New to this - questions

Hello everyone,
I have recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea. I did a home sleep study and the results were conclusive - moderate obstructive sleep apnea.
cpaptalk is an amazing website. I have spent many hours reading posts. Not only is the information utterly invaluable, the stories are truly inspirational.
I moved to Qatar in the middle east in august 2009. I have never had a health problem in my life. Always sailed through medicals and I considered myself a fit person.
My full medical on arrival in Qatar was absolutely fine. I have been a weightlifter for 30 years and I got a "wow" from the person doing the lung capacity test. Everything normal.

I then started to visit our medical centre for various minor ailments and each time my blood pressure was rising to the point where I was prescribed medication. The doctors looked on the high blood pressure as an illness not a symptom so were quite happy to dispense chemicals to make it go away. This is complicated by the fact that I have big muscular arms and the cuff used to measure my blood pressure was too small and thus gave ridiculous readings. My record reading was 234/110 and I was sent to hospital where an hour later my blood pressure was 130/85 using the correct size cuff. This blurred the issue a bit but my blood pressure was definitely rising.

I have an identical twin brother who was diagnosed with OSA 7 years ago. I mentioned my issues to him and he said he had the same symptoms before he was prescribed a cpap which changed his life. I mentioned this to my doctor who scoffed but referred me to the sleep clinic in Qatar who gave me a home study kit who 3 months later, after me practically screaming down the phone at them, let me have the report which shows I have OSA.

Recently I have experienced nights where I cant fall asleep. I feel myself dozing off but I feel myself coughing, catching my breath and then waking up. This has happened three times and I am a wasted wreck the next day. Twice I have experienced waking up with pounding heart out of breath. This is really scary. Now every time I have my blood pressure taken I have a high pulserate and heart rate.

Now to my questions.

I had no symptoms before coming to Qatar. I have a thorough medical every year. Has anyone ever heard of OSA developing so quickly? In 10 months I have gone from no symptoms to HBP medication and tachycardia.

I have noticed that any form of upper respiratory issue means I am exhausted. The slightest cold or sore throat results in a marked deterioration in sleep quality. I have also noticed that swimming causes me to have bad sleep. I suspect the chlorine is drying out my throat. One of my episodes where I got no sleep was after a long swim. Has anyone experienced this?

I have a full sleep study scheduled in 2 weeks. This includes a cpap titration. The problem I have is that it will be at least three months before I see the results of that test and then at least another three months before I receive any treatment. Things go slow here in Qatar. However, I may not wait for treatment here. I may opt to go to Dubai where I can have a sleep study and treatment in a week. This involves time off work which my employer is not too happy with but I may simply have to do it as my symptoms seem to be getting worse.

This is a long post and I appreciate anybody taking time to read it or answer it. This forum has revealed to me that I am not alone and that counts for a lot.

I'm no expert and there are people here much more qualified to answer your questions then I am, but I would suspect that you had OSA long before your move and that you are only now seeing the signs of accumulated damage to your body.

With the symptoms you are having perhaps taking off work to get the study and treatment faster would be a very good idea if you can afford to do that. The sooner you get a cpap machine the sooner you will be getting a good nights sleep.

In the meantime read up as much as you can so you will be prepared.

Hello and welcome. I agree with Oscar98. Often with the body's amazing ability to compensate we can remain functional even with OSA, until it takes its toll. Or maybe something in your current situation has changed enough to either create or exacerbate a problem. If going elsewhere to expedite your treatment is a viable option, it seems a good idea to me. It does make sense that things like even a minor cold can make for a miserable night's sleep - like the straw that broke the camel's back. Let us know how things progress for you.

Hi - a little tip while you're waiting... Do anything you can to NOT sleep on your back, as that encourages more apneas overnight - the worst position to sleep in. People use everything from those big body pillows to sewn-in tennis balls (on their PJ's) to keep from doing it. In your study they may have asked you to sleep that way to get a baseline reading, and some people think it's what they should now do, but it isn't! Another thing is that an awful lot of us have GERD (acid reflux) - seems to go with the territory a lot - and make an effort to not drink coffee (except maybe in the a.m.), or have spicy food too often, and definitely not close to bed time, as well as maybe needing to take a Tums (or half of one if you don't have real symptoms) before bed. It's up in the air now about the connection - which came first, the GERD or OSA, but does seem to be connected. Also, every pound put on makes OSA worse, and while plenty of people with OSA aren't overweight, adding any makes it worse, and losing even a bit can make it better.

Remind your employer that OSA can lead to productivity problems at work and a reduction in memory and organizational skills. Not to mention, you don't want to get into a vehicle accident (on or off the job) that would mean your employer would need to find a replacement for you for a time while you were recovering.

There are stereotypes in business for people like us. And yes, taking some time off for sleep study may save time later for other reasons.

Redback, It's in your employer's best interest for you to have this tended to as quickly as possible. Your health is declining, and your ability to do your job correctly is declining with it. It probably isn't obvious at your workplace yet, but it's happening. Six months out it could well be obvious...and it's fixable NOW. Your boss's bottom line will be better the sooner you get this under control. Why wait?

Many thanks for the replies guys - i am genuinely touched.

I have a long summer vacation planned in Europe so I think I will book up to see a specialist in England. They have been kind enough to offer me a consultation and sleep study on dates that suit me. I only found this out a few hours ago. I am not confident that the Qatar clinic will be of any real use to me. i will be dead before I get treatment.

I have spent a lot of time reading about OSA and its a real eye-opener. I have made the following changes:

I have changed my exercise routine. I no longer train with heavy weights. I do many more reps and have included much more aerobically demanding exercises.
I have also altered my diet. Cut down drastically on carbs, no Lays crisps (my main weakness I am only human), only a spoonful of rice and no bread at all.
I only sleep on my side. After much experimentation I lie on my side basically hugging a large pillow which stops me rolling onto my back. I got that tip on cpaptalk somewhere.
Result is that I have lost some weight (mostly from my butt and thighs) and I sometimes wake up remembering dreams. I realised that it had been a long time since I remember dreaming after reading posts here. For me it feels like the exercise helps me sleep.

I do not experience the crushing fatigue that some people experience. For me, I just go to bed and pass out instantly. Previous partners have commented on how quickly I went to sleep and I now view that as a OSA symptom. I normally get up for work at 5am. I have never had to get up that early before and to be honest I find it hard. After much deliberation I feel that the change in my start time, the heat and dust of Qatar, and constantly being in air-conditioned rooms have probably combined to excacerbate mild OSA which I have probably had my whole adult life. Anyway, thats my theory.

Thanks again to everyone who has read my posts and I assure you that I appreciate every suggestion.

Cheers.

Redback. Since you refered to Lays as "crisps" and not "chips" (those would be French Fries to you, I guess), I am assuming you are not a Yank - not that US Citizenship is required to be here.

We have laws about medical stuff in the workplace, to the point where a job can be saved by, yes, a doctor's note detailing medical necessity, even psychological stuff can be deemed medical "excuse".

True story. I had an employee working for me at one time who had attendence issues. BIG ones. Like, otherwise, she was accurate and productive. Just couldn't make it to work on time. Her husband left her and she was depressed. I don't blame her. But, without her going to her psychologist and getting medical excuses while ramping up on a medication or whatever, there was nothing I could do (I wasn't corporate management). Even my crew leader told her one day that she shouldn't have cancelled her appointment. She said she did it because she knew it would be a big day at work.

Yeah, I'd have had to fired her if she didn't first get the other job she applied for.

You might want to find someone in Human Resources / Personnel where you work. Of course, they'd be familiar with the law, but they DO work for your company, so they're not entirely your advocate.

The chlorine in the water can cause nasal congestion, leading to disturbed breathing when you sleep.

If you love swimming, try a nasal rinse with saline (see for example http://www.neilmed.com) to rinse out the chlorine after the swim.

O.

Thanks for the replies.

For the record I am Scottish.

Labour laws in Qatar are a funny business. Some employers will fire for no reason. My employer is good in that if I need to go see a doctor I can.
Taking time off work is a big deal. i would need to see 3 different people and then an occupational therapist, wait for signatures etc...

It would seem logical that if I have a medical condition which affects my work, my employer would be happy for me to seek treatment.
OSA is not really understood and is not recognised as a reason for being off work. Now if I had a heart attack, that would be fine, take as much time off as I like.

I may try the saline solution thing. One of my proudest achievements here in Qatar is that I swam 30 lengths of a pool for the first time in my life recently. But then I didnt sleep for 2 nights which finally made me realise the connection.

OSA treatment here in Qatar is minimal. There is a sleep clinic but not as you know it. You cant just call to ask a question. The only way to get any information is to make an appointment. Appointments are at least 4 months apart. My home sleep study was on February 15th. I wasnt supposed to see the results of that study until July 5th, the next available appointment with the consultant. I only have the report now because I walked into the hospital and demanded to see it. The plan is that I see a consultant on July 5th who may recommend a proper sleep study. That sleep study would happen in October and I would then see the consultant to discuss the results of the sleep study in January 2011. If I need a cpap that would happen about April 2011. Any adjustments, finding a suitable mask etc.. all 4 months apart. totally unworkable. I really would be dead waiting.

I had a terrible night last night. I was all blocked up with the cold. Can you use a cpap when your nose is all blocked up?

Thanks again to everyone.

First of all, having congestion + cpap is really not fun.

When I have a cold, I do NOT use the humidifier. I also find it better to use a full-face mask.
Also helpful is to rinse with a saline solution a few times during the day -- I use a netipot.
And of course, drinking as much warm liquids as possible.

oscar98 wrote:I'm no expert and there are people here much more qualified to answer your questions then I am, but I would suspect that you had OSA long before your move and that you are only now seeing the signs of accumulated damage to your body.

With the symptoms you are having perhaps taking off work to get the study and treatment faster would be a very good idea if you can afford to do that. The sooner you get a cpap machine the sooner you will be getting a good nights sleep.

In the meantime read up as much as you can so you will be prepared.

welcome, redback! I, too, agree with oscar...to the letter. the sooner you can get to cpap...the better. keep us posted!

hi ozij,
Tried the nasal saline rinse and its worked a treat. Not for the swiming but simply to clear my nose. I have never breathed so clearly in years.
It has also stopped the light-headed feeling I was getting which my doctors were putting down to HBP.

I bought myself a personal blood pressure meter after my medical centre told me I had blood pressure of 210/100. I said it was plainly ridiculous but my doc actually had the pen out to prescribe two different kinds of chemicals to lower my BP. Anyway, after I went to the gym for an hour, where I met one of the doctors who tried to keep up with me and couldnt, I started to use the meter. I tested my BP for a whole week-end. Highest reading was 145/87 and that was after exercise. Average reading was around 130/78, lowest reading 120/75. I was careful to take all readings lying on my bed, arm same height as my heart, after resting for 10 mins, same arm. I waited for three consistent readings before writing it down. I bought a meter which fits around my wrist to remove the inaccuracy related to having a cuff too small for my arm.

This does not surprise me but at least I have some evidence to suggest that their method of measurement is not working for me. I suspect the cuff is still too small.

Keep breathing guys

Does anyone have any theories about climate change and new allergies causing many of these symptoms? Or is all this just coincidental to his progressing OSA?

DoriC wrote:Does anyone have any theories about climate change and new allergies causing many of these symptoms? Or is all this just coincidental to his progressing OSA?

For me I think its my "body changing" (growing old) rather than the climate. We could always blame it on Bush huh?