Sleep Apnea

[The Big Train]

If shellshock is 6'2" then I am 6'6" 

also I don't think I have sleep apnea, just insomnia, but it actually has gotten better recently, probably due to less stress I think

[MakeItRain]

No offense - I'm assuming there are cases of sleep apnea in younger individuals that aren't related to obesity, so feel free to tell me to eff off - but you should probably focus on losing weight. Wearing a mask to bed every night is no way to live, and there are so many other health problems associated with excessive weight. Focus on your health!

eff off, you're wrong. If he has sleep apnea it is unlikely that losing weight will help, only if he has a mild form.

I knew I had sleep apnea when I was a freshman in college. I was 6'2" 160 lbs. Unfortunately I am from a home town with not many medical options and the Lafene Health Center didn't offer much help. It wasn't until I moved to Wichita 7 years later and saw real doctors that I was able to get a sleep study. I was not only snoring heavily but doing all of that crazy crap like falling asleep at stop lights. I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, so sleep apnea is not a condition for just obese people. Flo Hyman was one of the best volleyball players in American history and she died of a heart attack on the floor while playing. She had marfan syndrome which caused sleep apnea. Reggie White also died from complications caused by sleep apnea.

ShellShock, even if you are obese or can stand to lose a few pounds, that doesn't have a rough ridin' thing to do with what you need to do now. These rough ridin' morons popping their mouths off on here aren't doctors, eff them. The sleep study was a rough ridin' nightmare for me. I went to the sleep center and they hooked all of these wires and sensors all over my face and body. They tried to make me go to bed at 10:00PM, just go straight to sleep. No music, books, tv, nothing; they just wanted you to sleep with all of this crap hooked up to you while they were watching you. Well the entire night, 10-6AM I slept for 45 rough ridin' minutes. I had to go back a second time and I convinced them to let me read and when I got tired I would put the book down, turn the lights off and go to sleep. They allowed me to read and I slept. I averaged 42 events per hour which, is awful.

I was given the choice to have surgery or to go on the cpap and I elected for the cpap, not a fan of elective surgeries. I started with a full face mask, you are allowed to breath normally while awake when wearing the full face. I noticed a difference the first night. I stopped using the full face mask because it wasn't comfortable and it looked stupid. I went to one that just covered my nose but that was crazy hard to use, so I went back to the full face permanently. You never ever ever get used to the mask, I have had mine for a decade now. I still mess with it on a nightly basis. I switched to a new brand last winter and I was thinking over the weekend that I want to switch back to what I used before. Despite never getting used to the mask, using the cpap has absolutely changed my life. You have no idea how much negative impact sleep apnea has on your life until it gets fixed. There are times when I don't use my mask because I fall asleep before I put it on and I pay for it. I don't know if this is because I am older but when I forget my apneas are much more severe, I wake up gasping for air and it takes me a few more seconds before I can get a breath, its like drowning out of water.

ShellShock, run don't walk to the nearest sleep center and get it done man, your life depends on it. Oh also, if you do have sleep apnea and have to get a cpap DO NOT get your supplies from APRIA healthcare. They charged my insurance $750 for a mask that costs $100 on the internet. My insurance came after me for the money. Also do not buy a cpap used or any of the equipment used, it needs to be calibrated to what your sleep needs are, if you travel to high altitudes you will also need to take it in to be recalibrated.

  Thanks for the info MiR!

I'm a big stomach sleeper, will this completely screw up my sleep like that? I'm not sure if I can sleep with the nose mask while on my stomach. I suppose I can teach myself to sleep on my back but that doesn't sound like fun.

Your stomach sleeping days are ova, it's a contributing factor.

[MakeItRain]

MIR, that sounds terrible compared to the elective surgery imo. Great to hear how much it helped though.

I know. I wish I weren't such a coward about hospital germs.

[MakeItRain]

my dentist spent my entire last appointment talking to me about sleep apnea like he was a jehovah's witness for sleep apnea (or against it, i guess).  it was kinda weird.

Yeah, I think there is a pharma that kicks back some cash to dentists to get people to get that mouthpiece, my doctor has never recommended one.

If a person snores a lot and complains of not getting any sleep, could it be caused by sleep apnea? What should I do to monitor them to determine if they have sleep apnea?

It's not just snoring, but if the snoring sounds arrested at times he may have a problem. Listen for what may sound like stopped breathing. The not getting sleep thing is a red flag, if he's really tired in the afternoons, frequently that's bad. Waking up with headaches is another red flag.

If this hypothetical person has a concern I'm surprised this person hasn't asked me about this before, he found out that I had it 5 years ago.

[Mrs. Gooch]

If a person snores a lot and complains of not getting any sleep, could it be caused by sleep apnea? What should I do to monitor them to determine if they have sleep apnea?

It's not just snoring, but if the snoring sounds arrested at times he may have a problem. Listen for what may sound like stopped breathing. The not getting sleep thing is a red flag, if he's really tired in the afternoons, frequently that's bad. Waking up with headaches is another red flag.

If this hypothetical person has a concern I'm surprised this person hasn't asked me about this before, he found out that I had it 5 years ago.

I don't think he is concerned because he probably hasn't considered this possibility but he does frequently have headaches and wake up after having gotten hardly any sleep. The snoring starts and stops and sometimes it is so loud that he wakes himself up.

[DQ12]

i'm a teeth grinder.  wonder if that could be bad genes too?

[porky morgan]

I did the sleep study and was diagnosed with mildish apnea. I tried the cpap and hated it, and had to drop it because of an allergic reaction to the latex material. Then I tried a dental implement that the dentist created that holds the jaw forward and it worked well. Much better sleep and less snoring / apnea related waking up. But it cost $600 and eventually fell apart. So then I tried one of the cheap plastic ones that are all over the internet...basically just like a football mouthpiece. Works just as well! You may have more severe apnea than I, but it might be worth a shot. The brand I like is called Pure Sleep. The Zypah is ok too.

BTW my understanding is that when you fall asleep your body's muscles relax and in a normal situation the throat muscles stay active enough through sleep to allow breathing. But some people have throat muscles that relax and collapse like the rest of the body. That's apnea.

[star seed 7]

It always feels like I'm still drunk when I get up in the morning. Headache, sick stomach, not good balance. It goes away in about 10 minutes. (does not happen when I have been drinking the night before tho). I wake up every hour too, pretty much on the dot, but I'm back asleep in seconds.

I don't have breathing problems tho, so I don't think it's an apnea thing

[CNS]

i'm a teeth grinder.  wonder if that could be bad genes too?

I did this.  Got a bite guard.  Huge diff in quality of sleep.

[MakeItRain]

If a person snores a lot and complains of not getting any sleep, could it be caused by sleep apnea? What should I do to monitor them to determine if they have sleep apnea?

It's not just snoring, but if the snoring sounds arrested at times he may have a problem. Listen for what may sound like stopped breathing. The not getting sleep thing is a red flag, if he's really tired in the afternoons, frequently that's bad. Waking up with headaches is another red flag.

If this hypothetical person has a concern I'm surprised this person hasn't asked me about this before, he found out that I had it 5 years ago.

I don't think he is concerned because he probably hasn't considered this possibility but he does frequently have headaches and wake up after having gotten hardly any sleep. The snoring starts and stops and sometimes it is so loud that he wakes himself up.

Gooch, please go to the doctor. I'm going to bust your ass about this until you do.

[kslim]

Yeah sleep apnea is no joke if you think you have it do a sleep study asap. It sucks but its better than dying in the middle of the night

[sys]

Yeah, I think there is a pharma that kicks back some cash to dentists to get people to get that mouthpiece, my doctor has never recommended one.

ahhh.  well, that makes it less weird.  seems like a lotta extra work for the occasional kickback, i wouldn't have the energy.

[Trim]

https://twitter.com/hosienation/status/616098749211901953

[Tobias]

for my money, best vine ever

[SdK]

Who is that guy? Pretty fitting and random vine for this thread.

[Tobias]

fattyfest performer and all around stud hosie

[Tobias]

https://mobile.twitter.com/hosienation

[MakeItRain]

https://twitter.com/hosienation/status/616098749211901953

Holy crap

[Trim]

Holy crap

You hadn't seen that?  He did it at the end of 2013, but that recent tweet of it was what I could find that I knew would play in the thread.

[Tobias]

non-blood #family has probably posted it a collective half dozen times on this blog alone

[SdK]

fattyfest performer and all around stud hosie

Oh yeah. I remember his set now.

[MakeItRain]

Holy crap

You hadn't seen that?  He did it at the end of 2013, but that recent tweet of it was what I could find that I knew would play in the thread.

No, I stopped following him in the fall of 2013, he had a long string of tweets I found objectionable. Instead of having a sociological conversation on twitter with a comic I just decided to dip out.

[ben ji]

My dad has had sleep apnea for a while, got the mask a couple of years ago.

If you have never seen it its pretty crazy....Just imagine someone snoring away then all of a sudden nothing, for like 30 sec to 1 min, then BOOM! Snore/Gasping for breath but never really waking up from their sleep. It would happen at least a couple of times a hour.

[Asteriskhead]

Thanks for reminding me that I need to revisit this conversation with a good friend of mine.

[renocat]

Beat thing ever.  I sleep like a rock.  It takes about a month to get use to the mask.  Get a full face mask.  Apnea can kill you.