Just a comment

I was diagnosed with OSA about 6 wks ago and was shocked to find out how serious it is. I had no idea that it could eventually lead to heart disease. I've been trying to become very educated about OSA and have been talking to my husband about all that I've learned. He seemed to be listening with only one ear open which surprised me...he's usually very attentive when I scream at him.
Anyway, he announced to me yesterday that he read that OSA can be life threatening....he was shocked...never knew it was this serious. HELLO!!!! What have I been telling him???? He actually didn't believe me. Until he saw it in writing (by somebody he considers and expert), he thought I was blowing this all out of proportion. It made me start to wonder if people in general think it's not a real health risk. Maybe that's the way some Dr.s and DMEs feel too (which explains their lack of knowledge). Maybe there should be a concerted effort to make the population aware of just how dangerous this problem is.
I'll admit that I felt the same way until I was diagnosed. My Mom snored LOUDLY for as long as I can remember...and she would periodically stop breathing...but she always started up again. Back then OSA was unheard of but as I got older, I started thinking that maybe she had it (she was diagnosed with OSA a year ago but couldn't get used to treatment). My husband also used to snore very loudly and stop breathing...I knew about OSA then but never said anything to him because I didn't think it was a big deal....he always started breathing again. I've been feeling really guilty about this since learning more and more about OSA. I think the medical industry needs to really get the word out about OSA and Doctors should routinely question their patients about their sleeping habits. This is a treatable problem...a serious problem that is easily diagnosed. I wish I could figure out a way to get the ball rolling on educating people.
Like the Subject said...this is just a commentary...thanks for listening.
Amy

Wow, and an excellent commentary it is!!!!! You are so right, education is key. Information is slowly being disseminated more publicly, so it's better than it was, but not nearly where it should be.

By the way, this is classic :

He seemed to be listening with only one ear open which surprised me...he's usually very attentive when I scream at him.

Wow...thanks NS !

Fabulous post, Amy! You are absolutely on target except for one thing:

I've been feeling really guilty about this since learning more and more about OSA.

There's no need for you to feel guilty about any of that. It's the doctors and health care professionals who have not kept up with information about sleep apnea. It's been there in front of them for a long time....information and research studies that've been coming out in professional journals ever since the first "cpap" machine was developed more than twenty years ago.

Now that the mainstream media has been picking up on it more in the last year or two, perhaps more doctors will become aware of sleep apnea, whether they take it seriously or not. Perhaps medical colleges will begin to take it more seriously and actually TEACH their students about OSA instead of just tossing in a few hours of lectures about "sleep".

Doctors who finally come to understand that OSA is a truly life threatening BREATHING disorder (not just a "can't get enough sleep" problem or a "is there any way to make my husband stop snoring" problem) will be able to help their patients more.

A drumbeat by newspaper, magazine, and TV is probably the best way to keep getting the word spread...even to doctors.

Thanks RG... I know I shouldn't feel guilty but guilt is something I do very well I'm also really really good at worrying....
Amy

I went to a specialist recently and told him I was diagnosed with sleep apnea....he told me that he just spent a day with other doctors learning new things and they spent 1/2 the day talking about sleep apnea...he said that it is something doctors are being educated about. I was happy to hear that. ...maybe that is a good sign.

Maybe there's hope.....if the media helps get the word out.
I found this article on Netscape's "What's New" pop-down menu yesterday (it's still there as I write this).


Your Face Shape Reveals a Scary Risk

Don't be surprised if your doctor asks you to stand still and turn your face to the side so he can study your facial profile. What is he looking for? A steep jaw. People with a steep jaw have a special risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) regardless of their weight or ethnic background, reports Reuters of a study from the University of British Columbia in Canada. People with OSA actually stop breathing for short periods while they sleep. The condition, which has been linked to high blood pressure and heart conditions, is far more serious than simple snoring, which is more annoying than health-threatening.

Sleep apnea affects more than 12 million people in the United States. Those who have it stop breathing for a minute or longer while they sleep and may do this as many as hundreds of times during the night. There are three types of sleep apnea: obstructive, central and mixed. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common, occurring in approximately 2 percent of women and 4 percent of men over age 35, reports The Sleep Channel. "OSA is prevalent worldwide but is under-recognized and therefore under-treated," Dr. Frank Ryan from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver told Reuters Health. "The common denominator in the vast majority of patients with OSA is a narrowed or constricted airway at the back of the throat."

Why does the airway narrow? For some it is caused by obesity, but in others it can be caused by variations in facial bony structure. In this study, the research team studied 239 patients who were referred to clinics in Hong Kong and Vancouver for suspected sleep disorder breathing. They found that no matter the patient's gender, ethnicity or weight, the best predictor of obstructive sleep apnea was a crowded or narrow air passage at the back of the tongue and soft palate, as well as a steep jaw line.

Ryan notes that identifying such abnormalities in the facial profile is easy to do during a routine physical examination so doctors should pay attention to it as a useful tip-off of OSA. The study findings were published in the journal Thorax.


Den

Amy, what your describing (recent diagnosis and shock at leaning of risks, side-effects and complications) was a perfect picture of my past 2 months. Neither my GP (who gave me a referral to a pulminary sleep specialist) nor the sleep specialist bothered to fill me in on what OSA could be doing to me; I had to learn it here on cpaptalk.com and via searching the net for articles on the effects of sleep apnea and sleep deprivation.

Let me tell you, it was a real wakeup call (pun intended). Since then I've preached the gospel to everyone I know in an attempt to spread the word.