October 21, 2002
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Survey Says ...
One of the surveys going around Xanga asks "What's on your bedside table?" Some people have mundane items, tissues and alarm clocks. Other people keep items of significance that they will see first thing in the morning, religious icons, or a keepsake of a relationship. One fellow has a stuffed armadillo. - Okay I made that up, but don't ya just know that SOMEONE has a stuffed armadillo beside his bed?
My bedside table in a tall narrow cabinet. Behind the door are two shelves loaded with books. Most of them I've read, but a few are books in waiting. There is an open shelf between the cabinet and the tabletop. In there I have pencils, a notebook and a book of crossword puzzles. On the top of my table I have a lamp and a respirator.
Common medical wisdom says that people who are overweight are prone to sleep apnea. Research says that it's unclear whether the weight contributes to causing apnea, or the apnea contributes to causing weight. For a person with sleep apnea, sleep is a scary thing. Once they close their eyes and enter that blessed innocent realm which "knits up the ravelled sleeve of care" (have I mentioned that I really love MacBeth?) their autonomic functions cease to work properly. Specifically, they have periods in which they stop breathing. As time passes the blood oxygen level falls, the heart strains to pump more and more of the oxygen deprived blood, and the brain begins to suffer. Finally, survival responses kick in and the person makes a choking gasp which sounds like a God-awful snore. The first symptoms of apnea include waking with a headache, excessive sleepiness during the day, lowered metabolism, depression, and reduced ability to concentrate.
There are three kinds of sleep apnea, obstructive, central and mixed. With obstructive apnea, soft tissue blocks the throat. With central apnea the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breath. Mixed apnea is a combination of the two. I have Central Sleep Apnea.
A person with Apnea (from a Greek word meaning 'without breath') can stop breathing hundreds of times per night for a minute or longer. If I remember correctly from the diagnostic process, the apnea must happen at least once every ten minutes. (This could be a wildly wrong number.) Sleep Anea occurs most often in men, over aged 40, who are overweight. When I went in to be tested, they found that my brain refuses to ever signal my muscles to breathe. From the moment I fall asleep I never take a normal breath. My test results were off the chart. I have the dubious distinction of being the worst case ever observed in the Floyd County Memorial Hospital Sleep Lab.
The treatment? Sleep with a respirator. There are two different machines used by apnea sufferers - a Constant Pulmonary Air Pressure (CPAP) machine, or a BiLevel Pulmonary Air Pressure (BiPAP). I have the BiPAP. I wear a mask through which the machine delivers air at 14 pounds of pressure while I inhale. Then after I've taken the breath, pressure drops to 9 pounds (per inch?) so I can exhale. The machine immediately ramps back up to 14 Pounds of pressure to forcing my lungs to breathe in again.
Since I've had my machine (about three years now) I've taken it everywhere. It fits in a bag the size of a small carry-on, so it's no problem to fly with it (and there is an outside pocket where I stick a book.) Untreated apnea leads to heart attack or stroke. If you or someone you know has mentioned any of the sypmtoms I listed above, please check with a doctor and ask about the possibility that sleep apnea is the culprit.
Comments (20)
...thanks for the insight and update.
MuSe
Uh. I will. That sounds like me. To a T.
Eesh, that sounds horrible
A friend's husband suffers from this, although he's more under than overweight. Thanks for the details.
Interesting blog....on my night table I have a telephone, an alarm clock, and a container of change....
How about that....on my dresser, I have flowers, a white runner, a bamboo fan, a candle....
Sigh.
That's an old survey. I saw it when I first came on to Xanga. Thanks for your take on the good Dr.
hee hee hee!!! I gave you 0 eProps because I like the little devil guy!!!
Thanks for your important comments. My doctor mentioned I should get tested at some point (making mental note to do that sooner rather than later). Oh -- and sometimes I do, indeed, have a stuffed armadillo beside my bed. It's one of my kids' favorites -- very lifelike!
Well that has got to be scary. That's wonderful that you can take it with you on trips!
My bedside table is loaded with books, my lamp and a journal for my dreams.
My FIL has that machine, but he got it for snoring. He was loud. Now, he doesnt snore at all. Its wonderful.
My daughter had sleep apnea due to the fact that her tonsils and adenoids were too big for her wee body. Once she had them taken out, she slept a whole night through for the first time in 3 years!!!
My husband has the Bi PAP machine. He's used it for almost 10 years now. But he doesn't have sleep apnea, he has Upper Respiratory Resistance. No clue what the difference is but we had to fight the insurance company for them to cover it. He's the first person with this disorder to use a BiPAP. Works wonders for him.
Yea, I like the little devil guy, too. I have an idea--why don't you move two devils over to the 2eProps, one devil over to the 1 eProp, and one angel over to the 0eProps. That way, I can have my fun and you can still get 2 eProps?
Yes, that apnea is no fun. My Dad has sleep apnea and uses a respirators at night, too. He went undiagnosed for years. It's great that you're sharing this information.
Um don't have a bedside table. It is a little homemade woven bench. Um there is an ashtray, some candy, a few hair ties, damn it's a mess.
LOL - Fugitive - you have started a trend. I kind of like the little devil too . . . When I get a chance I'll take a look at reshuffling some icons.
How about one prop to be different... now all of them have been used on this blog...
(however, just the awareness you have given is worth far more than just one or two props)
No bedside table for me. My dh's computer desk is jammed up next to my side of the bed, one of the dressers next to his. We do have an overflowing bookcase headboard, though.
I'm glad you're being proactive with the sleep apnea.
My ex used to stop breathing long enough that it would wake me up...I'd poke him, he'd make a huge noise, and roll over...and about when I got back to sleep, he'd stop again. He would not go be checked, he said I was just making it up. Hopefully he will go someday.
Hmmmm....I wonder...
I'm not sure if you read my blog where I announced that I'm having Gastric Bypass surgery, but I am. And while I was researching it, I found that a lot of the patients for this surgery also have sleep apnea. I also read that having the surgery can cure the apnea in a lot of (or most of) the patients. I don't have it, that I know of. But I sleep well at night and I don't have any reason to believe I have problems. Thank God!
Thanks for writing such an educational blog.
I wish my husband would get evaluated..I suspect that he's got it too!
Spot
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