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I am not a US mental health professional but I do have Sleep Apnea.

For years I had been a heavy snorer, I had figured the condition was normal and ignored it. As with everyone we discover that we are not immortal, we get older a little heavier and our health changes. In my case I started passing out, standing up, driving a car, sitting down, at work - I believe it is called micro sleeps. One minute I was awake another on the ground, at night I would wake up gasping for breath.

What was interesting about the experience were the hallucinations or sequences as one tried to fill in the gaps of the microsleep episodes. For example I would fall asleep watching the Science Fiction channel, I would start watching Stargate, wake up on Farscape and then again on StarTrek. Ones mind does not stop working, I found myself trying to weave the plots together into one very odd theme, it usually resulted in massive headaches in the morning.

In 2005 some events occurred and I went in to see my doctor, he had me get the sleep tests. The technician who tested me said that my blood oxygen levels were around 50%, they should have been in the 90's, he was impressed. They gave me this machine called a CPAP machine with a mask that makes one think that one is in a Sigorney Weaver film. I was really reluctant to put the thing on as I had been a restless sleeper - best sleep ever, put the mask on, lay down and it was the next morning I was in the same position.

Occasionally I do miss the really wierd "dream" sequences during the night but if one suspects they have this condition they should look into the CPAP solution it is not as bad as it appears and it can be put up.

Again I state that I am not a US mental health professional but I believe that having the condition allows me to at least make the suggestion that one look into the condition before one has a micro sleep driving down the interstate.

Learn more about this author, Jowey Styxx.
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