What more checks I should do to my brain

[carbonman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMt8mwTOf60

In the 33yrs that I have been in the IT Crowd,
never got myself into a situation like that.

My creed for IT customer service was/is and will remain,
never let the customer get between you and the door.

[Sir NoddinOff]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMt8mwTOf60

In the 33yrs that I have been in the IT Crowd,
never got myself into a situation like that.

My creed for IT customer service was/is and will remain,
never let the customer get between you and the door.

Good one, carbonman. The scene carbonman is talking about is where the IT tech crawls under a woman's desk to plug in her computer and she then returns to her desk (in a very short skirt) trapping the tongue-tied tech under the desk for a long time. It's a pretty funny series with Matt Berry (Toast of London) added to the to cast during the second season.

[jnk...]

I do seem to remember an earlier group of guys who wanted someone to check their brain. They said they were fine, but they were from California and needed to be more careful about where they put their tears, or something, if I recall. But even they knew the importance of running in the sun in the morning and walking in the streets . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR7GI82mSns

[chunkyfrog]

Jaw, I actually think your brain is probably OK, except you are not as happy as you need to be.
Make it a point to give yourself a little pep talk, and believe it.
A little positive self-talk can go a long way, and help with the worry.
The doctors you will see know more than many of us--your medicine in Europe can be the best in the world.
Research there is ahead of us on this side of the pond.

[Julie]

'Scuse me, but I have to disagree... research may be excellent in various European countries, but why you think it's better than it is over here I can't imagine. Medical research is terrific both in the U.S. and Canada and in many situations leads the world.

[jnk...]

But even in Europe, evaluation of brain health and status can often be less a matter of imaging and chemical analysis and more a matter of behavioral testing and face-to-face competence discussions with a mental-health professional--especially for insurance/disability/legal matters, I believe.

On the grander scale, however, there may be greater success in recruiting a friend or family member to help coach us into better habits for long-term brain health rather than thinking in terms of a strictly medical approach to the health of the organ itself, depending on the specifics of your situation.

My understanding is that much of the damage to the brain from long-term severe OSA CAN be reversed over time, although much like anything else that can damage the brain (chemicals, physical injury, etc.), FULL reversal of the specific damage may not be possible and may require other areas of the brain to learn to take up the slack, as it were.

Glad you are sticking with PAP. Hope you keep at finding solutions to the other problems you face with the same focus as well.

[chunkyfrog]

In the US, any research involving stem cells faces very high opposition.
Many Americans use medical tourism to get surgery they cannot get at home.
Disc replacement is an example.

[Julie]

Difficulty getting a particular procedure done in certain areas is a different issue, and not related to research but possibly either insurance, possibly even the fact that research here has shown that a particular procedure is NOT considered a good idea for whatever reason, or who knows what, but it certainly doesn't mean that research is inferior to what's done in Europe.

[chunkyfrog]

Good to know, but does it then mean that in Europe the medical care is crap?
Just trying to reassure Jaw that he is in good hands.

[Julie]

I'd certainly say the vast majority of medical facilities, research, etc. in not only Europe but almost throughout the world now, at least the 1st & 2nd worlds, is so advanced compared even to what it was 20 yrs ago, or 50 yrs ago (when lots of us thought it was fine to have surgery, take meds, etc.) that I would be fine using their systems if necessary. Of course there are pockets of especially good research (lots in France, the UK, the far east), small communities that specialize in one thing or another, but cooperation now is instant between researchers here and there - papers are written by international groups, individual docs, etc. - and probably areas with not so hot work, individual docs who will always be less great than others, plus a few quacks are out there too, but medicine in general is at a high level all over... just depends what you're interested in and if you can get on their waiting lists.

[jaw]

When I look at the research groups being active in finding how brain is damaged after long untreated severe OSA, only two sources pop up

- One is Ronald Harper group at UCLA http://www.bri.ucla.edu/people/ronald-m-harper-phd, together with Paul Macey also at UCLA http://www.bri.ucla.edu/people/paul-m-macey-phd
- One is Vincenza Castronovo's group at Sleep Disorders Center, Scientific Institute and University Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy;

Many other groups just publish crappy research or cite heavily these two groups.

The european country that I am living in, is not Italia, therefore I assume it's crappy in what I am interested in: OSA damaging brain.

[Julie]

You seem more interested in proving something you can't do anything about (excuse to not work?) than trying suggestions lots have given you to at least improve things a bit, what a waste of time.

[jaw]

Jaw, I actually think your brain is probably OK, except you are not as happy as you need to be.
Make it a point to give yourself a little pep talk, and believe it.
A little positive self-talk can go a long way, and help with the worry.
The doctors you will see know more than many of us--your medicine in Europe can be the best in the world.
Research there is ahead of us on this side of the pond.

Hi Chunkyfrog,

Thanks for your message. It is actually true that I have a very long depression, accompanying my long untreated OSA.

I need to have more mental energy to be happy, that I am looking.