- Joined
- Dec 4, 2011
- Messages
- 1,224
I wrote a novel, but just bear with me...
For years I've taken daily naps--minimum 1hr, more if possible. Recently, the problem got bad enough that my career was in danger of suffering. My GF also made a lot of comments about how I snored extra loud and would choke and not breathe during my sleep--it would get worse as I gained weight, but wouldn't disappear either even at my leanest / lightest / with the most cardio. She urged me to get a sleep study, and so I did.
The results?
150 apnea events (these are defined as 10 seconds or longer not breathing during sleep) per hour. Every one of these events resulted in me opening my eyes and not going into REM sleep whether I knew it or not. Severe apnea by my Dr. was defined as 50 events per hour, but I think the standard is 30. Anyways...oxygen saturation went down as little as 80% during these times. That's about on par with what someone has minutes after a heart attack. I was then fitted with a cpap and monitored / adjusted through the night and shown those charts. The difference is night and day.
I now have about 2 events per hour. I no longer take naps out of necessity, but out of luxury. 3-4hrs of sleep on the machine makes me feel better than 12 hours without it. It's completely and totally changed my life for the better--I used to ditch out of things due to sheer exhaustion, and now I feel like I have incredible energy. My training energy is much higher too, and I barely use stimulants anymore. I don't know if it's related to the machine, but I've managed to put on 10lbs without adjusting my diet and none of it appears to be from fat. All in all--I feel like a million bucks.
So you're thinking "but I don't want to look like darth vader everynight and it must suck to have the machine constantly forcing air through you!" Well...the darth vader thing is unavoidable--but at least your GF / wife won't have to move to the other room because you're snoring so loud, or become frustrated because she's getting less sleep, or worry about whether you're going to actually start breathing again.
In addition, modern cpap machines only push air in when you're breathing (and stop when you stop). They also can auto-adjust the pressure based on your needs. AND they also tell you how many apnea events you averaged on night so you know whether you need to make some changes or not. There's also a wide variety of masks available so you can find one that you feel completely comfortable with.
In conclusion: if you think you have sleep apnea, or your GF / wife moves to the other room or bitches to you about your constant snoring--you really should get checked out. There's a myriad of health issues that can arise from sleep apnea as well--new research is showing that extreme hypoxia (going without oxygen) during sleep apnea may increase tumor growth. Hypoxia can also increase RBCs--which most of us are trying to avoid. It really has been life-changing for me, and I hope any of you even thinking about it will just go ahead and schedule that appointment. It's a little bit of a hassle to go through, but worth every single little bit of it.
For years I've taken daily naps--minimum 1hr, more if possible. Recently, the problem got bad enough that my career was in danger of suffering. My GF also made a lot of comments about how I snored extra loud and would choke and not breathe during my sleep--it would get worse as I gained weight, but wouldn't disappear either even at my leanest / lightest / with the most cardio. She urged me to get a sleep study, and so I did.
The results?
150 apnea events (these are defined as 10 seconds or longer not breathing during sleep) per hour. Every one of these events resulted in me opening my eyes and not going into REM sleep whether I knew it or not. Severe apnea by my Dr. was defined as 50 events per hour, but I think the standard is 30. Anyways...oxygen saturation went down as little as 80% during these times. That's about on par with what someone has minutes after a heart attack. I was then fitted with a cpap and monitored / adjusted through the night and shown those charts. The difference is night and day.
I now have about 2 events per hour. I no longer take naps out of necessity, but out of luxury. 3-4hrs of sleep on the machine makes me feel better than 12 hours without it. It's completely and totally changed my life for the better--I used to ditch out of things due to sheer exhaustion, and now I feel like I have incredible energy. My training energy is much higher too, and I barely use stimulants anymore. I don't know if it's related to the machine, but I've managed to put on 10lbs without adjusting my diet and none of it appears to be from fat. All in all--I feel like a million bucks.
So you're thinking "but I don't want to look like darth vader everynight and it must suck to have the machine constantly forcing air through you!" Well...the darth vader thing is unavoidable--but at least your GF / wife won't have to move to the other room because you're snoring so loud, or become frustrated because she's getting less sleep, or worry about whether you're going to actually start breathing again.
In addition, modern cpap machines only push air in when you're breathing (and stop when you stop). They also can auto-adjust the pressure based on your needs. AND they also tell you how many apnea events you averaged on night so you know whether you need to make some changes or not. There's also a wide variety of masks available so you can find one that you feel completely comfortable with.
In conclusion: if you think you have sleep apnea, or your GF / wife moves to the other room or bitches to you about your constant snoring--you really should get checked out. There's a myriad of health issues that can arise from sleep apnea as well--new research is showing that extreme hypoxia (going without oxygen) during sleep apnea may increase tumor growth. Hypoxia can also increase RBCs--which most of us are trying to avoid. It really has been life-changing for me, and I hope any of you even thinking about it will just go ahead and schedule that appointment. It's a little bit of a hassle to go through, but worth every single little bit of it.