Well damn it…. Three guesses whom is being looked at for possible Sleep Apnea. I figured I was due factoring my age and other things. For the past few months I have been noticing an increase in fatigue decrease in the ability to focus and memory recall. Training wise my ability to recover has taken a nosed dive quickly. But what’s got the Doc wanting to consider the issue is that I have been having a problem with on and off this past year that my body wanting to increase Red Blood cell production since my Hematocrit level likes to elevate. Which my Doc feels is the buy product of my body compensating for lower oxygen levels as I sleep.
Yesterday…. Stopped in at a local sleep clinic to supply me with a home testing unit to use for the next few nights to record O2 levels, breathing rate and Heart Rate and R.E.M sleep with a mic to record if I snore.
The tech went over things with me on how to use the unit along with going over possible factors and or symptoms which might indicate the possibility of sleep Apnea. Well would you know it I scored off the damn chart on one of them. That being bloody neck size…. Anything 17 and over is consider at a higher risk range. Damn if I didn’t come in at slightly under 21.
First GOD Damn time I resented not having a pencil neck!!
Got a gut feeling I will be getting a conformation on it…OH Goody
The only bright side is as a guy I respect pointed out is that if Sleep Apnea is the issue. That addressing it should improve the quality of my recovery and everything that goes with it…
Here is a few things I have come across that people might want to keep a eye on .
Lets look at the signs I found online from sites like WebMD and the like
*Loud or frequent snoring… yep so I have been told
*Silent pauses in breathing… dont know
*Choking or gasping sounds… not sure
*Daytime sleepiness or fatigue… thank God for coffee
*Unrefreshing sleep… yep at times
*Insomnia… on occasion
*Morning headaches… no
*Nocturia (waking during the night to go to the bathroom)…yep
*Difficulty concentrating… starting to notice this more
*Memory loss… minor mostly just names
*Decreased sexual desire… Nope
*Irritability… FUCK YOU
*If your neck circumference is greater than 17 you have a higher risk … IM FUCKED
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an underdiagnosed condition–lots of people have it and don’t know it. It’s also potentially very serious–for example, if I recall correctly NFL HoF member Reggie White died relatively young of complications from untreated OSA.
Fortunately, there are a number of very effective treatments, the most common being the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) to, in essence, ‘splint’ the airway open. And if you do have it, you’ll feel so much better once your treatment is dialed in. Keep us posted.
I used to work night shifts in a private sleep-lab during my time at university. 95% of the patients there were there for sleep apnea. They were typically there two nights in a row, once to see whether they had sleep apnea, once to determine the right amount of air pressure they needed for effective treatment. We also frequently had people there who’d had their mask for years and spent a night there to check if the settings were still appropriate. Most people who wore it for the first time hated it, almost all of those who had it for longer said they felt miuch better when they used it. Wore one myself once just to see what it’s like, wasn’t as bad as I’d figured. The machines used to be MUCH louder than they are these days though, must have been quite a pain when this technology was new.
I was diagnosed with OSA when I was 40. I got a CPAP and used it for a while, lost about twenty pounds and ditched it.
Ten years later, regained the weight, another sleep study, another CPAP, but this time, I just couldn’t be compliant for several reasons. When I did wear it, and it was effective, I felt like Superman. But, I had compliance problems and ditched it again.
I got an oral appliance, and I was much more compliant with that, and I felt good.
I’ve heard about surgery, not good things. For me, losing weight was the most effective way for me to control it.
At my old student job, a majority of sleep apnea patients was overweight, but many older people develop it just because their connective tissue gets weaker with age.
I must say, at first I was really suprised how long the pauses in some peoples breathing were. Not hard to imagine that if you take about one shallow breath of air every 20 seconds or so you won’t feel too refreshed when you wake up.
So, I was diagnosed about 40 with a 16" neck at 6’1" and about 190. I had several events every hour so I never really got in to restorative sleep. As it was explained to me, you go into fight or flight every event, so eight hours for me was like two hours for asymptomatic patients.
The night after my titration at the sleep center, where they dialed in the proper pressure, I woke up feeling good, but I got better every hour. By noon, I felt like Superman.
If you can get it handled, it makes a hyoooooge difference.
I also had septoplasty for a deviated septum, helped, but didn’t cure it.
For guys who might have it, or think that they do, something you can try out is sleeping in a recliner really upright, or stacking about 6 pillows behind you in bed, helped me out big time before I could get fitted for my mask