I thought I was a failure because I needed a CPAP machine. Now I tell everyone how great I sleep.

The author realized that using a CPAP machine was helping her.

Courtesy of the author

• I resisted my sleep apnea diagnosis and hated using my CPAP machine.
• I avoided the full-face mask because I thought it meant failure.
• Once I found the right mask, my sleep and symptoms improved.

I'd done everything I could think of to not be diagnosed with sleep apnea. Yet here I was at 10:30 p.m., slamming shut the reservoir on my godforsaken CPAP machine, stomping around my bedroom like a toddler.