Yes.
Several years ago, I had surgery for a congenital deviated septum (read "a sinus ream-job" LOL ), then a sleep study done (woke up 297 times in that one night), and now a CPAP.
Mine is set at +7psi.
Feel free to p/m me, if you like.
Craigster
Anybody With Sleep Apnea?
by prophecor 48 Replies latest jw friends
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SusanHere
As this was my specialty for many years working in hospitals, I need to add something not yet brought out in this thread. Namely, sleep disorders, because of the constantly dropping/rising oxygen levels in the brain, have been found to be the cause of as much as 50% of all senile dementias in the elderly. Many professionals in the field would place that percentage much higher. I'm one of them.
It also stresses the heart because on ongoing "fight or flight" stressors caused by cessation of breathing. Consequently, apnea patients are more likely to suffer cardiac arrest or other cardiac problems. Basically, it wears the heart out early. A man of 50 can have the heart of an 80 year old. Not good.
As if not reason enough, people who are sleep deprived are in the same limited mental functioning state as someone who has been drinking and is under the influence of alcohol. Yet people with sleep apnea are required to drive vehicles, operate machinery of various types, and perform any and all jobs anyone else might have.
They are also more likely to divorce, because of the personality changes that occur with prolonged sleep disorders. Moodiness, grouchiness, snarling behaviors in general, laziness, etc. are often more a sleep disorder result than merely the person becoming a jerk in their advancing age (the worst ones to suffer this are often in their 40's, so far too young for this to be age-related).
Sleep disorder patients have memory loss that will become permanent if treatment is not received. My own husband was present for the birth of two of our children. His fragmented memory loss only allows him to remember he was at the hospital, with partial memory of one delivery. When he tells stories of our first 15 years of married life, the stories are often way off the mark, because the sleep apnea has the effect of a shotgun blast through the memory. Pieces are missing. The brain does its best to put the remainder back in logical order, but it is heartbreaking how many cherished moments are lost to him.
The sooner treatment begins, the less memory loss will be permanent. Don't wait.
Secondary sleep disorders caused by inability to sleep with someone suffering from a sleep disorder cause stresses in the marriage. Separate bedrooms become the norm. Divorces are common.
The surgery mentioned by several has an abysmal failure rate. We've seen patients who have had it done three or even four times, only to go onto CPAP in the end. The surgery will only work if the obstruction is in EXACTLY the right place. This is not common.
Lastly, there is also Central Nervous System sleep disorder where the brain simply does not send the signal to breathe once someone goes to sleep. This is an entirely different issue. It is deadly and needs treatment. And some patients can be mixed sleep apnea sufferers, having both obstructive and central apneas.
Your family physician CANNOT treat this condition. He is simply not skilled enough. They have only a few hours of sleep training, not enough to deal with this complex and vitally-important life issue. Do not use them except to ask them for a referral to a qualified, licensed sleep lab with an accredited staff. The doctor and the staff should have medical registeries in the field of sleep medicine (registered polysomnography techs are a must).
Insurance is paying for many of these studies now, because of the increased awareness of long-term risks to untreated patients. It's cheaper to provide a CPAP than a new heart.
I hope this helps someone out there. If you love your snoring spouse, (or other sleeping problem), drag them kicking and screaming if necessary to the proper help while there is still time.
Susan
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Aude_Sapere
Susan -
Wow!! Thanks for sharing the other information on memory. I have had a CPAP machine for about 5 ro 6 years but only use it once or twice a week.
I have sleep trouble for as long as can remember. And that memory is indeed a bit shattered. Some bits I remember so vividly and then there are whole chunks of time that I cannot recall at all. (I was attributing this to either abusive childhood or chemo treatment in '98)
My sleep study revealed that I never enterred REM sleep. (I had told my doctor that I was pretty certain that I hadn't dreamed in years.) It also showed that I stopped breathing about every 2 or 3 minutes thru the night. My poor brain never got a chance to rest.
I especially relate to the feelings of 'under the influence'. It's true. Also, takes me about 5 hours in the morning to clear the fog. I have long believed that this was an 'oxygenation' issue.
Thanks for helping me see the importantance of committment to my CPAP!
-Aude.
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AlanF
I slept with Apnea once, but I won't do it again.
AlanF
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Rabbit
Darth Vader...yep that's me!
There are a lot of unknowns with this, but, if you are not getting enough sleep...it can cause depression, low hormone levels and even kidney problems. Most people who have Sleep Apnea get up a lot at night to urinate. The Doc told me 'normal' peoples kidneys shut down for rest & repair while in deep sleep. If you are awaking/stopping breathing hundreds of times a night...your kidneys process urine 24 hours a day...which can wear them out. It is very serious.
My Sleep Study showed close to 50 'events' an hour, to various degrees. So I was not getting much normal sleep and almost no "REM.' Not much SEX or KISS either.
Low hormones in men can cause weight gain and depression, weight gain (thicker neck) can cause obstructive sleep apnea...which can cause day time sleepiness and on and on....
I lost about 35lbs...I no longer use my $1600 machine. I hated that thing, but, I slept like a baby. I am keeping it for a rainy day tho'.:
Now imagine a Rabbit...with a
CRAPCPAP mask on breathing... like Darth.See if the below sounds familiar to CPAP users:
Darth Vabbit (DV): shooofff - teeesh... (breathing) shooofff - teeesh... poke-poke
Mrs. Vabbit (MV)...W-what...yawns
DV: poke-poke...wnna boo woun? ...uh?
MV: W-what...?
DV: poke-poke-poke...Heel da hoarse...da horse es rong wih des on! shooofff - teeesh...
MV: Ah..can't hear you, honey. Take off that stupid, noisy mask, k?
DV: (lifts up corner of mask...) WHOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH... Wanna fool around ?
DV: Feel the force...the force is strong with this one!
MV: Well, why didn't you SAY so, honey? OK, but, NOT with that stupid mask on, k?
DV: Awww...honey. It'll be fun...you know, 'role playing'...k?
MV: Hon...NO! That is just plain weird...I don't wanna fool around with Darth Vader.
DV: poke-poke-poke...But, it's NOT Vader, it's me.
MV: It doesn't LOOK like you!
DV: ...poke...
MV: Well...OK. Just this once, it might be fun. After all you said you 'get more air' with that thing, even if we can't kiss...Honey...?
Darth Vabbit:
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CountryGuy
I have it, too.
I LOVE MY CPAP MACHINE! I can't imagine what I would do without it. After getting it in 2002, I was able to be a better husband, friend and employee. Before I got the machine, I was falling asleep everywhere, even driving! I was not a nice person to be around. After the machine, I feel rested and am generally in a better mood all the way around.
However, my issue right now is that I need a new mask. I've had my current one since I got the machine and it's straps and pads are worn out. I checked with my insurance company and since I didn't have my study in AR, I would have to have another one here for them to pay for anything. I've hinted that I want all my friends and family to go together to get me a new mask for my birthday.
I would urge anyone who may have this condition to get help for it as soon as possible. If you don't have insurance, you may be able to work out a payment plan with some doctors.
Sweet dreams,
CountryGuy -
CountryGuy
Since there are so many people on here with CPAP machines, I thought I'd pass along this little tip I stumbled across.
As you know, if you have a stuffy nose, you can't use your CPAP machine. This time of year is the worst for me. However, last week my partner brought home some Sleep Right strips and told me to put one on before I put on my mask. OMG! It totally worked! I could really breathe and got a great night's sleep.
CountryGuy
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prophecor
The Dream Machine That's how I affectionately refer to it as being. I too could never think of sleeping without my cherished CPAP. I was one mean nasty evil onery SOB, when not recieving the proper rest, and for years, even though having the CPAP, doesn't automatically make your life any better, you may need additional treatments at a sleep study center, the people behind the curtain administering the services at the sleep lab might not always be the best qualified at the time of your study.
I would imagine some have skills just like those in the auto repair industry. You have those that are mechanics, and you have those who are state of the art technicians, who don't just replace your alternator on your car, but also do an electrical service check to find that there's a short to ground somewhere that's causing the alternator to die in the first place. Your mask is one of the greatest challenges that you will face in treatment of OSA, they have a tendency to leak air that is vital to assuring that your lungs are recieving the proper ammount of air. More important is the pressure setting, until you can reasonably get enough pressure to keep those passageways open during sleep, a CPAP won't be of any benefit at all. I had one for a couple of years without the pressure at the point where it would do me any good.
The world is just one hellacious place to be when you suffer from this malady. You can't enjoy much of anything mentally, emotionally you either become a wicked despot, or a depressed lost soul, life looks incredibly different to the person who is suffering from sleep deprivation due to the loss of oxygen in the blood stream. Even though we may sleep for hours on end, without the oxygen required to replinish the body, we awaken to a world where we hate nearly everything and everybody, we get pissed off easier, the constant soreness in the throat from the signifigance of snoring, the headaches we wake up to on an almost constant basis. You exist in a world where your in a blanketed fog, and you exist long enough to go to sleep, just to have the hell repeated all over again. And many of you don't even know that this is your problem. I didn't know for years. I did know that people hated to sleep in the same room with me due to my snoring, and I couldn't for the life of me understand how something so common as snoring, would cause people to have that kind an oppinion about it. We see it in cartoons and sitcoms and its always been viewed as something to laugh about and make jokes over, never really knowing that for some, there are disassterous consequences associated with such severe snoring that is not on a level with those who snore moderately or infrequently.
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Aude_Sapere
As you know, if you have a stuffy nose, you can't use your CPAP machine. This time of year is the worst for me. However, last week my partner brought home some Sleep Right strips and told me to put one on before I put on my mask. OMG! It totally worked! I could really breathe and got a great night's sleep.
Great suggestion! Thanks.
CountryGuy - About getting a new mask. I got one about 6months ago. I spoke with my doctor first. He wrote a script for replacement tubing and nasal hood. I took it to a DME/Respiratory facility who handed me what I needed and they filed an insurance claim. I think I ended up paying about $10.
The only delay was that my Dr had not written which specific 'hood' I wanted. The Respiratory facility was pretty good about it. They let me see a few versions that were compatible with my machine. I phoned my doctor and his nurse faxed over the prescription for the exact model/style that I wanted.
Insurance company is set up to decline payouts. I got Dr's orders first. Then identified the product/treatment. THEN we got the insurance company involved. Might be worth trying again???
-Aude.