The Sleep Apnea Thread

BIG thanks to all who posted constructively. And if you don't see the connection between sleeping well and trading well, then I should thank you for your money.


Do you guys think there's any big risk in buying brand new stuff over ebay, since it won't be covered under the manufacturer's warranty? From what I gather between ebay and another site that sells the equipment brand new (which always requires prescription), there is no warranty on the ebay stuff, despite being brand new, because it is not sold thru authorized reseller, which always requires a prescription.

I think it's probably worth the extra $$$ to get a machine brand spanking new, since who knows who had it last.

Any thoughts on CPAP vs BIPAP? Worth the extra $$$ for BIPAP? I saw one for $1,000 on ebay, and it seems to be the best technology out there so far.

And thanks for the comments on surgical stuff -- that confirms my fears exactly. It would be paid for by insurance, and I would be able to go just about wherever I wanted with my coverage, but it just doesn't seem worth the risk. I know someone who got an *outpatient* procedure for TMJ (jaw problem), and one of her facial nerves was paralyzed for about 6 months (luckily, it finally came back to normal).

As for the sleeping issue, I have some back problems which appear from time to time, and because of it, I can't sleep on my side, but thanks anyway...it does make alot of sense that side-sleeping would help.

I got some books out of the library on sleep apnia, so I'll update the thread when I learn more...

peace,
-b
 
Bung, don't even think of buying cpap over ebay,etc. even though I have a 2 month old CPAP that is in excellent condition...LOL...

Each CPAP needs to be "titrated"..no perverts- not " tit rated" but titrated. Titrate means to calibrate the machine to conform to the apnea severity you have. I have an apnea rating of 35 my titrate is 10 on a scale of 30( I think) . A person who is obese, diabetes, more severe apnea might be titrated at 27.

How do you get a titrate rate.? By going to a sleep study. The technician monitors your apnea and keeps ramping up the CPAP until your apnea disappears. That become your titrate level. If you have surgery and still have apnea, You need a retitrate. Bottom line-it will cost you time,$ to cure your apnea. But it is worth it.

Frazer, what does apnea have to do with trading? Ahh... the same reason why alertness is material when doing a taks that requires focus & concentration which happens to be the same cognitive skills that fall off when you are tired. Good luck Bung.It is quite a long journey ahead. ...
 
Quote from GATrader:

Bung, don't even think of buying cpap over ebay,etc. even though I have a 2 month old CPAP that is in excellent condition...LOL...
More...


Geez, that is some great advice! I will speak to my doctor about this whole study and insurance thing...may be cheaper to just pay for it all out of pocket with an alias, like chisel sug'd...



Thanks, GAT
-b
 
I have sleep apnea.

on another thread I said I had ADD and have had several private messages concerning it...
I'm more than happy to attempt to help anyone who asks
and
I'm MORE than willing to ignore all the jokes/carping/bitching

so ...

as bungrider said ...
if you don't have it, then marvelous, but if you do...

it can and will have a deleterious effect on trading and lots of other portions of your life

I'm old enough I don't need to worry about the negative effect on my application for life insurance, but I can understand the concern on your part about having it in your medical file.

One of my very good friends has been using a CPAP machine for more than a dozen years ...
I have perhaps five or six more who have been using CPAP for more than half that time ...
personally, I've used mine for less than a year.

An aspect that is not often considered with apnea by the layperson is that not only does breathing cease many times during the night, but in a goodly percentage of these breathing stops ... the heart takes a good sized jolt when it restarts ...
as my doctor explained it to me .... literally, my heart was being "jump started" fifteen or more times per night.

My blood pressure has been in a very good range for more than 60 years ... it was always in the 125/75 area in all my visits to the doctor for a lot of years ...
now ... as most folks, my appointments were mid morning to late afternoon .. as that is when my doc was seeing patients, and I've never spent a day or night in a hospital .....

BUT
with the sleep test, which was held overnight and monitored, my blood pressure IN THE MORNING was 160/100.

I purchased a blood pressure cuff and began to check my own B/P
and discovered that by 10am my readings would be back in that same area that the doc had gotten during the day .... 125/75
but
if I awakened during the night and checked .... 150/100 and up
as well as early morning ... 150/100 and up

Doc tried seven or eight b/p medicines .... side effects weren't too bad ... some, but none horrible ...
but, danged if early morning b/p wasn't still waaaaaay too high .. down some from the 160/100 to 145/95 type ....


The CPAP machine appeared to be my only hope to lower b/p, as well as to help sleeping.....

I can't say I fell in love with the "wind machine" ..... lol
can't even say I'd not like to sleep without it .....
but
appears to me that for me to stay on the earth for a bit longer, I'm going to have to keep using it....

I was fortunate to have a good therapist with whom to deal ....
we tried BIPAP .. which isn't worth the additional cost in my opinion ...btw ....BIPAP is the registered trademark of Respronics .. other CPAP makers call it by differing names ...

I tried the full face mask ... four or five nose masks ... two nostril pieces and one mouth piece

for ME ... this is my opinion
a)the full face mask is cumbersome and I don't like it at all

b) the nose masks must be fitted to your particular face shape and size and that means someone trained to fit you

c) the nose harness type .. called a "pillow" is just a small two hole dispenser which is held in place via an over the head strap/harness ... this is the most unobtrusive .. matter of fact I mentioned it to three of the folks whom I knew used CPAP and they all went out an bought the nose deal .....

e) the mouth piece is my favored one, as I'm a natural mouth breather ... most folks are not ..

so
when I used the nose masks and the nose pillows I had to wear what I can describe as a heavy duty AceBandage type of strap over my head and under my chin to keep my mouth closed ...
this, to me, was verrrrrrrry uncomfortable and much the worse portion of any of the devices ...

as to the used versus new ...
don't know that I'd worry about the used portion EXCEPT for the fitting of the face apparatus ...

you should be able to get fixed up under a thousand bucks ....


I've got to go right now, but, should you desire more info ..
please ask
 
Quote from GATrader:

Hi bungrider, I had sleep apnea and went to sleep study. Long story short, got CPAP, liked it 1st weeks hated after since 50% of time, I took it off unconsciously middle of night.

Bit the bullet-had UPPP which takes out tonsils, straightens turbinates, trims palate. It works well, have little side effects such as weird feeling in tongue sometimes.Read up on various apnea forums. My advise, take baby steps. Try CPAP since less invasive, does'nt work try surgery-tonsils first, palate last! Most important thing get a good surgeon. Hindsight for me-there is a university somewhere in CA or n Mexico which takes a holistic approach to treatment. By that I mean surgeon, ENT, radiologist, allergist, oral surgeon all in one team dedicated to apnea treatment. Avoids the patchwork approach of my ent says.. but my surgeon says.... Good luck. Get it treated. I nearly drove my car into trees 2-5 times past years.
More...

Hey Gabriel,
I had the turbinates done last year, have been avoiding the UPPP.
riskarb
 
Thx for the great info racehorse...

Another thing that is (basically) an inevitable result of sleep apnea over many years is pulmonary hypertension. Basically your lungs get totally fucked up from snoring...bad news! Typically only happens in sleep apnea sufferers and morbidly obese people who snore b/c of all the weight their lungs are supporting.

This fact alone, when I learned it a month or so ago, was enough to make me serious about seeking treatment for apnea..
 
riskarb. I had "the works" done on me last month. Any regrets. somewhat- If I had to do it over again. I'd get the turbinates/nasal first coupled with the tonsils.STOP and see if that improves apnea. Only after would I consider the last which is the palate surgery coz a Dr. Butcher of a surgeon could really mess you up for life. Nasal surgery alone could improve tolerance for CPAP since you cease to be a mouth breather. Plus it imporved by basketball game a lot since I am breathing better. I used a surgeon who does 5-7 of them in a week! I feel bad for people in the boondocks who have access to only 1 surgeon and he also is the town vet!

There is very little room for error in this surgery so get it done by the best /experienced.
 
Check out forums like sleepapnea.org. Wealth of information there. Don't get too freaked out about surgery. Just remember that most of the posts there are biased against surgery since the ones that got buthered by bad surgeons are there and the ones that have good outcomes don't post so you have survivorship bias.
 
Hi to all. Never thought I'd be discussing this subject on a trading message board.

Finding out that I have sleep apnea just may be the greatest turning point in my life, becoming a disciplined trader will hopefully be the next. :)

It's nice to see that when one mentions OSA that folks have actually heard of it now. I meet people who feel they have it , one of their parents have it, swears by cpap, and still don't get tested.

Finding out I had it answered a whole crap load of questions for me that I had for years, like:

- why do I wake up with a sore throat evey morning?
- why have I stopped playing sports in grade school?
- why am i sleeping on the school bus?
- why do I wake up every 2-3 hours, make a trip to the bathroom (thinking that's why...), only to wake up 2 hours later again?
- why does caffeine have hardly any effect on me?
- why do I have little patience for or even snap at those around me?

It wasn't until I started dating a nurse that she asked, "Do you know you stop breathing when you're sleeping?"
Of course I said no, but then it all made sense. I went to my doctor, did a sleep study right away, found out that I had 62 apneas PER HOUR. Absolutely huge! Sometimes holding my breath for more than a minute at a time, thankfully my oxygen saturation was still greater than 90%, because I caught it in my late 20s.

The second trip to the sleep study they had me try a CPAP. Oh baby, was that a treat! I was sold. Next thing I knew, It was already 6 am (they had put me to bed at 10 pm or so). Incredible, I slept all the way through the night and I hadnt done that since pre-puberty!

Here in Canada, the Assistive Devices program covers 75% of the cost of a CPAP because studies show it to be 100% effective, and I believe that. My specialist looked in my throat and determined that there was nothing for them to cut away to make room. My reason for having OSA is because of our family genetic trait of having a short chin, which puts the tongue in a position to cover the airway when lying down, I usually start sleeping on my side, but i always seem to end up on my back.

Anyway, I never go a night without my cpap, you only have to do it once to realize why youre wearing it in the first place and remind you what you went through struggling through college etc., when you didnt know you had it.

I used it for 4 years now, since then I have stopped by my mother's room to hear her without breath for 30 seconds or more. I brought it to her attention, she got tested and has a more mild case than myself. She is very relieved to know, got a cpap, swears by it after consistently using it, but now she intends to fork out the $1600 to have her dentist get a mouthpiece designed.
The oral appliance will hold the bottom jaw forward while sleeping, thereby keeping the airway open. I am also very interested in this method but it may not be effective for the severe case that I have.

Anyway, to all who are wondering if they have, do get tested, and I wouldnt get a machine off ebay, because it has to be adjusted for the air pressure that is effective for you.
To think that up until 20 years ago, the only suggestion was to have a tracheotomy (sp?) , punch out a hole in your throat to bypass the jaw/tongue!!

Hope that may help some people, again, it has been the single-most discovery that changed my whole personal well-being forever.

Good luck to all.
LP
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top