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barbyann wrote:First the obvious jokes about the money saved from not needing a facial waxing ever again and of course the fact that if this mouth taping secret leaks out every husband in America will have their wife at a sleep study clinic tomorrow begging for the chance to be able to humanely tape their spouse's mouths shut. Now.......serious.

I must breathe through my mouth because of a physiologic reason. I have had orthodontic work and I know my jaws are not aligned properly. It is more comfortable for my jaws to be open. My dentist told me my mouth is the size of an average five year olds. Also, I have very thin nostrils and I am congested frequently. I guess these are all things I should write down to discuss with the sleep doctor when I go on the 9th. Thanks for all the info. I am learning so much.

Teehee. So funny!

Take the sleep study in stride. If it's anything like mine was, you might feel a bit like Frankenstein. Wonder if HE could have slept through such a thing! .... What? You mean I have to go to some medical office building, and sleep in a bed, on purpose? How weird is that. Warning to you. Make sure you make as many trips to the bathroom as you can before they wire you up. You can still go, while wired up (and you might enjoy the funny experience), but it could be problematic. Ha!

Enjoy.


Linda

barbyann wrote:Does anyone here have any story similar to mine? Do you guys think my heart problems may be linked to apnea? I would be interested in any input to bolster my sleep study case.

I think the guys at CPAP.com can probably help you with some internet sources of good research on the relationship between OSA & heart problems. There's certainly a lot out there that should help support your sleep study case because it's widely acknowledged that there's a link. A good place to start might be webmd.com.

I was told over 25 years ago that I had sleep apnea, but no sleep study or any other diagnostic or treatment options were suggested. And I was too dumb to pursue it on my own.

Then 11 years ago, at the age of 53, I was diagnosed with CHF; had the 1st of 3 catheterizations & angioplastys; hospitalized again & diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation 5 years ago leading to the implant of a pacemaker shortly after; then COPD; blah, blah, blah...

While in the hospital for the pacemaker implant, a nurse came into my room as i was waking up with a start gasping for air. She asked me if I knew I had Sleep Apnea and that then lead to 2 sleep studies & the start of CPAP therapy 5 years ago.

I'm a mouth breather - have had sinus & nasal congestion for as long as I can remember - so I really had problems tolerating CPAP. As a result, I was pretty totally non-compliant, even after all my health experiences of the past few years. Then was so shocked to learn about Reggie White's death last Christmas weekend (at the age of 43!), attributed, at least in part, to respiratory failure caused by sleep apnea, I was finally jolted to attention and have been aggressively trying to find whatever solution it'll take to be able to better tolerate CPAP & be able to wear it & sleep through the night.

Restedgal is absolutely right. You're doing exactly the right thing in pursuing the sleep study & then whatever treatment path that puts you on. I can only imagine how different my health situation might be today if I had done that 25 years ago.

Best of luck!

Rol

My one piece of advice about sleep studies is this. Ask the sleep center if they prescribe Ambien. If not, get one from your doctor. It would be a shame if you went for a sleep study and couldn't sleep!

barbyann---

I found a great article to support your apnea/heart connection. Click on:

http://www.pulmonaryreviews.com/mar05/apnea.html

Good luck!

Thanks for the lead. Just the kind of article I had in mind.

There's loads of literature out there. Respironics home page highlights 24 articles under the "sleep heart health study" section. But you might want to call their toll free number 1-800-345-6443 and ask them to mail you their oversized brochure, "Sleep Apnea. At the Heart of State of the Art Cardiac Management." Reviews hypertension, heart failure, stroke, atrial fib etc as related to apnea. Colorful, precise, good graphs, bullets, and stats, all footnoted. Might be a handy jolt for your doc.

barbyann,

Don't worry so much about mouth breathing, several companies do make
full face masks, which means it covers your nose and mouth so you can breath with your mouth open, one that gets a lot of "good" reviews is
the "ultra mirage full face mask".

I use it (been on cpap 1 week) not having any trouble to speak of,
occasional leak that I correct by adjusting the straps.

it sures beats taping your mouth closed !

Thanks for the info. Can I ask a stupid question? How do you know if it is leaking? Does it beep?

Tape is cheaper than Ambien Insurance won't pay for it

barbyann wrote:I would be interested in any input to bolster my sleep study case.

Another excellent resource I stumbled into from a site pickles posted earlier today to a thread about camping with CPAP. If you get a chance, you might want to check out this link: Sleep Apnea: Phantom of the Night.

Again, best of luck...

Rol
_________________

“I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap.”
— Bob Hope

I agree that you need to find a doctor that knows about the correlation between sleep apnea and cardiopulmoary problems!!! Why don't you make an appointment with a MD that is a pulmonologist (lung doctor) ....the heart and lungs go hand in hand...

I had an echo of my heart "for the fun of it" and found that I have pulmonary hypertension ( high blood pressure of the blood vessel from the heart to the lungs)...left untreated it will lead to heart failure then ultimately organ failure and death... OSA is the only reversible cause of this problem......I'm 41 and in otherwise good health but was suspicious that I had OSA years...I went to see a pulmonologist and (we did the full work up for pulm htn including a heart cath because you have too) and guess what -I happily found out that I have OSA ...(if no etilogy for pulm htn is found then they call it primary pulmonary hypertension which is fatal....I have a 4 yo boy and 19 mo girl!!!! I was scared out of my mind)

After 6 mo of cpap they want to recheck my pressures and hopefully they will have been reversed...I'll happily use cpap for the rest of my life God willing!!

re: ambien and sleep studies...the first sleep study I had I was devastatingly told that I didn't have sleep apnea and had to look for other causes of my pulm htn...I felt as if I didn't sleep at all that nite - was not at all representative of my normal nite....After lots of tears and my borrowing of a pulse oximeter to measure my oxegen levels at nite (my dropped) my MD and I decided to repeat the study with ambien and guess what!!!! I had sleep apnea (AHI 24 with REM)

barbyann,

you know the mask is leaking when you feel the air escaping out the side
and blowing onto your face, usually a few adjustments with the straps
and you're all set

Hey barbyann, your a yankees fan ? well remember the yankees haven't won the world series "this century" ha ha ha