Found out some news today....but not surprised

Well a few weeks ago I had gone and had a sleep study done. My PCP wanted to send me for one because I had a chest x-ray done back in June 2016 which showed I had severe cardiomegaly. (I had a transophageal 2d echo done and thankfully my heart is normal sized and nothing wrong with it except a PFO- which is no big deal as 25% of America has it and doesn't know). Anyways.....I received a call while at work saying they had my test results in. Turns out I have severe obstructive sleep apnea. My average oxygen readings at night falls in the 70's and gets worse when I am REM sleep. So right now I am back at the sleep study center for another but this time getting hooked up to more instruments. This diagnosis doesn't surprise me because I have always suspected it...... But the stuff she told me scared the crap out of me. I didn't write down all the details..... Asked if I can get a copy of my test results to review myself. I am one of those people who gets copies of everything because I like to read them myself. But this should be an interesting night.

Sorry to hear your news! Good luck with the sleep study!

thank you very much!!

I honestly, personally, dont buy into the sleep apnea deal much.

I have yet to hear of anyone that has ever gone for a test and been told "nope, you're good to go, no issues!"

They always find out they basically dont breath at night and end up afraid of what theyve been told. Then buy the expensive machine from the study center.

I did a study... found out I (to summarize) only breath 10% of the night (thats an exageration) but refused to buy my equipment from them. They werent very nice to me after that. Instead I bought everything online and tried using for a while but ended up stopping. Had cats whose dander saturated the air filter, and in that time frame when I got the kittens I didnt realize i had developed severe cat allergies since I had cats last

For my surgery I told the surgeon group I was diagnosed sleep apnea and didnt use a machine for the last 10 years.

Either way, you'll get thru this little hurdle and move on towards your goal :) Dont sweat it

There are documented cases of people dying from sleep apnea. Yes, I believe, in some cases, that perhaps the diagnosis is exaggerated, however in the OP's case, it sounds like not only is it a good diagnosis, but something they've needed for a long time.

I too was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea. I bought the machine, and used it until I lost 50 lbs and accidentally left it at home during a week long vacation. I probably should still be using it - or maybe not - but my snoring is gone, so I have decided on my own to stop.

But I don't think it's something that should automatically be discounted. The fact of the matter is, obese and morbidly obese folks have a higher build up of fat in their necks and chest, which leads to the large diagnoses for Pre-op RNY/VSG patients.

Yes. If someone is morbidly obese, their breathing is restricted during sleep. That's why everyone on these boards is diagnosed.

There are a hundred ways we were affected. From morning headaches, exhaustion, irritabilty -- the list goes on. 

Sure, wearing the mask is a pain in the ass. But to say it isn't a legitimate and serious medical issue is just foolishness.

Obstructive sleep apnea is one of the few comorbidities that all insurance companies accept whenaying for weight loss surgery at a lower BMI. If it wasn't so serious, insurance companies would absolutely, positively ignore it and not pay claims.

You don't buy into the sleep apnea deal much? People DIE from untreated sleep apnea. What an absolutely flip and irresponsible little nugget of advice your opinion is.

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea long before my surgery because I snored like a bear. My DOCTOR, who, y'know, went to school and studied, told me that many obese people have sleep apnea due to the extra weight. He additionally said that while mine was not life threatening, poor sleep plays into a host of other maladies. He went on to say that if I lost significant weight, it would likely resolve, although there are thin people with apnea. He also mentioned that sometimes people die from untreated apnea because they stop breathing and don't start again. That seems pretty serious to me.

Five years later, I had surgery and my apnea did resolve. In the intervening five years, I was able to feel rested upon waking for the first time in years.

One last thing: most insurances have you rent your machine, as with most durable medical equipment, until the purchase price is met, whereupon it is yours. It can come from any durable medical equipment supplier, not just a study center. Most doctors *****ad sleep study results have training in neurology and pulmonology, if that is not their primary specialty, so it isn't as if the center just pulls the janitor over to look at the results.

OP: Try not to be fearful. Apnea can be dangerous, but it is very treatable.

I'm not saying its not dangerous or shouldnt use a CPAP. My points were that the number of people who get a study done and do not have apnea is very low. Granted, theyre normally getting the study done for a reason so that may be why, but dont know.

My final statement was to not stress and to move along with her process. The entire situation will more than likely be resolved and the dangers gone post op (+ some time)..

Since now two people have stated people DIE from sleep apnea, I thought I'd look into it. Whats interesting is, from the studies I've read, no one actually has died from sleep apnea. Maybe from being too tired from not treating it and falling asleep at the wheel. Or high blood pressure issues. One person, says he works in medicine, said 1 in 15 americans have sleep apnea, or  6.25% or about 18 million americans.  38,000 deaths occur due to cardiovasular issues, or a 0.21% due to sleep apnea issues.

Pretty low rate. Mosquitos/maleria kill 800,000. Coconuts 140. Tripping 6,000. Champagne corks 12. Autoerotic asphyxiation 1000. Hippos 2,900!! Lightning 24,000. 

It doesnt have to be so scary. Treated, sure. Scary and to be led to believe (by the medical professionals, who, you know, studied) that you'll die from if left untreated shortly thereafter.

:)

If you're going to make these observations, you should at least be able to back them up.

Everybody is diagnosed with sleep apnea: FALSE. In a study of 1522 Wisconsin employees undergoing sleep tests, 75% had no apnea diagnosis. (Source) That's a large enough sample to be generalized statistically to the general population.

Sleep apnea doesn't kill: FALSE. Best proof of this? In the general population, most cardiac arrests happen during the daytime. But for apnea patients, they happen far most commonly between midnight and 6am. When they're sleeping. (Source)

The cause? Low oxygen leads to high carbon dioxide in the blood. Blood pressure increases, heart rhythms get funky, and heart attack or stroke can occur. All because the person has trouble breathing.

There's a long-term effect too. People with sleep apnea are five times more likely to die from cardiovascular causes than non-apnea patients (source), because lack of oxygen is bad for your organs.

Mosquitos? Your comparison is complete bunk. You're comparing apnea deaths to the general population, which is inappropriate. You might as well be saying that nobody is at risk of dying from diabetic shock, never mind that it's only relevant to people with diabetes. Look at patients with sleep apnea who go untreated, and the number will undoubtedly be FAR higher.

If you want to compare apnea patients to everybody? A study of 6,000 people-- apnea and no-- showed that patients with apnea were 1.5 times more likely to die from any cause, compared to patients with no breathing issues. (Source) That's even when you factor in things like age, gender, and other health issues.

Bottom line: yes, sleep apnea is a big freakin' deal, and there's science-- from "the medical professionals, who, you know, studied"-- to prove it.

Yay Science!