Sleep Apnea ... help plz ... driving me craZy.....

[yortbogey]

like the title says.... facing a sleep study Doc is convinced I got Sleep apnea.... my wife says I stop breathing regularly EVERY night...
and recently find myself up every hour or so.... just to sit up and breath....before I even realize whats going on.....

aggravated as all hell over the idea of being attached to a machine blowing pressurized air up my mouth and nose....


not looking forward to this @ all....

So I ask my fellow stoners and pot heads.... whats the dealio

and can I puff herb @ the sleep study..... otherwise I will never sleep......


anybody w/ info, insight, and or actual experience.... plz share

 

[EclipseFour20]

Similar situation many years ago and I could not sleep at their clinic--and they decided Ambien would help me. Fuck that!

My wife made an audio recording of me and I did sound like I was gasping for air--but then I snore like a freight train. I played around with my diet and believe it has something to do with "acid reflex"...I now eat earlier (putting more time between meal and sleep), pop a few antacids before going to bed (calcium carbonate...real cheap) and took note of my breathing habits while awake.

I noticed sometimes I hold my breath (for no reason whats over) rather than breathing regularly through nose (as in inhale...exhale...inhale... exhale--I found myself inhaling...holding breath...still holding breath...then finally exhaling). I believe mind over matter is a powerful concept--so when I catch myself holding my breath, I exhale immediately and do "breathing exercises". Holding one's breath is part of the sleep apnea problem....the other is not getting REM. I am working on techniques to increase REM and accept that 5-6 hours of steady sleep is the new norm--and capitalize on afternoon naps...lol. I try to keep my blood pressure balanced, reduce stress, etc--do all the healthy things that make sense.

Now...the dirty secret, investigate the "solutions" for sleep apnea and most involve sleeping with a breathing mask hooked up to a machine. Fuck that! IMHO, their "remedies" are worse than the "symptom". I don't think anyone has "died from sleep apnea"--rather the connection is, "death rate is about triple for those with sleep apnea" as a result of an assortment of "causes"--including heart attack, car accident (falling asleep at the wheel), high blood pressure, hypertension, stroke, etc. Also, there is a "surgical" fix to correct the obstruction ("physical cause" for sleep apnea) for those that are suitable, but I did not have a "severe case".

So...the correlation is those with sleep apnea have a greater chance dying from other problems--not that you necessarily "die in your sleep". Those are my experiences and observations--I turn 61 next year and smoked my first doobie about 50 years ago.

 

[Guest]

Take a look at incline bed therapy. Where you raise the head of the bed 4-6degrees.
I do know that these things going unresolved can be a contributing factor with dementia down the road.
Best of luck!
Outcold

 

[Payaso]

Oxygen... works great for what you are experiencing Yortbogey! Get your doc to prescribe it and you won't be gasping at night any longer...you need your energy during the day to run around after your daughter! Although perhaps you both get daily nap times?

 

[waveguide]

how would improving overall aerobic health affect it?

 

[m314]

I popped a weed pill a few years ago for my sleep study. I told the doctors about it since I have a medical card for insomnia. It was still hard to sleep with all those wires attached to me.

They said I stopped breathing and started to wake up 70+ times in the hour I slept on my back. I'd wake up once or twice an hour sleeping on my side. The advice they gave was "don't sleep on your back".

They also offered to let me try a CPAP machine. I still haven't tried one. I don't know how I could sleep like that, but it might be worth a shot. It's just crazy that I'd have to go back to a doctor to get a prescription for a machine if I want one. I never heard of a prescription only machine before this.

 

[aridbud]

Didn't have obstructive sleep apnea (breathing stops for seconds or more), but my oxygen saturation level (shallow breathing, thus not enough oxygen to fuel body organs) was low in REM sleep.

Been on a CPAP for about 4-5 years, covering nose/mouth. Not a big deal, but I don't have feelings of being suffocated some experience. Feel better rested now.

Decrease in oxygen can lead to numerous other diseases: heart, Alzheimers, diabetes, the whole gammut.

It is difficult to go to sleep lab with EEG, EKG other wires attached watching brain/respiration/heart function. Found out I had restless legs (evidently running marathons at night with continual movement). That's been quieted.

Just another therapy to keep your heart/brain/lungs working optimally.

 

[aridbud]

how would improving overall aerobic health affect it?

Not during REM, deep sleep.

Raising bed (head) helps, contraptions keeping your jaw in place minimal gain.

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and use forced incoming air to help body rest/regenerate.

 

[Payaso]

I find that the canula in my nose blasting O2 all night works wonders, if I keep my mouth shut. So I sometimes use a headpiece that holds my jaw shut... eliminating snoring, and the nasty breath-stopping.