The Holidays and Sleep Apnea: Change a Life

[Louisiana1976]

It's time for you to change someone's life, even save it.

Perhaps you are the one who needs the change. Maybe it's time for your father, your brother, your best friend.

Lack of good sleep can destroy a person. Snoring is just a symptom and it is so easily passed off as something that is just irritating to others. Being tired all the time can be passed off as just getting older. Loss of focus, lack of ambition even for small activities, sadness and depression, gaining weight, loss of sexual interest...all of it demands a look at sleep, or lack thereof, as a source.

It is the holiday season. It's time to become informed. It's time to schedule a sleep study. It's time to rededicate to using the CPAP. It's time to wake up to not sleeping well.

snip

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/12/21/1277/2587

[CoffeeCat]

1. Amen! I have sleep apnea...

...and I feel so thankful to be on the other side now. I use a CPAP machine at night and I'm feeling so much
better than I did a few months ago. I started on CPAP in September.

Many people think snoring is irritating or some kind of joke. It's actually a slow killer. In your sleep, you
stop breathing, often many times an hour. My sleep study revealed that I stopped breathing 50 times an hour--sometimes
for 15 seconds at a time. When that happens, your body senses that you are dying. It kicks into emergency drive
and you are temporarily bumped out of REM sleep. This all happens while you're sleeping--and unaware of it.

The damage this does to your body, your mind and your entire system is untold. The latest research shows that it's the
same damage has having a series of mini strokes--all night long.

I used to wake up feeling like someone drove a truck over me the entire night. I was so tired that I would forget where
I was--when I was driving or walking out of a store. I'm only 45. My health deteriorated. My blood pressure and blood
sugars shot up. I also craved carbohydrates and sugar. It was as if my body was in trauma mode--desperately trying to
get me ANYTHING to wake up. I think I was eating subconsciously--my body was just stumbling toward any quick fix to wake
me up.

Sleep apnea is incredibly serious. It can kill you. If someone you know is snoring--get them into a sleep study NOW.
People who sleep with a snoring partner are also affected. You do not sleep well either when you are constantly woken up.
Your health is affected too.

I was undiagnosed for two years. Awareness of this serious problem is growing, but many doctors don't seem to get it.

If you're snoring--do a sleep study. Don't wait to be diagnosed. Your life will change tremendously. You will
be living. I'm convinced that I was slowly dying. Glad to see this important topic being discussed.

[loudsue]

2. Me too, Coffee Cat!

:hi: I did the sleep study in September, and got my CPAP machine in early October. It's like I've been walking dead for the last few years, and my body was deteriorating so fast it was messing with my blood chemistry by the time I got to the sleep lab. My husband even mentioned it again tonite how much better I am. Of course, I FEEL it, but other people SEE it.

It saved my life, and I hope it can save other people's lives to become informed about this. Thank you for starting this thread! Merry Christmas!!

K & R

[roguevalley]

3. my mom had one. when they looked at it they were petrified. she

had 200 interruptions to her sleep per minute. think about that. she had never slept real sleep for thirty years. it can kill you. It did her. take the test.

[Lochloosa]

4. How to get a Sleep Study 101.

Tell your doctor this:

1. Your dead tired all the time.
2. Your SO said you have the wierdest snore. It's like you have just held your breath and you suddenly inhale air.
3. You can not sit in a meeting for more than 10 mins. without starting to fall asleep.
4. You take 4 hour naps.

If your doctor does not send you for the study, find another doctor.

[Missy Vixen]

5. I have sleep apnea

I've been on a CPAP for two years now. I have some other health issues as well, but the ability to sleep without the once-a-minute apnea episodes I was having for years is invaluable.

If you know someone who has the symptoms (and good insurance,) please send them for a sleep study ASAP. You'll save their life.

[MorningGlow]

6. My son has episodes of apnea

As he's 6, I figure it's his tonsils/adenoids. If he sleeps on his back, he snores and stops/starts breathing with a snort; if he sleeps on his side he's fine. But all that moving around makes for a restless night and an unhealthy type of sleep, which of course concerns me.

I asked his pediatrician about it, and she condescendingly said it's only considered serious if he stops breathing for 20 seconds straight. And then she smugly timed 20 seconds for me to show me how long that really is. For the record, she's usually condescending and smug about just about everything. Do not like. :grr: As soon as Mr. MG gets his new health coverage with his job, I'm going to start looking for a new pediatrician.