sleep apnea's snore

Those with sleep apnea have a different snore than others who snore. Instead of the constant drone of air moving in and out of the mouth, someone with sleep apnea has rips and snorts of sound. That's because the air that is trying to go down the windpipe is being blocked. The brain sends a signal that no air is being sent to the lungs. Not a good thing. the body awakens with a loud snort which is the same as gasping for air.

my first sleep clinic study

My first experience with a sleep clinic was in 1999. I had just been diagnosed with sleep apnea and my doctor wanted me to have an overnight study done. A friend of mine had the same test just months before me and he told me it wasn’t bad. You just go there in the evening and sleep. Of course they hook you up to machines that read how well you are sleeping. Well that didn’t seem bad.
It was the night of the study, I had my overnight bag packed and I drove to the clinic around 8. I was given paperwork to fill out by the sleep tech. after that I was taken into what would be my room for the night. They tried to make it cozy with a TV and pictures on the wall but it was still a hospital room.

Around 9 o’clock the tech took me into another room to hook me up to monitors. It was very weird. He put this glue like substance in my hair, my face, my chest and my legs. Then he attached metal discs onto the globs of glue all over my body. Wires were then connected to the metal discs. I’m supposed to sleep like this!

I went back to my room, all wired up, and I laid down in the bed. The tech attached the end of the wires to a machine that would monitor my sleep. He then informed me that he would be watching me in the other room via a monitor. If I need to go to the bathroom or if I needed anything else press the button on the remote that he gave me.

This was going to be a long night.

For the first hour I just stared at the ceiling, wide awake and feeling very uncomfortable. After the second hour I hear the voice of the tech booming over the intercom wondering why I wasn’t asleep. I told him I just was too uncomfortable to sleep. He suggested lying on my side. I tried it and after about an hour I fell asleep.

No sooner had I started to rest then the voice of the tech came booming again over the intercom. Apparently when I had turned over I knocked loose some of the wires. So he came in the room and reattached me.

Any chance of sleep at this point was zero. I might have dosed off around 4 in the morning but not for long.

At five in the morning the tech came in and unattached me. He told me that did have enough results to send to the doctor.

Great, wonderful I just wanted to get out of there.
Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed
Thanks

five things to know about sleep apnea

Five things to know about sleep apnea

1. There are two types of sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, mainly caused by heart attacks or strokes, and obtrusive sleep apnea which is much more common. Obtrusive sleep apnea is caused by a blockage of the back of the throat due to enlarged uvula or enlarged tonsils or anything blocking your airway.

2. You actually stop breathing while you are sleeping. The lack of oxygen that you receive will panic your body and make you wake up.

3. Losing weight isn't the only way to stop sleep apnea. You can be thin and still have a problem with sleeping. Although most doctors will tell you that losing weight will make the sleep apnea less severe.

4. The effect that sleep apnea has on your body can result in high blood pressure and heart disease.

5. There are machines called cpap and bipap that can help in the control of sleep apnea. But they don’t always work for everyone.

Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed
Thanks

the dreaded cpap mask

I remember the first time I went to a sleep clinic there was another guy there waiting to get set up. He told me that he had used the cpap mask before and he was just having another study to get it adjusted. I asked him if it was hard to get used to. He said yes, but it was well worth it.

Unfortunately that wasn't my experience I never got used to it. Having a mask over your face blowing air into your nose is very uncomfortable at least to me. I know some people do get used to it. I wish I was one of them. The noise of the air pressure alone kept me up. And just try and turn over in bed with it on.

Like I said I wished it worked for me but it didn't.

Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed
thanks

sleep apnea inherited?

When I was young I could remember the noise that my father made snoring. It was so loud that you could hear it through the entire house. I don't know how my mother ever got to sleep. I guess that I inherited from my father. And that makes senses considering that you inherit your parent's looks. You might also inherit their narrow airway.
Is sleep apnea inherited?

Look under causes in the following link
http://www.hmc.psu.edu/healthinfo/s/sleepapnea.htm

my sleepless nights...

I have had sleep apnea for about 12 years maybe longer. My first sleep study was in 1999 and it was proven without a doubt that sleep apnea was what I had. I was set up with a C-pap machine.
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-apnea/continuous-positive-airway-pressure-cpap-for-obstructive-sleep-apnea
I had to have a mask that fit over my mouth because I sleep with my mouth open. The results were terrible. I couldn’t get used to the sound the machine or the air pressure that was continuously being pushed down my throat. The c-pap experiment lasted for about a month. I went back to another sleep study and they tried me out with a bi-pap. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_airway_pressure
It was a little better but not much. I tried for about 2 months before I gave that up. It is a very unnatural feeling to have air being blown down your throat. And wearing a mask is no picnic.

I still look through the internet to see if there is anything else out on the market.
Of course I could opt for surgery but that doesn’t always work.