Living with Sleep Apnea

I am a 335 lb, 27 year old man that recently retired from being active duty Army for just over 7 years. I have had severe OSA for nearly 2 years(that I know of). I was on a CPAP about a year ago and had no luck. I was getting more rest without the machine. I went into the Army Hospital to see the ENT Doctor. He said I am a very viable candidate for the throat/tongue surgery to try to fix my apnea issues. So he put in a referral for me to get the surgery done.

Turns out being in a medboard already equals this surgery wasn’t going to happen. Why waste Surgery on a soldier getting out… Well I suppose. I severely hurt my back and ankle in Iraq a few years back. That is why I was already getting medboarded. They tried to add sleep apnea to the list but the wanted to leave that for VA to deal with along with the many other issues I still have.

There I go side tracking… my bad.

Well needless to say I have gained over 100 lbs in the past 2 years and I barely eat anything to gain so much. I live with a constant sleepy feeling and usually have headaches for 4 hours or so after waking from my rest sessions. I can lay down and pass out for up to 15 hours and get up feeling like crap and my throat feeling like I was debating all night long (Biggest Chainsaw In The World). I also have random days I like to call “crash days” where I get so tired I pass out and all becomes a blur.

I have slight memory of people waking me up but I lacked the physical and mental willpower to get up. I feel like a zombie 80% of the day. My only saving grace has been coca cola classic. It gives me that 20% power a day to get some things done in my life. I need to get a job but I think I won’t be able to make it in the real world when I can barely take care of myself at home. I am sure depression is a big part of it. Thanks to the army pointing fingers at me calling me fat and constantly saying I have sleep apnea because I am fat. That just doesn’t give me that warm fuzzy feeling. I am now out and trying to deal with the VA and Tricare Prime to get my life at least viable. We will see what happens.

Thank You for reading. Please comment and I will read and reply asap