When I told my friend Sue I was going into a sleeping lab next week for one full night to see if I have sleep apnea, she groaned.
“My God, she said, if this is what you’re like with sleep apnea, I don’t want to be anywhere near you when you get it treated. Poor Maria.”
In the last few months, my primary care physician, my urologist, and this morning, a young pulmonary specialist, all have told me they think I have sleep apnea, a common sleep-related breathing disorder.
Wednesday night, I’m into the Saratoga Hospital Sleep Lap, where I will spend the night with a technician who will be observing me through all night with the help of cameras, computers, body monitors, and brain scanners.
I doubt he plays cards or monopoly.
My head will be wrapped in wires all night, and it will take a whole hour just to get the machinery set up around me.
My head will be monitored closely, God help him, the night will produce more than one thousand pages of data for the doctors to pore over.
If the all-night testing shows I do have sleep apnea, then I need to come back for another full night of testing to prepare a custom-made mask for me.
I fought hard against this idea. I don’t snore much and I’ve never slept long, or well, or easily. I figure if I made it this far, why wear a mask all night? Maybe I should join the anti-vaxxers.
When you wet the bed until you’re 17, you learn how to get through a day and night resourcefully. I’ll be fine.
Sleep apnea is not fatal, at least in the short run. But it can wreak havoc with diabetes and heart disease and have serious consequences for both.
With sleep apnea, involuntary pauses in breathing are caused by either a blocked airway or a signaling problem in the brain.
Your throat muscles can collapse, the tongue can fall back into the airway, or your tongue or other obstruction can impede airflow. The idea is that when the airway is cut off, the brain must wake itself to tell the respiratory system to take over.
This can lead to gasps or lead to gasps and snorts when breathing is resumed.
I never thought of this disease as important, but I see that it is serious and needs attention.
A new physician has joined my growing circle of surgeons and specialists, I might yet end up on the board of Saratoga Hospital.
Dr. Sidharth Jogani had me open my mouth and looked up my nose and shook his head. “I think you have Sleep Apnea,” he said. “Your doctors were right.”
I gave Dr. Jogani my sex speech (I do not want to look like Darth Vadar in bed) but he also paid little attention, suggesting I could always take the mask off for a while.
I’ve fought hard against this idea, even if the inevitable truth began to awaken, pardon the pun. Last night, I was up at least ten times after I went to bed.
Dr. Sidharth says this expresses the fatigue and drowsiness I’ve felt from time to time lately. The outcome of all this testing – a mask I wear overnight that pumps air into my throat and helps me to breathe more easily.
The texting next Wednesday sounds amazing. I’ll get to the lab at 7:45 p.m. meet my personal all-night technician, get wired up and try to sleep. My personal tech will be tapped into my head all night, if I want anything, all I have to do is speak it out loud. Otherwise, I’ll lie in bed trying to read and maybe catch Netflix.
I’ve never slept well, not at any point in my life. If this works, it will be a miracle. If not, then welcome Sidharth Jogani, to the growing elite in medicine – the Katz healers. If it takes an army to make a village, it only takes one strange man to acquire a village of doctors.
The chronic illnesses are piling up. But this trip sounds fascinating, I’m eager to share it.
So far, they’ve done me well. I accept this as the next chapter on my winding road to health. Lucky me.
My husband has sleep apnea and once he got the machine, his life changed for the better! He doesn’t even take a nap without it. He has the nose mask vs. the nose/mouth. When he had a heart attack, the drs. said this thing saved his life! Had he not been using the machine, he would have died. Look at it as a good thing.
Wishing you the best of luck. My husband had sleep apnea for probably 20 years before he was diagnosed with it. It turned out he had complex sleep apnea, which is a combination of the normal kind plus central sleep apnea, and that one is more dangerous. He has worn his sleep mask and used the machine for 5 years now and it greatly improved his health. If it turns out that you have this, I hope you will also have Tom’s good experience and feel healthier and more rested as you use your sleep machine. Good luck.
I have used a CPAP device for 10years. It took some adjustment but I’m very happy to have it.
I’ve used a cpap machine for 7 years now. You get used to it and feel much better when you wake up. I hope you can put up with the inconvenience of the sleep study (which is not fun) and getting used to using a cpap. It’s entirely worth it. And there are different types of cpap machines, so if one irritates you, you can try a different kind. Good luck!
I’ve worn a mask for over 10 years. I CANNOT sleep without it. My first sleep study, I had quit breathing 72 times in one hour. I’m 69 year old female. If you have sleep apnea, ask if a bicep machine would work for you. Bipap is so much better than a cpap. Cpap is continuously blowing air at whatever pressure your doc sets. When you exhale, you are exhaling against the air. I have a Resmed machine and use a full face mask. I’m a mouth breather so the nose masks don’t work for me. Once you get used to it, you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel.
Been there, done it Jon. Been wearing a mask to bed since 2009. You probably know this but if not treated can cause havoc with the heart. Before I knew I had Sleep Apnea I acquired an irregular heart rate and ended up having a heart Ablation. I am fine now but do not ever go to bed without the Sleep Apnea mask and machine, which if you have it, you will get used to it as well. Just another thing….
I’ve been using a Cpap for 12 yrs and really didn’t know I wasn’t getting the right amount and quality of sleep until I started! You’ll be amazed how rested you can feel.
I’ve had sleep apnea for several years. I tried the mask and couldn’t handle it. Too claustrophobic for me. I did some research and found there is an oral appliance that works. They are fitted by a dentist who speciality is sleep apnea. You might look into that if the mask doesn’t work. Good luck with the study. Just a suggestion.
Wait a minute, Jon. Following your recent experiences, this sleep lab will seem like a “night out.” The worst part of the sleep lab stay was packing an overnight bag.
As you’ve learned, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a mechanical condition and not a disease. But chronic sleep apnea is suspected of complicating other health difficulties.
Through a sleep study, I was diagnosed with OSA (20) years ago, and I’ve used a CPAP machine since then.
The CPAP machine has noticeably improved my sleep quality. The first morning I awoke even earlier, but more rested.
The mask they’re referencing is a CPAP mask. (It’s nothing like a COVID mask.) This mask fits against your face and attaches to an air hose from the CPAP machine. That machine emits pressure-controlled compressed air (which can be heated and humidified). My machine even pauses when I exhale, so that it’s not working against me.
It was initially annoying to reinvent my bedtime routine – figuring out where to locate the system’s components and how to position myself. For example, wearing a CPAP nose mask interfered with my reading glasses.
Still, it’s unfortunate that people are giving up on CPAP due to inconvenience, because a properly used system is beneficial.
Although the bedtime appearance of a festooned and less-than-romantic CPAP apparatus could evoke a scream, it’s less frightful than noticing your partner isn’t breathing.
If you wish, I would be glad to share my experiences.
Bless your heart ?❗
My prayers are with you,Jon ?
I remember having that test. I couldn’t fall asleep because the staff were talking too loud. So they put a fan in my room and I fell asleep til morning when they woke me up :] I do not have sleep apnea but do wake up a lot. Wish you well on your test.
I’m really glad you are getting this checked out. Both my husband and son had sleep apnea and it can cause very, very serious health problems. I’m not a Dr but I’ve been around the block with this condition several times. The cpap machine didn’t work with my husband. He struggled with it for years, with lots of blame that he wasn’t using it correctly. We later discovered he had an excessive amount of tissue in his throat which couldn’t be “moved” by the forced air. In short he had adenoid tissue growing where it shouldn’t, a huge uvula and a long upper palate. He likely had sleep apnea all his life which explained several lifelong health issues. He had surgery and had immediate improvement! He slept! His health improved. He no longer had the apnea. He couldn’t roll his R’s anymore but he slept!!! I hope the cpap works for you as the surgery is very invasive but if it doesn’t advocate for yourself – particularly if you know you’ve been using the machine correctly!
Sleep apnea is now so common and many young men and women have this condition and are required to use a CPAP machine, but there are different types of sleep apnea and it’s great you’ll be monitored for long hours in order for them to pinpoint your condition and offer you the best treatment. Like the comedian Gilda Radner used to say: “It’s always something.”
Hi Jon, I’m a 65 year old woman that suffered a fatal (yes, I died and was brought back) heart attack in 2007. A few years ago, the docs insisted I had sleep apnea too. I tested. I got let go early in the morning, about 4 a.m. and was told I didn’t have any problems.
Has Maria ever heard you gasp for air? Has she ever seen you wake up from a dead sleep and gasp? If not, I doubt you have it.
You’re a man with a lot of missions and a lot on your mind. You’re active as much as you can be, and you’re happy with your life.
Doctors sometimes like to make things up. Really. I was told I have a lung disease by a teaching hospital, by a “Fellow” that was a heart dr. I had all these tests that were inconclusive and was scared to death. I went to an allergist and was highly tested and guess what? I have some allergies, nothing serious, and a bit of asthma, not the disease I supposedly had. I didn’t even have the actual symptoms of the disease!
Good luck with your test. I hope you don’t have sleep apnea. It’s just a fact, as we age, we have a harder time sleeping. Naps are a good thing. Take care.
Martha
Will you actually sleep? Hou could you with wires, machinery, etc. near?
All the best on it and “Be a good boy!”
We all want you around for a long time to come, YOU matter to us!
My husband has one of the cpac machines. The nose kind. At first I dreaded it I thought it would be noisy. However the sound of it is more like white noise. The snoring was much louder. I am actually sleeping better because of it. I call him snuffy like snuffiluffigus on sesame street when he puts it on. I appreciate him taking good care of the machine and its maintenance. He feels much better and is a lot happier and has more energy.
It won’t hurt. I worked for one of the original inventors. Good info above. . They want to keep it under 5 interruptions per minute.
Designed from vacuum cleaner principle.
It’s not as complIcated as you describe. Some say it helps with breathing if you get covid. It does not measure REM sleep. You’ll think more clearly. It takes a month or so to get used to it: don’t give up. Keep water in the machine. If you nap over 30 minutes, use it.
The masks are standard sizes. They don’t design one for you.
It’s caused often by too much fat blocking air flow. There are regimes to reduce fat, 8 weeks long.
As a very independent sort of person, I resisted using a CPAP for years. I finally broke down and decided that the worst that could happen is that it wouldn’t work for me. I am now a very satisfied CPAP user. I sleep much, much better and the sleep that I have is much more restorative. The sleep study isn’t much fun, but it’s also sort of interesting to learn about all the things they are attaching to you and what they tell the tech.
In the past, the only thing that I didn’t like about the CPAP was the need to be attached to an electrical outlet. In my younger days I loved to camp in places where no electricity was available. Newer technology has produced some CPAPs that can run on battery power, but they still need to be recharged. If I were still an active camper, I would be very interested in the dental device because it doesn’t need electricity!
Good luck, Jon! I am 73 and have had a cpap for three years. It is the best thing that ever happened to my sleep. I used to get up at least 6-7 times a night because I was never sound asleep. My husband used to say I sounded like a tractor while sleeping. Now I fall asleep right away and sleep for 5-6 hours without waking up. I am rested and feel so much better. You will love the difference in how you feel. There is definitely a learning curve, so if you get one, give yourself time to get used to it. You’ll be glad you did!!!
I’ve seen on TV where they have a new treatment rather than wearing a mask
You’re going to love it. So will Maria.
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