No Sympathy

[Wulfman]

The question that comes up VERY frequently (in some manner) is: "If I lose some weight, will I get rid of the sleep apnea?"
In all probability, it was the sleep apnea or a history of poor sleep that caused the weight gain to begin with. In the 3+ years I've been reading the forums, I've only read about a couple of people who THOUGHT they no longer had it. I believe one claimed to have had a follow-up sleep study. However, since this condition can take many years to manifest itself, the true results are not known.
There is, however, one SURE CURE for Sleep Apnea..........DEATH!

In my case, I've been a mouth-breather all my life and after becoming more knowledgeable about this condition and the physical conditions which contribute to it, I believe that I have enlarged turbinates and possible deviated septum. I've never been to an ENT to confirm this, but I would be willing to put money on it. That said, I doubt that at this point in time any nasal surgery would "cure" me.......however, it might make my breathing easier. I'm content with my CPAP therapy at this point and don't have any immediate plans to find out if my suspicions are correct.

Den

[Lee22633]

Billy6, somewhat of an ungrateful child you have there. (A quote from my own mother) But I wore braces, silvers, on my terribly upper buck teeth for like 2 years when I was a child. I was never upset with her for doing this for me. It cost her a bundle in that day and age, more like what 3 month's pay would be today. I had to have 4 teeth pulled as well to make room for the fronts to come back into, and every time they tightened them up I was in agony for at least a week. From that time onward I have always taken good care of them because of her efforts.

But on the other hand, Mike, you and me are the same. I decided when I was 15 or so not to have kids. The braces my mother gave me was the only good thing my mother ever did for me. I had only one time, consisting of 5 minutes when I considered having a child and I quickly came to my senses because it was for all the wrong reasons.
Lee

[Billy6]

The braces my mother gave me was the only good thing my mother ever did for me. Lee

I sincerely hope you dont really believe that

[Lee22633]

The question that comes up VERY frequently (in some manner) is: "If I lose some weight, will I get rid of the sleep apnea?"
In all probability, it was the sleep apnea or a history of poor sleep that caused the weight gain to begin with. In the 3+ years I've been reading the forums, I've only read about a couple of people who THOUGHT they no longer had it. I believe one claimed to have had a follow-up sleep study. However, since this condition can take many years to manifest itself, the true results are not known.
There is, however, one SURE CURE for Sleep Apnea..........DEATH!

In my case, I've been a mouth-breather all my life and after becoming more knowledgeable about this condition and the physical conditions which contribute to it, I believe that I have enlarged turbinates and possible deviated septum. I've never been to an ENT to confirm this, but I would be willing to put money on it. That said, I doubt that at this point in time any nasal surgery would "cure" me.......however, it might make my breathing easier. I'm content with my CPAP therapy at this point and don't have any immediate plans to find out if my suspicions are correct.

Den

Den, it is possible that correcting your septem and turbinates an d loosing the ##, could help with fixing your problems to a certain extent. Learning how to breath through the nose only would also be an idea.

[Wulfman]

The question that comes up VERY frequently (in some manner) is: "If I lose some weight, will I get rid of the sleep apnea?"
In all probability, it was the sleep apnea or a history of poor sleep that caused the weight gain to begin with. In the 3+ years I've been reading the forums, I've only read about a couple of people who THOUGHT they no longer had it. I believe one claimed to have had a follow-up sleep study. However, since this condition can take many years to manifest itself, the true results are not known.
There is, however, one SURE CURE for Sleep Apnea..........DEATH!

In my case, I've been a mouth-breather all my life and after becoming more knowledgeable about this condition and the physical conditions which contribute to it, I believe that I have enlarged turbinates and possible deviated septum. I've never been to an ENT to confirm this, but I would be willing to put money on it. That said, I doubt that at this point in time any nasal surgery would "cure" me.......however, it might make my breathing easier. I'm content with my CPAP therapy at this point and don't have any immediate plans to find out if my suspicions are correct.

Den

Den, it is possible that correcting your septem and turbinates an d loosing the ##, could help with fixing your problems to a certain extent. Learning how to breath through the nose only would also be an idea.

And I DO.....during the night and on days that are cooler when I CAN breathe. I don't think the weight or neck size is of a particular problem in my case......according to my reports, I only have one or two apneas in any given 7-day period and hypopneas aren't "significant". I've also been working on weight loss and diet change over the last year to deal with my blood glucose levels.....and I've had a great deal of success with that.

I just have a huge distrust of doctors and with about 50 years worth of good reasons. I only go to them as a last resort.....and then I have to be dragged, kicking and screaming.

Den

[OldLincoln]

Billy, you are one lucky son of a gun! Many men have a turbulent relationship with their sons (I'm one) until they are in their 20's (my best friend now). You know his teasing is just that and quite frankly he's good at it. Probably his way of saying he loves you. Ya gotta take what you dish out but as long as it's good natured, it's like getting/giving sprayed when washing the car. It's also him daring to show some independence from you which is part of parenting also. Have fun with it, let him try it on (and take pictures).

[Billy6]

Billy, you are one lucky son of a gun! Many men have a turbulent relationship with their sons (I'm one) until they are in their 20's (my best friend now). You know his teasing is just that and quite frankly he's good at it. Probably his way of saying he loves you. Ya gotta take what you dish out but as long as it's good natured, it's like getting/giving sprayed when washing the car. It's also him daring to show some independence from you which is part of parenting also. Have fun with it, let him try it on (and take pictures).

Actually that is a good idea. I should make him try it on for 2 hours while watching TV to let him experience it. I'd need to figure out how to adjust the pressure to a very high level first, and then hope that when I'm at work, he doesn't try it out on all of his buddies

[birdshell]

Billy6, you had to have a smart kid, didn't you? I personally find the Bozo hair to be a plus, as now you can hold something against him. You know, as in when the new girlfriend comes by??

You know, as far as the red marks go, there is a solution that many have found useful.
Click Here for Red Face Mark Prevention

Now, should you need any more ammunition for that kid, just post a request here. At least the forum will have a grand time thinking up answers, even if they are useless to you. (Well, useless IF you want to avoid child abuse charges).

Best,
Karen

[OldLincoln]

Now, should you need any more ammunition for that kid, just post a request here. At least the forum will have a grand time thinking up answers, even if they are useless to you. (Well, useless IF you want to avoid child abuse charges).

Snicker... I saw your "free mammograms" link and recalled my wife telling me if I don't show more sympathy she'll make ME get the next one! Bet that would fix Billy Jr. right up now!

[birdshell]

ONLY if you get the meanest and most sadistic X-ray technician...who may have a future in the office of a DME provider, at that.



That said, men do sometimes have breast cancer. Click Here for Info on Male Breast Cancer



All the more reason for AT LEAST a baseline mammogram on young Billy, eh?

[Spacemeat]

I was complaining last night at dinner about having to wear my new contraption, and my 19 year old started laughing. He said it was karma payback for the 2 years of making him wear the wire headgear his orthodontist fit him with, and that I'd get no sympathy for the next 2 years. He's right, the only thing I get form him are his tuition bills and empty gas tanks.

Not putting YOU into this particular category, but your post reminded me of the following.......

Every time someone comes to one of the forums and declares (in some manner) "I CAN'T DO THIS!!!" or "I HATE MY CPAP!!!", I wonder what THEY would tell their children if they had some life-threatening condition that required them to wear something that would save their life or improve their health...... Hmmmmmm?
I can think of FAR WORSE conditions to have to treat and therapy to do.......consequently, I have had very little patience with whiners.
Paybacks are Hell, aren't they?
Den

You're right, I did whine, because I was blindsided by the whole thing. I had a small operation and the doctor said I was snoring loudly and had erratic breathing while I was out. He sent me home with one of those at-home sleep test monitors. I did the deal, returned the machine, and it was out of sight, out of mind. A month later, I get a call from Apria Medical Store and was told to come in as soon as possbible. I went in and a technician opened 2 boxes and said "This therapy was prescibed by your physician and now I'm going to fit you with with this facemask to help you breathe at night" and he fit the mask over my mouth and nose and adjusted the straps. To this point I had never heard of sleeping disorders or CPAP. He then put the machine together, connected the hoses and plugged it in. He turned it on, and air began forcing its way into my mouth and nose. He pointed to charts on the wall showing what was happening to my airway and gave me lessons on how to operate the machine and put on the mask.Then he took my credit card, had me sign the agreement and asked me how I liked my CPAP machine and told me that I'm required to wear it every night . He then asked if I had any questions on the operation of the machine or the mask. I asked him "every night for how long?" He said that is totally up to you and your physician, but the data from your physician indicates it will be for some time. The whole appointment took just under 15 minutes. So, I picked my contraption and headed home to research this all online. If any of this was explained to me in advance, I probably wouldnt have been a whiner.

I understand your pain, to a limited extent. While I don't have children of my own, I do have a number of nagging health issues and it's at the point now where I feel as though every other year I'm going to be told I have a new condition, that I need to invest time and money into some treatment, that my lifestyle will of course have to be altered, ad nauseam. I went for the sleep study fully expecting them to find nothing wrong, but here we are. Now I'm stuck trying to adjust to a machine, or find the right machine, and pay for said machine, even though I don't want it. It's not hard to see why anyone would want to kick the damn thing across the room from time to time! (And for the record, when I was still reeling from this, I made the mistake of talking about it with my mother, who wasn't exactly sympathetic about it.)

[sharon1965]

I understand your pain, to a limited extent. While I don't have children of my own, I do have a number of nagging health issues and it's at the point now where I feel as though every other year I'm going to be told I have a new condition, that I need to invest time and money into some treatment, that my lifestyle will of course have to be altered, ad nauseam. I went for the sleep study fully expecting them to find nothing wrong, but here we are. Now I'm stuck trying to adjust to a machine, or find the right machine, and pay for said machine, even though I don't want it. It's not hard to see why anyone would want to kick the damn thing across the room from time to time! (And for the record, when I was still reeling from this, I made the mistake of talking about it with my mother, who wasn't exactly sympathetic about it.)

i found this interesting because my experience was similar
when i was first dx'd i felt like my parents didn't want to hear about it at all; they would essentially glaze over and pretend to listen or cut me off
with my father i think it's because he's basically self-centred and likes to do all the talking; plus he has myriad health issues, and i don't think he likes the focus to be taken from that
with my mom, though, i suspect it's guilt: i had complained to her for as long as i can remember that i felt tired, exhausted, lethargic etc. and all my life she just called me lazy; when i began to present with chronic pain she minimized it, because it wasn't as severe as hers or my father's, both of whom have rheumatoid arthritis, among other things; i think she felt like my diagnosis was an indictment of her as a parent, where i just felt vindicated and validated
i think too, that she knows as well as i do that my father has undiagnosed OSA, and he won't even hear about it, so she pretends not to notice his glaring symptoms...denial is a powerful coping tool for them
now, after nearly two years since my dx, i can't be bothered talking with either one of them about it even though they show minimal interest from time to time ...i guess it's old news to me now

[birdshell]

Spacemeat,

Your posts resonated with my experiences. Spacemeat, I am 55 and there have been a few times in my life when I felt that my body was betraying me. I tried to take care of it, but it wasn't returning the favor.

At the time, I knew that things would eventually get better, but I felt that my body was making me miss out on life. With more experience (and more chronic conditions as I have aged), I try to look at the benefits of being waylaid from my path. I don't know it for certain, but I do know that (as my mother says) things do have a way of working out. This is for you, Spacemeat:

________________________________________________________________________________________

Sharon,

Since my mother has been mentioned, here goes! My mother had a sleep study done about 20 years ago, and her apnea was called "borderline" at the time. She had insurance that would pay for the CPAP mask and machine, but not the mouthpiece that WAS an alternative. She did something very uncharacteristic for her, which was to say rather petulantly, "I'm NOT going to wear that mask!"

Now, some 20 years later, I was dx'd over 2 years ago, and my brother has been on the hose for 8 months. I WAS hoping that if I said nothing, she would observe me being compliant and the improvement it has made in my life. Then, I was hoping that the added information she gained from seeing my brother benefit from the therapy would be a tipping point.

No such luck. She has not even spoken about a machine for her; rather, she bemoans her snoring and usually falls asleep sitting up in her armchair. I figure that at least this is a form of self-treatment. However, I have led the maternal horse to water and she isn't drinking. We all need water, don't we?

It is just sad. I love feeling better; I was so desperate that I probably would have done almost anything to get some better sleep. I want the best for all concerned, but if my "example" isn't going to have an effect, no amount of pushing an obstinate woman is going to actually convince her. (My mother was a HS teacher, and once stared down a student for 15 minutes. THAT is determination.)

I hope that we may all find hope, from whatever source. With hope, all things seem better.


Sincerely hopeful of better things to come,

Karen

[Billy6]

Billy, you are one lucky son of a gun! Many men have a turbulent relationship with their sons (I'm one) until they are in their 20's (my best friend now). You know his teasing is just that and quite frankly he's good at it. Probably his way of saying he loves you. Ya gotta take what you dish out but as long as it's good natured, it's like getting/giving sprayed when washing the car. It's also him daring to show some independence from you which is part of parenting also. Have fun with it, let him try it on (and take pictures).

It is good natured. This AM, he noticed some small breakouts on my face and forehead from the mask. On the way out the door, he tossed his acne lotion to me and said : It looks like you need this more than me.
I might even try it

[DreamStalker]

I was complaining last night at dinner about having to wear my new contraption, and my 19 year old started laughing. He said it was karma payback for the 2 years of making him wear the wire headgear his orthodontist fit him with, and that I'd get no sympathy for the next 2 years. He's right, the only thing I get form him are his tuition bills and empty gas tanks.

Except for Sharon, no one has commented on the genetic link. Chances are your son will have to wear a mask at some point ... the sooner he stays on top of it and learns from your experience, the better off he will be in the future.

My dad had undiagnosed OSA I'm pretty certain and he suffered 3 heart attacks and 2 strokes before throat cancer took him at age 67.