Poor sleep drove me insane, and my long path to recovery

Not mentioned in the article but I also tried this. It worked in the short term but it was ultimately not the root cause as my symptoms persisted past it

This makes me really happy, and will probably make me try again to fix my own sleep issues. They're eerily similar, except I haven't found a clear cause yet. Decade old maintenance insomnia, I wake up a 1-2 hours earlier than needed.

I did all the obvious testing and keep hitting hit a brick wall. Polysomnography, SSRIs, MRIs, therapy, drugs, every supplement on the market... I was clearly told not 6 months ago that every avenue is tapped out. Except I had no idea UARS existed, nor that allergies may have something to do with sleep quality - and both are legitimate directions to follow in my case.

I started getting sleep issues during the beginning of university and during a bodybuilding phase but I treated it as "that's what life is, you don't sleep. Welcome to adulthood." after growing up with an over weight and extreme snorer father who was very much on the stance of "shut up and be tired, that's what life is"

By this point I was already getting to where it clearly wasn't normal and it's extremely affecting my life but I was so weak and exhausted that daily chores felt like I was carrying 20lbs weights on my arms. After years of broken sleep, it completely shipwrecked my schooling and gym routines. This lasted 3-4 years

I thought it was backpain ruining my sleep, since I would wake up 3x a night with a sore neck and back. I decided to check with a doctor. This did nothing, they told me I was too young to have these issue and just needed to fix my routine. I tried some basic tips, fixed sleeping times, new bed, new office chair. etc. Didn't change a thing.

I ended up learning that I snore. Being single all of university, I never heard this. I started looking into this on my own and it was an absolute eye opener [0][1][2].

I never realized how important nose breathing is. It's not at all the same as just breathing through you mouth. I always had issues breathing through my nose when sleeping and always just breathed through my mouth. I would wake up with a completely dry mouth. This is bad for your teeth, it changes your jaw structure, and allows you to choke during sleep. I always assumed snoring was an annoying but harmless thing that guys did but it was your body literally fighting death each night. It's no joke.

I watched one video of someone describing exactly what I was having and he said he would use nasal strips and a piece of tape to cover your mouth[0]. I thought it was nuts but I was willing to do anything. I gave it a shot and just using those nasal strips was absolutely mind blowing. I have been missing this oxygen my whole life. I gave it a shot with the mouth taping and I couldn't believe how well it worked. I was having dreams again, I haven't dreamt in years. Deep vivid dreams. I would wake up and just be 100% the next day. My back and neck pain went away with it as well which turns out was it being caused by me tossing and turning all night.

I have not been diagnosed with sleep apnea but I'm sure I would. The sleep study waitlist is 3-4 years in my country so it will be a long time before I can get the chance. I fully understand, this is NOT the recommended approach but for some reason this whole topic is never discussed. You need to find this out on your own and when you do, it's not treated as a "medical problem". Getting diagnosed with sleep apnea doesn't even get your CPAP machine covered under medical insurance. It's a $1-2k machine you need to pay out of pocket. Plus distilled water. For a broke student, I did what I could and it absolutely changed everything. If that means $30/month in nose strips and a roll of medical tape every 3rd month, I'll do it.

It seemed a bit dangerous to use a piece of duct tape with holes in it, so instead I use a tiny tiny piece of medical tape so if I need to open my mouth I can. It's more so used as a passive reminder to my jaw to stay shut and I wake up with that tape still in the same place.

No, Youtubing your way to a diagnosis is not how you fix issues but it really felt like no one was helping or taking it serious.

[0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8JzXEoT9LI [1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xivXNQPMGHA [2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VvMLcwG9KQ

I will add you can get a second hand off a marketplace cpap machine without a prescription. I think many go this route as with insurance they can take it away if they see you are struggling to use it.

Good to know. I almost went down the route of getting adhd meds.

Yeah a baseline is key. Having a personality baseline is important as well, a personality change was one of the biggest indicators something was very very wrong