Sick of the Machine - Need a Cause, Need a Cure

[zoocrewphoto]

Not a shill for anyone, just sharing research you can look into yourself. I never even posted any links, just mentioned names. My current working theory is that EMF could be to blame for my own issues. IF I find it's another issue, I'll post that up just the same. What are your current theories? How are you trying to help yourself (and by extension, help others) find out what caused it and to cure it?

So, anyone know of any cures yet or are you just going to try to insult me further and be of no help to me, yourselves or the millions of others suffering from this?

I'm just looking for the causes (everything from EMF to Aspartame to ?) so as to find the CURE.
If you all want to keep treating the symptoms and not find a cure, that is your own lookout.

I'm sick of the machine. Nobody here could SANELY tell me they love their machine and never want to be well again because they just love it so much.. So, logically, everyone here must want a cure. By Default.

Post up your ideas, sans ego, and lets get to the bottom of this issue shall we?

I already told you about a cure - hole in the throat. Most people don't like it. There really isn't a way to stent the throat open yet allow us to still swallow food. Maybe someday they will have something. There are surgical procedures, but most have low success rates, short term success, and bad side effects.

As for causes, you are making the assumption that sleep apnea is new, and that isn't the case at all. People died from untreated sleep apnea. They just didn't know what it was back then. My grandmother had horrible sleep apnea, and my grandfather died of heart problems in his early 40s before I was born. He died in 1967, so was born in the 1920s. I doubt EMF was bad back then. And they didn't have aspartame. (By the way, I avoid aspartame at all costs, so that certainly isn't a cause for me).

I think you are grasping at straws.

Why not consider the physiology? For example, I have a small head, narrow airway, small chin, etc. And I have allergies and asthma that cause more problems with my breathing. So, that seems to make more sense that outside issues.

[caffeinatedcfo]

It's an interesting theory, but my issue is Obstructive, not Central, and therefore I do not see a correlation with EMF. Mine is a physical condition. Could surgical intervention work for me? Possibly ... and possibly not. And if it did work, its statistically not in my favor that I could worsen with age and then not be able to tolerate CPAP.

The way I evaluate my health options is risk vs. quality of life. CPAP has low risk and just costs a little extra money for me. Surgery is a huge risk of adverse side effects and has low success rates. I opted to give CPAP a try first and took to it like a duck to water. I use a nasal pillow style mask which is comfortable and leaves no marks on my face. I am sleeping better than I have in ages and am actually breathing better during the day when I'm out and about without my equipment.

As far as finding a mate - my wife and I actually get along much better now that I am sleeping better and not so hot headed all the time. Not snoring is a plus too. Sex life has not diminished. I would encourage you to give the right person a chance that they will not give two hoots that you don a small mask when it's lights out time.

I applaud you for doing your research, I think that is critical nowadays. However, I must ask ... what are you doing for yourself in the meantime? The reality of it is, central apnea is unlikely to be "cured" anytime soon.

[SleepyToo2]

In the spirit of brainstorming, a couple of crazy thoughts. Our cell phones by the bed interfere with the signaling that tells us to breathe - so move the phone away from the bed. Alternatively, or perhaps as well, the diaphragm plays an important part in breathing, so if we wrap our torso and head in tin foil would that help us breathe properly?

Personally, I think lack of exercise as we age plays a big part in how well we sleep. Unfortunately at the moment I have a stretched ligament in my shoulder that restricts how vigorously I can exercise.

In the meantime, I am quite happy to put my Tap Pap interface on each night.

[DreamDiver]

I already told you about a cure - hole in the throat.

zoocrewphoto, it is a funny, relatively flip alternative to CPAP, but even with the extraordinary risks of tracheostomy, this would only work for obstructive sleep apnea. Kitfox has centrals.

[SleepingUgly]

Maybe cell phones are responsible for my sagging breasts. I'm pretty sure that occurred around the same time I got my first cell phone.

[DoriC]

[RogerSC]

You don't have to have a cell phone to be exposed to the EMF from cell phone towers. Cell phones do generate much more concentrated EMF than you would just get out of the air, though, and you do hold it against your head when you're using it for phone calls. While I doubt that there's enough just in the air to do much, especially at my house *smile*, if you use a cell phone a lot, that could have some effect over time. I've seen studies on cell phones on whether they have an effect on the human body, and they vary in their conclusions.

I also have mainly OSA, and didn't have any centrals (according to my sleep study) until I started on cpap. Which tells me it probably isn't EMF causing my centrals, it's probably cpap. But there aren't enough centrals to be concerned at this point. If I stopped cpap then I would stop getting all the benefits of it, and there are several other benefits beyond just less OSA's, so I'm not willing to do that until something better comes along. I've been able to sleep without cpap when I've needed to, so that isn't an issue for me either.

I guess all this means is that I'm just not as overwrought about cpap as the OP...maybe I should be, but it seems to be working for me. Nice to get rid of it, but until there's something else, I'm jiggy wit it, pretty much.

[SleepingUgly]

Come to think of it... that cell phone may have gotten me pregnant too!!! Here's my theory: first it got me pregnant, then it made me nauseous, THEN it made my breasts sag.

Everyone BE CAREFUL!!

[LSAT]

Come to think of it... that cell phone may have gotten me pregnant too!!! Here's my theory: first it got me pregnant, then it made me nauseous, THEN it made my breasts sag.

Everyone BE CAREFUL!!

WOW...if this is for real, I have to get rid of my cell phone

[jeffjeep]

I am still amazed that people like Kit are still alive, and then I remember how Darwinism isnt working too well in this society.

(1) you complain of redness, but dont complain of any other quality of life issues. Interesting. You also believe that the CPAP machine is the cause of your lack of finding a person to love you. Somehow, I think its not the machine.

(2) you ASK for help finding the solution, but you already have your theory. You just want others to confirm it. Good luck with that.

There are several causes of Central Sleep Apnea, and you can feel free to purchase some reference materials yourself. Your overall tone, and your assumptions give me little interest in helping you find a solution that is more convenient than the prescribed solution you already have.

[DreamDiver]

Come to think of it... that cell phone may have gotten me pregnant too!!! Here's my theory: first it got me pregnant, then it made me nauseous, THEN it made my breasts sag.

Everyone BE CAREFUL!!

WOW...if this is for real, I have to get rid of my cell phone

You both crack me up!
Good night.

[archangle]

are you just going to try to insult me further and be of no help to me,

Yes, we're going to insult you. Please go away.

Who agrees with me?

[cherylann]

The cure, for probably 99% of us (including me) is to LOSE WEIGHT!!! I have had this for two years. I just get worse and worse and worse. I cannot tolerate the mask but I put it on every single night and every single morning I wake up and it is off and I am gasping for breath, having chest pains, and a miserable headache. I can't even lie on my sofa and watch TV without going through the same thing. I put off going to bed as long as I can every night because one of these nights I simply will not wake up.

Wouldn't you think that would be enough motivation to lose the weight and subsequently lose the apnea?

[zoocrewphoto]

The cure, for probably 99% of us (including me) is to LOSE WEIGHT!!! I have had this for two years. I just get worse and worse and worse. I cannot tolerate the mask but I put it on every single night and every single morning I wake up and it is off and I am gasping for breath, having chest pains, and a miserable headache. I can't even lie on my sofa and watch TV without going through the same thing. I put off going to bed as long as I can every night because one of these nights I simply will not wake up.

Wouldn't you think that would be enough motivation to lose the weight and subsequently lose the apnea?

Not sure what percentage, but quite a few people with sleep apnea are skinny. So, losing weight won't help them in the slightest. And many people with sleep apnea gain weigh because of the sleep apnea. So, losing weight will help their health in many ways, but won't cure/prevent the sleep apnea.

Anybody who is overweight would benefit by losing weight., But don't count on getting rid of sleep apnea.

[49er]

are you just going to try to insult me further and be of no help to me,

Yes, we're going to insult you. Please go away.

Who agrees with me?

I definitely don't think it is necessary to insult someone to make your point. But I know, that makes me strange.

Anyway, as one who has had the experience from h-ll in unsuccessfully trying to adapt to pap therapy in spite of trying everything I can think of to make it work, I wish to heck the cause of sleep apnea was known. But I can also wish to be win the lottery.

If pap therapy worked for me on a consistent basis, I would have no problems having to wear a mask. During the rare times it has worked, it was like I was experiencing the world in vivid color vs. black and white. So having red marks on my face would definitely be no big deal.

Finally, switching gears, as someone who is thin, I don't understand why people are discouraged from thinking that losing weight might cure their apnea. Just because people like me have sleep apnea doesn't mean that folks who are overweight might not have a chance of curing their apnea if they lose weight. Of course, it depends on many factors but to flat out dismiss this as a possibility when there have been studies that show it is possible seems short sighted in my opinion.

49er