I woke up in a strange bedroom with 24 electrodes glued all over my body and a plastic mask attached to a hose covering my face. The lab technician who watched me all night via video feed told me that I had “wicked sleep apnea” and that it was “central sleep apnea” — a type that originates in the brain and fails to tell the muscles to inhale. As a journalist — and one terrified by the diagnosis — I set out to do my own research. After a few weeks of sleuthing and interviewing experts, I reached two important conclusions. First, I had moderate apnea, if that, and it could be treated without the…