Apnea - the real risk of dying in your sleep?

[ems]

Number of deaths for leading causes of death (from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm ).

Heart disease: 597,689
Cancer: 574,743
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 138,080
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 129,476
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 120,859
Alzheimer's disease: 83,494
Diabetes: 69,071
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 50,476
Influenza and Pneumonia: 50,097
Intentional self-harm (suicide): 38,364

And so??? Guess we are all going to die of something... even plain old age.

[quietmorning]

Can I guarantee that a cluster won't kill me

You could die falling out of the bathtub or driving to the grocer.

Be satisfied with what you did with your life and comfortable with where you are going next.

Sheffey, you have a good point - except when it's being pushed on you to accept something that is not necessary to accept.

I wanted good information so that I can make a good decision about my own health. . .I'm not in the least passively suicidal. Yet, if I accept the mentality of some - then I may as well hold a revolver in my hand and play Russian roulette on someone else's whim.

If there is a situation where I have control, and I can save my life, then by all means, I'm not going to roll over and accept fate in the name of 'acceptance'. Acceptance can be confused with overly compliant - which in many different cases can get you dead.

So - I will accept what is reasonable. Not what is neglectful risk.

[Wulfman...]

And, I DO have knowledge of someone we knew, personally......who was a CPAP user who went to sleep without hooking up to his machine......and died in his sleep that night.

The reason I know this is because he was one of my wife's ex-husbands.

What was the actual cause of death? Gun shot wound to the head? Bludgeoned to death with a heavy blunt object (like a BiPAP ST/D)?

Any paw prints at the scene of the crime?

Are any of the other ex-husbands still alive?

I'm guessing it was a heart attack. But that's just a guess. We just got the general information through some connected relatives that he had gotten a call-out that night (related to his job) and when he got home he just went to bed without using his CPAP.......and he didn't wake up. He was not an "old" man.....just 55. Obviously, we have no idea about whether he was a "dedicated" CPAP user or just when he felt like it. We also have no idea whether he had other medical conditions at that stage of his life, either.

No, none of the other EXes are still alive.......the other one died in 2010. That was another mysterious death, too.....in a hospital recovering from "successful" hip surgery after he fell and broke it. He was just about to being released.

You just never know when your time is up.........


Den

.

[sleepstar]

I think you're worrying a bit too much about this

It's fantastic you're treating your OSA. And you're reducing the chance of detrimental health impacts.

In my opinion, over thinking it isn't going to help.

[sleepstar]

You have probably had OSA for years, maybe decades before you were diagnosed. You didn't die in your sleep then now that you have it treated, why would you be worrying yourself now?

[kteague]

It's hard to un-know what we learn, or continue thinking as we did before the knowledge. For me, while it was scary to wake up with a racing heart and struggling to breathe, once I better understood what was happening to me it was even scarier. With a strong family history of strokes and a personal medical history with early warning signs, knowing I was at increased risk during those episodes made it a really big deal. No words of appeasement could turn back the clock on my awareness, nor would I want them to. Knowledge is power when it comes to preventive health measures. Who's to say when the line has been crossed between wisdom and worry?

In how many other potentially critical health matters do we suggest people continue as they were and not worry about it? Do we tell the newly diagnosed diabetic with sugar levels in the 500's to not worry about going into a diabetic coma since they haven't yet? Do we tell the person with a cancer that since it hasn't spread yet, it probably won't so don't worry about it? Do we tell the person with a compromised coronary artery, or a blood clot in a deep vein, or having TIA's to go on business as usual? While the probablity of an OSA event triggering a life ending crisis is likely not real high, that's little comfort to the few that experience that reality.

We live with risk every day. Even with our best preparation, the unexpected can and does happen. We each have to measure our tolerance of risk based on the life we want to live. If concern motivates us to decrease our risk and likely increase our longevity, that's great. If it robs us of the ability to enjoy the life we're preserving, that's a whole different matter. It's certainly not a one size fits all, as in seen in the responses. Doesn't make anyone right or wrong. Just personal risk tolerances.

[quietmorning]

I think you're worrying a bit too much about this

It's fantastic you're treating your OSA. And you're reducing the chance of detrimental health impacts.

In my opinion, over thinking it isn't going to help.

Actually, I'm not worrying - I'm questioning - big difference.

I was wondering if my perception of the actual danger was skewed - and if it was, wanted to correct it.

I think I'm far more balanced in my thinking today than I was yesterday. Yesterday I thought that ANY single apnea event could kill you, it just was a matter of chance as to if it did.

Today - after some research - I'm understanding more of what I'm looking at. And while I'm not thrilled about the apnea in and of itself - I'm not going to fly off the deep end if I have to wait some days before I'm told what my pressure is and be able to do something about it. I feel like garbage right now, and have for months - but I don't have to be terrified of going to sleep with the incorrect pressure.

That's a relief.

I wanted the truth so that I didn't act on assumption. I was doing just that.

However - the attitude of the person I was talking to could certainly do with some education, as well.

I saw my DME today, and told her what happened. She apologized for the person's response to me when she understood what I did and why, and agreed that I took the proper action, though it wasn't necessarily a matter of life or death, as I had believed. It was more a matter of life and health (at that moment.).

So, I'm satisfied with what I understand, now. And I kept the ability to protect this person of me, body, mind, soul and so forth. . .

Tonight I am SO looking forward to a GOOD night sleep. My machine is set and ready to go.

[quietmorning]

You have probably had OSA for years, maybe decades before you were diagnosed. You didn't die in your sleep then now that you have it treated, why would you be worrying yourself now?

Actually. . .long story very very short. . .

yes, my heart has stopped several times in the past. Wasn't wanting to go there again.

[quietmorning]

It's hard to un-know what we learn, or continue thinking as we did before the knowledge. For me, while it was scary to wake up with a racing heart and struggling to breathe, once I better understood what was happening to me it was even scarier. With a strong family history of strokes and a personal medical history with early warning signs, knowing I was at increased risk during those episodes made it a really big deal. No words of appeasement could turn back the clock on my awareness, nor would I want them to. Knowledge is power when it comes to preventive health measures. Who's to say when the line has been crossed between wisdom and worry?

In how many other potentially critical health matters do we suggest people continue as they were and not worry about it? Do we tell the newly diagnosed diabetic with sugar levels in the 500's to not worry about going into a diabetic coma since they haven't yet? Do we tell the person with a cancer that since it hasn't spread yet, it probably won't so don't worry about it? Do we tell the person with a compromised coronary artery, or a blood clot in a deep vein, or having TIA's to go on business as usual? While the probablity of an OSA event triggering a life ending crisis is likely not real high, that's little comfort to the few that experience that reality.

We live with risk every day. Even with our best preparation, the unexpected can and does happen. We each have to measure our tolerance of risk based on the life we want to live. If concern motivates us to decrease our risk and likely increase our longevity, that's great. If it robs us of the ability to enjoy the life we're preserving, that's a whole different matter. It's certainly not a one size fits all, as in seen in the responses. Doesn't make anyone right or wrong. Just personal risk tolerances.

**smiles**

I'm an educated risk taker. I will well educate myself on a matter before I will act on it, but when I'm ready, I jump in with both feet.

Most of the time, in the face to face world, no one sees me questioning, researching, educating myself. The only thing they see is that jumping in with both feet - fully committed. . .**LAUGHING** and then they call me compulsive and rash!!

But here, it's the opposite, because this is a world of words, you get to see all that inner work - that people don't see. . . .and the response HERE would be . . . HURRY UP AND JUMP ALREADY!!!

So, the people I meet and know HERE will know the FULL BethAnna. . .which is pretty wonderful. It's nice to breathe on the inside, too.

[sickwithapnea17]

you know people go brain dead after 3 minutes without oxygen so what does 10 seconds do to you?
how much brain damage exactly do you get from sleep apnea? can you recover after asv and oxygen for a few months to the level where you can do mathematics? I have experienced it

[NotLazyJustTired]

Todo, my test results were very close to yours. Ahi of 68 and o2 levels below 60. Luckily my son noticed the problem and I received treatment before bad things happened. Before starting cpap I remember waking up a few nights feeling the crushing chest pains that I knew we're angina pain. They went away after I woke up and resumed normal breathing. If my heart was not strong I could have had a full arrest and be part of the list of heart attack victims. I was a paramedic for over ten years. I always wondered why people would suffer chest pains and shortness of breath at 3:00 in the morning. I would be willing to bet most were caused by sleep apnea that has not been diagnosed.

I recently finished "Sleep...Interrupted" by Dr. Stephen Parks. He actually worked in an ER and noticed the high rate of heart failures in the early morning hours. It was just one of many pieces he put together into his sleep breathing paradigm. If you haven't read the book, it is worth a read. It opened my eyes to many things.

[quietmorning]

you know people go brain dead after 3 minutes without oxygen so what does 10 seconds do to you?
how much brain damage exactly do you get from sleep apnea? can you recover after asv and oxygen for a few months to the level where you can do mathematics? I have experienced it

I think the general consensus is that your brain will send out an emergency alert when you are in an apnea event/cluster and wake you up, unless you have taken something to prevent that alert from getting through (alcohol, narcotic, etc). So the likelihood of being without oxygen is slim. . .not impossible, but not probable. . . if I understand correctly.

There are several posts discussing memory loss and cognitive ability loss here - it might be very helpful for you to spend some time looking at as many as you can - though personally, I've found that I may lose some sort of cognitive ability just for my brain to build a series of connections in another area . . . that is actually more of what I need in the current time in my life. I also don't think that it's all connected to the oxygen, there's also cognitive loss that is temporary from the lack of REM and deep sleep. This is actually WORSE during the period that the loss of sleep exists, but it will bounce back when the sleep deprivation is resolved.

I can't do math worth a flip when I'm sleep deprived. Get the p's and q's straightened out and it generally comes back. This isn't a one or two night issue for the person with apnea - it could be months before it's straightened out and going in the right direction.

[quietmorning]

Todo, my test results were very close to yours. Ahi of 68 and o2 levels below 60. Luckily my son noticed the problem and I received treatment before bad things happened. Before starting cpap I remember waking up a few nights feeling the crushing chest pains that I knew we're angina pain. They went away after I woke up and resumed normal breathing. If my heart was not strong I could have had a full arrest and be part of the list of heart attack victims. I was a paramedic for over ten years. I always wondered why people would suffer chest pains and shortness of breath at 3:00 in the morning. I would be willing to bet most were caused by sleep apnea that has not been diagnosed.

I recently finished "Sleep...Interrupted" by Dr. Stephen Parks. He actually worked in an ER and noticed the high rate of heart failures in the early morning hours. It was just one of many pieces he put together into his sleep breathing paradigm. If you haven't read the book, it is worth a read. It opened my eyes to many things.

Yes, I might pick that up. . I was thinking about looking at stats for death during sleep. . .flipping some words around and see if I can find a way of looking at it with at specifying apnea.

[archangle]

This is my understanding.

You're unlikely to simply suffocate like someone drowning or being strangled without waking up.

If you've got brain damage or are on some drugs like certain painkillers like morphine, you might not wake up before you suffocate. Maybe even being really drunk could make the difference. There are probably some other very severe medical conditions that might let you suffocate without waking up.

The stress of untreated apnea might trigger a heart attack, a stroke, etc., if you're already at risk of such things. Just as a guess, you could easily have double or much higher risk of dying that particular night.

Think of a night without apnea as being like fighting with someone breaking into your house. The physical and mental stress might kill you if you have an underlying medical condition.

Then, of course, every night of apnea does a little cumulative damage to your heart, brain, and other organs.

[DEXSUZ]

I became CPAPed because my regular little old eye doctor said my glaucoma might well be due to lack of oxygenated blood reaching those tiny vessels in the optic nerve. I am negative for any other factors that would lead to this degeneration so I decided to heed her advice.

Over years I knew I was a lousy sleeper but never did one of those high-faluting eye specialists suggest this connection.

I now sleep 8 hours STRAIGHT every night with a moderate setting of 10. The damage in my left eye is irreversible but I've easily adapted to it and life goes on very normally.

Now you have another reason to continue with the CPAP. Feliz jueves!