Marcjnr (Wellington, New Zealand) on 10/09/2013

I am 45 yrs old and I have suffered from Sleep apnea since 2000. My weight ballooned from being 65kg to 104kgs in 2005. My dad had it really bad when we were young and unfortunately, all his six children inherited his illness. Life before I was diagnosed was an absolute nightmare. I was a walking zoombie for over 5 years until my brother told me I had it. I struggled for so long trying to get thru each day without falling asleep - Anyone with this illness knows exactly what I am talking about. My job suffered, my social life & homelife suffered. I chose to work night shifts as working days were a struggle as I couldnt get up early enough to get going. Normal people only need 6-8 hours - I needed 10-12 even 14 hours sleep to manage. If it wasnt for my brother, I would probably be 6-foot under or would have had a stroke by now. My husband & kids kept telling me to go see the doc. The doc wasnt much good as he never suspected sleep apnea with the symptoms I gave him. I found out what was wrong with me when several years ago the entire family went to a 1st birthday for my niece and we travelled a fair distance to get there. I feel asleep on the couch when we got to our destination while the others stayed up to prep for the next days cooking. My brother kept waking me up during the night because I had stopped breathing several times & they couldnt believe how loudly I snored. In the morning, he told me what was wrong with me and said to see the doc. The doc checked my blood pressure and told me I was walking dead because it was so high, he sent me to get tested and now I sleep with a CPAP machine and life has now been easier however no matter how much weight I try to loose, it always returned. I eat a balanced diet and am quite active however the weight just kept piling back on. Just by chance, I discovered by self diagnosis by surfing the net, I have what they call pneumoparotid - swollen parotid glands. Pneumoparotitis most commonly occurs in wind instrument players, glass blowers, and scuba divers. Those with sleep apnea will also develop this due to the blockage that occurs when the airways are blocked usually by the tongue, forcing the air into the parotid glands causing them to swell. I have looked like I had mumps for years! Even with my breathing machine, I couldnt get rid of the pneumoparotitis. To combat the embarrassing facial side bumps, I tired the ACV but couldn't stand the taste and smell so I suck on sour lemon drops & drink lemon water during the day and at night I drink baking soda water before bed (1 tspn in glass of warm water). The baking soda water is great for air and gas exertion - is working like a charm! I dropped 2. 5kgs in the first week (5wks ago) and have continued to loose the weight slowly, and as for the facial mumps - almost gone! I was told having the machine can help you loose weight and stabilize your HBP. My HBP stabilized some time ago but I do look forward to the day when I can throw the meds down the toilet because I wont need them anymore. I am looking forward to the day when my sleep apnea has been eliminated forever. My dad was not an overweight man however he got it from his dad and it didnt help that he smoked a pack a day, stressed and from being a workaholic and sadly died too young because of it. I still have all my siblings alive but I don't want any of us to pass the way my dad did - a massive heart attack.