Women and Sleep: My Personal Journey

By Kelly Fletcher

Beginning around menopause (which for me was age 44), sleep quickly became my enemy. It didn’t help that I had started my own business 4 years earlier and was single mom to a teenage son. I was struggling with middle-age weight gain, stress and anxiety. I tried everything from “winding down with wine,” to Benadryl and Ambien. During this time, I noticed that I could fall asleep, but could rarely stay asleep. I also noticed I would sometimes awaken suddenly slightly gasping for air. Simply put, I was frustrated and utterly exhausted. For years.

After feeling like a walking zombie for 6 years, I walked into FusionSleep. In full disclosure FusionSleep is a client of the marketing communications firm I own, and I was there to conduct a branding session with key employees. For several days, I was immersed in all things sleep. As I learned more, I began to get a sinking feeling that I had sleep apnea. I was embarrassed and incorrectly berated myself by buying into the often-misunderstood scenario that being overweight or obese is the sole reason for sleep apnea. I beat myself up telling myself over and over that if I just lost 25 pounds I wouldn’t be having this problem. Plus, I didn’t know one other woman with sleep apnea. It’s a man’s medical condition, right?

I began to further self-educate by reading books including Ariana Huffington’s The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time, and later, the fascinating Why We Sleep, by Matthew Walker, PhD.

I finally mustered my courage and made an appointment with FusionSleep. I elected to do the at-home sleep study which was very easy to administer. When I went for the follow-up appointment with Dr. Riney (she is fantastic, by the way), I found out that I had stopped breathing more than 30 times during the ONE NIGHT sleep study. No wonder I couldn’t stay asleep! I had sleep apnea and PAP therapy was recommended.

Let’s face it. PAP therapy isn’t sexy, and no one is thrilled with the prescription. However, it beats not breathing and walking around in a trance. I’ve since learned that post-menopausal women are at a higher risk for sleep apnea, but often go undiagnosed because we believe it’s a “man’s health condition.” In addition, I learned from Dr. Riney that sleep apnea can be hereditary and is often not related to weight gain.

The ongoing support I receive from FusionSleep is above and beyond. Sleep therapists check in on me and offer tips for remaining compliant, answer questions and assist with resupply needs.

I volunteered to write this blog because I want to help other women. So often, we take care of everyone but ourselves, but if we’re not sleeping, we may not be around, and we certainly won’t be as present for our loved ones.