Marion Weatherburn says she was “just so debilitatingly tired” and growing more and more tired seemingly every day.
Although there were obvious reasons for her fatigue (running a household with a husband and two children and working), one day about eight years ago, she knew “it wasn’t right or normal tiredness”.
“Then I actually fell asleep while I was driving,” she says. “I was driving home from work one day. One eye closed, then the other … but then I caught myself in time. I didn’t have an accident or anything, but it scared me, so I made an appointment to go to see the doctor.” **
Her doctor referred Marion — a Perth-based office worker and mother of two children, Ryan, 13 and Jesse, 11 — to a specialist, who conducted a sleep study.
“I was in hospital overnight, where they monitor your brain, breathing, snoring and leg movement,” she explains. “And my results showed I stopped breathing 37 times an hour.”
Marion was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea, a condition in which breathing is temporarily interrupted during sleep. This not only disrupts sleep, but also starves the body of vital oxygen.
Sleep apnoea is more commonly associated with men and being overweight, but Marion is neither of these!
“It’s very unusual for someone like me to have sleep apnoea,” she says. “Which just goes to show it’s something women should be more aware of. I think that women tend to put tiredness down to other, day-to-day things. But if you think you’re overtired, consult a doctor and ask about a sleep study.”
Marion’s treatment involves the use of what’s called a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine, a pump that blows air through a mask worn over the nose while she sleeps.
“There are other treatment options — including a mouthguard or sometimes surgery — but this is what’s working for me,” she says. “I noticed a big difference after only two or three days.
“Now, if I don’t use it, for any reason, I’m a zombie … the crankiest, tiredest woman around! But when I do, I feel alive and have energy.
“So if you think you’re more tired than you should be, talk to your doctor, because it could well be treated.”
For more information, contact Sleep Disorders Australia: (02) 9990 3514 or e-mail: [email protected]
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