"very mild..I wouldn't even say moderate"

The title of today's blog is what the sleep tech told me at 4:50 this morning when she woke me up from my sleep study. Apparently, I did have some episodes of apnea but she described them as mild. So now my doc has to read the study and determine if she thinks I need to be put on a CPAP machine, in which I'll have to go back to do another sleep study. Curious about mild sleep apnea, I googled it and found the following blurbs:

• Mild Sleep Apnea is usually treated by some behavioral changes. Losing weight, sleeping on your side are often recommended. There are oral mouth devices (that help keep the airway open) on the market that may help to reduce snoring in three different ways. Some devices (1) bring the jaw forward or (2) elevate the soft palate or (3) retain the tongue (from falling back in the airway and blocking breathing). Sleep Apnea is a progessive condition (gets worse as you age) and should not be taken lightly.

• While oral devices are less cumbersome than CPAP and relatively simple to use, they are only effective for mild to moderate sleep apnea. There are also a number of troubling side effects from using this type of treatment – soreness; damage to/permanent change in position of the jaw, teeth, and mouth; saliva build-up; and nausea. It is vitally important to get fitted for these devices by a dentist that specializes in sleep apnea, and continue to see the dentist on a regular basis to monitor for any dental problems that may occur.

So....I'm betting that I'll be told to continue to lose weight and sleep on my side. Gone are my hopes that this is what was causing my fatigue.