Sleep Apnea-Anyone?

[louden48]

A few weeks ago I had a sleep study done. I was told at the time by the tech that it probably wasn't very bad and she bet I wouldn't need any treatment. Well, change of plans. I heard from one of the ladies that works with the doc who does the sleep studies that, yes, I will be getting a CPAP machine. She ran over the basics with me real quick and said that I need to come back in for another sleep study. Man, I barely survived the first one! It was awful...I was so tired on the day after that I came home and slept for 4 more hours, not to mention had to take off part of the next day to try to recover. I'll get the official results tomorrow but I'm wondering if any of you have sleep apnea and any advice. All I can remember is she said I stopped breathing 32 times during the night!

[Sol]

Originally Posted by louden48

A few weeks ago I had a sleep study done. I was told at the time by the tech that it probably wasn't very bad and she bet I wouldn't need any treatment. Well, change of plans. I heard from one of the ladies that works with the doc who does the sleep studies that, yes, I will be getting a CPAP machine. She ran over the basics with me real quick and said that I need to come back in for another sleep study. Man, I barely survived the first one! It was awful...I was so tired on the day after that I came home and slept for 4 more hours, not to mention had to take off part of the next day to try to recover. I'll get the official results tomorrow but I'm wondering if any of you have sleep apnea and any advice. All I can remember is she said I stopped breathing 32 times during the night!

Hi Christy:
I experience sleep apnea occasionally. It will start going away when you start to lose weight. It is best if you sleep on your side or even face down. Apnea can lead to headaches and even over-eating because you become very stressed out because you are exhausted. Furthermore, it's tough on your heart and lungs. My doctor did not want me to go through a sleep study or to use the machine. She prefers that I lose weight and try the positions that I had mentioned. It has helped. I don't wake up coughing like I used to do. Try not to stress over this. You are young and working on losing weight. I think that if you change the position of how you sleep it will help. It did for me.

[jmac]

My brother has one of the worst cases they've ever seen, if he sat still for a minute or two, he would nod off, he was that tired & didn't really know why. You will be amazed if you get a machine. His energy levels have skyrocketed. You don't get a full night's sleep when it happens, so you are exhausted. He is very overweight although even if he lost the weight, he'd probably still have it quite bad. He had it when he was much smaller. It will help you with weight loss by giving you energy back. We discovered that a man in our town had a slight heart attack because of it. It really stresses the heart a lot. So let this be a note to anyone who has it or knows someone that it's crucial to get treatment. Good luck!!!

[Seakony]

I finally got Slim to the doctor...even called the office while he was there to make sure Slim told them about his apnea. He is in denial of it but I know he has it. Because of his horrible snoring, he sleeps in another room. When we are forced to sleep together in the same bed or room..like vacations, or overnight guests, I just lay in bed and listen to him snore, then stop breathing. Then I holler out "BREATHE"!!!! or give him a kick. He will gasp for air but not wake up. There were times in the past where I would see him sitting up in the bed snoring away. I think it was because he would stop breathing and would sit up when he gasped for air. I am hen-pecking him to death about going for the test.

One of the peeps told me at the 3rd regatta that her dad had the test and it was so bad, they woke him up, and sent him straight to the ER and surgery.

[Joana]

Most things that are important regarding the subject have been pointed out- the tiredness and lack of concentration during the day due to disturbed sleep patterns during the night as well as weight loss and certain positions......
Other than that: don't fear the CPAP. At first it will be weird to get used to and all, but once it improves your general health you'll be glad you did it.

[StewartG]

Originally Posted by Joana

don't fear the CPAP. At first it will be weird to get used to and all, but once it improves your general health you'll be glad you did it.

Wasn't that a Blue Oyster Cult song?



Seriously Christy, follow your Dr.s instructions re the CPAP for sure, but you know (we've talked about it) I am 110% supportive of your weight loss efforts. Although I'm still pretty chunky, you know how much weight I've lost in the last few years! It has made a COMPLETE change in my life and health. I'm certain I had apnea back then as well, but did not have treatment.

Take care of yourself, take care of your health, and most importantly (in my opinion) do as much exercise as you safely can. Years ago I started just by walking. This weekend I'm graduating instructor training with 24 hour fitness and will be teaching my own spinning class by mid-October. (Which, by the way, you are HIGHLY encouraged to attend next time you are in Houston!!!) Its taken a while to get to my current level of cardio fitness, but you can't BELIEVE how good it feels!!! Your general ailments you suffer from now (including your apnea) will most probably start disappearing one by one by one...

[MWC]

You have received good advice here. I would take the machine if they give it to you -- do not wait to lose weight, etc., as it has been pointed out to you how important sleep can be to your weight-loss efforts.

Do expect to go through a few different mask adjustments, AND machines, until you get to a satisfactory solution. naturally, due to insurance-cost issues, they will try you out on the least expensive machine/mask combo. If that doesn't work for you, keep complaining, and keep asking for a different solution.

This is what my husband had to do. The first machine they gave him was noisy as all getout. For me, it was almost worse than the snoring. The machine he has now is so quiet, it is wonderful.

Getting a good night's sleep has helped my husband with his energy level, driving safety. all that.

Good luck!

[Dallas91]

I didn't find the apnea test to be any problem other than taking about 20 minutes to fall asleep (getting used to all those sensors stuck your head). I was being tested due to my frequency of headaches and occassional snoring. Turned out I definitely do not have apnea.
I do wish you much luck with this life change, but it's definitely a "better safe than sorry". It's good that you were tested as it can be a serious issue.

[Tlyn]

Originally Posted by MWC

You have received good advice here. I would take the machine if they give it to you -- do not wait to lose weight, etc., as it has been pointed out to you how important sleep can be to your weight-loss efforts.!

This is good advice - get the CPAP so you can start sleeping well again. My husband has a CPAP and it's made a world of difference - he used to be so tired becaue of his constant waking from snoring. And now we can sleep in the same bed together again.
Also, I suffer from insomnia (not related to apnea) and my doctor told me that there have been some recent studies between lack of sleep and being overweight. I believe this - when I sleep, everything in my life is better, exercise, energy, eating habits, etc.

[Donny]

All good advice. Are you sure about stop breathing only 34 times a nite? I was on the upper end at 288 times a night. I quit smoking nine years ago and put on 10 pounds in a coupla months when I began getting real tired. The next 3 months I put on 40 pounds and the family told me that my snoring was gonna bring the roof down. Carbs were my best friend as they helped keep me awake. What finally prompted me to get tested a year later was I woke up one night not breathing and actually beat on my chest like Tarzan to try to breathe again. It happened twice that night and once the next.
Although the CPAP has definitely helped my energy level, it has not come w/o it's problems. First of all the doctors asst. allowed me to scar myself at the top of my nose with the mask. They saw the sore the mask caused but didn't say anything to me (bad fitting mask) so be careful on what mask you choose and how tight it is. Second, I have to have power wherever I go camping, etc. I can't think of sleeping w/o it. I'll prolly stay up all night (hey, mebbe I could keep up with them darn Texans in Playa then? at least for one night, anyhow). And third, let's just think how sexy that mask looks and I'll leave the rest up to you to figure out. Let's just say it get's in the way. Fourth, that mask sometimes doesn't make a good seal in the middle of the night (from scrunching your face or squinting or ?) and the pressurized air hits you in the eyeballs! Instant wake-up!
My doctor tells me he'd rather fight the overweight problems than the smoking problems - easy for him to say! I ain't Never gonna smoke again (which I did cold turkey) but am not having the same luck losing weight. I am a salesman and I know my eating habits aren't good. I've been told by my apnea doc that if I lose the weight I will lose the Obstructive Apnea. I'll prolly lose my Carpal Tunnel symptoms as well.
Best of luck to ya and if I can aswer anyone else's questions, I'm here to help.
dr

[Sol]

After reading all of these posts, I am going to get checked-out. I have a new doctor and I am going to see what she has to say about a sleeping analysis. I haven't had an episode of waking up coughing but that doesn't mean that I stop breathing at night.

[Donny]

I didn't know I was not breathing at night until after the study. Then Randa told me that she would hear me stop snoring and nudge (read as kick) me 'til I started again. Funny thing was, I felt great in the morning until about 10:am. Then I'd take a 20 min nap and be fine until about 3 or 4:pm. Then I'd take an hour or two snooze on the couch, get up to eat dinner and go to bed afterwards. Being a salesman on the road, I began to stop at McDonalds as they are strategically placed at on/off ramps on the freeways. I have avg. wworking out at the gym prolly 3 - 4 times a week over the last 6 years but I gotsta stop the intake (haven't been to McD's morn 3 times in 3 years).

[Bumper]

Hate to be a parrot, but you've got a lot of good advise from a lot of people here. I've had a CPAP machine for several years. It's a pain - see Donny's post - but it's not like it's optional. I've lost a considerable amount of weight, which many of you who've met me will have trouble believing, but it's true. I continue to whittle away at it, but I'm not deluding myself, I'll be at it for the rest of my life. When I went for the sleep study, the analysis showed I was stopping breathing over 200 times a night. I didn't have all the other symptoms, like nodding off, but I was tired all the time and suffered from frequent severe headaches. I snored like an Evinrude. I even had my driver's license suspended until I could get involved in an Apnea programme. Go for the machine. Our health care system here picks up the tab, but even if I had to lay out the $1,500 for the machine out of my own pocket, I wouldn't hesitate for a heartbeat.

[Loree]

A good friend of mine works for the company who makes the machines. If any of you need a machine, PM me and I can hook you up with a good one.

[charlieiguana]

Various dental devices are also available for sleep apnea, The lower jaw is elongated forward to allow better breathing.
Not the most comfortable device but an alternative to CPAP, and much easier to travel with. CPAP for me was a bit claustrophobic.

Charlie