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Sleep Apnea - My Wake Up Call


ajzepp

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While I have no science to substantiate the claim I swear by a neti pot. I have had fewer sinus issues since I started using it.

 

Good luck.

 

 

Heck yeah, although this is what I use: http://www.neilmed.com/usa/index.php

 

I used to get sinus headaches all the time, but when I use this consistently (i.e. once a day) I never get them. Haven't had a sinus infection in over a year, too, which is a record for me.

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As many times as I've asked, Lana has steadfastly refused to pee on me.

Sooo, not true! :blush::ph34r:

 

As for Lana, she needs to have a procedure that will GIVE her OAA, otherwise known as "obstructive ass apnea" :devil:

Why would I need something to block my arse if there's nothin' coming out. Isn't that what apnea means?? :unsure:

 

Amen, my brotha....gotta get my ass back healthy again. I hate being heavy and inactive....Not getting any younger, either!

I can help you with that... :devil:

 

Lana has issues with nocturnal emissions :ph34r:

Sure, blame your own emission problems on me! :P

 

On a serious note, I'm glad to see you have done this test and taking your health seriously, my dear! I've know you for over 10 years, so it would be sad (and boring) to not have you around to pester me. :(

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finding the right mask can be a nightmare. At first I found one that worked great than started having issues with dry mouth, ended up I became a mouth breather so now have a full face mask. The RT told me that most people really need full face masks and now that I have one I am feeling better, at least not feeling like I need a nap 5 times a day.

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Heck yeah, although this is what I use: http://www.neilmed.com/usa/index.php

 

I used to get sinus headaches all the time, but when I use this consistently (i.e. once a day) I never get them. Haven't had a sinus infection in over a year, too, which is a record for me.

 

 

I'm a netti pot guy now, too. Still having issues, but it really helps when I can get the fluid to go through. I'm often so stuffed the solution just stays in the pot.

 

finding the right mask can be a nightmare. At first I found one that worked great than started having issues with dry mouth, ended up I became a mouth breather so now have a full face mask. The RT told me that most people really need full face masks and now that I have one I am feeling better, at least not feeling like I need a nap 5 times a day.

 

 

Having a good, caring, competent person to work with makes a huge difference, in my experience. If the person is a know it all and doesn't really care or is willing to try different things it is likely to fail, IMO.

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Thought I would offer a quick update on my progress:

 

Spoke with the sleep lab today and they reviewed the results with me. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, my 02 sat dropped below 59%....they confirmed that the specific number was 56% ( :unsure: ) and that I stopped breathing an average of....drumroll please....seventy-eight times per hour. Holy CRAP man.

 

I remember them testing me on two different masks and several different settings, and as it turns out the interpreting pulmonolgist dude thinks I shoudl start off on bi-pap instead of cpap. For those who don't know the difference, cpap is "continuous positve airway pressure" that allows you to breathe naturally and prevent your airway from being obstructed. Bi-pap is where there are two different levels of alternating pressure (one for exhalation and one for inhalation) where you actually get a little boost to take a breath a certain number of times per minute. Needless to say, bi-pap is for more severe apnea, which I obviously have ;)

 

So anyway, I called over to my primary doc's office today and confirmed that they had rec'd the sleep study results, and now I'm just waiting for him to write me a Rx to go pick up a machine and mask. The more I think about this whole ordeal, the more I wonder how the hell I've even been functioning lol.

 

Hopefully I'll have more energy, be much more alert, and start to have more motivation to lose weight....and just in time for FOOTBALL SEASON!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!

 

:lol:

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Thought I would offer a quick update on my progress:

 

Spoke with the sleep lab today and they reviewed the results with me. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, my 02 sat dropped below 59%....they confirmed that the specific number was 56% ( :unsure: ) and that I stopped breathing an average of....drumroll please....seventy-eight times per hour. Holy CRAP man.

 

I remember them testing me on two different masks and several different settings, and as it turns out the interpreting pulmonolgist dude thinks I shoudl start off on bi-pap instead of cpap. For those who don't know the difference, cpap is "continuous positve airway pressure" that allows you to breathe naturally and prevent your airway from being obstructed. Bi-pap is where there are two different levels of alternating pressure (one for exhalation and one for inhalation) where you actually get a little boost to take a breath a certain number of times per minute. Needless to say, bi-pap is for more severe apnea, which I obviously have ;)

 

So anyway, I called over to my primary doc's office today and confirmed that they had rec'd the sleep study results, and now I'm just waiting for him to write me a Rx to go pick up a machine and mask. The more I think about this whole ordeal, the more I wonder how the hell I've even been functioning lol.

 

Hopefully I'll have more energy, be much more alert, and start to have more motivation to lose weight....and just in time for FOOTBALL SEASON!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!

 

:lol:

 

 

Great news. Keep us up to date.

 

I have never used a b-pap (not that there is anything wrong with that), but have read a bit on them. I wonder how it differs from a cpap with pressure relief (like CFLEX)? In the cpap with pressure relief, the pressure is reduced on exhale (a programmable amount). That sounds similar to what the bi-pap does, although it may do it actively wile pressure relief is a passive system. Anyway, did they go into that with you?

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Great news. Keep us up to date.

 

I have never used a b-pap (not that there is anything wrong with that), but have read a bit on them. I wonder how it differs from a cpap with pressure relief (like CFLEX)? In the cpap with pressure relief, the pressure is reduced on exhale (a programmable amount). That sounds similar to what the bi-pap does, although it may do it actively wile pressure relief is a passive system. Anyway, did they go into that with you?

 

They havent' yet, but I haven't heard back from my doc yet...I will definitely discuss it with him before he writes the Rx. Apparently if I don't go with what the recommendation was of the interpreting MD, I have to go back and have further testing done. It was interesting to hear that they were able to determine exactly how much sleep I got, whether I was in a dream state, etc. I guess it doesnt' surprise me given that I felt ridiculous with all those wires hooked up to me, but still cool to hear the results. Bipap is sort of a bad word to me, because that's what we put patients in the hospital on when they go into the initial states of resp failure (prior to the need for a vent). Same concept but much different application, obviously, but still woudl rather be on regular ol' cpap I think lol.

 

Hopefully I'll hear from MD in next day or two, so I'll let you know what he says. Thanks for the discussion...it helps me a lot to hear of your (and others') experiences!

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They havent' yet, but I haven't heard back from my doc yet...I will definitely discuss it with him before he writes the Rx. Apparently if I don't go with what the recommendation was of the interpreting MD, I have to go back and have further testing done. It was interesting to hear that they were able to determine exactly how much sleep I got, whether I was in a dream state, etc. I guess it doesnt' surprise me given that I felt ridiculous with all those wires hooked up to me, but still cool to hear the results. Bipap is sort of a bad word to me, because that's what we put patients in the hospital on when they go into the initial states of resp failure (prior to the need for a vent). Same concept but much different application, obviously, but still woudl rather be on regular ol' cpap I think lol.

 

Hopefully I'll hear from MD in next day or two, so I'll let you know what he says. Thanks for the discussion...it helps me a lot to hear of your (and others') experiences!

 

 

Cool.

 

From what I remember my condition sounds about as bad as yours. I stop breathing 100 times per hour, or so. for up to (get this) one minute at a time. (Yes, I realize it can't be one minute 100 times per hour. Nonetheless, that doesn't sound like it's a good thing.)

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Cool.

 

From what I remember my condition sounds about as bad as yours. I stop breathing 100 times per hour, or so. for up to (get this) one minute at a time. (Yes, I realize it can't be one minute 100 times per hour. Nonetheless, that doesn't sound like it's a good thing.)

 

lol, that does sound pretty fugged up!

 

They said they count an episode when it's longer than 10 sec....not sure how many I had that were a minute, but definitely wasn't 100 :unsure:

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lol, that does sound pretty fugged up!

 

They said they count an episode when it's longer than 10 sec....not sure how many I had that were a minute, but definitely wasn't 100 :unsure:

 

 

I don't know how many of mine are long, or short (it's in my med records somewhere). but just the thought that I stop breathing 100 times an hour was pretty bad. When I found out that at least some of those stoppages last one minute, or more, I thought "WTF?"

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I don't know how many of mine are long, or short (it's in my med records somewhere). but just the thought that I stop breathing 100 times an hour was pretty bad. When I found out that at least some of those stoppages last one minute, or more, I thought "WTF?"

 

That's some scary sh*t man...I hate to imagine what our BP would look like about 45 or 50 seconds into that minute period of apnea! I bet its easily over 200 systolic. :unsure:

 

I can't get this mask on fast enough...I'm honestly scared for my life when I go to sleep the past week or so!

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Thought I would offer a quick update on my progress:

 

Spoke with the sleep lab today and they reviewed the results with me. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, my 02 sat dropped below 59%....they confirmed that the specific number was 56% ( :) ) and that I stopped breathing an average of....drumroll please....seventy-eight times per hour. Holy CRAP man.

 

I remember them testing me on two different masks and several different settings, and as it turns out the interpreting pulmonolgist dude thinks I shoudl start off on bi-pap instead of cpap. For those who don't know the difference, cpap is "continuous positve airway pressure" that allows you to breathe naturally and prevent your airway from being obstructed. Bi-pap is where there are two different levels of alternating pressure (one for exhalation and one for inhalation) where you actually get a little boost to take a breath a certain number of times per minute. Needless to say, bi-pap is for more severe apnea, which I obviously have :D

 

So anyway, I called over to my primary doc's office today and confirmed that they had rec'd the sleep study results, and now I'm just waiting for him to write me a Rx to go pick up a machine and mask. The more I think about this whole ordeal, the more I wonder how the hell I've even been functioning lol.

 

Hopefully I'll have more energy, be much more alert, and start to have more motivation to lose weight....and just in time for FOOTBALL SEASON!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!

 

B-)

 

 

Are bi-pap's for bi-sexuals? Just kidding ... glad to hear they are getting to the roots of your issue and are dealing with it. Best of luck and get some good sleep.

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Thought I would offer a quick update on my progress:

 

Spoke with the sleep lab today and they reviewed the results with me. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, my 02 sat dropped below 59%....they confirmed that the specific number was 56% ( :) ) and that I stopped breathing an average of....drumroll please....seventy-eight times per hour. Holy CRAP man.

 

I remember them testing me on two different masks and several different settings, and as it turns out the interpreting pulmonolgist dude thinks I shoudl start off on bi-pap instead of cpap. For those who don't know the difference, cpap is "continuous positve airway pressure" that allows you to breathe naturally and prevent your airway from being obstructed. Bi-pap is where there are two different levels of alternating pressure (one for exhalation and one for inhalation) where you actually get a little boost to take a breath a certain number of times per minute. Needless to say, bi-pap is for more severe apnea, which I obviously have :lol:

 

So anyway, I called over to my primary doc's office today and confirmed that they had rec'd the sleep study results, and now I'm just waiting for him to write me a Rx to go pick up a machine and mask. The more I think about this whole ordeal, the more I wonder how the hell I've even been functioning lol.

 

Hopefully I'll have more energy, be much more alert, and start to have more motivation to lose weight....and just in time for FOOTBALL SEASON!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!

 

:D

I knew it was quite a few but 78 times??!! B-)

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B-)

 

I didn't really keep track but I thought it was only around 10X/hr...which I thought was a lot. :)

 

 

Most of the incidents are very short and minor, or so I am told. (Again, I don't mean that in the way you may think I mean it.)

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With sleep apnea, do people still dream? Is deep REM affected? And now the "big" question... Does it affect the "morning wood?" :):DB-)

 

 

Deep REM is very affected. When you are waking up all the time you don't really get good solid REM the way you should.

 

You still dream though. At least I do.

 

As for your third question, I am proud to say I woke up with a case of morning stickness today.

 

 

Edited.,

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