BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Family Health Sleep Apnea

Do you have sleep apnea or think you do? I have it. Share your story and discuss how you cope here. I would love to chat with you.

How has treatment for sleep apnea changed your life? I became a different person. Sleep can be beautiful <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea in 1998, and have been sleeping with a C-PAP machine since. my air pressure is 10. it is so good not waking to terrible, terrible head aches in the night.falling asleep on the bus only to be embarrassed with my extremely loud snoring.and my blood pressure climbing, using the C-PAP I no longer snore, my blood pressure is down, and i can sleep thru the night

Just curious, is this condition related to being overweight and if it is, does it disappear after weight loss?

Please excuse my ignorance on the subject.

Good question, my sleep apnea is cause from me being over weight, i was told by my dr. that it could get a little better if i lost weight he never said it would go away. do u have sleep apnea??

We think my husband has this, but he usually only has these attacks when he falls asleep in his recliner. It has only happened a couple of times over the past 10 years when he is in bed.

Being overweight CAN be a major cause of sleep apnea - the extra weight causes the throat to "weigh down" on itself and make it harder to breathe. But there are other reasons, too. Enlarged adenoids and/or tonsils are one of the other major causes (I know there are more, but just can't think of them right off the top of my head.)

Connie, I am surprised that your husband has the breathing problems when he falls asleep sitting up. Usually it is the closing off of airways whe lying down that causes it. Airways (ususally) naturally stay open when you are in an upright position. This is why so many parents with asthamtic children will spend the night sleeping in a recliner with them, because it makes it easier for them to get a breath.

However, people with sleep apnea will find themselves falling asleep sitting up a lot more often.

He thinks it is because he is on his back. The few times it happened in bed he was laying on his back. Usually he lays on his side because it hurts his shoulder to lay flat on his back.

Sleep Apnea is a group of serious sleep disorders in which a sleeping person repeatedly stops breathing(apnea) long enough to decrease the amount of oxygen in the blood and brain to increase the amount of carbon dioxide. Sleep apnea can either be obstructive or central.Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a blockage in the throat or upper airway. Central sleep apnea is caused by a dysfunction in the part of the brain that controls breathing. Sometime in obstructive sleep apnea, a combination of prolonged low levels of oxygen and high levels of carbon dioxide in the blood reduce the brain's sensitivity to these abnormalities, adding an element of central apnea to the problem.
Obstructive sleep apnea usually occurs in obese men,and women most of whom try to sleep on their back. The obesity, perhaps in combination with aging body tissues and other factors, lead to narrowing of upper airways.
Symptoms;
Because symptoms occur during sleep, they must be described by someone who observes the person sleeping, the most common symptom is SNORING associated with episodes of GASPING,CHOKING, pauses in BREATHING.ans sudden episodes of repeated bouts of sleep-related obstructive choking, both at night and during the day.
Prolong severe sleep apnea can result in headaches, excessive daytime sleepiness, slowed mental activity,and eventually HEART FAILURE, and Pulmonary insuffciency, in which the lungs are unable to adequately provide oxygen and remove carbon dioxide.