apnea claims another life...

I just found out that a good high school friend of mine passed over the weekend from complications recovering from throat reconstruction surgery to "cure" his sleep apnea....how very sad...

My thoughts and prayers go out to you and his family

DJ

Always sad...my sympathies. Makes me wish more would discover this forum and see if any of our suggestions might help make the transition to hosehood easier, faster, and less problematic.

He was only 43 and died of a heart attack in his sleep on Saturday night...it's tragic!

Bret,
I am so saddened by your loss of a dear friend! Please except my sympathy for you and his family, may he Rest In Peace..

I'm also sorry to hear of your friend. He is so young for this to happen.
I've also lost some friends to heart problems. It is so sudden and unfortunate.

I had a friend of mine (in my S.S. class) who is a pharmacist to recently send this email about heart attacks.
If it helps just one person, it will be worth the time to tell you what he said:

About Heart Attacks
Always keep aspirin by your bedside. Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve under the tongue, because they work much faster than the tablets.
Also, there are other symptoms of a heart attack besides the pain on the left arm.
One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating, however these symptoms may also occur less frequently.
Note: There may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack. The majority of people (about 60%) who’ve had a heart attack during their sleep, did not wake up. However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep. If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth (under your tongue) and swallow them with a bit of water. Then:
- phone a neighbor or a family member who lives very close by - say "heart attack!"
- say that you have taken 2 aspirins.
- take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and...
~ do NOT lie down ~

midnightdweary wrote:I'm also sorry to hear of your friend. He is so young for this to happen.
I've also lost some friends to heart problems. It is so sudden and unfortunate.

I had a friend of mine (in my S.S. class) who is a pharmacist to recently send this email about heart attacks.
If it helps just one person, it will be worth the time to tell you what he said:

About Heart Attacks
Always keep aspirin by your bedside. Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve under the tongue, because they work much faster than the tablets.
Also, there are other symptoms of a heart attack besides the pain on the left arm.
One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating, however these symptoms may also occur less frequently.
Note: There may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack. The majority of people (about 60%) who’ve had a heart attack during their sleep, did not wake up. However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep. If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth (under your tongue) and swallow them with a bit of water. Then:
- phone a neighbor or a family member who lives very close by - say "heart attack!"
- say that you have taken 2 aspirins.
- take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and...
~ do NOT lie down ~

Call 911 first

I am sorry for your loss.

At the tender age of 40 I had a heart attack. I had absolutely none of the risk factors except genetics.Well, now I realize I did have another very big to me risk factor. Sleep apnea. I snored and felt this bad even then, as a very slim woman. My family hated to try to sleep when I did and they were constantly waking me. I have no idea how long I've had it but I now believe I may have had the heart attack because of the apnea. My dad had sleep apnea for years, untreated because he felt he could not tolerate the cpap. I sure wish he were still here but he passed from a massive heart attack himself.

Just a note for the women, sometimes we have different symptoms than men in heart attacks. I was asleep when it began. No chest pain for me. My back where my bra would clasp hurt like crazy. My right arm hurt on the inside of my arm. I did have really bad heartburn. My jaw felt like I had a hot poker inside of it. I did all the wrong things, waited over 12 hours to go to the hospital and literally drove myself after driving my kids to school. I thought I was too young and so did the Dr, he automatically assumed I was having an asthma attack until he put me on the ekg and I had another right in front of him. Rough times. Why they didnt figure I had sleep apnea while I was in the hospital those couple weeks I don't know. I believe my health would be much better if it had been caught then. But it is not too late and I'm embracing my new life with cpap with all I've got.

Again, I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for letting me share my story. I hope it helps someone else as well.
Paula

THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. MY PRAYERS ARE WITH THE FAMILY. PLEASE LOOK AT MY NEW NIGHTSTAND. go to yahoo and look for http://www.cpaphideaaway.com. MY NIGHTSTAND HAS A COMPARTMENT FOR A BATTERY BACKUP THAT HAS A SURGE PROTECTOR, VOLTAGE REGULATOR AND WILL RUN THE MACHINE IF THE POWER IN OUT. PATIENTS NEED TO TAKE THEIR DISEASE VERY SERIOUSLY. THERE ARE ROUGHLY 20 MILLION OF US THAT ARE AT RISK FOR STROKES, HEART ATTACK AND DEATH.

jbanks wrote:THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. MY PRAYERS ARE WITH THE FAMILY. PLEASE LOOK AT MY NEW NIGHTSTAND. go to yahoo and look for http://www.cpaphideaaway.com. MY NIGHTSTAND HAS A COMPARTMENT FOR A BATTERY BACKUP THAT HAS A SURGE PROTECTOR, VOLTAGE REGULATOR AND WILL RUN THE MACHINE IF THE POWER IN OUT. PATIENTS NEED TO TAKE THEIR DISEASE VERY SERIOUSLY. THERE ARE ROUGHLY 20 MILLION OF US THAT ARE AT RISK FOR STROKES, HEART ATTACK AND DEATH.

Coming in here spamming and SHOUTING at us is not a very intelligent way to promote your product line. This is also a very poor choice of thread to be spamming in.

Your nightstand will not help when the power is out.

I'm genuinely sorry to hear of the loss of your friend. I remember when a guy I dated in high school died very suddenly in his late 20s... heart attack. Probably undiagosed apnea, like your friend.

Died while recovering from surgery. <sigh> Second one I've heard of in a week. CPAP can be annoying and require accommodation, but it's not likely to kill you if used properly.

Bret,
So sorry to hear about your friend. You certainly are doing your part to make the cpap experience more pleasant and comfortable for those who avail themselves to this therapy. We all know there are risks in any surgery. we just expect the odds to be in our favor. Sad when that happens to anyone, especially one in their prime. I offer my condolences.

I am so sorry for your lose of a close friend. He has given us all a gift of knowledge sorry that it had to be at the lost of his life but he will be remembered by me forever to keep on taking care of myself and others..

I really appreciate my cpaptalk friends. Thanks much. This reminds me of how sad I felt when SnoreDog passed on--everything we do here is intensely important and meaningful. Untreated apnea is responsible for untold human suffering--keep up your good work.

Bret

I'm very sorry for your loss. So young...