Jeff was 56 years old when he started waking up at night, struggling to breathe.
He knew that being overweight increased the likelihood of developing respiratory conditions, but he was anxious about getting diagnosed with yet another condition and being scolded again for not losing weight, so he decided to hold off on seeing his doctor, in case the issue went away on its own.
But when it didn’t go away after a month, and instead started to intensify, Jeff realized that it wasn’t worth playing the wait-and-see game anymore with such scary symptoms.
Man meets machine
A few days later, after spending the night in a sleep lab, his primary care doctor reported the findings: obstructive sleep apnea, or the most common type of sleep apnea, caused by relaxed throat muscles that collapse the airway.
To treat the condition, his doctor explained, Jeff would need to wear a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine at night—a mask that pumps air into his lungs through his mouth and nose—to ensure that he gets enough oxygen.
Shocked to be diagnosed with something so life-disrupting, Jeff asked if there was anything he could do to reverse the condition.
“I’m afraid not,” his doctor shook his head in reply.
“Losing some weight might help, but sleep apnea is irreversible. You’ll have the condition for the rest of your life.”
The uprising
While Jeff had been diagnosed with obesity in his thirties, and depression in his forties, getting diagnosed with sleep apnea was different.
Being overweight and depressed certainly compromised his quality of life, but struggling to breathe, with a CPAP machine as the only treatment, was an entirely new level of pain.
He hated wearing the machine, and he hated that his survival depended on it.
The prospect of wearing it for the rest of his life was terrifying, and his doctor’s discouragement from even trying to reverse the condition made him resent it even more.
As he removed his mask one morning, in a moment of extreme frustration, Jeff decided that he’d had enough.
That he would do whatever he had to do to reverse the condition, despite being told that he couldn’t.
That he would take back control of his health, however difficult the journey might be.
And that even if no one with sleep apnea had ever reversed the condition in the history of humanity, it was at least worth seeing if he could be the first.
Enter Quantify
It was an important, catalyzing moment for Jeff, and after a whirlwind of research, and ending up down more than a few rabbit holes on reddit, he was soon relieved to discover that he actually wouldn’t have to be the first to figure this out.
Others, like him, frustrated with the prospect of wearing a CPAP machine for the rest of their life, had actually reversed the condition by improving their metabolic, respiratory, and cardiovascular health.
Rather than walking their journeys alone, he saw that many of them had worked with a health coach, who helped them to make the significant changes they needed to make to resolve their symptoms, while providing accountability and support along the way.
Inspired by their stories, Jeff ultimately found Quantify by searching for a health coach that he could work with over the internet.
After getting matched with a certified health coach specialized in metabolic health, completing a health questionnaire, and meeting with his health coach over video chat, a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), insulin, hemoglobin A1c, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were ordered for Jeff, to assess his metabolic health, blood sugar regulation, insulin resistance, cardiovascular health, and inflammation.
A more streamlined process than he was used to, Jeff was able to easily get his blood drawn at home by a mobile phlebotomist, further emphasizing how different his experience with Quantify would be going forward.
Metabolic dysfunction
A week later, he received his test results, and his health coach explained that his glucose, insulin, hemoglobin A1c, and hs-CRP were significantly elevated, indicating metabolic dysfunction—a condition characterized by blood sugar dysregulation, systemic inflammation, and weight gain—which often contributes to the development of sleep apnea.1
To address metabolic dysfunction, his health coach continued, Jeff would need to eliminate processed foods, grains, and dairy from his diet, take certain supplements, such as magnesium malate, vitamin D3, and vitamin K2, exercise every day, and optimize his circadian rhythm, by minimizing exposure to blue light and consistently getting to bed before midnight.2
Recovery
It was a lot to take in, having never learned about diet, supplements, and lifestyle from his doctor, but Jeff was still just as committed as he was when he first made the decision that he would do whatever he had to do to recover his health.
Working closely with his health coach, Jeff started eating only fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, oils, beef, chicken, fish, and eggs.
He started taking supplements for the first time, using a bike machine every day, and getting to bed on a consistent schedule.
And, within a month, he not only started to lose weight, but also started to breathe better at night.
Within a year, Jeff had lost 80 pounds, had no symptoms of sleep apnea, and, with his doctor’s go-ahead, was no longer using his CPAP machine.
“I don’t know what you did,” his doctor stared at him incredulously, in their first follow-up appointment since his diagnosis.
“But keep doing it.”