Some Apnea Questions

[Goblinmonger]

I have been diagnosed with pretty bad apnea. I just got my CPAP yesterday and, seriously, I have not had such a good nights sleep in decades. I had pretty much resigned to the fact in college that no matter how much sleep I got I would always be tired when I woke up.

So, anyway, what should I expect with the CPAP as far as good and bad things? Any suggestions from the experts?

[Warpy]

1. The only bad thing I can think of

is that you look rather silly with the apparatus on.

CPAP is literally your life saver. The stress on body systems caused by sleep apnea is profound, from the cardiovascular to the central nervous systems.

The improvement is gradual, although most people, like you, notice an immediate improvement in their sleep. A couple of months from now you'll be hard pressed to understand why you didn't notice how rotten you felt all the time before you got the gizmo.

[mopinko]

2. what warpy said

she is always right.
i wish i could get my hubby to wear one. he is deadset against it. he has gotten decent relief from a tonsillectomy, a bed wedge, a snorer's pillow, and those nose strip thingies. aside from more life insurance, i think i have done everything i can do.
but even that changed his personality, a lot.

[Warpy]

3. I am NOT!!

I don't want that kind of responsibility.

On edit: stay awake some night (5 cups of coffee will help) and use a watch with a second hand. Time every period of apnea he has overnight and write it down.

You'll fell like hell the next day, so wait a day until you show it to him. He's probabaly not aware of what's going on.

We did this with resistant patients, time them for an hour as a spot check. It usually worked.

[mopinko]

4. i listen to him snore

he drops off to sleep like a rock at night. i take at least a half hour, usually more. he still snores, but unless he has congestion, he only rarely stops breathing. and then only for a couple seconds.
he used to get so stuck that when he finally did breathe, he jumped. kicked the covers off the bed. flopped like a fish. high blood pressure, headaches, the whole 9 yards. he was getting pretty bent out of shape emotionally, too. hell of a time.
sleep is all.

[sam sarrha]

5. at the bariatric surgery seminars they said apnea usually went away with the surgery as well as

diabetes and numerous other conditions related ot obesity.. one woman there said she was taking 12 pills a day, had apnea, type B diabetis..etc and shortly after the surgery she was free of all the problems.. we have heard lots of there stories at the meetings.

my wife has sleep apnea and the machines work very well for her, but she is looking forward to being free of it

[mopinko]

6. overweight is a big factor

and a diabetic friend of mine says there is research to show that sleep deprivation aggravates diabetes. so, your experience is not surprising. but some people are normal weight, they just have a facial structure that lends itself to apnea. the ent that did my hubbies tonsils told him he could tell by looking at him that he had apnea.

[sam sarrha]

7. i am aware of that also.. just relating personal information.. there r minor surgeries that can help

too

[REP]

9. No, There Aren't

UPP has a 76% failure rate, and it isn't really a minor surgery. There is only ONE surgery to correct sleep apnea, and that's a tracheostomy which is done only as a last resort.

[schrodingers_cat]

15. I'd like to respond respectfully to your comment on UPPP's

Otherwise known as, bear with my potential misspelling, Uvulapalatopharyngoplasy. I have had extremely good success with mine. I had it done at 38 years old. I'm a slender athletic woman, but was apparently just configured in a way that caused moderate to severe apnea in me. Really low oxygen sats and all. It works VERY WELL in folks that have primary obstruction in the upper throat and palate. However, you need a very good ENT to diagnose where the obstruction is. I had 2 surgeries, the one above that removed my uvula, trimmed my upper palate, and shaved the back of my tongue with a laser. In addition, they removed my tonsils, straightened my deviated septum, and did a turbinectomy in my sinuses.

It gave me back my life, and more inportantly, my patience and sense of humor, which I'd lost along the way in the land of sleep deprivation.
There is a great website, it's been a while, but I think it's sleepnet.com, or .org.

PM me if you have any questions - I'd be happy to answer them.

[REP]

8. I Was Told I Was "Too Young, Too Thin and Too Female" To Have Apnea

Guess what - I had severe sleep apnea and was misdiagnosed. Bariatric surgery doesn't do dick squat to correct central apnea or narrow airways and other anatomical causes of obstructive sleep apnea. Fatness doesn't cause sleep apnea, and short-bowel syndrome doesn't cure it.

[REP]

10. It Can Cause Dry Throat/Mouth Without a Humidifier

I've been using a CPAP for a while now, and have found that using either a pass-over cold humidifier or heated humidifier makes it even better. My pressure is pretty high - I have mixed apnea and really tiny airways - and the higher the pressure, the more drying it can be. Most times, your insurance will just give you a pass-over humidifier (a box of water that air blows over) but heated ones are usually an extra, but worthwhile, cost. I have a Fischer-Paykel, and I adore it, especially in this cold weather.

Other than that, the only other bad thing is that you have to take with you on trips, but the new ones are so light that's not a big hassle any more!

[mopinko]

11. a friend of mine

has very bad apnea, and had the throat surgery to no avail. his problem is that the cpap forces air not just into the lungs, but down the esophagus. this leads to lots of farts. he is an insurance salesman, and is very bothered by these unprofessional outbursts.

[midnight]

12. Hi Goblinmonger. You said that you had bad apnea. Do you

have a score. I know medicare uses a no. of 10 to diagnose one for apnea. Glad to hear that this machine gave you a good night sleep.

[Goblinmonger]

13. I don't have a score.

I can't remember the exact amount of times an hour that I stopped breathing but it seems like it was over 30. I do remember that I had more than 5 episodes each hour where I stopped breathing for more than 45 second and my blood/ox went down to 70%.

[medeak]

14. don't give up... CPAP is hard to fit

(fit and sold them for decades) insist on a good fit..if any discomfort change companies.

Have seen lives actually transformed overnight with CPAP...amazing transformations!

Best of luck to you.

[midnight]

17. cpap fitting. My husband will be meeting with someone to fit

him for a machine in a few days. Could use some pointers on what to look for.

[TZ]

16. CPAP with meds

Sometimes if you are still feeling tired even with the CPAP you might need meds. I am on Provigil as well and it works much better with the two working together rather than either on separatly. But thats an issue to take up with your sleep specialist.:-)