Benefits to CPAP

[CollegeGirl]

In another thread, Neversleeps posted this thorough list of health problems associated with untreated OSA:

Medical Consequences of Sleep Apnea

Cardiovascular consequences of OSA*
hypertension (high blood pressure)
heart failure
atherosclerosis (heart attacks, angina)
atherosclerosis (stroke)
atrial fibrillation
ventricular arrhythmias
pulmonary hypertension

Other consequences of OSA:
trauma (traffic accidents)
glaucoma
snoring spouse syndrome
diminished libido
in children: illness like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
in children: slowed growth

Other associations with OSA:
obesity
obesity syndromes, such as Prader-Willi syndrome
polycystic ovary disease
renal failure
hypothyroidism
Marfan syndrome
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
post-polio syndrome
gastro-esophageal reflux
worsening of epilepsy

Hypertension and heart failure are strongly linked with sleep apnea. OSA appears to be a cause of hypertension. It appears that sleep can be either a cause or an effect of heart failure. Recent trials have demonstrated that treating sleep apnea in patients with heart failure is beneficial.
Persons with sleep apnea have an elevated risk of motor vehicle collisions. The risk returns to normal when the sleep apnea is successfully treated.

*Wolk R, Somers VK. Cardiovascular consequences of obstructive sleep apnea. Clin Chest Med. 2003;24:195-205.

When I go home for winter break, I'm going to make it my personal mission in life to try to get my stepfather back on his CPAP. He used it for all of a week before he gave up on it, and it sits in his closet, collecting dust. I'm hoping that if I can give him POSITIVE things about the benefits of CPAP, and then NEGATIVES of untreated OSA (like Neversleeps posted), he'll see that a lot of his health problems and symptoms (obesity, GERD, daytime sleepiness, mood disorders, and high blood pressure) could be improved with CPAP treatment and perhaps be motivated to give it another shot. I think the best gift I could give him for Christmas would be motivation to improve his health.

So we have the negatives to OSA. Can we start a list of the positive effects of successful CPAP treatment? I'll start.

~Improved memory.
~Lessened or eliminated daytime sleepiness.
~Improvement in mood disorders.

Anyone else?

Also, he's claustrophobic (which is part of why he gave up so fast), so if anyone else suffers with that, I'd love to hear what interface you decided on. Thanks!

[Guest]

College Girl,

Best of luck on getting your stepfather back into treatment. After I began my CPAP treatment, I made it my goal to get my sister back on her BiPAP machine. I am happy to say after much nagging, pestering, and bullying (ok not so much of that), she is back on her BiPAP. Her doctor, who I am so not pleased with, told her to just keep at it when my sister told her that she can only use the machine for 3 hours a night and then takes the mask off. I sat down with her to get at the reason why she takes the mask off. It took me going over the myraid of masks I've gone through to convince her to try a different mask. She's claustraphobic too you see. She has a comfort nasal mask I believe. It really doesn't work well for her. Anyway, I have the Aura mask and had her try it on just yesterday. Her reaction...big eyes and going ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. In other words, she really liked how light it felt. I have found it's the least restrictive mask for me by far that I can use that is. I'm a tummy sleeper so I need the anti-asphyxia holes at a higher level than the Swift.

Ok now on to the positives:

~ No more naps needed!!!! Before treatment I would be exhausted all day, come home and eat supper, and then sleep until bed. Vicious cycle...now I rarely take a nap. The last time I did take one was last Saturday because I had heard some very bad news about my favorite cousin, cried for hours, and needed to sleep. Before that it had been before getting treated that I absolutely needed a nap.

~ More energy. After working all day, I actually felt energetic enough to go shopping at not one, but two stores AND walk all around these huge stores with no thought that I needed to cut it short as my energy was gone.

~ Happier outlook...I now am more positive than before treatment.

~ No more acid reflux. I kid you not, from February to September I had gone through a jumbo size container of Tums (and halfway through another one) AND the economy size of Maalox. Even peanut butter or ham would give me heartburn. I have found that since beginning treatment, I rarely have to use Tums AND haven't touched the Maalox at all since October. This is a wonderful positive as I won't even tell you how much tums I had gone through for years. I no longer wake up with acid at my throat...those who've had it know it's not a pleasant occurance.

Hope this helps.

[sleepylady]

Oops that was me above being guested.

Melinda

[dsg]

I've had mixed success preaching the "Get Yourself Checked Out for OSA, Verily Forsooth!" gospel. I have had a number of friends tell me that they or their spouses have gotten looked at and in some cases treated, but my stubborn brother-in-law categorically refuses to see anyone about his OSA. This is even though my sister's descriptions of his sleep make it clear that he's not only suffering from OSA, but quite badly and for many years. He admits that it may be the case, but he doesn't care. He's not seeing a doc or anyone for this, period, end of story. Reading him the list of horrors that will befall an untreated apneac haven't made any difference. So the one person closest to me whom I KNOW is suffering isn't interested in treatment. That bothers me some.

[ProfessorSleep]

As for the severely claustrophobic part, I am well-qualified to chime in with that! I was totally convinced I could never make this work because of the claustrophobia part. I couldn't have been more wrong. It really hasn't been a problem - I always make sure the machine is on and blowing before I put the interface on, then I focus on the rush of air. For some reason, with the air blowing I don't get the sense of claustrophobia at all. If anything, if I focus on deep breaths, in and out, slowly, I actually feel like I breathe better and more deeply with the CPAP. I use a Swift primarily, also used the Aura. Much to my startled surprise, I can even use a full face mask (the HR). The feeling of claustrophobia, I've decided for me at least, comes from feeling like I'm suffocating. With the air blowing, it's like sticking your head out the car window. Just don't think about this thing sucking on your face, focus on the cool air, slow deep breaths, and I'm snoozing before I know it. I think starting with the Swift helped, though - I'm not sure I'd feel the same if I had started with the full face mask. Good luck to you!

[Prostitech]

[quote="Anonymous"]Ok now on to the positives:

~ No more naps needed!!!! Before treatment I would be exhausted all day, come home and eat supper, and then sleep until bed. Vicious cycle...now I rarely take a nap. The last time I did take one was last Saturday because I had heard some very bad news about my favorite cousin, cried for hours, and needed to sleep. Before that it had been before getting treated that I absolutely needed a nap.

~ More energy. After working all day, I actually felt energetic enough to go shopping at not one, but two stores AND walk all around these huge stores with no thought that I needed to cut it short as my energy was gone.

~ Happier outlook...I now am more positive than before treatment.

~ No more acid reflux. I kid you not, from February to September I had gone through a jumbo size container of Tums (and halfway through another one) AND the economy size of Maalox. Even peanut butter or ham would give me heartburn. I have found that since beginning treatment, I rarely have to use Tums AND haven't touched the Maalox at all since October. This is a wonderful positive as I won't even tell you how much tums I had gone through for years. I no longer wake up with acid at my throat...those who've had it know it's not a pleasant occurance.

Hope this helps.

[PhillyPat]

College Girl--I am also very claustrophobic and was surprised to have the same experience as Prof.Sleep. I can't do the ramp. I have to just turn it on and have it blowing full force before I put on the mask.

A side question to SleepyLady: Just how much does that cat in your avatar weigh--it looks like it could use CPAP!

[ProfessorSleep]

When I was talking with my physician recently we had a discussion about the threat of Stroke being a significant motivator for a lot of people. It seems some folks aren't afraid of dying, and heart disease and similar things are often seen as treatable and survivable. But stroke? That can get people moving. It worked for me. My friend told me that if I didn't get treatment I'd better have long term care insurance, because she couldn't take care of me and her elderly mother too. For some reason, that got through my thick head! If only we could see to the future. If I had known how bad off I was, and how much better I could feel, I'd never have put it off so long. So much for hindsight, though!

[sleepylady]

Hi PhillyPat,

I have no idea what Miss Mitzi weighs. I've only had her a year and a half. I got her from my cousin after she decided she had to get rid of her for health reasons (my cousin not the cat). She is helping me to build muscles from lifting her...quite a hefty sweetheart

Melinda