Apnea

[Donzim]

Chart shows % of effects apnea has on various diseases.

[Juliegrace]

My husband is 6' tall and weighs 163 lbs suffers from mild (according to the doctors, to me it's awful) sleep apnea. He doesn't use a CPAP. Instead he's been treated with a special dental appliance that has made a huge difference. It's expensive and not covered by insurance but he would never have used a CPAP so it's worth the expense.

[Despe in reply to Juliegrace]

Julie,

What is CPAP? Thank you both of you (justhavefun2).

[Juliegrace in reply to Despe]

CPAP is the device most commonly used for sleep apnea.

[Donzim in reply to Despe]

Google it...it’s a face mask which covers one’s nose and/or mouth (depends on if you are a mouth breather). Air is pumped in from a device next to the bed. No noise. The amount and frequency is determined by the prescribing doc who is connected wirelessly to the device. You can also get daily reports on #of apneas, mask fit, #of hours slept, etc on your computer. Game changer.

[Despe in reply to Donzim]

Thank you! Haven't had time, but I will search it, although I don't think my husband suffers from sleep apnea.

[Donzim in reply to Despe]

I said that to the pulmonary dr. He looked at me and said, “well, fortunately, we don’t have to rely on what you think. We can find out from the monitor.” What a putdown! But he was right.

[Hiawatha1 in reply to Despe]

CPAP: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure

[Despe in reply to Hiawatha1]

Thank you!

[Donzim in reply to Juliegrace]

Be sure that his apneas are the result of obstruction and not neurological. Did he have the finger monitor or overnight lab test to diagnose his apnea? I would do a follow up by having him use the finger monitor when he is sleeping with the dental appliance. We looked into that but rejected it...I forgot why.

[justhavefun2]

I started using a CPAP in February and it was a game changer for me. I don’t snore anymore and I am fully awake all day long. I was just dragging through the day before. It was super difficult for me to get used to though.