Prevalence of OSA among the Elderly

[DoriC]

Midnight, if this makes me old I don't care! I want to see the photo of your granddaughter please?

[midnightdweary]

Thanks DoriC, you're a sweetiepie. I will show a newer one soon. Isn't she cute? (any granddad would say that)

[midnightdweary]

Come to think of it, I believe Grandmma looked something like this at this age. Haven't heard from her for awhile.
Where are you Grandmma?

[DoriC]

Yes, the tongue does look familiar. That photo of your little darling made my day, thanks for making me smile.

[SleepyT]

Agreed. If you have crooked teeth or required braces to straighten them or had to have wisdom teeth extracted, it is likely your jaw is narrower than nature intended.

Yikes! I had braces and wisdom teeth removed. Interesting.

Good topic, Rooster...I don't know what the solutions are for getting the elderly on board though. I feel certain my mother has sleep issues....but saying she is stubborn doesn't even come close to describing her. And she is claustrophobic.

[katcw]

I have a theory (not scientifically proven) that much of the dementia suffered by elders has to do with insufficient oxygenation of their blood, frequently due to undiagnosed sleep apnea. The lack of oxygen over time could cause damage to brain function, thus affecting memory and perception. Seems logical to me, but I'm no scientist. It would be so cool if some scientist with the appropriate training would pursue this idea.

[roster]

I have a theory (not scientifically proven) that much of the dementia suffered by elders has to do with insufficient oxygenation of their blood, frequently due to undiagnosed sleep apnea. The lack of oxygen over time could cause damage to brain function, thus affecting memory and perception. Seems logical to me, but I'm no scientist. It would be so cool if some scientist with the appropriate training would pursue this idea.

Read some of the writings of Dr. Steven Park or Dr. Mack Jones. They have authored respectively, Sleep,Interrupted and Deadly Sleep. They both posit that science may some day find that untreated SDB causes the great majority of cases of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

We now have confirmed by oximetry readings that my mother, who has dementia, also has sleep apnea. Now that we are educated about sleep apnea, we realize she had signs of sleep apnea for several decades before she developed dementia.

Science is necessary, but it is damn slow.

[midnightdweary]

They are telling us now (I believe we all suspected it before now) that doing new things and keeping the mind working will stave off dementia as we age. For example, surfing the internet has been proven to be beneficial, so I will keep taking a part in this forum to try to keep my mind working. So yawl keep throwing the updates and challenges of sleep apnea at me.

Rooster, I'm very sorry about your mother.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20091019/hl ... agingbrain

Jay

[DoriC]

I have a theory (not scientifically proven) that much of the dementia suffered by elders has to do with insufficient oxygenation of their blood, frequently due to undiagnosed sleep apnea. The lack of oxygen over time could cause damage to brain function, thus affecting memory and perception. Seems logical to me, but I'm no scientist. It would be so cool if some scientist with the appropriate training would pursue this idea.

Kat, you've quoted our primary Dr exactly. My husband was being diagnosed with dementia which all the specialists said was age-related and also caused by lack of oxygen from his multiple heart surgeries and osteomyelitis(bone infection) surgeries. He was at a point where he didn't know the day,month or year,his sister's name, etc. All this time our Dr C was the only dissenter and yelling for a sleep study. That was over a year ago and now his memory has improved greatly(not completely), he's reading books, following intricate movie plots and making his corny jokes again. Most important, he reminded me today that our anniversary is Nov.14th! We're so grateful to our Dr and this forum. BTW, he slept 9hrs last night, AHI=0.5.

[roster]

........ All this time our Dr C was the only dissenter and yelling for a sleep study. ..........

Tell Dr C that Rooster says he is a great American.

[DoriC]

Yes, a great American born in Israel!

[roster]

Yes, a great American born in Israel!

If he thinks patients should have their own software and tweak their settings, we will keep him.

[DoriC]

He does believe that and he's also the one who told me after he didn't like what my physical and blood work showed,that until things stabilize I should make Mike sleep in the guest room, close my door and get some sleep myself, and only check the data weekly. He was right about the first two and we're back to normal now, but I've got to get my daily report fix!

[Muse-Inc]

...so stubborn and so set in her ways I just don't even go down that road with her. Just stresses us both out without having any positive conclusion...

This is how I deal with my frustration in this area with my mom and friends: "Look, I have something that is very important to me to say to you. I know I've nagged about this in the past but if you listen to me, really listen, I promise not to mention it again. I love you dearly. I don't want you die an early death when an effective treatment could prolong your life and the time we have to enjoy each other. Is this a good time to talk? If not now, when? This is what I want to say: ... ". This might initiate a dialog. I keep reminding them I do not want to see them die and deprive us of companionship when there is effective treatment throughout the conversation; hopefully, it is not a monologue. If it falls on deaf ears or the person is too far into denial, at least I had my say and I can live with that a la ya can lead a horse to water.... I did this with my diabetic buddy re tight glucose control and losing more vision and/or body parts from sugar toxicity. I've also done with with an older friend who quit exercising...studies have shown that those older folks remain in their homes if they stay physically active, those who become physically weak are most often moved into assisted living facilities. In both cases, it's worked. I also did this with my mom, who hates taking pills and was avoiding her multi & fish oils & extra C with resultant memory-cognitive defects and increased colds, asthma flareups, etc. The key here is to never mention it again unless the other person brings it up. They now know that I mean what I say and do not say what I have not thought about...carefully.

[Pugsy]

The key here is to never mention it again unless the other person brings it up

Right now I am staying with my mother to help her with some things around the house and my husband is over the road truck driver. I have mentioned all this OSA stuff to my mother and she sees me use the mask. She is so far into denial for herself that I might as well be talking to the wall. BUT>>>>> let me even fall asleep on the couch without the machine and she is the first one to wake my lazy butt up....

I did do what you suggest with my brother in law and sister. He definitely has OSA and is poo pooing me off. I finally said "if you don't care and won't try, give me my machine and masks back and go get some more life insurance". "Or a case of Depends when the stroke comes up short." He has said he will give it another try and now I have my sister on his case and that should be enough to scare him into trying.