When Lex Banach gained nearly 3st (18kg) over six months, nothing about it made sense.The US content creator, based in Wisconsin, hadn't changed her diet or exercise regime.Yet the figure on the scales climbed steadily from 11st (72.6kg) to 14st (90.7kg), while crushing fatigue, brain fog and uncontrollable food cravings turned her life upside down.Every morning, the 29-year-old woke feeling as though she hadn't slept. Her mood darkened – she found herself snapping at her partner over nothing and withdrawing from friends. She would tell herself she'd have just one cookie, only to eat the entire packet before she even realised what she was doing.'I just didn't feel like me anymore,' Lex tells the Daily Mail. 'To be honest, I felt like I was losing my mind.'Her doctors suggested she was suffering from anxiety and depression and referred her for therapy.It wasn't until 2023 that tests revealed the real culprit – sleep apnoea, a debilitating condition that affects an estimated ten million Britons and 84 million Americans and has been linked to weight gain, diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. Lex Banach, 29, before and after her weight loss, which was aided by a CPAP machine. The device delivers a constant flow of pressurised air through a mask to prevent the airway from collapsing during sleep