Sleep Apnea – Whose Got it

Yes i have it bad.

Was diagnosed with it 4 years ago.

Referral is needed by your Dr. to go to see a sleep specialist and do an overnight sleep study.

I was waking myself up 62x per hour by snoring or stopped breating. Bad for your haeart and brain as i stops the oxygen flow to both. They started me off with a mask like a fighter pilot mask and i couldn’t stand it. Quit for 3 months using the dang thing. Unfortunately i was getting less and less sleep so they gave me a different device which just fits in the nostrils of your nose connected to a longer tube which connects to the machine. Works much better for me. Now i take it wherever i go. Started out by being embarrassed about it, now i don’t care. Sleep is too important for me.

Fortunately i have insurance and it covered most everything.

Keep your stuff clean though as replacement parts are the killer expense. Definetely use distilled water in the machine as they recommend cause tab water with the minerals in it will trash the machine and will cost you big $. Insurance ( at least mine) gives you 1 machine, after that, you are on your own. Good Luck!

I haven’t gotten the bill yet, but ins. picks up a majority of the cost. The lady said insurance usually will rent it for a couple months before purchasing.

They tried the nostril one briefly, but I king of didn’t like the way it fit. I got the one that covers the nose. I also use the chin strap to prevent mouth leakage.

Its funny how when I first put it on, I usually need the ramp up feature. But in the morning, I have to double check it because it doesn’t even feel like it is on. Supposedly the machine is supposed to learn your breathing and will relax a little on the exhales.

I am really curious about the results. I don’t get them until Dec 5th when I do my follow up.

My wife has it. She told me a few years ago that I did too. When I told the doctor that she diagnosed me, she laughed. I did the sleep study & found out that I was waking up from not breathing 70+ times per hour. After I got my machine, I was even able to sleep through the night some times. I am much more awake now. And have more energy. I have lost 25 pounds since I got the machine, which makes a big difference, too. I have doctored at Mayo since 1972, so referrals were no problem. I think I could sleep without the machine for a night or two if I had to, but I feel very comfortable with it. Two years ago, on a fishing trip to South Dakota, 3 of the 6 guys there also had machines! One more should get one, but doesn’t think he has a problem. Keep us informed of your progress. And good luck!

I got it. Wake up with a racing heart. Trouble staying awake driving, all the signs. I quit it for awhile and that cost me my hearing. So when they tell you there is a problem get it fixed. I have been on mine since 2000.

Gundy

I had my follow up today. I was fairly low with the waking, but high for the shallow breathing. There are 3 indexes for that, waking, shallow breathing and something else. My O2 saturation got down to 80% and they don’t like anything under 90%. My blood pressure has dropped.

I’ll have to look over the numbers tonight and post them.

The chart was pretty crazy. I never entered REM sleep in the first part without the mask. With the mask it took me about 20 minutes to get there. Everything on the left where I had no mask was all over the place. On the right with the mask, my O2 levels are smooth and above 90%. Everything looks smooth and calm.

As for how I am feeling, I feel pretty good, pretty normal. I feel less sluggish in the morning when waking. I can pretty much wake up with the alarm with no problem. I am starting to be able to remember my dreams better. Its really cut down my anxiety to where it is pretty much gone or normal. I can concentrate at work much better. I generally feel a lot better with more energy.

Now for the next steps. He did mention it might be a good idea to see a nose and throat specialists, but that the machine essentially has taken care of the problem. Time to quit smoking, I think that will really help how I feel. I am sure that has affected my breathing at night. And lastly I need to lose a few pounds. That might be the hardest part.

Great news…… E-cig..?

I have to find my Blu Cigs. Lost it after the move, but they are around somewhere. That and General Snus.

Once they flood the rinks, I’ll be skating. As for diet, I was just talking to Michelle and our biggest problem is portions. I’m a pig.

I believe if I am reading this right, I was waking 55 times an hour. I have less apnea and more of the hypopnia, which is shallow breathing.

Thanks to the CPAP I was awaken by my internal clock this am to watch USA vs Russia.

A guy at work did the sleep study Thusday and was waking up over 100 times an hour. He also stopped breathing about 60 times an hour with O2 levels dropping into the 70% range!

I know how much it has helped me, I can’t imagine how he’s going to feel. He has to get the bi-directional unit.

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A guy at work did the sleep study Thusday and was waking up over 100 times an hour. He also stopped breathing about 60 times an hour with O2 levels dropping into the 70% range!

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That pretty much describes me to a T. My O2 levels were at 71% during my sleep study. I’ve been using the CPAP for 3+ years and am amazed at the difference it makes. I could never remember any dreams before I started using it, because I never got into a deep enough sleep to dream. I have never slept better.

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STEVE PLANTZ ARE YOU READING THIS??
Steve is the only guy I know of that takes ear plugs along for the other people that’s staying in his cabin. Considerate, he is.
True story…

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Yup that’s me Mr. considerate

I cannot believe that I have not seen this post until now seeing as it started in June of last year!

Yup I was one of those guys who could raise the roof with my snoring just ask my wife Wendy or any of the guys that I have shared a cabin with on fishing trips. My wife has put up with my snoring for 20 years by using ear plugs or on nights when it got really bad by sleeping in the extra bedroom.

Wendy is a medical transcriptionist for Mayo so she thinks that qualifies her to make medical diagnoses, she swore up and down that I had sleep apnea and would stop breathing, the whole nine yards. A few years ago after years of Wendy nagging me about my snoring I finally talked to my doctor about it and he referred me to the sleep clinic at Mayo, that was a given as where to go as Wendy and I both work for Mayo. Instead of having me stay overnight at the sleep clinic they sent me home with a monitor that hooks up to your fingers that will monitor your sleep patterns at home in the comfort of your own bed. I have no idea how they determine if you need to do the sleep study in the clinic or at home, I wish I would have asked that question.

So the next day you take the monitor back to the clinic and they get back to you with the results, Wendy was as giddy as a school girl because she was sure that I would be coming home with a CPAP machine and she would no longer have to put up with my snoring. Well much to her disappointment they told me that I did not have sleep apnea, I just snore loud, to say that Wendy was pissed would be an understatement.

After my sleep study I just went back to the same old same old and Wendy continued to use ear plugs and the extra bedroom, and oh yea I forgot to mention I also suffered from the body bruises same as pug.

A little over six months ago at my regular dentist appointment my dentist informed me that I was showing signs of gnawing my teeth and that I should consider getting a mouth guard to protect my teeth. I had seen the mouth guards for snoring from commercials on TV so I asked him if the mouth guard for protecting my teeth would also prevent snoring. He said no it would not but he could get me a mouth guard for snoring and that one would also protect my teeth, the catch was that at first he did not think that the guard for snoring was covered under my insurance and it was more expensive, $900 to be exact, but after he thought about it for a bit he said “let me look into it and I will get back to you.” Come to find out because I did need a guard to protect my teeth the one for snoring would also be covered by my insurance. Unfortunately at that time I had used up my insurance allotment for eyes & teeth for the year so I put it off until January of this year.

So at my six month dentist appointment in Jan of this year I was fitted for a mouth guard for my snoring, (they take a mold of your teeth) it took about a week to get as they send the mold to a company to have it made. I have been using the guard for about a month now and it has made a world of difference and Wendy is very happy, it is true what they say “Happy Wife Happy Life!” It does take some getting use to and for the first few nights it was a little uncomfortable and there was some soreness with it but now it is fine, it is kind of like they need to be broke in like a new pair of shoes. The guard is adjustable with different length straps that attach the uppers to the lowers on either side of the guard on the back end, you just have to play around with the different lengths to find which one is the most effective for you.