Episode 93 - My CPAP Machine Saved My Life — And It Has Nothing To Do With My Weight

I have been using a CPAP machine for almost twenty years. And I will tell you right now — it is one of the best health decisions I have ever made. But for a long time, I did not fit anyone's picture of a "sleep apnea patient." I was not overweight. I was not the person in the pamphlets. I was just a mom, running on empty, sleeping nine to ten hours a night and waking up feeling like I had not slept at all.

In this episode, I am sharing my personal diagnosis story — and why it matters for every woman who has ever normalized her own exhaustion.

In this episode:

• What sleep apnea actually is — and why women so often go undiagnosed
• Sam's personal story: the diagnosis that changed everything, from an exhausted new mom to a 20-year CPAP user
• The myths about sleep apnea that are still doing damage — including the one about weight
• What the research actually says about menopause and sleep apnea risk
• Why we have normalized exhaustion — and why it is time to stop
• How stress shows up in your body in ways you are probably ignoring
• What a CPAP actually is — and why it might be the least scary thing you have ever been afraid of

When my youngest daughter was about eighteen months old, I went to my family doctor and told her I was sleeping nine to ten hours a night — and still completely exhausted. She asked me one question I had never heard before: what is the quality of your sleep? That question sent me to a sleep specialist, and eventually to a diagnosis of mild obstructive sleep apnea — eleven breathing interruptions per hour.

Mild. And it was levelling me.

I was not overweight when I was diagnosed. I was a personal trainer. But I was stressed to the absolute maximum — new home, two babies, career change, entrepreneurship — all of it running simultaneously while I performed composure. Sound familiar?

In this episode I also talk about what the research is telling us about menopause and sleep apnea — because the connection is real, it is significant, and it is being missed. Postmenopausal women are two to three times more likely to develop sleep apnea than premenopausal women. And because the symptoms — exhaustion, brain fog, mood changes — overlap so heavily with menopause itself, it often goes undetected for years.

This is the episode for every woman who has ever said "I am just tired" and kept moving. Your body is talking. It is time to listen.

Thank you for listening and I would like to remind you that Walk with Sam - Walking Group - is available for anyone to join, ANYWHERE!

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Thank you for listening.