I feel like I’m falling apart. First, it was my headaches that have become more frequent and severe. Then I was diagnosed with a severe case of sleep apnea. Now, and since Sunday, I have had a sharp pain in my lower right abdomen. Since this could mean any number of severe conditions, I called to see my doctor on Monday. I couldn’t get in to see him, so they had me see another doctor on staff. The good thing is after her exam, she ruled out appendicitis, but she couldn’t figure out what else was wrong. So she ordered some blood tests. The blood tests came back normal, no infection, but one enzyme was off. That enzyme often points to something is wrong with the gallbladder. It could be the pancreas or liver, but usually the gallbladder. Drinking alcohol could also mess with this enzyme, but I rarely drink alcohol. So with the thought that it might be my gallbladder, she ordered an ultrasound. I have to go to the hospital at 10:30 this morning to have that done. I’ve had to fast since midnight, so I’m not in a good mood without my coffee or breakfast. Anyway, I’ll keep you guys updated. Getting older kind of sucks sometimes. There always seems to be a new health problem.

I’d been told that I would not get the results back for 5-6 weeks; however, a doctor from the clinic called urgently yesterday to tell me I had sleep apnea. Apparently, it is severe sleep apnea with events occurring over 100 times a minute. At night, my blood oxygen level drops dramatically. The good news is that it comes back to normal as soon as I start breathing again. She was going to call the medical supply company and get me set up to get a CPAP as soon as possible. People keep telling me that this could be a miracle life changer. We’ll see. However, studies have shown that obstructive sleep apnea is a cause of hypertension, headaches, memory loss, high blood glucose levels, and a myriad of other health conditions. As I said, we’ll see, and I’ll keep you informed.