72 times an hour, my hubby stops breathing at night.
And no, it's not because I'm putting a pillow over his face.
He's been recently diagnosed as having Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
Now, not all snoring is bad. Some snorers make their bed partner miserable, but sleep well and don't experience any ill health effects as a result of the snoring.
People with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) make everyone in the house miserable AND sleep poorly. Sleep apnea has consequences that can be serious. High blood pressure, heart failure, arrhythmias, sexual dysfunction and stroke, just to name a few. Depression, memory loss, learning problems and fatigue can occur as well.
Treatments for OSA can range from positive airway pressure to surgery . And though there are
alternative therapies , one should use judgement and a time line for their consideration.
My hubby has been a bad snorer for a few years. He's been foggy, forgetful, even depressed. And tired. I mean, exhausted. It took some doing on my part, like two years of pestering him, but he finally conceded to go to a sleep lab .
Now he wears his CPAP mask and sleeps somewhat better. It's been hard for him to get used to sleeping with the contraption, but we already see improvements in his physical and emotional health.
Take a Snore Test here and see if OSA is something you should evaluate.
Happy Zzz's to all.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Snoring is No Laughing Matter
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26 comments:
My partner works in a sleep lab. She used to set-up and monitor sleep studies. Now she scores studies, orders CPAP machines, fits masks, does "daytime wakefullness" testing (mostly for pilots), etc.
Partner says if your husband continues to have trouble getting adjusted to CPAP, then he may need a different (size or style) of mask and possibly a machine adjustment (both can be done without another study). Once he's completely comfortable with it, the sleeping somewhat better should change to sleeping very well!
It is scary when you notice that someone stops breathing in their sleep.
LOL at the pillow comment!
I think I have the beginings of this. It sounds scary..I like breathing;)
My husband does the same thing but I like to blame it on his smoking habit,heh.
My mum in law has a CPAP mask and the difference it's made in her life has been amazing! She's like a different person.
My shrink mentioned that I could possibly have sleep apnea, but not too sure. I scored high on most of the questions, but some were hard to answer because I don't go to conferences or to hotels without my hubby :)
I do keep him up all night and he has left the room because of my snoring. I do wake myself up due to loud snoring.
I just hate to put another "label" on me.
My father in law has a Sleep Apnea also. He to wears a mask, and feels much better. Sorry your hubby is dealing with this miserable problem!
Glad though that you got him to go get tested. Hope he feels better soon.
Dear Fallen,
He just went to see the doc and it was suggested that a different air pressure and/or mask could help. He has a follow up appointment soon. Thanks for the info. It's good to know that what your partner says echos the sleep lab here in town.
Dear Lone,
He'd gasp like he was drowning sometimes. Other times, his snoring was so loud that I'd have to sleep elsewhere in the house.
Dear Ms. L,
IT is amazing how getting necessary oxygen keeps us feeling good!!
Dear BEach,
I often ask people I work with about their sleep. Snoring is a important indicator and must be ruled out as a factor when a person comes in with depression, fatigue etc. Don't think of the apnea as a label. Think of the treatment possibilities as a way to feel better!!!!
Dear Mysti,
Took him a while to go, but I am glad that he did. Health is so precious.
~Deb
Snoring is dangerous, I will usually roll a female over on her back when she does it. Funny thing, they always claim they don't snore when I wake them up. Tha funniest thing is hearing and watching a beautiful woman snore in her sleep.
Hey Dr Deb!
Dear Jim had sleep apnea.. had his tonsils,adenoids,uvula and some soft palate taken out and YAY no more snoring.. well, occasionally, but really NOTHING like before.. I hope that the machine works well for your husband!! I am glad you posted about this.. before we got jim tested, I never knew snoring could be a problem.... Once again a great post!!!!!
Angel
Good for your hubby, and you, and the rest of the family. A few years ago a family member experienced something similar. He had surgery with a good outcome. This was after his wife threatened to leave him -- not because of the noise, but the thought of him stopping breathing.
Hope things continue to get better.
I'm to tired to take the sleep test. ;o)
As a C.N.A. who often works the night shift, I have taken care of several people who use a CPAP mask. I am sure that it can be helpful, but I wish someone would perfect it. If your claustrophobic that could be a problem. Also it might be difficult to sleep on your side with one. And it's so darn noisy. It sounds like Darth Vader is in the room. Many of my patients have difficulty sleeping with it. It's a good concept, certainly better then surgery, but I wish they would perfect it.
I hope that your husband does better.
My husband and both of his children use CPAP machines and it makes a huge difference for them. My husband still has sleep difficulties related to other things however he doesn't walk around in a complete sleep deprived haze anymore.
I thought all those sicknesses that you mentioned (hypertension, heart disease, memory loss, etc., etc.) were being experienced by you and not your husband because you could hardly sleep because of his snoring. He, he, he, *lol* Seriously, I'm glad that you were able to convince him to go to the sleep lab so that his snoring can be cured. Now, I'm sure you're sleeping soundly like a kitten. He, he, he, *lol Meow! God bless you all.
Glad to hear you're both getting some sleep now :)
Glad to hear he (and hopefully you) is getting a better nights sleep. My husband snores so loud, we'd practically have to move to another country to escape it.
I am so glad you got him to go. Severe snoring can be hard on a couple but sleep apnea is serious business. He's lucky to have you looking after him!
Sleep disorders are a subject I know way too much about.
It took almost 20 years for me to be properly diagnosed with narcolepsy. When a patient does not display blackouts or cataplexy it's that much harder to catch.
I do wish that when I repeatedly explained to physicians that I was tired and not depressed they had just investigated a little further. They would tell me how fatigue was a side effect of the antidepressants or a symptom of depression.
The onset of narcolepsy is typically in the late teens and early twenties. It is not common and only about 1 in 200,000 people have it. (I am using that number out of memory and will double check this to see if it's correct)
I say only the diagnosed people are in those statistics. I believe it is much higher but only due to the fact many physicians do not check for sleep disorders. Another possibility is the varying degrees of tiredness blur the lines of 'classic symptoms' and just tired.
It's rather degrading to have a health professional that is not knowledgeable in the area of sleep disorders label you psychotic. It's in my brain but it isn't a psychotic disorder. I don't make myself tired and I most certainly don't make myself unable to sleep at the correct times or wake at the correct times.
Eventually I will have my blog set up to talk about these issues and how misunderstanding and a lack of a proper diagnosis has affected my life.
I want to help others understand sleep/wake disorders better, and possibly help bridge the gap between physicians and patients that have lost trust. I want doctors to understand why we exist.
At the moment I am just working through the anger. It's subsiding surprisingly fast because I am enjoying life. The medications do help me stay awake most days and I have the energy to get a few things done.
Hey that's less depressing!
I know I need to take the sleep test,too, but I am also too tired!
This really is a good post. I'm going to email it to my brother, the father of all snorers. HE needs a wake-up call. Pun intended!
Hey, I didn't know there has been so much of medical research been done on snoring! Deb. Your posts are always eye openers! ...and I don't snore, or at least no one has told that I do as yet.
Don has a bipap,,boy that sucker is noisy!!
Sure helps his sleep! And certainly helps to keep his lungs from filling with fluid when his sleep apnea won't.
I definitely believe snoring can cause a lot of problems. My dad also had obstructive sleep apnea. It led to fatigue, memory loss, general malaise, etc. One Dr. had diagnosed him with early onset Alzheimer's which he was sure he did not have.
After a second opinion and thinking that many of these symptoms were due to not getting enough oxygen, he used the CPAP. That helped a lot. Eventually, he had surgery and had his uvula removed. I'm not sure if he still snores now, but he feels like he has his life back again.
Good luck to you and your husband. I hope he continues to get better.Living with those kinds of symptoms is no way to live.
Blogger/Google has been booting me off my own blog!!!
Is this happening to anyone else?
Hi Deb,
Your getting booted off your own blog? Oh, Oh, what did you do now!? ;o) No, I have not had that happen, but I have had a blank Google Reader on occasion. Like a rat in a experiment, I keep clicking over, and over again trying to get Google Reader. But no food pellets came, I mean Google Reader did not appear.
I hope that Blogger/Google behaves for you.
Oh Deb,
Thank you for adding me to your blogroll! I just noticed. Cool!
Yes it has been happening to me for some time now.
Before I posted and used a nickname and that was changed. I then created the blog so I could continue to post under this handle.
It's been consistently telling me that I either do not exist with that email or that my password is incorrect.
Partner snoring? I find a well placed but gentle bump usually stops it. If the person is totally out of it, try turning them to one side - that is usually the end of it.
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