topic Re: Sleep Apnea in Wellness

Sleep Apnea

jubilant — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 16:30:36 GMT

Some of you know that DH had a cardiac arrest 3 yrs. ago and they lost him many times. He was given a 4 in 100 chance to live and he made it. He now has a defibrillator.

Before he had this problem, I thought he had all the symptoms of Sleep Apnea because of his snoring and how he stopped breathing at night. He never really had it checked out. When he came home from the hospital after his cardiac arrest,he didn't snore much anymore so we have thought maybe it somehow "righted" itself.

Lately, I noticed he is snoring again. The other night I got up and found him sitting on the edge of his bed in the guest room. He sleeps there now because he has a land line instrument from Boston Scientific that reads his heart rhythm at night. It will light up if I need to call an ambulance. It didn't light up. Anyway, he looked shaken and I asked him what was wrong and told him I heard him snoring and came to check him out because his light was on. He said he woke up not able to get his breath. It scared him....I could tell. I wanted him to make an appointment right away and get to the doctor. He wants to wait till a standing appointment he has in January. I am very concerned. His doctors never addressed the sleep apnea because it seemed to go away. This "spell" happened night before last and he still hasn't called a doctor. I am about ready to pitch a hissy fit. I think he is thinking because it just started up again he has plenty of time to see about it. Quite frankly, I am worried. Anyone here have a similar situation?

Re: Sleep Apnea

twinkies — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 16:50:19 GMT

I am sorry that your husband is having problems with sleep apnea , That is a very serious thing , I f your husband has had heart attacks he need s a sleep test especially if he is still snoring , My husband had 5 sleep tests and his snoring and sleep apnea were bad , He know has a sleep cpap machine that he sleeps with every night , He loves it , It took him a while to get used to it but he sleeps soundly and safely , No more snoring and n more struggling to breath and no more sitting up after suddenlly waking up and gasping for air , Get your husband a sleep test and sleep cpap machine before his sleep apnea kills him in his sleep .

cathy from ma

Re: Sleep Apnea

barefootwillow — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 17:09:56 GMT

Twinkles has given you good advice. It can be very serious. Knowing what I know now about the seriousness of it by having to live through it, it should not be taken lightly. Yes, it is a process to go through, however, it is so well worth it and once he gets used to it, I think he will be glad he did. The machines they have now are very quiet...nothing to complain about.

Re: Sleep Apnea

jubilant — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 17:38:53 GMT

Thanks ladies. I thought is seemed like it could be pretty serious. I can't believe after all he went through 3 or so yrs. ago he would drag his feet on something that affected his breathing??? I mean the first responder lost a pulse twice before the ambulance got here, three times more after using a defibrillator and again at the hospital. He never came to and was put in a semi-coma for three days while they ran cold water up and down his body. He's darn lucky to be alive. Stubborn...stubborn....stubborn.

Re: Sleep Apnea

Grits — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 18:40:04 GMT

Your husband's stubborness could kill him - time to pitch that hissy fit!! My story: while visiting my Dr. a year ago he asked if I slept well, awakened refreshed, I said no to all. Then my husband said that I snored badly - I didn't realize that!. Was sent for a sleep study. I went to sleep at ten and at one a.m. they woke me up and put a c-pap on me. I felt really well the next morning considering the fact that I was in a strange bed. They said that I had stopped breathing 22 times in an hour! I now sleep with my c-pap every night and feel so much better - no napping in the afternoon. And the extra bonus is that my hisband sleeps so much better as I'm not thrashing around and snoring! For your husband's health and your peace of mind, get him to the Dr.!!

Re: Sleep Apnea

hckynutjohn — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 18:46:35 GMT

Jubilant,

I remember well about your husband's cardiac arrest. Most without IMMEDIATE HELP, have little chance of surviving. You know my close brushes with death and I feel both your husband and myself have someone/something watching over us.

It would be a very easy decision for me were I to have an issue seriously concern me. No way would I wait for a future scheduled appointment, I would(and have) get in as quick as possible.

Sleep Studies are not a BIG deal, a pain in the rear? Yes! I have had 6 of them for several different reasons and they can tell a person a lot. Has your husband ever worn an Oximeter Recording device 24/7 to measure his Oxygen Saturation levels?

After my first heart attack accompanied by Aspiration Pneumonia, I was put on an Oxygen Concentrator at night because my saturation levels dropped to dangerous points while sleeping. I wore the 24/7 recording device, which located my problem.

I hope your husband does the safest thing: "When in doubt, err on the side of safety"

My best to your husband and also his caretaker(who would be you of course).

hckynut(john)

Re: Sleep Apnea

jubilant — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 20:04:37 GMT

Hi, John,

I remember well how much help you were to DH and I and through that ordeal. DH faces a lot of things. He probably always will. He tests positive for agent orange and that is a whole other battle.

No, to my knowledge, he has never had the saturation test you are talking about. I think it's the sleep test he dreads. He hates the idea of someone watching him sleep. I will tell my husband about that test and what you and the others have said. I am hoping that will have some pull when he hears what can happen. I guess since he has never heard of anyone dying from this....he isn't taking it very seriously. Hopefully when I read these to him...he will listen.

His psa's are going up again. He had prostate cancer and they took the prostate out several years ago. I read what you said in your other post about prostate cancer. His doctor is waiting till his count gets to a 4. It is something like 2.3 right now so I would like to see him take care of this problem now before he has to address that one. He faithfully has his colonoscopies and it's a good thing he does. First time there were 3 polyps that were precancerous. This time (3yrs. later) he had 4 more polyps but they weren't cancer so we were thankful for that. Now if he would just take this breathing thing as seriously.

********

I edited this to add that I feel you both must be being watched over to have made it this far.....DH is 67 now and he just keeps "truckin". Hope you and Cindy have a wonderful Christmas....I know it has been a year of loss of fur babies for you both. I pray next year brings new life to both of you.

Re: Sleep Apnea

Kachina624 — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 23:42:07 GMT

When my dad awoke early one morning saying he was having trouble breathing, he asked me to take him to the ER. I threw on some clothes and took him. He was having the heart attack that a month later resulted in his death. He'd had a heart attack 10 years earlier. This is not something I'd fool around with. I'd take him to urgent care now for an EKG or call his doctor.

Re: Sleep Apnea

fortune — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 03:36:08 GMT

@jubilant wrote:
Some of you know that DH had a cardiac arrest 3 yrs. ago and they lost him many times. He was given a 4 in 100 chance to live and he made it. He now has a defibrillator.

Before he had this problem, I thought he had all the symptoms of Sleep Apnea because of his snoring and how he stopped breathing at night. He never really had it checked out. When he came home from the hospital after his cardiac arrest,he didn't snore much anymore so we have thought maybe it somehow "righted" itself.

Lately, I noticed he is snoring again. The other night I got up and found him sitting on the edge of his bed in the guest room. He sleeps there now because he has a land line instrument from Boston Scientific that reads his heart rhythm at night. It will light up if I need to call an ambulance. It didn't light up. Anyway, he looked shaken and I asked him what was wrong and told him I heard him snoring and came to check him out because his light was on. He said he woke up not able to get his breath. It scared him....I could tell. I wanted him to make an appointment right away and get to the doctor. He wants to wait till a standing appointment he has in January. I am very concerned. His doctors never addressed the sleep apnea because it seemed to go away. This "spell" happened night before last and he still hasn't called a doctor. I am about ready to pitch a hissy fit. I think he is thinking because it just started up again he has plenty of time to see about it. Quite frankly, I am worried. Anyone here have a similar situation?

The very next time anything like this happens, go into another room and call 911. Tell them everything you know and let them take him to the emergency room. He should have no say in whether or not he sees a doctor immediately. I think that is the only way he'll be cared for before it's too late! HUGS!

Re: Sleep Apnea

jubilant — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 18:18:51 GMT

Thank you ladies (and gent). I showed all your posts to DH and it sombered him up a bit. He said "Geez"....with a serious look on his face. I am hoping it was enough for him to call his doctor soon. I greatly appreciate your responses.

Re: Sleep Apnea

TootyJane — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 18:30:42 GMT

Jubilant - my husband's snoring became a BIG issue between us. I kept telling him that he was snoring, our kids told him he was snoring. He didn't believe us even after I taped him snoring!! A sound machine and earplugs didn't help. I had to go to bed before him to get some sleep! Then, I woke up around 2am one night because of the snoring. As I was lying in bed, knowing that it would now be impossible to fall back asleep, I suddenly realized that had had stopped breathing! I knew then that I had to lay down the law and force him to go to the doctor and ask for a sleep study. I got the tape recorder out and taped it. This next morning I told him, let him listen to the recording and then I said if you aren't going to call the doctor I will. His PCP was unsympathetic. His excuse for my husband is that many people snore and don't have sleep apnea!! Wait - what??? The next thing to do was a trip to the ENT doctor. In the meantime, I had obtained the name of a sleep specialist and made the appointment. I went with him and took along my IPhone so she could hear what I was talking about. After meeting with her, the sleep study was scheduled. He went in from 9pm to 5am and he was not a happy camper!! When he got home that morning I asked how it went. He told me that he didn't sleep at all because of the wires, the noises, people checking on him, etc. I said I'm sure you slept but the sleep study will tell us. We went to the follow up appointment the next week. The doctor gave us a copy of the report. Yes, my husband has sleep apnea and, oh, by the way, he stopped breathing 86 times in an hour!! I'm not going to lie, he absolutely hates the CPAP machine but he now knows that he needs to use it. Although he says he doesn't feel any different using the CPAP, I definitely can tell that he is sleeping better and his disposition is better - he isn't as crabby and moody! Sleep Apnea is a serious health issue. Now, as a spouse of a CPAP user, I was told that the CPAP is practically whisper quiet. It definitely isn't. I need to use earplugs but at least the bed doesn't shake from all that snoring! Good luck to both you and your husband!!

Re: Sleep Apnea

DottieBlue — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 01:28:04 GMT

@TootyJane wrote:
Jubilant - my husband's snoring became a BIG issue between us. I kept telling him that he was snoring, our kids told him he was snoring. He didn't believe us even after I taped him snoring!! A sound machine and earplugs didn't help. I had to go to bed before him to get some sleep! Then, I woke up around 2am one night because of the snoring. As I was lying in bed, knowing that it would now be impossible to fall back asleep, I suddenly realized that had had stopped breathing! I knew then that I had to lay down the law and force him to go to the doctor and ask for a sleep study. I got the tape recorder out and taped it. This next morning I told him, let him listen to the recording and then I said if you aren't going to call the doctor I will. His PCP was unsympathetic. His excuse for my husband is that many people snore and don't have sleep apnea!! Wait - what??? The next thing to do was a trip to the ENT doctor. In the meantime, I had obtained the name of a sleep specialist and made the appointment. I went with him and took along my IPhone so she could hear what I was talking about. After meeting with her, the sleep study was scheduled. He went in from 9pm to 5am and he was not a happy camper!! When he got home that morning I asked how it went. He told me that he didn't sleep at all because of the wires, the noises, people checking on him, etc. I said I'm sure you slept but the sleep study will tell us. We went to the follow up appointment the next week. The doctor gave us a copy of the report. Yes, my husband has sleep apnea and, oh, by the way, he stopped breathing 86 times in an hour!! I'm not going to lie, he absolutely hates the CPAP machine but he now knows that he needs to use it. Although he says he doesn't feel any different using the CPAP, I definitely can tell that he is sleeping better and his disposition is better - he isn't as crabby and moody! Sleep Apnea is a serious health issue. Now, as a spouse of a CPAP user, I was told that the CPAP is practically whisper quiet. It definitely isn't. I need to use earplugs but at least the bed doesn't shake from all that snoring! Good luck to both you and your husband!!

I am glad that your DH is getting the help he needs. But regarding the loud CPAP machine - I suggest you contact the equipment supplier because you should not be having to wear earplugs because of the noise. Perhaps something is wrong with the machine, and I'd certainly call the supplier and tell them about it.

Re: Sleep Apnea

RedTop — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 03:18:39 GMT

My husband has been using a c-pap for 17 months. I have been surprised by his diligent use of the machine, but know it is because he can tell a big difference in how it makes him feel.

His machine is extremely quiet; I have to listen very carefully to even hear it running during the night. The issue I have, are the many noises from the mask, when it has moved on his face, due to his body movements during the night. I feel I push him as much now to fix the mask, as I pushed him to roll over with his snoring. Both of our daughters hear the air noises from his displaced mask in their bedrooms, with their door shut, but the leaky mask NEVER wakes my husband. My friend says she wakes up immediately when her mask moves. My oldest daughter just completed a sleep study last week, and said she knew immediately when her mask slipped during the night.

I used to think my husband's snoring noises were the most annoying thing to hear in the night, but then the c-pap came into our bedroom, and I am amazed at the many sounds created from that mask leaking air! On my own, I can go to bed and sleep for 8 straight hours, but any noise in the bedroom, or the house, will wake me. My husband's sleep has definitely improved, but my sleep quality is suffering.

Twice in the last 17 months, I have actually saved my husband from very serious low blood sugar episodes. Both times I woke up suddenly, and realized I smelled heavy sweat, and found him drenched, pillow and sheets soaking wet. His blood sugar rarely drops at night, but if it does, he usually wakes up on his own. With the help of the steady air pressure from the c-pap, he was resting so easy both times, he wasn't going to wake up on his own. If one of our girls hadn't been here to help me during the last episode, I would have had to call an ambulance, it was that bad.

Re: Sleep Apnea

Vivian — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 11:38:28 GMT

My best friend, who lives alone, had been complaining to me about not being able to get up in the morning because she was so exhausted. She finally had a sleep study done and was diagnosed with sleep apnea. She has tried the cpap and some other contraption and cannot get used to any of it. She already has heart valve problems and I do worry about her.

I live 3,000 miles away from her now, since she lives near her children in CA and I live in NY, so there's not much I can do except try to convince her to do more. Her son is an anesthesiologist and I've begged her to talk to him about this, and other health problems she has, but she says she doesn't want to bother him. I think the real reason is that she and her orthopedist daughter-in-law detest each other and she's afraid her son won't provide help because of his nasty wife. She doesn't want to open herself up to that hurt. I offered to call her son. I've known him all his life, but she gave me a resounding NO. I just hope the next time I speak to him it won't be bad news.