OT: Sleep Apnea and Obtaining Proper Medical Treatment

[Guest guest]

Howdy Cynthia, Charlene .. other good folks ..

 

If you have woken up in the past from not breathing, you need to have

> a sleep study test done. Sleep apnea (or OSA - Obstructive Sleep

> Apnea) can cause major health problems due to the stress it puts on

> the body. Been there, have that. The sleep study test will require

> an overnight stay in a sleep lab, most insurance will cover it. It

> isn't painful, but it is a pain in the rear. They hook you up to

> electrodes in a strange room in a strange bed and then tell you to go

> to sleep. Warning, there is a microphone near your mouth so if you

> call the doctor / sleep attendant / hospital / world in general bad

> names, the attendant can hear you <GRIN>. The key words to tell your

> doctor are " my significant other says that I stop breathing when I am

> sleeping " .

>

 

I diagnosed myself with OSA many, many years ago .. I'd sometimes wake up in

a panic .. and in time I learned to calm down and breath deeply through my

nose. Didn't realize how dangerous it could be then and besides, I was in

Turkey so I just let it slide. Last summer I returned to the U.S.A.

and around 3 months ago I spent the night in a Sleep Clinic here in Paris,

TN. During a period of 5 hours .. 5 times I stopped breathing for as long

as 45 seconds and over 20 times I stopped long enough to mean I was not

getting good sleep or enough oxygen.

 

Couple of weeks after that they brought me in for another test .. to fit a

device, etc., that keeps air pressure up to preclude closing of the

airways. As long as I was awake it was fine .. no different than

breathing through a SCUBA regulator .. but when I dozed off I stopped

breathing completely. They stopped the test .. said I had both

Obstructive and General Apnea and there was nothing they could do at that

level .. had to send me to a big Sleep Apnea doctor in the sky. Got an

appointment at Vanderbilt in Nashville for 29 July .. had to cancel it cause

two buddies are coming in from Charleston this Sunday. They will

reschedule.

 

It is covered by Medicare .. IF it is a referral .. and I have TriCare For

Life .. so I'll follow through. And Cynthia, right you are that describing

the symptoms properly is the way to get a referral to a Sleep Clinic. I

forget how many different kinds of Sleep Apnea there are .. 20 some odd ..

and many (most?) folks who snore have one or more of these types. Friends

who have the pressure device say it has changed their lives for the

better. Not sure what they will tell me when I finally get up to

Vanderbilt.

 

(Snipped)

 

 

> Anytime a medical doctor tells you that " it is all in your head " , find

> another doctor. You are paying them for their support and knowledge,

> not the other way around. Remember, the student that graduates dead

> last in medical school is still called " Doctor " . Find one higher up

> the chain.

>

 

Absolutely correct! That's why its good to shop around for opinions from

others .. insurance will rarely pay for second medical opinions. I almost

had to pay for one but I lucked out. Had arthritis in my left ankle since

I was in my 30s .. bad sprains and such .. and it plus the same condition in

my right knee was documented when I retired from the Army on 1 Jan 89. In

November 07, a young doc said my pain was simply arthritis .. wanted me to

take some medications that I am sure he would not take. Then around May 08

the right knee started locking in place .. proabably due to me overdoing it

in our garden. But this was a different condition .. so a different

another checkup .. and this time from an old doc who had served a couple of

tours in the 'Nam. He had MRI done on every joint in my body .. found that

the arthritis in my left ankle was more than that .. there was an old break

... ligaments and tendons torn .. bone to bone contact and only muscle and

scar tissue holding it up. There is little to be done about that .. ankles

are not easily fixed except for fusing. They gave me a canvas brace to

wear.

 

Left knee was a different matter .. also bone on bone and sliding sideways

... inward. Yesterday I was measured for an orthopedic device that will be

special made in California .. padded alumunum that does not restrict

movement but can be adjusted to preclude sideways movement. Oughta be

ready in 2 weeks or so. I asked them the approximate cost for the device

... interesting answer. Because I have Medicare and TriCare for Life its

around $700 .. if I had no insurance it would be around $1,200.

 

 

> Even if you prefer to treat yourself naturally, please find out what

> is causing the problem. It will at least give you a direction to

> start in. Life is far too short to spend unconscious and each day

> lost is one that you can't get back. When you are exhausted it is

> very difficult to go through the enormous hassle and effort to find

> out what is wrong but it is worth it. Believe me, I know.

>

 

Dang betcha on that one. I went from 1994 to 2007 without getting anything

checked except my heart .. now I am back in the USA .. 66 years old a week

ago .. and finding that a lot of old aches and pains I considered to be a

natural part of aging .. ain't! I reckon I am lucky to be as healthy as I

am considering that I voluntarily abused my body for 30 years and then tried

to continue on after I retired like I was still a youngster. I often

confused stamina and the ability to keep going when the going was tough with

good conditioning .. still do sometimes and have to correct myself.

 

I asked the doc if I needed to restrict my activities .. a smooth feller he

is .. he said no basketball, soccer, tennis, sky diving or ski jumping. I

assured him that I would not do any of these. ;-) Actually, the only

restrictions I have are no rapid sideways movements and avoid squatting down

a lot .. and if I am lucky enough to avoid TAPS for another 10 years or so

... gotta have a knee replacement.

 

Essential Oils and Human Critters don't have a fixed shelf life. Both have

a normally expected life span that can be increased or reduced based on

proper handling and storage .. or lack thereof.

 

Charlene .. I expect that y'all are at Incirlik .. either USAF or VBR maybe

... I was U.S. Army (retired) when I spent 3 years in Adana .. with VBR.

Not sure if Incirlik has a Sleep Clinic now .. didn't used to .. but the

Military can send folks to where ever for treatment and analysis. Medevac

flights leave Incirlik a couple of times a week. Maybe they have a crop

of contract doctors at Incirlik now, if so then y'all have the worst

possible situation. During my 30 years service .. part of it as a Commander

... I ran into some cases where I felt my troops or their dependents were not

getting the proper treatment .. so I took it to the Hospital Chain of

Command .. and if that did not work .. to the Inspector General. I can not

recall a single incident where we did not get proper relief. The Military

will bend under pressure. Has the Military changed since I got out 19 +

years ago? Maybe but I don't think so. Command chains and policies will

change every few years and sometimes those chains need to be jerked and

requests for exception to the policies need to be put in writing .. the

Military does not like to have things in writing floating over their heads

cause if the crap hits the fan then they get a face full of it.! The chain

is as strong as the weakest link and normally the strongest point is at the

top .. if not, then you need to go outside the chain. Policies and

Standard Operating Procedures are GUIDELINES that ensure smooth continuity

but they are not sacrosanct .. logic almost always prevails when it bounces

off of a Policy or SOP.

 

IF .. you are not Active Military or a command sponsored Contract employee

... as was my case my final 13 years in Turkey .. then you are by your own

decision just an American in Turkey .. and you will find that there is no

assistance to be found in Adana .. but in Ankara .. at Guven Hospital .. or

Hacetepe or some of the more modern private hospitals .. you

can get diagnoses and treatment at prices that will shock you .. they are

extremely inexpensive and the doctors (mostly trained in America and

Germany) are extremely efficient.

 

 

> Cynthia

>

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-)

 

Butch .. http://www.AV-AT.com <http://www.av-at.com/>

 

 

>

> <%40>,

> " Charlene Ada Willoughby "

> <adanaturkey8385 wrote:

> >

> > I've had sleep apnea in the past I think but never diagnosed with it

> by medical doctors. I've woke up not being able to breath at all a

> few times. Only lasts less than a min once I wake up. It's been a

> few years now since I've noticed it. No reason for the anemia that I

> know of other than maybe hereditary. My mother has anemia way worse

> than me. She has it so bad she has to have Vit K

> > shots and transfusions. I've been averaging 15 - 20 hrs of sleep a

> night some nights. It's horrible. Even if I can't sleep, I lie down

> because I don't have enough energy to stand lately. I'm feeling

> better after 1 1/2 days of Asparatate and Drenaplus. Will get the

> Cal-Mag, Omega III, Lysine and prima dophilus on payday, the 1st. The

> medical doctors just ignored me other than give me Iron

> > and Acyclovir saying my tiredness and feeling ill was in my head.

> I've had it with them. I felt so bad at one point, I thought I was

> going to have a seizure and pass out, that was when the iron was

> really low.

> >

> > Char

>

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I have to add my two cents in on this.

 

For several years, I had been telling my doctor that I was more tired when I

woke up than I was before going to bed. All tests were run and we added it

all up to a diagnosis that my body was beginning to fail (three time cancer

survivor and other miscellaneous things going wrong).

 

Well, in January, I was in the hospital for a total knee replacement-at 51 I

have arthritis pretty bad and nothing was giviing me any relief. I woke up

in the hospital one night and I saw one nurse with paddles ready to shock my

heart and another nurse getting ready to slam her fist into my chest. They

had already yelled at my husband to get out of the room and called a code on

me. The monitors had picked up that I wasn't breathing and alerted them.

 

Needless to say, they kept a check on me more closely after than during my

five day stay and it seems that I actually quit breathing at least every 42

minutes for a period averaging 90 seconds each time! No wonder I wasn't

sleeping.

 

As soon as it was practical, they got me to a sleep study center and I have

toa dmit that for the first time in my life, I sleep like a baby.

 

I just love the person who invented the CPAP machine!

 

Vickie

[Guest guest]

Wow! What a testimony to the CPAP machine! I love the person who

invented it too! For five years (maybe more) I couldn't sleep with

my husband...I always ended up on the sofa, and finally, began

sleeping in " my own " room, and I was amazed that I was able to

actually sleep thru the night! My husbands snoring, and he'd stop

breathing too, and wake up sometimes gasping for air, made it

impossible for me to sleep, and poor hubby was so tired, all the

time, his blood pressure was climbing and he had already had a minor

cardiac episode (a warning, so to speak.) FINALLY he mentioned all

this to his dr, who scheduled a sleep study. Of course we knew he

had sleep apnea, but after getting his CPAP--what can I say? I can

sleep with my husband again! He LOVES his CPAP! Luckily he didn't

have any problems adjusting to it at all. I love it because the

bedroom is quiet again--it's not very romantic, but at this stage in

our lives, sleep is more important anyway! ;-)

 

My brother was recently diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, but it's

been more difficult for him to adjust to sleeping with the CPAP.

They've tried a couple of different things, and hopefully what he's

using now (nasal cushions or pillows or something like that) will

finally make him comfortable with his CPAP too. Sleep apnea is

nothing to fool around with! It can do some real damage to your

heart, and can lead to serious medical problems.

 

If anybody ever figures out who to thank for inventing the CPAP

machine, let me know, I want to send him/her flowers!!!

 

Pam in Gettysburg

 

, " Vickie "

<pinelevelsoapcompany wrote:

 

As soon as it was practical, they got me to a sleep study center

and I have

toa dmit that for the first time in my life, I sleep like a baby.

 

I just love the person who invented the CPAP machine!

 

Vickie

 

--- End forwarded message ---

[Guest guest]

You and me too!!! I tell you I would fall asleep at the stop signs driving

my car. The kids and I almost had a head on collision when I fell asleep at

the wheel. I was so sleepy all of the time. I LOVE LOVE the Cpap machine. I

also scared the crap out of the nurses when they would come in and find me

not breathing.

Sherri Rohm

-

" Vickie " <pinelevelsoapcompany

 

Saturday, July 26, 2008 12:00 PM

Re: OT: Sleep Apnea and Obtaining Proper Medical

Treatment

 

 

>I have to add my two cents in on this.

>

> For several years, I had been telling my doctor that I was more tired when

> I

> woke up than I was before going to bed. All tests were run and we added it

> all up to a diagnosis that my body was beginning to fail (three time

> cancer

> survivor and other miscellaneous things going wrong).

>

> Well, in January, I was in the hospital for a total knee replacement-at 51

> I

> have arthritis pretty bad and nothing was giviing me any relief. I woke up

> in the hospital one night and I saw one nurse with paddles ready to shock

> my

> heart and another nurse getting ready to slam her fist into my chest. They

> had already yelled at my husband to get out of the room and called a code

> on

> me. The monitors had picked up that I wasn't breathing and alerted them.

>

> Needless to say, they kept a check on me more closely after than during my

> five day stay and it seems that I actually quit breathing at least every

> 42

> minutes for a period averaging 90 seconds each time! No wonder I wasn't

> sleeping.

>

> As soon as it was practical, they got me to a sleep study center and I

> have

> toa dmit that for the first time in my life, I sleep like a baby.

>

> I just love the person who invented the CPAP machine!

>

> Vickie

>

>

> ---

>

> The information contained in these e-mails is not a substitute

> for diagnosis and treatment by a qualified, licensed professional.

>

> Absolutely no forwarding or copying, in whole or in part, of any messages

> or postings to others outside the list without the express, written

> consent of every author of a message included in the forward or copy.

>

> To adjust your group settings (i.e. go no mail) see the following link:

> /join