Sleeping disorders?

[Larry Edgerton]

I notice that occasionally I stop breathing when I am sleeping and it wakes me up. That is probably a good thing, that I wake up, unless you are talking to one of my ex wives, but I guess I need to check it out. I have insurance but it sucks these days thanks to O Care, so a specialist would cost me more than I could pull off right now.

Any recommended reading on the subject?

A couple of friends of mine have breathing machines for whatever reason that they use at night, but that would certainly not work for me. I have broken 63 bones in various misadventures and so toss and turn as I can only stay in one position for a while till something starts hurting. I'm up at 5 AM every day no matter what because of the pain.

I need more sleep!

Thoughts, experiences?

Thanks, Larry

[Dimitrios Fradelakis]

Sleep Apnea is a very serious disorder. When you stop breathing and wake up it puts tremendous strain on your heart. See your doctor ASAP about the issue you're having. Asking for advice on a serious matter like this on a woodworking forum is not a good move.

Best of luck to you.

[Phil Thien]

Asking for advice on a serious matter like this on a woodworking forum is not a good move.

I don't disagree w/ the advice to talk with a physician. But asking here allows several benefits:

(1) You get to hear what other doctors have told members with sleep apnea. Instead of limiting your input to a single doctor or two, you leverage a bunch of them.

(2) You may find someone else that also suffers difficulty sleeping due to previous injuries, and sleep apnea, and they may have very useful advice about equipment that allows additional mobility.

(3) Others that may suffer from sleep apnea can learn from the discussion. Those just beginning to experience symptoms may learn of the need to seek professional attention.

(4) Those with loved ones that have the disorder may learn a thing or two.

My doctors are great guys and aren't dismissive at all about what I find on the Internet. They have no problem helping me separate the wheat from the chaff and have often followed-up with links to articles and papers to clear things up.

If your doctor doesn't want you doing your own research and asking questions, you need to find a different doctor (IMHO).

Discussions like these improve the quality of healthcare, not the other way around.

[Brian Elfert]

There are dental devices that will help with sleep apnea. There is also an implant called Inspire Sleep, but the cost is around $40,000 and is usually not the first option. You cannot get an MRI after getting the implant. The whole MRI thing would be a no go for me along with the $2700 out of pocket.

The first therapy they always try for sleep apnea is a CPAP machine.

[Larry Edgerton]

Asking for advice on a serious matter like this on a woodworking forum is not a good move.

Best of luck to you.

Why not? You just informed me it is a serious issue. I did not know that.

[Von Bickley]

Sleep Apnea is a very serious disorder. When you stop breathing and wake up it puts tremendous strain on your heart. See your doctor ASAP about the issue you're having. Asking for advice on a serious matter like this on a woodworking forum is not a good move.

Best of luck to you.

I agree with Dimitrios......
When I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, I would stop breathing 67 times per hour. With the sleep machine, I am down to 3 times per hour. When you stop breathing, your blood oxygen drops, and when that happens, you can be damaging your internal body organs, not just your heart. With my machine, I sleep on my right side, left side, and back. You can move around. I also do not snore when I wear my sleep machine. My wife and I would sleep on opposite ends of the house because of my snoring. The machine took care of that.
I hate using the sleep machine and wish I could just take a pill, but that is not going to happen. The doctors have told me that a significant weight loss would help. As we get older, we learn that we have to make changes, and we do what we have to do.

Wishing you the best with this problem and you really need to have a sleep study done.

[Pat Barry]

Just curious Larry - How do you know that you stop breathing and this wakes you up? How do you know its that and not something else that is waking you up? Most people with sleep apnea get alerted to issues due to snoring and stopping breathing (holding your breath) by a spouse for example. Its probably a bit unusual, and maybe worse, if you recognize this on your own. I'd say you need to see your Dr soon

[Scott Shepherd]

I'm not affiliated with any of this, but I have friends and family using (or have tried to use) CPAP machines with no luck, so this one caught my eye when I saw it posted on some tech website....

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a...ro-cpap#/story

I hope it works, it will change a lot of people's lives.

[Phil Thien]

I'm not affiliated with any of this, but I have friends and family using (or have tried to use) CPAP machines with no luck, so this one caught my eye when I saw it posted on some tech website....

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a...ro-cpap#/story

I hope it works, it will change a lot of people's lives.

That looks promising.

I saw a story once indicating that the sleep apnea causes a vicious cycle where people don't get enough sleep and so they eat more which causes weight gain and more sleep apnea. The report indicated that for many people, stopping the sleep apnea results in weight loss but the apparatus (CPAP I guess) didn't work well for a lot of people.

If that gizmo you linked works, it could be a real game changer.

[Scott Shepherd]

That looks promising.

I saw a story once indicating that the sleep apnea causes a vicious cycle where people don't get enough sleep and so they eat more which causes weight gain and more sleep apnea. The report indicated that for many people, stopping the sleep apnea results in weight loss but the apparatus (CPAP I guess) didn't work well for a lot of people.

If that gizmo you linked works, it could be a real game changer.

Yeah, that's a really clever gadget. What I didn't realize until today, was that they are disposable, I guess. You buy a "45 day supply" of them, and it says the cycle is 8 hours long, so I'm guessing you get a new one every day. If that's the case, I'm sure someone will figure out how to prolong that so they last days and weeks at a time.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Larry - -

All is very easy - just go see a Doc. You have been living with this condition for a long time, so you are not going to cash out in the next 48 hours if you don't go right away. Alarmist rhetoric helps not. A calm, reasoned, action plan is the ticket.

But - there is no reason to be screwing around and avoiding it.

We need you here, brudda. Man up and get it done. Garage door open season is coming soon, and we want to see this year's kill rate.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I don't have a sleeping disorder, but I do have a waking disorder.

...but seriously, and I am not being mean here- lose some weight. My wife, who teaches nursing and is in the process of getting her PhD (Pretty hard Degree), harps on this a lot. It does not mean that you are "fat" nescessarily, but I will take myself as an example. If I gain just 5 pounds over my normal weight, I start to snore more and I have similar problems at night- waking up short of breath. If I lose down to my "fighting weight," no issues. One of my fat storage areas appears to be around my neck, and with all those bulging neck muscles there isn't much room for fat. (nyuck, nyuck)

Fortunately you're a dude, so you don't take it personally. I would never give a woman this advice. I would tell her to go see a professional because telling a woman to lose weight is like juggling cats.

[Brian Elfert]

I have sleep apnea. I was modestly overweight by 10 to 20 pounds, but even when I lost a lot of weight last fall it didn't help my sleep.

This thread did inspire to make a follow-up appointment with my sleep doctor.

[Phil Thien]

I don't have a sleeping disorder, but I do have a waking disorder.

...but seriously, and I am not being mean here- lose some weight. My wife, who teaches nursing and is in the process of getting her PhD (Pretty hard Degree), harps on this a lot. It does not mean that you are "fat" nescessarily, but I will take myself as an example. If I gain just 5 pounds over my normal weight, I start to snore more and I have similar problems at night- waking up short of breath. If I lose down to my "fighting weight," no issues. One of my fat storage areas appears to be around my neck, and with all those bulging neck muscles there isn't much room for fat. (nyuck, nyuck)

Fortunately you're a dude, so you don't take it personally. I would never give a woman this advice. I would tell her to go see a professional because telling a woman to lose weight is like juggling cats.

The problem is, losing weight at our ages isn't so easy, and keeping it off is even harder.

I don't disagree with the advice, mind you.

But juggling those cats may (in the long run) be easier.

[Pat Barry]

As I mentioned earlier, sleep apnea is not something one can typically self diagnose. OP mentions waking several times in the night and not sleeping well. Its a big jump to stopping breathing. That diagnosis is done in a sleep center. He may well have other issues. For example, I have tingling in my legs and twitching of leg muscles that wake me up. Thats not sleep apnea. Don't jump to conclusions

These four yes-or-no "STOP" questions can help you determine your risk for sleep apnea:

• S: Do you snore loudly (louder than talking or loud enough to be heard through closed doors)?
• T: Do you often feel tired, fatigued, or sleepy during the day?
• O: Has anyone observed you not breathing during sleep?
• P: Do you have or have you been treated for high blood pressure?

You have a high risk of sleep apnea if you answered "yes" to two or more of these questions. You are strongly encouraged to discuss these results with your medical provider.