A mum who suffers from sleep apnoea says her condition is so bad it "could be fatal if left untreated" and has to wear breathing apparatus to bed every night.
Anya Taylor, 46, has suffered from the potentially fatal condition - which is when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep - for more than 20 years.
It caused her snoring to be so bad her husband, Paul, 54, compared her to a steam train.
Anya now sleeps with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine every night - which she wears over her face and helps keep her airways open.
She says if she doesn’t use it she wakes up feeling "hungover" - with symptoms including excessive tiredness during the day, a heavy headache, and brain fog.
The CPAP machine uses a hose connected to a mask which delivers a constant stream of pressurised air to the lungs. This helps prevent airway collapse - Anya said: "Without CPAP treatment, the brain is starved of oxygen which can lead to fatalities".
The condition can lead to serious problems including high blood pressure, a stroke, type two diabetes and depression.
Symptoms of sleep apnoea include breathing stopping and starting, making gasping and choking noises, regular waking and loud snoring.
Anya began to suspect something was wrong after the symptoms she put down to motherhood – lacking energy and being tired during the day – persisted even as her kids grew up.
And she says the similarity in symptoms between sleep apnoea and the menopause can make getting a diagnosis difficult for women.
Now, Anya has built a following of over 11k on TikTok where she candidly discusses her life with the condition.
Mum-of-two Anya, a child model agent, from Thurrock, Essex, said: “My husband met me when I was 23 and when I met him, he said I had sleep apnoea and was snoring like a rhino – he compared me to a steam train.
“One of the biggest symptoms is severe tiredness in the day and waking up feeling heavy headed and like you’ve had a drink.
“Because you stop breathing in the night it starves the brain of oxygen – you think you're having a restful sleep but you’re not.
“It can lead to later in life problems like strokes and heart attacks - left untreated it is quite fatal.
“It makes it harder in women of my age as well as the symptoms are similar to menopause, it’s hard to know what’s going on.
“A couple of months ago I made a couple of stupid videos and posted them on TikTok, the response I got was mad.
“In 10 to 11 weeks the followers are going up daily, I’m now at over 11k and getting over two million views.
“I share what people tell me and I test out sleep apnoea tips but I'm not qualified to diagnose anyone medically - I always advise people to go back to their GP and get a sleep study.”
Anya first went to her GP about her struggles with sleep in October 2021 but wasn’t diagnosed until October 2022.
Anya Taylor, 46, has suffered from the potentially fatal condition - which is when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep - for more than 20 years.
It caused her snoring to be so bad her husband, Paul, 54, compared her to a steam train.
Anya now sleeps with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine every night - which she wears over her face and helps keep her airways open.
She says if she doesn’t use it she wakes up feeling "hungover" - with symptoms including excessive tiredness during the day, a heavy headache, and brain fog.
The CPAP machine uses a hose connected to a mask which delivers a constant stream of pressurised air to the lungs. This helps prevent airway collapse - Anya said: "Without CPAP treatment, the brain is starved of oxygen which can lead to fatalities".
The condition can lead to serious problems including high blood pressure, a stroke, type two diabetes and depression.
Symptoms of sleep apnoea include breathing stopping and starting, making gasping and choking noises, regular waking and loud snoring.
Anya began to suspect something was wrong after the symptoms she put down to motherhood – lacking energy and being tired during the day – persisted even as her kids grew up.
And she says the similarity in symptoms between sleep apnoea and the menopause can make getting a diagnosis difficult for women.
Now, Anya has built a following of over 11k on TikTok where she candidly discusses her life with the condition.
Mum-of-two Anya, a child model agent, from Thurrock, Essex, said: “My husband met me when I was 23 and when I met him, he said I had sleep apnoea and was snoring like a rhino – he compared me to a steam train.
“One of the biggest symptoms is severe tiredness in the day and waking up feeling heavy headed and like you’ve had a drink.
“Because you stop breathing in the night it starves the brain of oxygen – you think you're having a restful sleep but you’re not.
“It can lead to later in life problems like strokes and heart attacks - left untreated it is quite fatal.
“It makes it harder in women of my age as well as the symptoms are similar to menopause, it’s hard to know what’s going on.
“A couple of months ago I made a couple of stupid videos and posted them on TikTok, the response I got was mad.
“In 10 to 11 weeks the followers are going up daily, I’m now at over 11k and getting over two million views.
“I share what people tell me and I test out sleep apnoea tips but I'm not qualified to diagnose anyone medically - I always advise people to go back to their GP and get a sleep study.”
Anya first went to her GP about her struggles with sleep in October 2021 but wasn’t diagnosed until October 2022.
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