How did people cope before CPAP?

[davep700]

How did people with untreated OSA cope with daytime fatigue before CPAP became available?

Mainly take naps during the day and drink lots of coffee? But what happened when the symptoms were so severe that those tactics didn't help anymore? I refer to a general feeling of misery and struggling with routine tasks and activities.

[ChicagoGranny]

But what happened when the symptoms were so severe that those tactics didn't help anymore?

[OkyDoky]

They probably kept pushing themselves until cardiovascular problems developed.

[LSAT]

How did people with untreated OSA cope with daytime fatigue before CPAP became available?

Mainly take naps during the day and drink lots of coffee? But what happened when the symptoms were so severe that those tactics didn't help anymore? I refer to a general feeling of misery and struggling with routine tasks and activities.

They died in their sleep and no one knew why...or they developed heart problems from lack of oxygen.

[CaptainRaven40]

For myself I had very dark circles under my eyes and had insomnia because my body hated sleep. It was because I wasn't really sleeping. I was extremely unhealthy. Now with cpap I have energy and my health had improved overall drastically! So I think people before cpap just hung on as long as they could till there bodies wore out and they fell over dead.

[davep700]

Can people with untreated OSA get a sense if they are close to cardiovascular problems by the extent by how fatigued they feel and how much they need to push to get through the day , and by the length of time they've had to do so, despite having good physical exams?

[ChicagoGranny]

Can people with untreated OSA get a sense if they are close to cardiovascular problems by the extent by how fatigued they feel and how much they need to push to get through the day , and by the length of time they've had to do so, despite having good physical exams?

I am not following your line of questioning. Why not just have a sleep study and start using CPAP?

[OkyDoky]

Can people with untreated OSA get a sense if they are close to cardiovascular problems by the extent by how fatigued they feel and how much they need to push to get through the day , and by the length of time they've had to do so, despite having good physical exams?

That would be hard to say. Atrial fib may develop suddenly, a stroke can happen suddenly. You might have some indication of congestive heart failure with water weight gain and shortness of breath. But then all of your other vital organs are also being deprived of oxygen and it takes a toll on them also.

[Julie]

All they feel is half dead (or asleep), but whether they interpret it as cardiovascular warnings is kinda iffy, they're not being doctors themselves, considering their doctors probably didn't even go there (out loud, anyway) and told them to lose weight instead. Or if they thought about cardio problems, they likely didn't think for long because who would want to do that?

[SewTired]

Can people with untreated OSA get a sense if they are close to cardiovascular problems by the extent by how fatigued they feel and how much they need to push to get through the day , and by the length of time they've had to do so, despite having good physical exams?

Not really. Unless you have angina or something, I don't think most people can tell the difference between breathing problems and heart problems since they often have similar symptoms. Nobody diagnosed my bradycardia until I was hospitalized overnight for antibiotics treatment. That's because my heart beats normally until I'm lying down for about 10 minutes. Then it slows right down. So, here I've probably had this heart problem for 2 or 3 years and because the tests weren't ever done lying down, I went undiagnosed.

[jonny515]

I doubt you actually know how bad your symptoms are by how tired you are. I actually am NOT tired (if I sleep), though my sleep apnea is moderate. I know of people whose sleep apnea is mild who are tired all the time.

[Pesser]

I was told that many people slept sort of in an angle. These are very old bed frames that I have seen, dating from about 100 years ago, that are made in that way.

[chunkyfrog]

Some had a tracheostomy.
Others were not treated, and passed away from "natural causes".
You don't want the trache.
It is invasive, irreversible, requires constant fastidious cleaning, and is always visible.

[icipher]

Can people with untreated OSA get a sense if they are close to cardiovascular problems by the extent by how fatigued they feel and how much they need to push to get through the day , and by the length of time they've had to do so, despite having good physical exams?

Not really. Unless you have angina or something, I don't think most people can tell the difference between breathing problems and heart problems since they often have similar symptoms. Nobody diagnosed my bradycardia until I was hospitalized overnight for antibiotics treatment. That's because my heart beats normally until I'm lying down for about 10 minutes. Then it slows right down. So, here I've probably had this heart problem for 2 or 3 years and because the tests weren't ever done lying down, I went undiagnosed.

Bradycardia isn't really a heart problem, unless your heart rate is so low that is causing problems.

I was diagnosed with bradycardia in my sleep study, it gets down to 40 BPM or so in my sleep, and the sleep doc and cardiologist didn't seem to think it was a problem.

[JDS74]

How did people with untreated OSA cope with daytime fatigue before CPAP became available?

In my Dad's case, I can remember him snoring at night and then stopping breathing followed by gasping for breath and that cycle going on all night. He drank lots of coffee. In the evening, whenever he sat down, he was asleep in a minute of two. He had all the symptoms of severe obstructive sleep apnea (in hind sight) but was never diagnosed because this was before sleep apnea became a diagnosis. He died at age 77 of a brain tumor that seemingly was unrelated and never had any cardiovascular issues that I know of.

I, consumed lots of Coca Cola to stay awake and my wife informs me that my symptoms were very similar to those of my Dad. I, too, could fall asleep almost instantly. My first real sleep study about 7 years ago reported a sleep latency of just over two minutes. With treatment, that has increased to 7 to 9 minutes now. It's still a struggle since I still wake up 9 to 15 times a night unrelated to my sleep apnea. Even so, things are better.

We cope as best we can and hope for a clear diagnosis of something that is treatable.