CPAP. CPAP run. Run PAP run!

[javasaurus]

Last night I underwent a CPAP sleep study. Basically, they put a mask over my nose with a bit of air pressure. Also lots of electrodes on head, face, chest and legs to monitor various things. I could breathe in and out through my nose, but if I opened my mouth, the air rushing into my nose would leave through my mouth, and I couldn't breathe at all! so I had to keep my mouth shut all night. I'm guessing some of you consider that an impossibility!

As the night went on, I would sometimes wake myself up by trying to breathe through my mouth, and find that I couldn't breathe at all! So I'd have a panic attack and wake up, and force myself to breathe through my nose. One time, I woke up in a cold sweat and ripping the electrodes off my head! The technologist was not very happy about that, but I didn't realize I did it until after the fact.

I still have goop in my hair from where the electrodes were attached. Yech.

But I think I could get used to the machine, and possibly get some long-sought-after rest! I have to wait about two weeks for the results to get to my doctor before I discuss with him what to do next.

Comments

[cozit.livejournal.com]

Keep us updated, please... I'd love to hear how it works out. Something about trying to convince hubby to go get tested for sleep apnea (which I'm about 85% sure that he has)... and finding a stop to the snoring he does that can be heard 2 stories away at times. (*g* still not quite as bad a my FIL's was for a while... Joe's SIL spent a snowed in night at their house one day and thought that the snowplows had already been through by the time she got up in the morning....)

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

A bit about sleep apnea:

Certainly snoring is a symptom, but lots of people just plain snore. Sleep apnea is when you cannot breathe properly or sufficiently while you are asleep.

Typically, your oral breathing pathway is closed by a combination of tonsils, tongue, and uvula/soft palate, so you are forced to breathe through your nose. If you can't (or simply don't) breathe through your nose, you end up forcing air through the nearly closed-off oral pathway. If you cannot get sufficient air this way, you wake up just enough to take a breath. A person with sleep apnea may wake anywhere from once to 60 times per hour to breathe. The victim may not come to full consciousness, and will likely not remember most of these waking episodes.

For most people, sleep occurs in cycles of four phases, the fourth being the deepest, and includes REM sleep when dreams occur and the body is most efficient at resting and healing. But it takes about 90 minutes to reach REM, so the sleep apnea victim never gets to the deep sleep -- the frequent waking keeps restarting the cycle.

Symptoms include loud snoring, frequent cessation of breathing (while sleeping) followed by gasping or sudden inhalation, frequent tiredness or need for naps during the day, lack of focus, loss of short term memory, lack of dreams. Other risk factors include being male and being overweight.

Sleep apnea, if left untreated, is connected to higher risk of heart disease, stroke, being overweight, and other conditions.

The primary treatment for apnea is a CPAP machine which blows air through the nose, keeping the passage way open. It takes some getting used to, and doesn't work for everyone. The air compressor uses general household air, with a HEPA filter, and is fairly quiet. If CPAP doesn't work, surgerical treatments may help, including tonsilectomy and uvula-ectomy.

Check out the American Sleep Apnea Association website for more info.

[cozit.livejournal.com]

Oh, no... I know that the snoring is separate often... but I've heard him stop breathing... not always connected with snoring, either. Between the snoring and the lengthening between breaths and then even longer pauses (and the occasional snort after the long pauses), it's not helping my re-occuring insomnia any more than it's helping him get a decent sleep. :-/