Sleep Apnea
J Jech
After almost 10 years of CFS, I now have developed Sleep Apnea as well. =
How do I know my original problem wasn't Sleep Apnea? I had a Sleep =
Study done about 2 years ago and was fine. I just had another Sleep =
Study done Tuesday night and got the results this morning.
For those that may not know:
Apnea: Cessation of inspiratory airflow for ten seconds or longer
Hypopnea: Reduction of airflow by 30% or greater
Nasal CPAP: Nasal continuous positive airway pressure
In 119 minutes of sleep I had 7 Apneas and 45 Hypopneas. My sleep =
efficiency was 78%. Beyond this, my oxygenation went all the way down =
to 52%. You can't even force your oxygenation down to 50-59% by holding =
your breath! I was in the 90-99% oxygenation level only 38% of the 119 =
mintues. No wonder I suffer from brain fog -- no oxygen going to brain.
Once I was put on the Nasal CPAP, I had no apneas and only 1 hypopnea in =
227 minutes and my sleep efficiency was 90%. The lowest my oxygenation =
went was 88% and I was at 90-99% for 98% of the 227 minutes.
Although the Doctor admits this treatment will not cure the CFS, it =
should dramatically improve my sleep.
I would strongly urge you to have a sleep study if you feel you may be =
snoring excessively or waking frequently during the night.
Judi/Eaglespkr
jaj...@3-cities.com
Regina Scherffius
Judi/Eaglespkr says ...
>>After almost 10 years of CFS, I now have developed Sleep
I met a sleep apnea sufferer last year and we marveled at how
similar our symptoms were. However, when I asked my internist
about a sleep study, he said every woman he had ever had tested
for apnea weighed in excess of 300 pounds, and their weight
contributed greatly to the breathing problems. My doctor
consented to request the study anyway (an outpatient one that's
about $500) and my HMO turned it down. My current internist is
not interested in recommending one at all to my new HMO.
Did you get yours authorized by insurance or an HMO? What did
you tell them? I've considered just forking out the bucks,
especially since I think both my parents have it as well, but
spending the money would be a hardship.
--
Gina
PWC 6 years
scher...@rrc.state.tx.us
"78704 ... It's not just a ZIP code ... It's a way of life"
Natasha Elizabeth Dehn
On Thu, 31 Oct 1996, Regina Scherffius wrote:
> Judi/Eaglespkr says ...
> >>After almost 10 years of CFS, I now have developed Sleep
> Apnea as well. [snip]>>>
>
> I met a sleep apnea sufferer last year and we marveled at how
> similar our symptoms were. However, when I asked my internist
> about a sleep study, he said every woman he had ever had tested
> for apnea weighed in excess of 300 pounds, and their weight
> contributed greatly to the breathing problems. My doctor
> consented to request the study anyway (an outpatient one that's
> about $500) and my HMO turned it down. My current internist is
> not interested in recommending one at all to my new HMO.
>
> Did you get yours authorized by insurance or an HMO? What did
> you tell them? I've considered just forking out the bucks,
> especially since I think both my parents have it as well, but
> spending the money would be a hardship.
there are several kinds of sleep apnea. the most common is obstructive
apnea--your throat literally gets "stuck" closed and you don't breathe
until your body panics enough to force itself to move the muscles. this
kind of apnea is thought to be heritable, is often associated with
physical traits such as facial jowls, and certainly can and often is
aggravated by obesity. but i do not believe that you have to be 300lbs to
experience it! there's *also* another kind of apnea which has nothing to
do with weight (and probably isn't inherited). this is central
apnea--your brain "forgets" to tell itself to breathe--again, until panic
sets in and you wake up enough to force the issue. my father has a mild
case of *centrally* mediated sleep apnea, but before the sleep study,
everyone would have wagered that it was physical--my dad has the classic
heavy jowls, etc.. nope. so you never know....
it seems to me that central apnea is the kind of thing that would go with
all the other cfs/fm regulatory failures...i don't know. a recent study
indicated that fm patients experience a decline in oxygen saturation
levels while sleeping....hmmmmmmm.
given this, and with your family history, i think you should take another
run at your doctor and hmo. apnea can have VERY dangerous and expensive
consequences (folks nodding off at the wrong time can cause big trouble
and there's also a higher incidence of cardiac problems in untreated apnea
patients). the hmo could lose money NOT treating you--be sure to point
this out :).
a disturbed sleeper with NO coverage for sleep studies,
natasha