sleep apnea

[GRIMJIM]

Anyone here have it?

I'm going in for my overnight test Monday and if I don't have it something is wrong. I snore like a bear, hold my breath and am constantly tired.

Any helpful suggestions? c-pap recommendations? Mask recommendations?

Anything would be helpful.

[pspinc2003]

Jim
I KNOW I have it but havent gone for my Dr consultation yet.  It is scheduled for Nov 17.  In the extensive research I have done, I have EVERY symptom....all you mentioned, plus all the rest...ie getting up to go to the bathroom 4x/night, waking up and gasping for air, heart racing, etc, etc.  From what I have read, the c-pap is the way to go and cures most almost instantaneously.  Not looking forward to putting that on every night, but it would be nice to be well rested again!  Best of luck with your test/therapy, etc.  LEt me know how it goes and I will let you know, too.

Rich in WI

[cange]

Hey dude, Chris Bigalow has it. thats Pegs girlfriends husband. If you want info, I can give you his number.
Also Ron, the guy who owns the land we hunt has it. He just got fitted for a new mask and he said he has never slept better in his life. You can talk to him when you guys ome up.

[The Hermit]

I have it and it can be a bit of a problem. Some mornings I wake up with a pounding headache and I know I must have stopped breathing again in the night. When my beloved Donna was alive,(she passed in 2005), she would wake me in the night scarred because I would go so long without taking a breath.
I live alone, but have been told on treks that they can hear me snore the next mountain over. Rattles the windows etc. I should see a professional but an Indian friend gave me a few suggestions which helped in my case. This sounds gross but clean your nose everynight before bed. It helps open the airways so you can breath through your nose and not your mouth. Also, elevate the head of your bed about 3 or 4 inches and that seems to help too. Good luck and keep us posted. I'm sure others have the same problem.


     The Hermit

[Elijah Gunn]

I have it and wear a bi-pap mask at night. It helps some. When I get back to work ,and have health ins.again I want to try a different mask. My wife jokes that it makes me sound like Darth Vader when I'm sleeping.

[littlecanoe]

GrimJim,

If it works well you should see all that fatigue and going to sleep during the day fade into the past.

Comfort Gel masks are nice but a bit more bulky.  Nasal Pillow is nice, not a mask but goes directly into the nose. 
Flexfit is lighter than Comfort Gel and if it fits is a nice mask.

Give it 2 weeks to a month and you should feel like a different man...May have to name you HappyJim then!!

[Dee]

Lose weight.

[MGMorden]

Lose weight.

Doesn't always work.  My dad has one of the worst cases I've ever heard of and he's around 165 pounds.

[mjbgalt]

i thought i had this. turns out i was diabetic and had a ton of other problems that created the same kinda issue.

my tiredness and soreness and lack of sleep and waking up and such was all a blood sugar issue.

who knows.

[Thebear_78]

I have a cpap at does help you sleep like a baby once you get used to it.  they also make a kind of strap that you can sleep with around your head that pulls your jaw forward to achieve about the same thing. It is definately worth trying, because a cpap and all the doc test will cost upwards of 5k

[Sourdough]

I and my wife both have sleep apnia. 

When I was in the hospital for my bi-pass the nurses told me I needed to get tested.  Before I got tested I was back in the hospital for an infection.  The nurses kept waking me up all night telling me to breath.  I would stop breathing and set off the alarms due to my oxygen level going too low.  I finally got tested and after two hours I felt like I was never going to go to sleep.  I got up, the testing nurse came in, and I told her I just could not get to sleep.  She informed me that I was falling off to sleep every five minutes, but I kept waking myself up when I quite breathing, or started snoring.  I was given a C-Pap, love my C-Pap.  I wake up refreshed and ready to face the day.  By using my C-Pap solid for two years, I retrained my body so to speak.  Now if I don't use it for a week or so, no problem.  I won't snore or stop breathing.  But only for a week or so, then I will start if I don't go back on the C-Pap.

Now for the darling little lady.  For such a tiny little person, she can wake the dead.  But the thing that bothered me was that she quite breathing for several seconds, every third or forth snore.  She went and got tested.  They gave her a C-Pap and told her that she was one of the worst they had ever tested.  She brought it home and used it for a night or two, then she said it was too much and has refused to wear it since.  Our son will close our bedroom door, his bedroom door, and turn on his stereo to drown his Mom out.  I will take it for a while then I will wake her up and tell her to turn over.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not.  Once or twice a week I will actually make her go to the couch down stairs, or the spare bedroom.  One night she is going to stop breathing and not start up again.  I point this out, but her only comment is, "Get off my back, I'm not wearing it, get over it".  She says it makes her gag, and she does not like the mask on her face.

[DDZ]

I think what works the best is to have your adenoids removed. I worked with a guy who had sleep apnea and he obviously didn't sleep at night, because he could fall asleep at work standing up. He had his adenoids removed and it made a big difference for him. 
My Grandson would quit breathing at night, and it would wake him up. He wasn't getting very much sleep. They removed his adenoids and he has not quit breathing in his sleep sense.

There are skinny people and young children that get sleep apnea also. 

[Dee]

Here is a sometimes cure for folks THAT AREN'T OVERWEIGHT, and ALthough, it seems absurb, IT SOMETIMES works.
Before bedtime, rub VICKS VAPOR RUB, on the "soles: of you feet, and then put socks on to keep it in place and off the sheets. Clears the lungs, and opens up the breathing passages. It helps with colds, flu, AND ASMATHA. Think it doesn't make sense. Rub a piece of RAW GARLIC on the sole of ONE FOOT, and in 20 minutes you can TASTE IT.
Bad cough? Do the VICKS like I said and it usually goes away in UNDER 10 MINUTES.
You may think me crazy, but us Cherokee are sometimes smarter than we appear. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain.

[Graybeard]

A LOT of misinformation being passed on in this thread. Talk to your sleep doctor and get the correct information and move forward from a point of knowledge not internet rumor.

[Questor]

GB is right. The doc will probably let suggest you lose some weight though, it's a huge factor. My buddy has bona fide sleep apnea and he benefits greatly from the mask. It took him a while to get used to it, but it's been good for him for about 10 years. He has diabetes too.

[nw_hunter]

Here is a sometimes cure for folks THAT AREN'T OVERWEIGHT, and ALthough, it seems absurb, IT SOMETIMES works.
Before bedtime, rub VICKS VAPOR RUB, on the "soles: of you feet, and then put socks on to keep it in place and off the sheets. Clears the lungs, and opens up the breathing passages. It helps with colds, flu, AND ASMATHA. Think it doesn't make sense. Rub a piece of RAW GARLIC on the sole of ONE FOOT, and in 20 minutes you can TASTE IT.
Bad cough? Do the VICKS like I said and it usually goes away in UNDER 10 MINUTES.
You may think me crazy, but us Cherokee are sometimes smarter than we appear. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain.

Dang Dee!.......I use to think you were one of the wise ones, and now you have to come up with this old Vick's Indian squaw tale, and go ruin your rep.

Next you will be telling us Ex-lax is good for a cough.

[GRIMJIM]

I am overwweight and have been trying to lose it. 30 pounds so far, but I've always snored and held my breath even when I was young and skinny. I weighed about 145 pounds at 21.

Also diabetic but under control so far and getting better with the weight loss. I actually was bottoming out and had to cut back on the medication which is a good thing.

I am definately waiting to hear from a proffessional Bill but I thought with all the people here some would have machine and mask suggestions. There are a few of them out there and the voice of experience helps.

Jim
I KNOW I have it but havent gone for my Dr consultation yet.  It is scheduled for Nov 17.  In the extensive research I have done, I have EVERY symptom....all you mentioned, plus all the rest...ie getting up to go to the bathroom 4x/night, waking up and gasping for air, heart racing, etc, etc.  From what I have read, the c-pap is the way to go and cures most almost instantaneously.  Not looking forward to putting that on every night, but it would be nice to be well rested again!  Best of luck with your test/therapy, etc.  LEt me know how it goes and I will let you know, too.

Rich in WI

I was waking to urinate frequently also that's how I found out I was diabetic. Get checked!

[Dee]

Here is a sometimes cure for folks THAT AREN'T OVERWEIGHT, and ALthough, it seems absurb, IT SOMETIMES works.
Before bedtime, rub VICKS VAPOR RUB, on the "soles: of you feet, and then put socks on to keep it in place and off the sheets. Clears the lungs, and opens up the breathing passages. It helps with colds, flu, AND ASMATHA. Think it doesn't make sense. Rub a piece of RAW GARLIC on the sole of ONE FOOT, and in 20 minutes you can TASTE IT.
Bad cough? Do the VICKS like I said and it usually goes away in UNDER 10 MINUTES.
You may think me crazy, but us Cherokee are sometimes smarter than we appear. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain.

Dang Dee!.......I use to think you were one of the wise ones, and now you have to come up with this old Vick's Indian squaw tale, and go ruin your rep.

Next you will be telling us Ex-lax is good for a cough.

You haven't tried it yet. Do the garlic deal I mentioned and get back with me.

[Graybeard]

Basically there is no cure for apnea. Sure surgery sometimes works for some folks but the doc said not for me. Weight loss can help some times but again is not necessarily gonna stop it might help might not. None of the crap you do in, to or thru the nose is of any help at all with apnea. You need to do some reading and talk to your doctor to understand what apnea really is and what it isn't. Clearly many posting to this thread do not understand what it is and isn't.

The mask either CPAP or now some times Bi-PAP is the solution. It's not a cure it's merely the treatment that works. It controls the problem but doesn't cure the situation.

While frequent urination at night is often associated with apnea it's more likely a sign of an enlarged prostrate so get tested for that as well. With men 40 and older it's at least as common as apnea which really well over 50% of the US population suffers from whether they admit it or not.

I have to use CPAP and an oxygen concentrator both.

Rather than pay too much attention to internet chatter on a serious medical condition that if left untreated WILL SHORTEN YOUR LIFE get proper medical advice and do figure out what CPAP mask will work for you. It took me almost three years to find one that I could live with. Blue Cross will replace a mask every six months and the machine every three years but lately they require you show the old one doesn't work anymore to replace it even at three years. Masks tho they still replace every six months. Dunno what other insurance companies do.

[Gerry N.]

Sleep apnea is no joke, people die because of it, my dad did.  My brother, two sisters and I all use CPAPs.   
You can just buy one off the internet and try a mask,  but that is as stupid as havin a drinking buddy take out your appendix.   You need the sleep test to find out what pressure is required IN YOUR CASE. And you need the mask fitted by someone who knows what they'e doing.   My wife needs 7 CM H2o, I require 10.   I also made up 12V power cords so we can go camping.  I have a group 27 deep cycle battery that will power both our cpaps for eight nights on a charge.

Your mileage, as always, may vary.

Gerry N.

[goodshot]

Use to go asleep in about 5 minutes no matter what i was doing, driving sitting etc.
Low thyroid and apnea was it.
Oxygen concentration fell to 75 after 2 hours sleep, they put the machine on, woke up at 5 A.M. with my mouth closed, had to swallow first thing, hadn't done that in years, also woke from a dream , hadn't dreamt that in years.
Thyroid medication and Bi-pap machine helped me drop 40 pounds effortlessly.
Best wishes, 

[streak]

I was tested in 2000 and determined that I had sleep apnea. Got on the CPAP mask and machine and in two to three days was adjusted to that way of sleeping.Definately made a big difference in my life.
I would be at work talking to my employees and actually nod off during a conversation! Also would leave work in the afternoon get on the interstate and start home, speed limit was 65 mph and I would start out at the speed limit and within a short time would doze off and suddenly wakeup and be doing 35 mph! Talk about scary!After snapping back from dozing off I would be really wide awake because of the scare and do alright until I got off the interstate and had to make a stop at a red light. At the red light would doze off again. I went to my GP and also my allergy doctor and told them my problem. They thought it might be some of the medication I was on,but this turned out to be a wild goose chase!
Both of these doctors essentially retired about that time,so I developed a respiratory problem and went to my new allergy doctor and he checked out my respiratory problem and prescribed some antibiotics. I had not mentioned anything about my falling asleep problem! After he gave me the prescription for the antibiotic he looked at me and ask me if I had ever had a sleep disorder test?
I told him no and he said well you need one!He set me up to go have this done and bingo I had sleep apnea.This is a dangerous condition if not treated. The overall affects on the body are devastating
due to loss of oxygen to the various parts of the body.

[Sourdough]

I agree with GB and a few others on here.  It is a dangerous condition that can only be diagnosed by trained professionals.  I have it so does my wife.  All four of my brothers have it, and so does my Mom and Dad.  Now Dad was not real bad, and when he lost weight it went away for him.  Dad is 6'1" and now weights 165 lbs (skinny guy).  But my Mom and 3 of my brothers are obese.  I am overweight, but my youngest brother Rob (Lionhunter) is not.  Yet all five of us have apnia.  So while weight does affect it with some people, not everyone falls into that category.  Only a sleep test will tell.

C-Pap:  Constant level of pressure.  To exhale you have to push air out harder than the C-Pap is pushing in.
Bi-Pap:  Higher pressure when you inhale, then cycles to lower pressure when you exhale. 

One of my brothers was started with a huge unit that was on wheels and had a water fall system.  It was a monstrosity, but it worked.  Rob and Jim were both started on Bi-Paps.  Jim just uses a little nose mask.  Rob due to sleeping with his mouth open must use a full face mask.  I started with a C-Pap and a nose mask, loved it.  Used it for five years.  The water container cracked, so I asked the doctor about getting a replacement.  They sent me a whole new, small, self contained, unit, said they could no longer get the water container from the manufacturer.  When I started to use it for the first time I noticed it was different.  It would cycle on and off during my breathing.  I called the supplier and found out they had changed me to a Bi-Pap.  It's OK, but I really liked the older C-Pap better.  It was constant, and the noise level did not change.  With the Bi-Pap it is constantly cycling high and low.  When I inhale it goes to high, when I exhale it goes to low.  That sometimes keeps me awake for a while.

Often when you see someone died in their sleep, sleep apnea was the problem.  A lot of the accidents on the highway are caused by people falling asleep at the wheel.  Many due to sleep apnea.

Bottom line, get tested.

[Graybeard]

Bi-Pap:  Higher pressure when you inhale, then cycles to lower pressure when you exhale. 

My current machine is like that but due to the O2 inflow it is not in use. They had to put a valve in the line between the Bi-Pap and me so the O2 wouldn't back up into it. They said it might damage the machine tho I honestly doubt that. Still it no longer works in that manner and I have to use the button to turn it on also. Without the O2 in the live with the valve I can just put the mask on and breath deeply and it will turn on without use of the button.

[GRIMJIM]

Thanks for all the replies. My test is tommorrow night and I'll let you know what happens,
Jim

[Old Fart]

I've been hooked up to a c-pap for about 15 or 20 years  now.
Do like GB said and see your doc. Get the sleep study, it'll let your doc know what treatment you need.
My first had a fitting that went over my nose, it rubbed a sore on the bottom of my nose between to nostriles.
Next I got one of those that fit up both nostriles, in hurt a little at first but I got used to it.
A good nights sleep goes a long way to helping you feel better. Plus there's all kinds of other stuff associated with apnea.

[GRIMJIM]

Well, I had my test last night. They hook all kinds of wires and bands up to you and tell you to go to sleep.

After a few hours of trying I finally dozed off and the tech comes in and wakes me up to put a mask on me. So I guess I've got it.

The first mask was really uncomfortable and after an hour she came back in and tried another size. That one was better but still felt strange.

Eventually I fell asleep and the next thing I knew it was morning and she had to physically wake me up.

It may take a little getting used to but I can already tell, it's gonna be worth it.

Bill, if I can ask, is the oxygen for your sleep apnea or something else?

I'm already getting calls from a supplier saying it's about my doctor's orders. I don't know if they're legit or not. Guess I'll find out.

[Sourdough]

When I got my first one the doctor turned in the order, then a supplier called and set up an appointment to fit me with my unit and mask.

When I needed a replacement like five years later, the doctor put in the order.  I got a call from Anchorage (400 miles away) and they asked me a few questions.  I went on to a web site while the lady was on the phone with me.  I looked at different mask and selected one that I thought would work.  The next day I received my new unit from UPS.  Then three days later the company in Anchorage called to ask if I had any problems with the newer unit or the different mask.  No problem, it works fine. 

I do not use the heater in my unit to heat the water, I like it at room temp.  My wife does use the heater, and she sets it to the max.  That makes the air she breaths more humid.

[Graybeard]

Bill, if I can ask, is the oxygen for your sleep apnea or something else?

I have a severe oxygen shortage problem and the doctors even after nearly $100,000 in tests have not figured out why. They've tested about everything inside my body several times but are no closer to an answer. So I have been told you breath oxygen 24-7-365. I refuse to do so but do use it when sleeping and it makes a difference in how I feel when I wake. Even with the CPAP my O2 levels fall too low when sleeping. It is a separate machine.

I don't use the water at all and don't use the heater either as I can't seem to breathe if the air coming thru the mask is too warm. I need it to be cool but not cold all year long. As soon as it gets too warm I wake up gasping for air.

[Rustyinfla]

    I've been on CPAP for about 6 or 7 years now. I don't use the water and I never knew a heater existed. The first "mask" they tried on me didn't have anything but two "pillows" that went up against the nostrils, but after two nights it hurt so much I couldn't sleep. I got a regular mask and I've been good to go ever since. I never leave home without it. Mine even has a 12v jack for running off a battery or if I have to use it overnight away in the sleeper of the truck.