by: David Parton
Holy Crow! I am still awake. Amazing. It didn't always used to be like this. I could never get out of bed in High School. I could never stay awake in class, either. I never had any energy and I was depressed all the time.
In my thirties my doctor said I was Manic/depressive or Bi-polar and put me on Lithium and anti-depressants. I was till sleepy all the time and my bouts of sudden naps at inappropriate moments increased. I just couldn't accomplish anything without running out of steam. That bummed me out further.
I really didn't notice any change with all the meds except for the side effects so stopped taking them. I waited for my world to cave in but nothing happened. I was exactly the same without the dry mouth, headaches and pill-popping. I just concluded that I was just your average, run-of-the-mill screw-up and I would never amount to much.
Meanwhile, I kept under-performing at my job and I lived in a state of anxiety that I would get fired. They said I had a bad attitude but I was just depressed and exhausted. It's pretty hard to be sunny and bright when you have your own black cloud raining on you. My nap attacks were frequent. I would feel my stamina draining away like someone pulled a plug in my energy sink. A couple minutes warning was all I had. Enough time to sneak into a toilet stall and take a 15 minute snooze. They probably thought I had a colon problem. Hee hee.
I lacked the energy to keep my girlfriends socially entertained so they disappeared. I crashed several cars. My memory failed frequently and my cognitive skills were mushy. So what the hell was wrong with me?
By chance I read an article about sleep disorders. I turns out I suffer from not one but two different sleep disorders. Probably because I am a Gemini: the twins.
I was bagged all the time because I could not attain deep sleep. Result: daily fatigue. Why? Because of Sleep Apnea. That's when your windpipe partially collapses when you lie down and your oxygen flow is restricted. Your brain panics and goes into survival-mode. Respiration is increased, your heart beats like crazy and you awaken gasping for air only to fall asleep immediately and the cycle resumes. In my case, this would happen 30-60 times in a night. And I was classified as a mild case! The funny thing is in the morning I thought I had an uninterrupted night's sleep.
The other disorder, Narcolepsy, is caused by some chemical imbalance in my brain. The result: no matter how much sleep I would get I would still fall asleep at the drop of a hat. I tried to fight it but I would still nod off a dozen times during the day. Nothing like the crunch of my bumper striking another speeding car to snap me awake again. Or the sudden pain of a fat-lip as I walked into a wall.
Sometimes I would get slapped by Narcolepsy's little brother: Cataplexy. That is defined as a sudden loss of muscle tone. I would leap up to answer the phone and collapse in a heap. My knees buckle sometimes and I have to grab on to something until it passes. That is if I can still lift my arms. The weirdest thing is Cataplexy can be triggered by strong emotion. Often when I laugh I can't hold my head upright or control the muscles in my face.
There is a point in your sleep cycle when your body goes through something similar to paralysis. Good thing, too, you might just punch out your husband when you are having a bad dream. Since my body doesn't get much of this due to my lousy sleep it kicks in during the day whenever it feels like it. Yeah. Big Fun.
One good thing developed: My depression evaporated once I discovered what was wrong with me. It's nice to know most of my problems stem from a flaw in my metabolism not my character.
I tried different exercise regimens,different diets, respiratory appliances and all sorts of stuff the doctor recommended. One pill seemed to make me more alert but it was expensive and had unpleasant side-effects. Yuck. Nothing I tried seemed to make a difference. Did I mention there is no cure for these things?
Several weeks ago, a very energetic friend of mine suggested I try this product he was using. He is in his 70's and has more stamina than a bushel-full of puppies. I thought what the hell. Bring it on. Within the first month, I noticed a huge energy boost. My memory and concentration seemed to improve and I rarely fall asleep during the day anymore.
I decided that Tahitian Noni Juice would become a part of my daily regimen. I am 42 years old and I feel like my life is just beginning. I have also noticed a reduction in daily stress levels and a general sense of well-being.
I was so impressed I bought the company.
Not really. But I did become a distributor of Tahitian Noni Juice.
Maybe, you think this sounds like a cheesy, late-night infomercial. I really don't care. This is my story and my blog, so deal with it.
If you have health issues like I do it might benefit you to check it out. I started this blog to spread the word about Tahitian Noni Juice, so if you get it through me or someone else it's all good. It may make a big difference in your life like it did for me, so you really owe to yourself to take a look.
Here is the link http://www.tahitiannoni.com/2036981
-David Parton 2005