Lex Banach, a 29-year-old content creator from Wisconsin, struggled for three years with unexplained weight gain, overwhelming fatigue, and intense food cravings. Despite maintaining her diet and exercise routine, she gained 40 pounds over six months, leading her to believe she was experiencing a serious, undiagnosed medical issue. Her symptoms also included brain fog, irritability, and a profound sense of not being herself.
Initially, doctors suggested anxiety and depression, recommending therapy. However, Banach felt these explanations did not fully address her physical symptoms. By early 2022, frustrated by the persistent weight gain, she explored other possibilities, including discontinuing birth control, but saw no change.
The Sleep Study and Diagnosis
Her condition worsened, with daily naps becoming a necessity and an inability to control her eating habits. By June 2023, the severity of her symptoms prompted her doctor to order an at-home sleep study. The test revealed that her breathing repeatedly stopped during sleep, causing her oxygen levels to drop and jolting her body awake numerous times each night. She experienced an episode every eight minutes, totaling 68 disruptions in a single night. This led to a diagnosis of mild sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a condition where throat muscles relax during sleep, causing the airway to repeatedly narrow or collapse, temporarily stopping breathing. These disruptions, often unnoticed by the individual, strain the cardiovascular system, promote inflammation, and disrupt hormones regulating appetite, metabolism, and blood sugar. This can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and weight gain.
Common symptoms include loud snoring, gasping for air, morning headaches, excessive daytime fatigue, and irritability. Experts explain that sleep apnea can lead to weight gain through biological pathways. It disrupts hunger-regulating hormones, increasing ghrelin (appetite stimulant) and suppressing leptin (fullness hormone), resulting in stronger cravings for high-fat and high-carbohydrate foods. The chronic exhaustion also reduces physical activity.
While obesity is a significant risk factor, sleep apnea can affect individuals of various body types. Other risk factors include being male, over 40, having a family history, smoking, heavy drinking, and pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes. Anatomical features such as a narrow airway can also contribute.
Banach speculated that a period of intense stress in 2021, coinciding with personal and professional changes, may have exacerbated her condition. This period involved leaving her gym job to build her online coaching business, navigating an unhealthy relationship, a failed condo purchase, and unresolved grief from family bereavements.
Treatment and Relapse
The standard treatment for moderate to severe sleep apnea is a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine. Banach was prescribed a CPAP machine, which she found to be highly effective. Within a few weeks, her mood and energy levels improved, and over several months, she lost 60 pounds, bringing her weight down to 140 pounds. A follow-up sleep study in February 2024 confirmed her sleep apnea had resolved.
However, in April 2024, she had to return her CPAP machine and subsequently lost access to treatment. By May 2025, her symptoms reappeared, accompanied by a 20-pound weight gain. Without health insurance, obtaining a new CPAP machine has been a significant challenge. She is currently managing her symptoms through exercise, meditation, yoga, and a strict sleep routine, but notes it is not as effective as the prescribed treatment.
Banach highlighted the accessibility issues within the U.S. healthcare system, particularly the difficulties in obtaining insurance coverage for necessary treatments, even after diagnosis. She is exploring options for affordable CPAP devices and has considered brand partnerships as a potential avenue to regain access to the therapy that significantly improved her health.