Apr 23, 2003 10:32 AM
3193 Views
(Updated Apr 23, 2003 10:35 AM)
Sleeplessness.toss and turn.doze for 15 minutes.awake again.make the house cooler.warmer.open windows.close the windows.warm milk(YUK).warm bath.caffeine free tea.toss some more.BUZZZZZZZ the alarm goes off and it's time to wake up and start your day on maybe an hour or two of sleep. Sound familiar?
I'd been going through this for months on end. My Doctor gave me pills to relax me and finally a prescription for sleeping pills. I took my pill 1/2 hour before bedtime as the Doctor had recommended.I tossed and turned, dozed on and off and still NO SLEEP! I was also getting sinus headaches at least twice a week.
Finally I was sent to a specialist. An ear, nose and throat Doctor. He did CT scans, took x-rays and an MRI. He sent me to a lab to have a sleep apnea study done. Negative! But the Doctor kept on running tests and finally came to the conclusion of my problem.
The reason for my sleeplessness was due to a nasal obstruction! I had a severely deviated septum and enlarged nasal turbinates.(small tissues in the nasal passage itself).
I told the Doctor how I tossed and turned never getting more than an hour or two of sleep and always woke up with a sore, dry throat in the morning.
He explained it was because there was never enough air getting through the nasal passages, so I had to sleep with my mouth open, which dried my throat and made it sore. The reason I didn't realize it during the day, was because during the day we speak to other people allowing us to breath through our mouths and when we feel dry throat, we drink!
The Doctor recommended a laser type surgery which would shrink the turbinates and shave off the deviation of my nasal septum, thus allowing my sinus' to drain properly and allow me to breathe through my nose.
I had the surgery 2 months ago and was just recently taken off the medication(a steroid spray) and I can actually breath 100% through my right nostril and 80% through my left!
Best of all, I can now sleep! I don't have trouble breathing, my throat doesn't dry out and become raw and even my sinus headaches have stopped.
If you have trouble sleeping, and nothing seems to work, see a specialist.and get some much needed ZZZZZZZ's!
