I don’t know how you are but sometimes the obvious is not at all obvious to me. I use a CPAP machine faithfully and have for several years. Honestly, I do not sleep well at all without it. With that said, I never thought about what I would do if I didn’t have it available or if I lost it. Recently I had a small stroke. My main concern was taking two baby aspirin and getting to the emergency room. Keep reading
We all know that sometimes life is hard. Things just don’t seem to go our way no matter how much we work at them. A post from a person on the forum got me thinking about this. Not that I haven’t thought about it before but I didn’t realize that others felt the same. Sometimes, it’s the little things. First though, let’s talk about the big things. Just some examples from my personal story but I would bet you have lots of your own. Keep reading
One of the most difficult things about suffering from many years with undiagnosed and untreated sleep apnea (SA) is the serious co-morbidities that came with it. People with long-term undiagnosed sleep apnea can suffer from several related diseases: cardiovascular disease or even congestive heart failure, type 2 diabetes, strokes, other sleep disturbances, and many other problems including cognitive and memory impairments. Keep reading
Excerpt of an article written by Kim Olson and originally published by HeartBeat Magazine. In October 2004, John Vosberg called his girlfriend, Dianne, to cancel their date. “I won’t be able to see you this weekend. I’m in St. Cloud Hospital. I had a heart attack.” John had arrived at the hospital just in time to save his life. Some arterial plaque had ruptured, blocking an artery, and a stent was inserted to hold the vessel open. Keep reading
Do you ever feel that your medical provider visits are rushed? Do you leave feeling confused or neglected? Many of us feel frustration when dealing with our medical providers because it seems like we are not being heard, taken seriously, or even cared about. For most of us, having a meaningful conversation with our health care provider just doesn't happen. At SLEEP 2017, the MyApnea.org patient leaders, with help and guidance from Dr. Keep reading
Like most of you that might read this blog, I could list "patient" as my occupation. Not that we are hypochondriacs (far from it) but we often suffer with multiple health issues. Besides general health problems like colds, flu, aches and pains most of us also deal with sleep problems, diabetes, heart conditions, arthritis, and the list goes on and on and on. Keep reading
I have sleep apnea and use a full face mask. I am learning what it means to have sleep apnea and the dangers of being misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. I understand the health issues that can and often do go along with sleep apnea. I believe that I need to educate myself as much as possible because I am the only one who truly has control of my health. I also have Restless Leg Syndrome and fibromyalgia. Maybe it's just me but people don't seem as ready to talk about having sleep apnea. Keep reading
"The only thing that doesn't change is change itself." Whether we are involved in the pushing, the pulling, the being-dragged, or are just being sucked along in the wake, we are all moving into the era of “patient-centered” medicine and research. As you might imagine, changes to "patient-centered" healthcare are evolving at different rates in different areas, and sleep medicine in general and sleep apnea in particular are no exception. Keep reading
This isn't a blog about how long it took before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. It isn't about finding a good sleep doctor or the sleep studies I have had. It isn't about the type of apnea I have, or about the treatment options, or what my health risk factors are with sleep apnea. These are all very important and need to be addressed and understood but this blog is about how it affects me emotionally and socially. Keep reading
One Morning I can tell you the morning it happened. It was remarkable because I remember only three others like it in my life, and they happened a very long time ago. Not new to CPAP use and struggling with the hose, mask, wheezing machinery, rainout, red-lined-face and mask-leak-induced dry eyes since 2008, I had received some benefit overall, but not much. Keep reading
