Sleep Apnea Part 2

You might remember the choices I had to treat my mild sleep apnea:
do nothing
lose weight
sleep on my side
wear a dental guard
be fitted for a cpap

Being the conscientious person that I am, I chose #4, the least invasive, least hard work on my part, solution.
I met with DrMorgan
today. He comes highly recommended by my sleep doc, Dr. Cronin and happens to be a buddy of the Krenkler family.
It was quite informative and seemingly the right choice. After examining a series of photos and xrays, Dr. Morgan determined that I was a good candidate for the oral appliance. The way he described my condition is that I have a 10 lb. tongue in a 5 lb. bucket.
See photo:

In other words my tongue is too big for the narrow confines of my jaw and interferes with my breathing (that's in very simple terms). Actually it narrows the passageway and causes my brain to think I'm not really breathing so then it sends out signals to call in the adrenalin guys which play havoc with my blood pressure, etc.
The lovely assistant in his office (so taken with Wyanne that I gave her a brochure) spent some time making a mold of my bite and I get to go back on New Year's Eve to try my new best buddy.
I happen to fall in the asymptomatic category - waking up in the morning with pure verve, but if any of you suspect that sleep apnea is part of your lifestyle, I urge you to check it out. All in all it's been a very informative adventure.

Sleep Study Results

I've been delaying posting my results as I wanted to better understand them (requiring extensive internet research) and to be able to mark up my polysomnograph to point out specific results (but that also would require too much learning time) so I'll just do the best I can with what I've got.

These are the numbers doctors use to tell you where you fall in the scheme of things:
Apnea/Hypoxia Index (AHI) is the number of events/hour. 5-15 = mild OSA, 16-30 moderate OSA, >30 severe OSA.
OSA stands for Obstuctive Sleep Apnea.
I'm the the mild area with 13.
I'm also asymptomatic. I get up easily in the morning and am not overly tired during the day.
The little green lines at the bottom show how many apnea events I had and you can see on the right hand side, I had significantly less while wearing the CPAP mask.
I have several choices of treatments:
doing nothing
losing weight
sleeping on my side
wearing a mouth guard
wearing a mask.

The mask would probably guarantee me the best sleep, but I found it quite daunting. I can fully see, though, that it would make all the difference to people who fall in the severe range and if that were my case I wouldn't hesitate.
I'm pretty sure most people have some level of apnea, but many are in denial. There are so many other body parts/functions that need fixing that sleep goes on the back burner, but, in reality, if you fix your sleep, it results in fixing some of those other problems like high blood pressure and acid reflux (which fortunately I'm not bothered by).
I am going to try the mouth guard and see if it makes any difference in my snoring. There was one incidence during the night where my oxygen flow dropped to 70% (shown in the little blue lines across the top), not a good thing.
I'm going to post some links to give you more detailed information and I do urge anyone who thinks they might have apnea to talk to their doctor about it.
All in all, it wasn't quite as fun as I thought it would be, and I was glad I didn't have to go to work the next morning, but I would certainly do it again if it would make a difference in my health.
video from mayo clinic
talk about sleep
sleep

To mask or not to mask?

Due to concerns from a loving husband and a caring friend, this is where I found myself last night - the Sleep Treatment Center at Scripps Clinic, Torrey Pines.
I checked in at 8 p.m., overnight bag stuffed with pjs, slippers, tons of catch up reading material and a sense of adventure, paving the way for others....
These are the lovely accomodations, far from the Ritz, but not uncomfortable.


Les, my efficient technician proceeded to give me the details, hook me up from head to ankle, leave the room, give me directions over a mike from some unknown space, remind me to sleep on my back as best as I could (never easy for me!), and wish me good night.
By this time, it was 9:30, far past my bedtime, but I was reluctant to turn out the light. I worked a crossword puzzle, partially, then browsed a few catalogs. I was pretty sure I wouldn't fall asleep in my usual seconds, but I decided to get on with the night so plunged myself into darkness.
Here I am with all my wires and belts.



It seemed a long time before I fell asleep, many Hail Marys said.
During his initial explanation, Les had informed me that he might wake me up in the middle of the night to try a CPAP on me. I wasn't really sure what that was,
but I wasn't happy with the thought that if he didn't try the CPAP on me, I'd probably have to come back another night. By this time it didn't seem nearly so fun and I was questioning my sanity for putting myself through this.
Sure enough, 1 a.m. Les is right there with the lovely CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine - the dreaded mask!). Once again he suggested that he'd get the best readings if I slept on my back - rats!
It took a bit of practice breaths, but I did get the hang of it before too long. I actually did go back to sleep till my favorite hour of 4:20. All you people who make fun of me - if you ever do one of these you'd be wishing you had my gift. I called out to Les - "Can I get out of here now?" Happily he said yes.
Here I am just before he started ever so gently ripping tape off my face, legs, hair.

Shortly thereafter I was on my way home with great appreciation for my lovely own bed with the two happy to see me bodies reclining there.

So why did I do it????
When I retired one thing I resolved to myself was to get my body back in better shape. It's been an uphill battle, made far more difficult by my deep love of food and wine. However there are a few things to do that are easier than others - get a regular check-up, mammogram, eye exam. If following through on a sleep study will reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke, I'm willing to do it - I'll even wear a mask every night if required. I have so many loved ones who are dealing with major illnesses. Being majorly ill is a full time job with NO perks and NO fun. Retirement has made me realize how much fun there is to be had in every day and I'd like to continue having fun for a while.

I realize I've included no real info on what sleep apnea is, but I will when I find out if I actually have it. Stay tuned for results on Tuesday.