Hale in 2020s

Although I slept slightly better, I still woke up a lot and only got six hours of sleep, so I got up exhausted again. I napped for an hour and nine minutes, but I had the same problem—I wasn’t getting enough air through my nose and had to open my mouth and force a breath every so often. I really hope the ENT is right when he says the CPAP should push the air through! I was on my stomach, though, and I don’t plan to be much when I get the CPAP.

I still don’t know if anything else is affecting my lungs, but they’re not too bad. I’m much more worried about my sleep, allergies, and bladder. I may also have to train myself to use two pillows, but I hope not. Training myself to stay off my stomach will be challenging enough. I know I trained myself to stay off my back, but that was never my favorite sleeping position either.

A little bit of hope is coming in the mail today in the form of that Hale nasal dilator the second pulmonologist recommended. I doubt it will get here before I crash, though. What gives me some hope is that it’s supposed to open the nose wider than the silicone ones I’ve been using and the strips. When I put the tips of my nails just under the sides of my nose and spread them wide, it makes a huge difference compared to the other devices I’ve tried and this should act similarly. This won’t do anything for my sleep apnea, which is caused by my throat and tongue structure, but hopefully, it will help with the allergy issues since I’m a nose breather in my sleep. I will definitely update this journal on how it goes.

I made portobello mushrooms for the first time earlier. I forgot to get cottage cheese, so I used plain Greek yogurt instead, and it still came out good. The rat loved it, of course. She was running around earlier—when she’s happy and full of playful energy, she hops around the room. I love it when she gets all hoppy. At least one of us has energy! I think the nap helped, though. After I have a bite to eat, I’ll get on the road before doing some coloring.