Sleep Apnea- Much More Than Just An Annoyance

There is a definite connection with obesity. Sleep apnea apparently killed Divine, the drag film star of John Waters films ("Hairspray", etc.).

There's an interesting article from last Sunday's New York Times Magazine section about sleep disorders:

What Do You Do in Your Sleep? - link to article

I get an on-line newsletter from the National Sleep Foundation. Always interesting stuff in there. I'll try to remember to carry the link back here the next time i get one.

Have you heard of a recently advertised homeopathic spray that 's supposed to stop snoring?

New Haven- I have heard of the spray, and also a form of "Breathe Right" that is made for snoring, The problem is, that snoring has a number of causes, including sinusitis.

A person who snores heavily, feels sleepy after a decent amount of sleep, and has sometimes nearly fallen asleep at the wheel, really needs to be tested for sleep apnea.

What I do when I sleep is stop breathing. I have
a very small airway, so when you get into stage 4
restorative sleep and all the muscles relax - my
airway would close - needless to say I snored and
drove my S.O. nuts - but thanks to a friend-I heard
about sleep study labs & I found one at Mayo
Clinic - it is psychiatric based, and one at
another hospital that was part of the pulmonary
department - which means that your insurance
pays 80% rather than 50 or 30% There is genuine
discrimination towards people with mental illlness
when insurance companies can get away with
not reimbursing someone with mental illness the
same as they do for ANY illness. I expect to see
a large class action lawsuit over that one of these
days. However, to get back to topic - you can see
an ENT and have surgery which MIGHT WORK or
you can be fitted for a mask and use a continuous
positive pressure airway device, which pushes
just enough air pressure into your airway to keep
it open, so you do not wake up gasping for air.
I am so used to my CPAP machine now that I
could not live without it, my snoring makes my
throat sore, and I can't sleep worth a darn - so
even though aesthetically the surgey is a bit
preferable - it also may not correct the problem.

What I do when I sleep is stop breathing. I have
a very small airway, so when you get into stage 4
restorative sleep and all the muscles relax - my
airway would close - needless to say I snored and
drove my S.O. nuts - but thanks to a friend-I heard
about sleep study labs & I found one at Mayo
Clinic - it is psychiatric based, and one at
another hospital that was part of the pulmonary
department - which means that your insurance
pays 80% rather than 50 or 30% There is genuine
discrimination towards people with mental illlness
when insurance companies can get away with
not reimbursing someone with mental illness the
same as they do for ANY illness. I expect to see
a large class action lawsuit over that one of these
days. However, to get back to topic - you can see
an ENT and have surgery which MIGHT WORK or
you can be fitted for a mask and use a continuous
positive pressure airway device, which pushes
just enough air pressure into your airway to keep
it open, so you do not wake up gasping for air.
I am so used to my CPAP machine now that I
could not live without it, my snoring makes my
throat sore, and I can't sleep worth a darn - so
even though aesthetically the surgey is a bit
preferable - it also may not correct the problem.

babsatamelia- Sleep apnea is not a psychiatric ailment. I had my sleep study done through a pulmonologist, and also use a C Pap machine. Neurologists also are involved in sleep testing.

I used a CPap for a few months. It was... um... tolerable for a while. I was even starting to get used to it. Then I started to wake up in agony with my gut full of air! It's been reccomended that I get the CPap with less pressure, but I don't think I could handle it.

So I had the surgery.

I don't snore much.

But I still wake up in the middle of the night. >Gasp!<

Right now I'm working on allergens. It seems to help as when I do wake up I usually find my nose is stuffed. Yuck!

But...

If you do wake up in the middle of the night you get to remember some of the more interesting dreams. Funny how the brain incorporates lack of air into a dream. I've had many dreams where I'm swimming underwater. When you're underwater you hold your breath, right? >Gasp!<


Last night, I don't really remember the dream, but I remember distincly hearing an authoritarian voice say "We're in BIG trouble here!" >Gasp!<

Has anyone here successfully stopped snoring by losing weight?

Trailblazer- There is a correlation between snoring and weight. I am one of those people whose weight fluctuates a lot. My husband claims that when I am heavier I snore more. Take a look at this:

Link to sleep apnea

SealPoet- When I took my test, the doctor determined the right amount of pressure for me, based on my physical reactions when the air pressure was lowered or raised. It is possible that the air pressure in your C Pap was too strong for you.

I have heard about the operation, but I would rather handle my situation through the machine. I have heard of stories where the surgery did not work.

Anyhow, I am attempting to lose some weight, so that the problem will take care of itself, (Wish me luck!)

I can tell you a story about the surgury not working. Or at least not working well enough.

Working on the allergy angle now, and I'm sure it would be better if we could just hire a maid.

Yes. A maid. I am not the greatest at cleaning because it stirs the dust. Not to mention constant cleaning is time consuming. Yeah, control of allergies is important....

Well Trailblazer - I was told outright by a pulmonary specialist
when I was in an out of town hospital over a severe infection
that I COULDN'T have obstructive sleep apnea; OBESE people
have that. Well, I'll be damned if I didn't have my little sleep
study records; in fact, we had to do 3 of them to get the air
pressure right. The obesity thing is just one of those old ideas!
My 99 pound younger sister ALSO has obstructive sleep apnea.
We both also share some weird nasal stuff... like excess tissue
in nasal turbinates, deviated septums & very small airways.
It didn't take me long at all to get accustomed to the cpap
machine, and the newest ones are silent, and the new mask
I think it's called The Mirage Mask, is as light as a feather. I
can't sleep without it now. I wake up a zillion times & my throat
gets so sore. (Not to mention that you can hear my snoring
from the other side of the house) I keep a few marine deep
cycle batteries, just in case the lights go out, since that happens
here alot. OR, if I want to go camping somewhere there
isn't any electricity - I can use the battery. That is my older
machine though. The newest one doesn't have the battery
option. I've been meaning to call the respiratory company
about that - I REALLY must have one that has
the electric/battery convertible option. My oxygenation
went down in the low 80's overnight before the cpap. Now it
stays in the 98-99 range all night long. They used to think
it was no big deal, sleep apnea; but that kind of oxygen
deprivation isn't good for your body at all. I HAD hoped that
the cpap would cure my lifelong insomnia, but it didn't. I was
SO sad when I told my pulmonologist that I was still not
sleeping well, and he looked at my record, my sleep efficiency
ratio is awful, and he says, "Gee, maybe you have insomnia".
Brilliant guy There ARE some sleep study programs that
are in psychiatric departments, as a matter of fact, the one at
Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville - their sleep test program is a part
of the psychiatric clinic. I can't really get that, although I CAN
see how it is a two-fold problem for many of us. Even with my
complete oxygenation, I still suffered from insomnia. My
psychiatrist finally found the right medication, the right dose &
for the past few years I have been sleeping really well. Now, I
find out that I also have Sjornen's Disease, part of the RA,
severe dry mouth, & other tissues also. The sleeping medicine
causes dry mouth also, so I am going to have to stop taking it.
I told Patty last night "I sure am going to hate waking up 30/40
times every night again."

babsatamelia- Does you CPap machine come with a humidifier? That might help some of the dryness. My mom has Sjogren's Syndrome. She needs to use those natural tears eye drops, so as to prevent infection. Also, have you tried using really sour lemon drops? That helps with saliva.

Good points there, Phoenix my dear woman. I did
Actually begin using the machine with a humidifier
because I tended to sleep with my mouth open, but
somehow the cpap machine has trained me not to do
that anymore, so I no longer need it. I just had to get
2 new cavities filled last week....at my age all I should
have to be worried about is gum disease. My gums
are fine, I didn't know that Sjornens was going to make
me more prone to cavities. I had NO idea how important
salive really is. I have non erosive esophagitis, and it is
just irritated esophagitis that's caused by the dryness,
from the simple lack of saliva. All these years, doctors
have been telling me I had GERD. Good grief the
medical community is madness!! I got the big lecture
on NO sugary hard candy to create saliva. Only sugar
free gum and candy. I'm used to popping jollyranchers,
just to suck on especially in the mornings after I brush
my teeth. That is THE worst time of all, for some reason.
My mouth doesn't feel TOO bad until I brush my teeth,
clean my mouth and use my extra flouride rinse....then
it feels like a mouth full of cotton, hard to even talk.
So, I usually sip water all day long, or tea. It's really
hard for people to hear or understand me when my mouth
is so dry. Thanks for the good tips Phoenix.

What's the relationship between Sjogren's Syndrome and reumatoid arthritis?

babsatamelia- Seems to me that I have seen sugar free sour lemon drops!

New Haven- check out the red print on the bottom of the page:

http://129.194.8.64:9001/cgi-bin/HONselect?browse+C05.550.114.154.774#MeSH