Sleep Apnea Treatment

Question by : sleep apnea my hubby is 53 and he stops breathing 98 times in a hour at the sleep study he has a cpap machine?
he does not use the cpap mask all the time he will fall asleep and not put it on till 2 am or so he jumps up during the night several times with leg spasms and if he drinks 4 oz of tonic water he has less leg spasms he complains of chest pain a lot and he is an insulin diabetic his numbers are most of the time 2 or 300 for his sugar 2 years ago he had 17 iskcemic episodes hope i spelled it right and we found out he has 2 carotid arteries blocked 98% and 99% he was also diagnosed with copd onset anyway now he has an enlarged prostate but wont go for the checkup to see what,s going on there how dangerous is he really living ? i try to tell him he wont make it to 55 he just laughs about it cant seem to make him understand its not a joke he is going to die if he don,t start taking this seriously am i right?

Best answer:

Answer by PRINTS
Maybe he’s a little dizzy from the lack of oxygen from that arterial blockage going to the brain!! You already know he needs to get in and be taken care of. Have they checked the other arteries that lead to the heart? Blockages don’t just stay in one place. He would need an MRI or whatever REAL test is done, not just the office checks that don’t show everything. Those sort of things can slip by if you don’t have a dedicated doctor. My dad went in and found out he had severe blockage in the arteries around the heart. He also had diabetes and did not know his sugar numbers were very high. He would put up with the pains in the chest and just take the medication that would help alleviate them as they happened. His doctor did not do what he needed to. If your husband does not want to do anything about this, is is in danger. You can’t force him, but hopefully he cares about everyone and wants to be around.

Find a really good heart doctor to start with and have his arteries really checked. If he is not taking this seriously, then he probably won’t change his diet, but he needs to cut down on all sugar and STARCHES, carbohydrates. The diabetic diet is a very healthy diet, but people who simply want to be healthy should eat a lot of raw/fresh fruits and vegetables. That should not be only considered a diet for sick people. He needs to stop eating all foods that cause inflammation (carbohyrates). I hope he takes this seriously and you have a doctor who won’t put up with lack of cooperation. If not, shop around until you find one – and very soon!

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Question by ginadeluca247: My husband is 36 and has SEVERE Sleep Apnea. He stops breathing approx. 100x per hour or more…?
He is a bit overweight but not tremendously (5′9–215lbs)–we have four small children and I am soo afraid that he is going to drop dead of a heart attack. His previous test revealed that out of just under 6 hours of sleep, he stopped breathing for just under 4 of those hours. He is using a CPAP Machine and has been for about 4-5 years–but lately it does not seem to be helping…please help. I can’t bear to see him so exhausted….

Best answer:

Answer by Mia Bell
Best advice is to notify your doctor of this AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Sleep Apnea is a very dangerous killer especially for obese persons. The best thing your husband can do, (and I’m saying this out of pure kindness and concern) Is to loose at least 30 pounds. This doesn’t mean gain muscle and lose fat this means lose all fat. Have him go on walks, cut out red meats, fat, soda, beer, and smoking of anykind if he does. Its quite amazing what losing a little bit of weight will do for the human body. Another thing is have a brain scan done on him to make sure that the lack of oxygen to his brain has not caused any damage. Damage to the brain could cause many health problems including (but not limited to) Strokes and Seizures. Best of luck to you and your husband

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Question by brodiemojo: I have sleep apnea. 30 incidents an hour with a duration of 10 secs each. I hate CPAP-what else to do?
I tried the hybrid mask, the regular over the nose mask and the Snap unit which goes up the nose. I have the Snap at home and used it last night first time. Managed 3 hours. Mouth was so dry.
Any other choices out there? I am very claustophobic. I worry none of this will help. Any other stories out there?

Best answer:

Answer by Sunny
Unfortunately there aren’t many options, unless your sleep apnea is caused by obesity- then you could try losing weight. Otherwise perhaps your PCP could prescribe a relaxant or sleep aid to help you through. As for dryness there are cpap models with humidification and vaseline is a strong long lasting lip moisturizer.

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Question by mamabear: Apnea events per hour during sleep test?
I had a sleep test done, I stop breathing 149 times per hour. How common is that?

Best answer:

Answer by kay_flood
for someone with apnea, that is average.

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How bad is that on a scale of those with sleep apnea.

His test results read he stops breathing 32 times every hour that’s about every two minutes…can you get any worse than that?

I just want to make sure he is telling me all that he needs to tell me.
He doesn’t use the machine. He has only been tested….nothing given to him yet.