Central Sleep Apnea

[ThorOdinson13]

Anyone hear a doc or have this?

 

[PDT816]

I don't have it but my Mom does and I take her to all her medical stuff. I'm sure I can give you some bad information if you have questions.

 

[shortbus]

I have obstructive and central. I thought k it's like 84% obstructive or something. I need to have another study done. It's been over 5 years. May actually call about that today!

I think if I dropped 35 I could go completely without a cpap.

As it stands now, if I don't use it, I feel like I've been beaten for days and can hardly function.

 

[Headhunter]

My twin brother had it, he's deceased now. Take it seriously.

 

[ThorOdinson13]

I'm currently trying to get a sleep study set up. The Pulmonologist said it sounds like I definitely have either CSA or OSA, maybe a combination. I did the overnight pulse-ox and spent over 380 minutes in a desaturated state and my low was 76%. It showed 16 episodes an hour but the doc also said that the sleep study could come back and say it's only four or it could be much higher than 16.

I'm starting to think I've had this going on for a long damn time. I've always wondered why I wake up feeling hungover when I haven't had a darn thing to drink. What I'm wondering about is if a pretty bad head injury (fractured skull) in the military could be the cause if it comes back as CSA. That head injury has had a pretty big impact on daily living since it happened and my sleep paralysis started after the injury. So I was wondering if anyone here was educated enough to give some insight into that.

 

[Orange Jennyslipper]

I have obstructive, but I remember my cardiologist saying CSA is an electrical problem and could result from injury because the brain "forgets" to tell the diaphram to draw a breath. I think that's an over-simplification. The message doesn't get to the diaphram.

Obstructive is mechanical. Disappointingly, he said I could lose all the weight I want and it likely won't help. He said he has skinny people on CPAP. I have plenty of other reasons to lose weight, so I hope to do the sleep test again in the future and see if I'm improving.

CSA sounds serious as hell. We trust you'll get a lot better opinions than ours. Soon!

 

[shortbus]

Interesting on the head injury thing. I've had so many concussions from sports and car accidents that any decent knock to my head and I get concussed. It's also affected my eyesight. I can't play softball anymore because when I run and try to catch the ball literally moves. My eyes won't focus together. Anything vibrating and my vision vibrates. It's weird.

Anyway, it sounds like you need a sleep study ASAP. 73% is super dangerous.

In my study I held my breath for 32 seconds once. Think about that.

It was so bad. Basically my body was getting no oxygen. The more I slept the worse it was for me. I was better off lying in bed awake.

Could have had a stroke.

Alcohol depresses the CNS so it makes it much worse.

 

[ThorOdinson13]

Interesting on the head injury thing. I've had so many concussions from sports and car accidents that any decent knock to my head and I get concussed. It's also affected my eyesight. I can't play softball anymore because when I run and try to catch the ball literally moves. My eyes won't focus together. Anything vibrating and my vision vibrates. It's weird.

Anyway, it sounds like you need a sleep study ASAP. 73% is super dangerous.

In my study I held my breath for 32 seconds once. Think about that.

It was so bad. Basically my body was getting no oxygen. The more I slept the worse it was for me. I was better off lying in bed awake.

Could have had a stroke.

Alcohol depresses the CNS so it makes it much worse.

You have brain damage dude. I have the same issue with not being able to focus. You probably already know this but you'll never pass a sobriety test. As soon as they have you follow the pen your eye(s) on the side of the damage will flutter and you lose focus. Now just apply that to the moving ball. Your eye(s) flutter while trying to follow the moving ball and you lose focus and get the light headed dizzy feeling. Have someone do the test and tell you which one flutters, or if both do. I had no idea that I had actual brain damage until I did an employment physical and the doc had me follow the pen.

My damage is on the left hand side. Which explains why I had to learn how to sign my name again and lost my ability to shoot and dribble a basketball as I'm right handed. The crazy thing is the army doc did t do any concussion testing or anything that I remember. They just stitched me up and sent me back out. Looking back on things, I was out of it for like 2-3 weeks. Apparently VA doesn't think any of it warrants a service connection either. But that's a different rant for a different day.

 

[shortbus]

I have brain damage?

Well ****.

That pretty much explains everything!

 

[shortbus]

I'll have to have someone do that test on me as soon as I sober up!

 

[ThorOdinson13]

I have brain damage?

Well ****.

That pretty much explains everything!

That's what the doc told me about it. So unless unless he's FOS I bet you're in the same boat.

 

[ctrawick]

Good grief, this is some scary chit to read.

 

[ThorOdinson13]

Good grief, this is some scary chit to read.

You think this is scary? Go read about some sleep paralysis and the dark man. First time it happened to me I thought I had been visited by a demon. It scared the living hell out of me. Even now it gets pretty nerve wracking even though I know it's all an hallucination.

There's a thread on the MB about it and several shared their experiences.

 

[shortbus]

You think this is scary? Go read about some sleep paralysis and the dark man. First time it happened to me I thought I had been visited by a demon. It scared the living hell out of me. Even now it gets pretty nerve wracking even though I know it's all an hallucination.

There's a thread on the MB about it and several shared their experiences.

Dude we have covered this on this board before.

It's happened to me so many times. Not in a year or two. As a kid it was regular.

Getting saved at church made it go away instantly.

Started again about 12 years ago. Pretty frequent. Then when we moved to Edmond it faded.

The absolute worst.

If you don't know what evil feels and smells like, you've never had sleep paralysis.

 

[shortbus]

The feel and smell reference was not a figurative one.

 

[ThorOdinson13]

Dude we have covered this on this board before.

It's happened to me so many times. Not in a year or two. As a kid it was regular.

Getting saved at church made it go away instantly.

Started again about 12 years ago. Pretty frequent. Then when we moved to Edmond it faded.

The absolute worst.

If you don't know what evil feels and smells like, you've never had sleep paralysis.

Exactly. Like I said, I know what's going on and it's still very nerve wracking. At our old house he'd mess with me. I'd hear him going through ****. Drawers, pantry, cabinets on his way to the room. Like open the cabinet, move dishes enough I could hear, then slam the cabinet door. Then he is in the door way, then flashes to the foot of the bed, then right over me. **** is rough. I haven't had it happen in the mountains yet

 

[MajorMike_Ret]

I get sleep paralysis all the time. When I get it I try to make s squinty eyed face like I am taking a huge dump or smelling a skunk. Like I am forcing my cheekbones up into my eyeballs. It's the only thing that will bring me out of it.

 

[shortbus]

I just feel someone on me. Something heavy. And something pulling me from below on all sides. And feel and smell evil. Like how you know without a doubt there are demons. And the smell sometimes.

I have figured how to get out of it but it takes a bit. Once I come to my senses and realize I can't escape or make a sound I know I just have to move something. Anything. So I focus on moving one finger. Once I can move my finger I can come out of it.

Then I don't dare go back to sleep!

 

[cactusjackosu]

Have used a cpap for 13 years or so. Every day since. Weight was never an issue for me. I had over 100 episodes an hour. Longest I went without breathing was 45 seconds. Changed my life. Should probably do another one. Feel like I need surgery as I can't really breath well anytime. Have seen that surgery fail so many times I've balked at it.

 

[latimdj]

I have obstructive.... Lost a bunch of weight recently but I still don't sleep well without the CPAP. I need to do another study . I can tell you this, Before I got the CPAP, I could get up and go to work, and on that 15 minute drive to work, I would feel myself falling asleep at the wheel. I could also be sitting in my office at work, someone could walk in and start talking to me....looking at me and me looking at them, and I could nod off momentarily mid conversation..... It is not something to mess around with....

 

[Deepfork]

Paging Art Bell, paging Art Bell.

 

[ThorOdinson13]

Sleep study is tomorrow. Any recommendations on certain masks if I have it?

 

[trapped_in_tx]

I'm curious if any of you have tried the dental appliance and the CPAP and have an opinion of one versus the other.

I did a home sleep study a year ago and the result was a diagnosis of sleep apnea but I don't remember the details... Need to dig up the paperwork. It wasn't severe however, thus my slow process of trying to figure out what to do about it. Since I know that I need to lose 30-40 pounds I am hoping that I can see some improvement just by losing weight.

Anyway, the appliance seems easy more convenient but I don't know anything about effectiveness and IIRC it's more expensive.

 

[shortbus]

Most definitely Thor. It's the single most important factor in your success. Hardly could use my cpap until I got the right mask.

 

[Orange Jennyslipper]

I use a full-face mask that covers the nose and mouth. They recommended it to start with because it absolutely works. If it is too bothersome or clumsy to wear, you can try a smaller one that only covers your nose.

The problem with the smaller one is that the air pressure may force your mouth open and you'll wake up with world-class cotton-mouth, plus you get no CPAP treatment. Some people do wear the small one and it works great, so, idk.

After a month of full-face, I was still cursing the whole process like a sailor every night. Now, after nine months, I've left it at home for a couple of overnight trips and it feels weird to go to sleep without it.

The contraption does seem to be improving my sleep and my stamina during the day, but I have been losing weight for about seven of those months, too, so I can't tell if one thing is more important that the other.

 

[shortbus]

This one the one that pretty much changed my life.

http://www.directhomemedical.com/br...gclid=CKb0sbbm5M4CFQsbaQodNB8HRQ#.V8M1fMQ8KnM

Before, I struggled to either put it on, fall asleep with it on, or make it through the night with it on.

After several masks, I finally found one that wasn't restrictive but stayed snug.

I started feeling like after about a decade that my nostrils were stretching out so I switched again.


Now I use this one and love it. Wisp Mask with Fabric Frame and Headgear

 

[cactusjackosu]

Mine is a lot like Coops.

As far as dental appliance for snoring. The new one called zyppa or however u spell it works well I hear.

 

[PDT816]

I think what your pressure will be will have an effect on what type of mask you get. Those with low pressure can wear pretty much whatever you want. Those that have the machine turned up like a leaf blower are more limited to what they can use.

I bought this type for my mom and she seems to like it better than the other dozen or so she's tried in the past. She didn't like her nostrils getting raw with the other types and this one doesn't leak at all for her.