My Life and Sleep Apnea

It seems like there are a million things to worry about in life from health to family to making a living all this stuff constantly gives you reasons for concern (and headaches!). Health matters whether they involve your family or you are right up there at the top of the list. One of my concerns is the amount of rest that I get or don’t get each night. As you probably already know sleep apnea has been a thorn in my side for many years. In fact I can’t remember when I wasn’t affected by it, maybe it wasn’t a problem when I was a kid or a teenager but I can’t say for sure. Sleep apnea can be a precursor of many ailments like diabetes, depression, gout and the biggest concern is what it does to your heart. As we all know heart problems can lead to the most unfortunate conclusion, which is unexpected death. Are you worried about dying from sleep apnea ? This question is relevant to me because my father who suffered from sleep apnea died of heart troubles at the age of 61 in 1977. Of cour...

As many of you already know sleep apnea isn’t just for middle-aged people who are overweight.   Potential victims of sleep apnea cover a much wider range than that, young adults and children may also experience the dangerous effects of sleep apnea. We don’t hear much about children having sleep apnea ; usually you read about how older folks try to cope with it by using the CPAP machine or a dental device or maybe even surgery.   But some children do suffer from it. What is really surprising is something that I read the other day that a lot of pediatricians aren’t being trained to handle sleep apnea. Sleep apnea isn’t the only sleep disorder that children, including infants, can have. Bedwetting is something that a lot of parents have to deal with as well as night terrors where the child will wake up terrified.   Snoring can also be a problem. According to an article in Medscape “ The vast majority of pediatricians believe it is their role to advise parents or guardi...

It is well known that sleep apnea isn’t good for your health. High blood pressure, heart problems, circulation problems, diabetes and the list goes on and on. If you have sleep apnea then you also know how it can affect you emotionally. Lack of sleep from any sleeping disorder brings on anxiety, stress and even depression. It also can bring on OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) as well as Post traumatic stress disorder. What is post-traumatic stress disorder? According to the National Institute of Health post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is” a type of anxiety disorder. It can occur after you've seen or experienced a traumatic event that involved the threat of injury or death.” This can be caused by being in a terribly stressful situation such as an accident, assault, rape and any other event that caused you great anguish. The main symptom of PTSD is the reliving of that particular event over and over again. Support groups have been found to be the best cure for PTSD al...

If you do have sleep apnea do you remember what it was like not to have sleep apnea? The ability of waking up feeling like you had a great night’s sleep and feeling refreshed with a lot of energy to spare. It is hard for me to remember that since sleep apnea has haunted me for so many years that I can’t remember what a good night’s sleep is or was. It’s strange but you get used to waking up so many times to start breathing again because that is what obstructive sleep apnea does to you. Living with sleep apnea unfortunately does more than deprive you of rest; it also leads to serious health issues. Not breathing continuously interrupts the flow of oxygen into the lungs, which is what sleep apnea does. This can also lead to other problems like high blood pressure and possible heart failure. Usually but not in every case those who have sleep apnea also have a problem with their weight, which further exacerbates the problems with your heart. While losing weight is su...

There are 3 things that lead to divorce: Money, infidelity, and snoring.   The first two are common knowledge, whether it is just about money, infidelity, or maybe even a combination. But snoring is a common reason for divorce. I’m not sure if that is just an exaggeration or if it does have some truth to it, especially if you or your partner has sleep apnea . That constant roaring and grunting is enough to drive anyone out of the bedroom (at least that is what my wife says) Of course, it isn’t just the annoying sound of snoring that can cause breakups; there is much more to it than that. The partner with sleep apnea has to deal with a great many more problems, such as sexual problems, irritability, memory problems, and a slew of possible health issues like heart disease and diabetes.   There is some evidence that erectile dysfunction can be brought on by sleep apnea, which would contribute to the demise of any relationship.   Mood fluctuations can happen to anybody who ...

About a year ago I wrote a post about how the CPAP mask after continued use would help to restore brain tissue . Although I have never been able to use the mask it was still good news for those folks who can tolerate a mask on their face all night.   Unfortunately I read an article the other day that disputes that finding. The latest study was different in a few crucial ways from the first. The folks in the study were older and the study was held over a long period of time. The article suggested that may have played a part in there being different results. According to Dr. Tracy Kuo “ This was an older group of patients, and perhaps this repetitive, chronic hypoxemia they have lived with for many years prior to receiving treatment may have resulted in some changes at the brain level that are irreversible” Another thing that was different was the length of the study 6 months to a year for the previous study to 18 months for the latest study. This shouldn’t be considered a ...

From my experience with the CPAP mask it seems that the fit and the comfortability is very important if not the most important thing (although getting used to the air blowing into your face also takes time to get used to).   In my situation I had to have a full face mask because I couldn’t sleep with my mouth closed. I tried just covering my nose but it wasn't long before the air was rushing out my mouth which was a strange sensation.   Of course with the full face mask I had problems also such as the air escaping from the side of the mask, or the mask was so tight that it gave me headaches.   You might want to consider a hybrid CPAP mask . The hybrid mask has a combination of the best features in all the other types of mask.   One of best things about this mask is the adjustability of it which helps stop the air leakage and also makes it more comfortable to wear. Another feature is the addition of nasal air pillows which go into your nostrils. It also has ...