Age?? Does it mean anything when it comes to sleep apnea????

LisaRenea · Post by **LisaRenea** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 9:34 pm

I was just wandering, I am 27 today, and I just found out 2 days ago that I have sleep apnea But, in most of my conversations with people they tend to make me beleive that it usually happens when you are a little "older".

Swordz · Post by **Swordz** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:07 pm

I'd like to say that apnea is blind to age, but its not. I'm 23 and think I've had it close to 8 yrs. I remember in middle and high school waking up and feeling like I hadn't slept @ all.

Apnea is a killer. Don't let your age fool you. Let your awareness of this disorder so early be a blessing... Alot of people would literally kill to know about thier disorder @ an earlier age.

LisaRenea · Post by **LisaRenea** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:25 pm

Man 15 thats crazy, thank you so much for the reply I hope u are doing better! now this is all so new to me I dont even really know what cause it I know my weight has alot to do with it but i dont know thats all! I was reading your post on weight, and you obviously are not "fat" either so its just scary I never realized how dangerous this disease was!

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 3:20 am

LisaRenea wrote: it usually happens when you are a little "older".

Well that certainly applies to me. But I must admit that at age 40 my wife complained about my snoring - I was pretty fit at the time.

My mother snored louder than the loudest 'banshees' can scream.

But 15 years ago I went in for a sleep study & was told Nup-your ok!.

So I tend to think that these factors all help ...

1) Genetic predisposition
2) Overweight (a major contributor)
3) Age (muscles weaken)
4) Alcohol (great apnea accelerator)
5) Inherent respiratory disfunction (medical condition)

Various combinations of the above.

I would need to examine you closer to determine which one or more may be responsible

Cheers

Dr DSM

Swordz · Post by **Swordz** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 5:16 pm

I was suprised to read on a website that scoliosis is a factor involved in sleep apnea, which I have.

Startles you to realize how many factors can "help" you have sleep apnea. Eh, no matter what, it's a disorder that's gotta be treated.

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 10:47 pm

Can you give the link?
O.

MoSleep · Post by **MoSleep** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:41 am

I read on the forum that sleep apnea is dangerous and I agree. Falling to sleep without control can have dangerous results. The effects of lack of sleep on many body functions is life threatening too, as is the decreased oxygen associated with apnea. I would like to read some factual information about the dangers of apnea. Would someone please provide a website giving some sort of statistics. It makes more sense to me when I can see numbers. I have asked the medical people I have come in contact with and no one seems to be able to say much.

I have severe central apnea and there just isn't much info about it. All the sleep doctor will say is the machine is treating the OSA and there is nothing he can do about the CSA, other than drugs to keep me awake.

Sorry if I am being a bother, I have asked similar questions on the forum in the past. I am still worried.

Thanks

Swordz · Post by **Swordz** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 9:41 am

http://www.peacehealth.org/kbase/topic/ ... escrip.htm

That link was provided in a another thread by lostone i believe. Website was somewhat professional looking, I just don't remember reading anywhere else about Scoliosis being a factor. Of course, if its on the internet, its GOTTA be true....

Swordz · Post by **Swordz** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 9:43 am

MoSleep: Check out the book "In Search of Sleep" by William Dement. Its long, but its has facts, facts, and more facts about sleep apnea and other related disorders.

Dement co-founded the Sleep Center @ Stanford, which is one of the best in the world. The book is kinda long (500 pgs) but well worth the read. If you've got sleep apnea, you owe it to yourself to know as much about your condition as possible.

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 9:47 am

Thanks, Swordz. And of course, if it's on the net...

O.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 11:26 pm

MoSleep, is the machine you're using a bi-level machine capable of setting a timed backup rate? If not, have they ever tried a machine like that for you? Like a Respironics Synchrony ST or ResMed VPAP III ST A.

I guess you've already looked through the posts by christinequilts (who has pure Central Apnea - no obstructives) on this board and on the TAS board. But if not, a "search" for that author's name (christinequilts) will turn up a lot of info about dealing with a diagnosis of Central Apnea.

May 30, 2005 subject: Links to Central Apnea

LisaRenea · Post by **LisaRenea** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 7:00 pm

Thank you too DSM for your response its depressing I have a whole lot of those factors plus some Im sure not even mentioned. This is still all so new and scary to me still, I agree I dont know the dangers of this disease either I dont even know how bad or what kind of sleep apnea I have, tomorrow will be a week since my first sleep study so I hope I hear something soon!!!

rpalmer · Post by **rpalmer** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 11:25 pm

You might find this link to an article in the Jul/Aug 2005 issue of Sleep Review Magazine helpful:

"Age Makes A Difference"

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 11:40 pm

Great link, rpalmer! Thanks. Very interesting reading.

I did get a bit of a chuckle out of this statement in it:

"Furthermore, the geriatric population reported that sleepiness had the least effect on both their work/school performance (X28=32.711, P=.000) and social lives (X28=31.742, P=.000)."

They defined the geriatric population as 65 and older. Well, duh... most people 65 and over are either retired (not gonna affect their work) and rarely are still in school (except maybe around where I live in Tenn. LOL!!)

rpalmer · Post by **rpalmer** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 12:09 am

rested gal wrote:They defined the geriatric population as 65 and older. Well, duh... most people 65 and over are either retired (not gonna affect their work) and rarely are still in school (except maybe around where I live in Tenn. LOL!!)

You're absolutely right, rg. I picked up on that too. Plus a sizable % of the population over 65 probably have so many other aches, pains, & health issues they're dealing with they just don't regard sleepiness as the worst of their problems. A lot of those folks, & I'm getting frighteningly close to joining their club, unfortunately just regard sleepiness as a common problem of aging & consider there's nothing they can do about it.

I just got over a bout with Gout & told friends I've figured out how you really know when you've arrived at Elderly. When you start having ailments you haven't heard of since your grandparents complained about them when you were 10-11 years old, you've arrived!

Hey, I'm originally a FL cracker. Your TN hillbilly neighbors got nuthin' on us! What grade are them geriatric neighbors of yours still in? If it's higher than 6th, that's higher education. Heck, anything after the 6th grade is postgraduate work. We love your hillbillies - except for a certain Saturday in September every year of course!

Age?? Does it mean anything when it comes to sleep apnea????

Age?? Does it mean anything when it comes to sleep apnea????

Re: Age?? Does it mean anything when it comes to sleep apnea

Age? Does It Mean Anything When it Comes to Sleep Apnea?