Author Topic: Medical Question  (Read 1052 times)

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Offline WylieKy

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Medical Question
« on: January 20, 2009, 12:27:48 PM »
First of all, I do have a Dr's appointment on Thursday, but I wanted to touch bases with you all to see what you think.

Over the last couple of months, once or twice every couple of weeks I wake up in a panic because I can't catch my breath and feel like I am breathing through a straw.  This goes away within...oh....2-3 seconds (1-2 deep breaths.)  I also find myself coughing just as I go to sleep, when you're in that "floating" stage.  The "episodes" only occur when I am asleep or falling asleep.  I'm....OK with all of that.  However, within the last week it happens every night and 5-6 times last night.  Twice I was up and across the room before I was even aware of what I was doing.  I have heard everything from lung cancer, to hiatal hernia, to GERD, to anxiety attacks.

1. I do have some heartburn, but it's not horrible or chronic.
2. I do carry a bit of extra weight, but I'm active and by no means obese. I also don't snore.
3. I am under a bit of stress (who isn't right now), but that has actually decreased over the last few weeks and I wouldn't consider it to be above a moderate amount and besides that I'm pretty easy going and don't get excited about much of anything.

I'm not holding anyone to a diagnosis or anything, just want to hear your experiences and get some "friend to friend" advise...  The last two nights I have dreaded going to sleep to the point that I am up till 4-5 in the morning.
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Offline mirage1988

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2009, 12:49:52 PM »
Kind of sounds like sleep apnea- you actually quit breathing momentarily when you have it. It is scary watching someone have an episode. Two of the guys I deer hunt with and my wifes grandpa have it. One of them has it so bad he has to wear a breathing mask connected to a small air pump that pressurizes his breathing air. Hopefully it's nothing serious.
-Marcus

Offline bubba

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2009, 01:00:06 PM »
are you a smoker?  if yes how much? do you drink and if so how much? how much over weight is over weight?   What do you do for a living?  age?  does your heart race during these attacks?  Do you have problems fallinbg to sleep after?  respiratory rate?  do you lie flat or is your head elevated?  How often do you have heart burn?  answer these and I will bebetter able to do an assesment. Yes I am a medical person a nurse practitioner actually
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Offline mirage1988

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2009, 01:02:58 PM »
Maybe you guys should PM each other? I wouldn't want all of graybeard outdoors to know all of my med. history.

Offline bubba

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2009, 01:16:09 PM »
he can pmme if he wants he posted in a room I need the info to help him
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Offline Graybeard

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2009, 01:16:52 PM »
Yup most likely sleep apnea it's pretty common and more so when over weight. Go to a doctor who specializes in such and get a sleep study. They will likely fit you with a CPAP mask and machine and it will let you sleep.

It's actually a fairly dangerous condition and does shorten your life if not properly treated.


Bill aka the Graybeard
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Offline WylieKy

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2009, 01:33:11 PM »
are you a smoker?  if yes how much? do you drink and if so how much? how much over weight is over weight?   What do you do for a living?  age?  does your heart race during these attacks?  Do you have problems fallinbg to sleep after?  respiratory rate?  do you lie flat or is your head elevated?  How often do you have heart burn?  answer these and I will bebetter able to do an assesment. Yes I am a medical person a nurse practitioner actually

Do I smoke? No.
Do I drink? Yes, maybe 1-2 times a month and not very heavily.
How much overweight? Hard questions, the charts are a bit off for me (yes I am big boned...he he he.) I'd say 20-25lbs.
I have a desk job.
30
My heart races during the really bad ones, but most of the time no.
I go right back to sleep, unless I dwell on it.  I am having trouble going back to sleep now because I dread it happening again, but originally no.
Respiratory rate is....I don't know.  I take a few deep breaths and I'm OK, but I'm not panting or breathing fast at all.
I lay flat, on my side usually.
I have heartburn 2-3 times a week. Sometimes more, sometimes less...

I'm not worried about my privacy, no one here but Bill knows who I am, and I am honestly not one of those people that is uptight about such things anyway.  I went ahead and posted them because someday someone may have the same issue and want to know too.  Thanks for the concern though, mirage...
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Offline Oldtimer

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #7 on: January 20, 2009, 01:49:28 PM »
I also suspect sleep apnea.  Another source is a fat neck.  If you wear a collar size over 16 inches, the weight of the flesh can cause airway obstruction.  I used to snore a lot when my collar size was 17 inches.  What Graybeard said about it shortening life has more than one implication.  Sleep apnea sufferers are more likely to go to sleep while driving, even during the day.   As an EMT, I worked a number of  single car daytime wrecks where it was obvious that the driver must have gone to sleep: no skid marks, the car drifting off the road or into traffic.  It is also possible that apnea may cause a heart arrhythmia.  What you said about your heart racing may be a sign of that .  A pulse over 100 at rest is considered an arrhythmia. 

Get this checked out and do what the doctor says.  Not only could it save your life, it could also save the life of someone who is driving the same road as you, or riding with you.  An old joke is: I hope I die like Grandpa, peacefully, in his sleep, and not screaming in terror,like his passengers.

Offline bubba

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #8 on: January 20, 2009, 02:07:00 PM »
it can certainly be one of a few things my first choice without doing any tests would be sleep apnea.  next on my list would be anxiety.  both are treatable but I would be careful if they say anxiety and want to medicate you without trying some things yourself first to control it.  also try elevating your head when sleeping to aleviate the heart burn.  But as I said without tests, I am guessing but those are my educated guesses without testing.  Good luck and be sure to make your appointment on thursday.  I will send you the bill lol.
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Remember... Four boxes keep us free: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.

Offline DalesCarpentry

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #9 on: January 20, 2009, 02:35:59 PM »
I also suspect sleep apnea.  Another source is a fat neck.  If you wear a collar size over 16 inches, the weight of the flesh can cause airway obstruction.  I used to snore a lot when my collar size was 17 inches.  What Graybeard said about it shortening life has more than one implication.  Sleep apnea sufferers are more likely to go to sleep while driving, even during the day.   As an EMT, I worked a number of  single car daytime wrecks where it was obvious that the driver must have gone to sleep: no skid marks, the car drifting off the road or into traffic.  It is also possible that apnea may cause a heart arrhythmia.  What you said about your heart racing may be a sign of that .  A pulse over 100 at rest is considered an arrhythmia. 

Get this checked out and do what the doctor says.  Not only could it save your life, it could also save the life of someone who is driving the same road as you, or riding with you.  An old joke is: I hope I die like Grandpa, peacefully, in his sleep, and not screaming in terror,like his passengers.
In alot of ways this sounds like me. My brother was diagnosed with sleep apnea a few years ago. He now wears a mask while sleeping and some other crap I really don't know much about. I snore so bad my wife has not slept with me in 10 years. She sleeps down stairs and still hears me some times. We did a job out of town once and the guys ran me off to the basement to sleep because I was so loud. That is when ( this was at least 10 years ago ) one of the guys said guy you got sleep apnea. I never thought much about it I just figured I snore very loud. The thing about me is I am almost always tired and if I am not working I take a 3 hour nap. My wife says I don't take a nap I take a sleep. ::) I also know when when driving down the road during the day I almost fall a sleep. If it is cold out I have to roll down the window and get some cold air on me to stay awake. There have been times even during the day I have had to pull over because I could not stay awake. I explained these things to a guy I built a house for a couple years ago. He was a sleep doctor and said I probably did have sleep apnea and he could swing things where I could come in for a night and he would hook me up to their equipment for free. I told him about my brother and how it cost him thousands of dollars for the crap he is hooked up to nightly and he also told me we could work it out on some used equipment and it would be less than $500.00. I now wish I took him up on his offer. I do still have his card though. Dale
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Offline ms

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #10 on: January 20, 2009, 02:46:04 PM »
Yup most likely sleep apnea it's pretty common and more so when over weight. Go to a doctor who specializes in such and get a sleep study. They will likely fit you with a CPAP mask and machine and it will let you sleep.

It's actually a fairly dangerous condition and does shorten your life if not properly treated.
I agree I have sleep apnea tried the mask didn't like it. I'm going to try a snore guard.

Offline mirage1988

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #11 on: January 20, 2009, 02:49:32 PM »
I would like to meet the doctor that says" Your problem is a fat neck!" - I don't care who you are- that is funny right there!
-sorrywylieky

Offline mirage1988

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #12 on: January 20, 2009, 02:51:48 PM »
sounds to me like you just need a good woman Wylie?....

Offline Ron/Pa.

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #13 on: January 20, 2009, 02:59:02 PM »
I go Wednesday night to get fitted/calibrated for a sleep apnea mask. My oxygen level bottoms out in the middle of the night and I will wake up and can`t get back to sleep! This is supposed to help. The only way I get a good nights slepp is with Pills. Wait and see....

Offline Elijah Gunn

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #14 on: January 20, 2009, 04:07:56 PM »
I too have sleep apnea, and wear a bi-pap mask when I sleep at night. It helps me get better sleep, but I still sometimes have problems with getting sleepy behind the wheel.
 I used to also get heartburn a lot, and sometimes even would get reflux until I started to take digestive enzymes. The enzymes completely eliminated the reflux, and I do not get heartburn very much anymore. I think the enzymes also helped to reduce my cholesterol level.
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Offline DalesCarpentry

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #15 on: January 20, 2009, 04:13:45 PM »
I also have heart burn. It really is not chronic though. There are times I have it almost every night for a couple weeks then there are times I will not have it for a month or more. It depends. If I eat a lot of sauce or garlic I get it more often. Dale
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Offline Graybeard

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #16 on: January 20, 2009, 06:24:13 PM »
Quote
I agree I have sleep apnea tried the mask didn't like it. I'm going to try a snore guard.

I hope you don't seriously think that's gonna make a difference.  :o It's a cruel joke designed to part you and your money.

Folks from reading this so far it's pretty clear a lot of you have sleep apnea and you really need to get off your butts and do something about it. It is a serious condition and is life threatening and you need to go find out and if you have it get treated. Some few can have an operation to fix it but darn few. For most it requires the mask and CPAP machine. No it's not fun yes it can save your life.

From what I've read close to half the folks in America suffer from it to one degree or another. Snoring is one symptom but only one. Just because you snore really doesn't mean you have apnea. Apnea is defined as stopping breathing when sleeping. Have someone watch and listen to you as you sleep. If you stop breathing anyone watching/listening to you can tell the moment you stop breathing and then your subconscious wakes you enough to get you going again. It's quite easy to tell. If that applies to you then get your butt in gear and see a sleep doctor.

It also sounds like several of you are ignoring another serious medical condition called acid reflux. Dale clearly you have it. Be aware that acid reflux in the worst stages results in the contents of your stomach coming up into your throat during the night while you sleep. If you've ever woken about to choke on it then trust me you have it BAD and it's way past time to see a doctor about it. It leads to Barrett's esophagus which is a raw redding of the throat lining. It is not meant to take stomach acids and it leads to cancer 100% of the time if not caught in time.

You guys really need to get off your duffs and do something about your health while you can. Of course you can just go on ignoring it and leave your wife a widow at an early age. Do you have a good insurance policy to take care of her when you're gone?

Get with the program guys your bodies are telling you what's wrong. Listen up to what they are saying.


Bill aka the Graybeard
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I am not a lawyer and do not give legal advice.

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Offline wgr

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #17 on: January 20, 2009, 06:30:32 PM »
i use a CAP it helps alot i Evan have hook ups for batties when I'm out go see about it you'll be glad you did
never to much gun

Offline williamlayton

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #18 on: January 20, 2009, 06:43:38 PM »
HUMMMMM. Must be something wrong with me. The Hen says so.
I doan know nuthin bout this sleep stuff. My sister has sleep somethin.
I gets sleepy and i goes too sleep and when I wake up I get up til I is sleepy again.
I missed my nap this PM and went too sleep about 6pm and just got up.
I will stay up bout an hour or so an get sleepy an go back too sleep til bout 4/5 and get up.
Course now, I am retired but I don't get tired cause when I do I go too sleep and when I wakes up I gets up and does somethin til I gets sleepy and then I go too sleep.
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Offline tallyho

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Re: Medical Question
« Reply #19 on: January 20, 2009, 07:03:19 PM »


You guys really need to get off your duffs and do something about your health while you can. Of course you can just go on ignoring it and leave your wife a widow at an early age. Do you have a good insurance policy to take care of her when you're gone?

Get with the program guys your bodies are telling you what's wrong. Listen up to what they are saying.

Bill is right!

A couple of years ago I found myself in the ER with shortness of breath, dizziness, and a pain in my lower chest, or the middle of my diaphragm. I had had this kind of pain before, particularly after eating (and I tend to eat quickly) so I put it down as gas. However, being 59 and 25 lbs overweight I was treated like a heart attack patient. It turned out that, though I did have high blood pressure, they found nothing conclusive about my heart. An unpleasant and unexpected finding was that my blood glucose was over 500 (it should be 100 or less) and they stuck some insulin into me to get it down.

To make a long story short, I was diagnosed as diabetic and treatment with some scary and expensive drugs was suggested. But I chose to control it with diet, and within 6 weeks, I lost 20 lbs and got my blood glucose down into the 80 - 100 range. When next tested by a doctor was told "If you had come to me for the first time today I would not say you were diabetic." In addition, a friend of mine who is a doctor (not my doctor) told me that acid reflux can become very serious, and it is quite likely the cause of the pain I had in my diaphram/chest area.

Oh yeah, I spent a lot of time sitting on my butt for the last 10 yrs or so (work at a home office) so exercise was not a major part of my life... and I took lots of naps, and generally felt tired most of the time.

So I take meds for my BP and got it down, but I must keep working to keeping it down. Same for my glucose level, I gotta watch my carbs, and I have started going to a gym and taking pilates classes.

I am not suggesting any particular diagnosis for anyone (I am not at all medically educated) but just telling how the results of my own sluggish lifestyle showed up and got my undivided attention pretty quickly. As Bill points out, our bodies tell us when something is wrong... and the message can be quite dramatic, especially when we fail to hear the early warning signs.

Anyway, that whole experience got my attention, and caused considerable alarm for my kids and wife, so I heartily suggest any of y'all who fall into the overweight and not-active categories, who might be reading this; take Bill's advice, get off your butts and stay alive.

We may need you in the next few years! If you are pushing up daisies, you won't be available to vote... well, not unless you are registered Democrats, I suppose. ;)

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