SLEEP APNEA - Begining new treatment routine

[Mentu]

A few days ago, I told you about coming to the realization that I was once again experiencing the symptoms of uncontrolled Sleep Apnea. Today, my Doctor received a copy of the report of the Sleep Study performed last week. It confirms that my old settings are, indeed, no longer able to control the condition. Today, my old machine has now been reset with from 16 cm to 18 cm, a pressure significantly greater than what I have used for the past 5 years. Additionally, in a few days, I will change to a new machine which handles the pressure differently. Instead of a single pressure being set in the machine, the new one will be set with a range of 10-20 cm. The onboard computer will adjust the pressure continuously based upon the resistance it senses.

If there is a lesson to be learned, I think it is to be sensitive to the possibility of tunnel vision. Just because you've had heart surgery doesn't mean that every later problem grows out of that experience even if some of the symptoms are similar.

So, tonight I hope to sleep normally again and wake refreshed tomorrow...it has been awhile.

Larry

 

[bigsidster]

Sllep tight Mentu.

 

[nngbwh]

Good night and sweet dreams.

 

[normofthenorth]

I've had a bit of sleep apnea for a long time (maybe forever), but I've never done the sleep clinic thing, much less used any gizmos to cure it -- unless you count my sweety poking me when I sleep on my back, to get me to roll over onto my side! That usually cures it. My s.a. seems to ruin her nights' sleep a lot more than it bothers mine, at least as far as I can tell.

 

[Mentu]

Norm, a lot of people can, indeed, elimiate apnea by turning on to their side. The basic indicators that this is working are first, the periodic pauses in breathing (the apnea) do stop and you also stop snoring. My apnea occur at a rate of about 65 an hour so changing sleeping position doesn't work. Some people think that the CPAP or BIPAP machines actually breath for you like a ventillator but they do not. The machines just maintain a positive air pressure that keeps the nasal passage open so you can breath on your own without obstruction. Even so, sleeping on one's side sounds like a much better way to deal with it if it works.

Larry

 

[Greg a]

I have not needed my CPAP unit since surgery

 

[OldManEmu]

Greg I find your statement interesting

I have not needed my CPAP unit since surgery

I was always under the impression that once people started using these machines they used then forever.
Surgery was the only thing that is different from when you used the CPAP machine and now?

 

[JUST-WAITING]

HAS anyone had evidence that there sleep apnea contributed to the damage of their old or new valve?
I am planning another sleep study when I get back to speed.

 

[Greg a]

Greg I find your statement interesting

I was always under the impression that once people started using these machines they used then forever.
Surgery was the only thing that is different from when you used the CPAP machine and now?

Often CPAP is needed do to weight issues or sleep positions .....I did lose weight but also with no sternum my sleep positions have changed and now my wife says there are times she has to lay quietly to listen for an indication that I am breathing FAR from the snorefest i held before

 

[normofthenorth]

HAS anyone had evidence that there sleep apnea contributed to the damage of their old or new valve?
I am planning another sleep study when I get back to speed.

I've just heard GENERAL statements, that sleep apnea is serious, and that many of the health risks it brings are heart risks. I THINK some of us probably have some palpitations (and maybe deviations from proper sinus rhythm, too?) after we start breathing again, and I'd GUESS that there could be some risks there, even to a "fading" heart valve. . . Seems like a stretch, though. If you were on the verge of a MI= heart attack, I'd find it easier to imagine that apnea might push you "over the edge". . .

 

[Mentu]

OldManEmu, it may be true for some people that they must always use their machines to sleep normally but I have three friends who used CPAP/BIPAP machines for several years but no longer need them. The common factor is very dramatic weight loss. My friend, Susan, went from 320 lbs to 120 lbs and my brother from 454 lbs to 185 lbs. So, it is possible for some people to one day leave their machines behind.

Just Waiting, I'm unaware of any method of drawing a direct causal link between sleep apnea and valve disease. My impression is that it is associated more with heart enlargement and damage relating to oxygen deprivation. To the best of my knowledge, however, one can only speak of "association" rather than direct cause.

Norm, if you would like to read more about this problem, you might look first at some the books written by Dr William Dement. Dr Dement was the first researcher to perform sleep studies through the entire night instead of just a few hours. As a consequence, he was the first to learn that we cycle though the different stages of sleep several times over the course of a normal night. He has written a number of very readable books. One good one is The Promise of Sleep. You can also look at his website which has a wealth of information: http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/.

Larry

 

[normofthenorth]

Thanks, Larry. I've bookmarked it, and the "more up-to-date and maintained" site they link to, too. Now if only I had sleepless nights, I could REALLY check it out!