part).

It's the salt, I think.  Having given it up for the most part, except for the occasional smidge added here  and there in a salad or something prior to this (except during juicing), I've maintained a low-sodium diet.  But.. I fell off the rails on that over the past couple of weeks, and REALLY derailed completely over the past week.  Yeah.  Not one of my brighter moves.

Still hurts, though.  Not bad.  Just so uncomfortable.  At least it's not lasting, these episodes.  They come and go.  Not terribly persistent, except they've been happening now for a couple of days.  I'm worn out.  Thought I was done with this brand of fatigue.  Body feels heavy, a little dizzy, arms aching... that sort of thing.  I'll get through it.

The above image was at one point today.. 137 bpm.  Ugh.   Haven't seen that in a while, and certainly not much since my ablations (for AFib, Atrial Flutter, and SVT.. for those who don't know).  And not at all in a few months.  But again, these are thankfully short-lived as far as duration.  Now if they would just stop.  That would be nice.

A cough.  A lump in the throat..that feeling like there's something stuck in your esophagus or just at the back of your throat, maybe a lump in the upper part of your chest... just a few of the fun things that go along with arrhythmia(s).  Not 'everyone' gets these, but they are super common.

The pic to the left...this was my heart, I guess, trying to get itself back into NSR.  Slowly but surely.  Down to 101 at this point.  Still looking erratic.

These episodes make me cough, too... which I don't like.  Not long coughing fits mind, you.  It's usually when my heart converts there's just enough pressure to make me cough like once.

This definitely puts a damper on things, I have to admit.

I'm using this time to drink more water and use a lot less salt and just take it easy.  Our house closing is this week and we have a bit to do in and around that--need to get a couple of estimates on getting the deck refinished, the floor of the sunroom included, most of the rooms painted, and possibly the carpet removed from the hallway and master bedroom removed and replaced with wood flooring.  Nothing wrong with the carpet, we just don't LIKE carpet.  We'll leave the other two bedrooms and the formal dining area carpeted for now.  The breakfast nook and kitchen have ceramic tile, and the living room has wood flooring so those are good.  And there are a couple of other things. Then there's the new bedroom set to be delivered in about 5 weeks.  But packing and such... oh boy.  I really need my strength to deal with that.

The pic at the left is when it came back into NSR (normal sinus rhythm), and boy was I glad.  Thing is, after these episodes... I still feel spent and achy.  Even the short bursts take so much out of me.

So anyone who prays, say a little prayer for me that this resolves soon. :)    It will.  I just want it resolved NOW... because it sucks.

Anyone reading who has an arrhythmia, or anyone who's had an ablation... please go easy on the salt if you're not already!  I'm pretty sure this is my issue.  "Could" be my MVP is getting worse, sure, but.. I think it's the salt.

It's worth it to cut back.  Salt makes things taste good, but really... not THAT good! lol

Be well everyone.  I'll post more 'interesting' things soon.... ;p

Day 11 - and the 'Other me" living in danger

Day 11:  It's been a really busy few days, so I've not had much spare time to check in.  I'm hoping I'll be a bit more on top of things and this won't happen too often.  So bear with me as I play a bit of catch-up this morning.

As far as busy goes, I'm finding that part of the busy is just getting used to all the juicing prep and cleanup.  I've chosen to do all the next day's juicing at once, rather than juice and drink right then and there.  Seems juicing on the fly would be a lot more cleanup, whereas simply rinsing certain parts of the juicer before the next batch makes more sense when it comes to time-management.  I'm also not 100% yet, so this will get better as "I" get better.  Which brings me to an important point I never really cleared up from the get-go... where I was/am coming from, and the "other me."

NOTE:  Understand that this is long, but it's the real "why" as to my reasons for juicing, and for taking my health into my own hands.  The 'fast forward' sections are my attempts at trying to make this long story as short as possible, while still getting the facts in.

My health a few years back was pretty good, and growing up I was in fabulous shape, pretty much living the lifestyle of an athlete.  I taught dance, performed dance (bellydance), and I spent pretty much most of my life involved in some form of dance.  I also was an avid gym-goer and hit the weights and cardio pretty hard.  Fast-forward.. then one day about 12 years ago I couldn't do it anymore.  ANY of it.  My gym sessions shrunk in time/duration.  I had to go lighter and lighter on the weights, and I left the gym pale, cold, and so tired that I had to go home and take a 3 hour nap.  My once 3 hour dance practices shrunk to that final practice that barely lasted 20 minutes before I crumpled to the floor and cried.  I knew it would be the last time I would dance.

My fatigue grew, as did my weight.  I became weaker, sluggish, you name it.  I tried diets, supplements, and I just finally gave up when nothing worked or made things better.  No health insurance meant spending money on doctors that I didn't have, doctors that didn't help.  Bare minimum of tests, and no answers.  In a year's time I gained 100 lbs.

I gained one hundred pounds in about one year!

Fast forward...I eventually got a handle on things and used Weight Watchers and lost all of the weight.  But I never felt right, never got my energy back, and never felt good.  I mean, how could someone lose that much weight and not feel like a million bucks?  More doctors, no answers, same ole same ole.

Life blew up and bad things happened and I began to feel even worse, energy crashing out of nowhere, feeling sick, etc.  The heart arrhythmia I had since I was a young girl was getting worse, but no doctor, even at the 'cheap clinic' I was going to would help.  Cardiologist, a young, arrogant one who was unwilling to look into things thoroughly, shrugged me off and sent me on my way, missed something critical.  Very critical...

In January 2013 I went to the ER with chest pains, hospitalized for tests, underwent a heart cath after failing a stress test.  The plumbing looked fine, they said.  Meaning, no blockages.  They mentioned 'electrical,' but no one was willing to help with that, and I couldn't afford to pursue it because I was alone, no health insurance, and my income couldn't afford the cost of seeing an electrophysiologist, much less the study to find out about my arrhythmia and why it was worse.

I have Mitral Valve prolapse with moderate regurgitation.  I've had Supraventricular Tachacardia (SVT) my whole life, but if they told my mother that's what it was called.. no one EVER told me that's what it was called.  No one told me I should have gone to the ER when my heart raced for more than 15 minutes (mine would go as long as one HOUR at 155-250+ BPM).  No one told me that was dangerous and that I should have my heart "cardioverted" to get it back into normal sinus rhythm.

After being released from the hospital in January, not sure exactly what date, my heart started racing again while standing in line at the grocery store.  I tried to count the beats, but this time it was far too fast for me to do so.  I'm guessing this was between 25-300 BPM.  It converted on its own after about 30 minutes.  These episodes had gotten worse over the months, maybe the last couple of years, and they lasted longer, and they caused pain.  This particular episode was no exception.  But I went home and went about my business.

Over time I began to have dizzy spells that I thought might be from my doing too much, because I had been taking all the overtime at work I could get, which meant I had 3 months of no days off.  My job was EXTREMELY stressful as well, and I was up very very late most nights talking to my boyfriend at the time and not getting much sleep.  My relationship with him was very rocky, to say the least, and I spent a lot of time crying, on edge, miserable, you name it.  I was stressed to the max almost 24/7.

April 23, 2013... just 3 months after I was hospitalized with chest pain.  I woke up that morning with severe dizziness.  I went to give my ferrets treats that morning and looked at my hand and didn't recognize what I was holding.  After a moment I thought I was holding my vitamins, then I realized I had my ferrets' treats... it was unsettling to say the least.  I called in to work and thought maybe I was just overworked and needed a day to rest.

The dizzy spells came and went that day, as did the odd confusion.

Approximately 10:30 pm that evening as I was watching a movie another dizzy spell hit.  And by "hit" I mean, it came on with the force of a mack truck going 80 MPH hitting a brick wall.  The room rocked (not quite spun), my heart began racing like crazy, I was violently sick, shaking.  I didn't know what to do but sit there and wonder what was happening to me.  I think I cried out, but I don't know for sure.  I think I did, though.  My thought was that I was having a stroke.  But the nausea made me wonder about my heart.  I just didn't know.  All I did know was that 'something slammed into me.'

I knew my phone was next to me on the table, but it took me a minute to get to it.

Fast forward...  I was hospitalized and diagnosed with a TIA, Transient Ischemic Attack, or "mini stroke."  By the time I was released, after all the tests, etc, five days later, they still didn't know "why."

"Stress triggers..." They said.  And they were right.  But only partially so.

Fast forward...  I now have health insurance, thank God!  In 2014 I found out that I not only have Supra-ventricular Tachycardia, but I also have Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter!  The reason I underlined the last two is that they are responsible for stroke!!!!!  And I was EXTREMELY lucky to  not have had a full-blown, massive ischemic stroke, according to my cardiologist, as well as statistics.  My best friend is paralyzed on one side of her body and lives in a assisted living facility with her elderly mom because her AFib caused a massive stroke so big that it almost killed her.

I will be on a blood thinner the rest of my life, and thankfully not on one that is affected by eating greens! lol  But my point is this:  You have to take care of YOURSELF!!!!

Be your own advocate, do your own research, arm yourself with knowledge!  And NEVER let any doctor make you feel like you're crazy for knowing your body and knowing when something is wrong!  That could be VERY dangerous.

I felt it when my heart wasn't acting right.  I knew my body well enough to know something wasn't right.

I had a nurse practitioner tell me that my chest pains (CAUSED BY AFIB and Atrial Flutter!!) were all in my head!  No joke!  She told me that I wasn't really feeling these 'palpitations' and that I was most likely imagining it because I was overly sensitive about it.

She said, "You're doing all this reading and research online and it's causing you to think you're having these symptoms."  She was telling me I was a hypochondriac.  She would tell me this every time I went there for a test or whatever.

After I obtained health care I was put on a 30 day event monitor by my new cardiologist (my first REAL cardiologist), and it took 10 days for them to catch the AFib!  When I went into his office he showed me the EKG strips and told me what it was, then told me I would have to be on 2 different types of heart medications, and a blood thinner (that I would be on for the rest of my life due to the TIA and the presence of AFib).

I sat there looking at the computer screen as said, "So I'm not crazy?"  And he laughed and said, "No!  You're not crazy.  You have a very dangerous situation here," and went on to tell me this was causing blood pressure spikes, and that I was at a dangerous risk for stroke and heart attack...

I sat there and cried.  I cried because, for once... someone believed me.

Fast forward... the medication for my 3 heart arrhythmias weren't working to manage the symptoms, etc., so my cardiologist referred me to an electrophysiologist in Birmingham, AL for EP study and radio frequency cardiac ablation(s).  This was near the end of July, 2014.  He had to burn a lot of the inside of my heart due to there being 3 arrhythmias to correct and pierce the septum in order to reach the pulmonary vein (where they cauterize for AFib), but it was worth it.  So far so good.  :)  Takes about a year to know how successful ablation is, but I'm confident that is was a great success.

Back to juicing...

Juicing isn't a magic bullet.  But it is a major step in helping you get healthy and take control where you have it.  Because...you may have a wonderful doctor.  Or you may not.  Do what you can on your own (duh! lol).

My cardiologist has made a career move and is no longer in this state, but my current one is okay.   My current GP is rather lazy, so... I have to do this in order to take control over my health.  Because I can't wait and let someone who's not invested in helping me get well to have control of the reigns.  It's up to me.  And once I have enough energy and vitality back, then I'm full-on looking for a better doctor who will be on board and plugged-in when it comes to his patients.

Whew!  Well... was that making up for a few days missed or what?!

I'm tired now. ;p

Noodles!  Off to drink some juice!