Sleep apnea??

[JERRY2KONE]

OK so does anyone else out here have this "sleep apnea"? About six months ago I was watching my wife sleeping and noticed that she seemed to be not breathing (not inhailing) for very long periods of time (30-60 sec), and it kind of freaked me out, and made me watch her even more, afraid that she was going to stop breathing all together. When I told her a few days later she said that she noticed that I was doing the same thing in my sleep, which is kind of scary.

So we decided to ask about this during our annual physicals this year. We are going through the testing stages of this disorder now, and we have both been diagnosed with it. My wife is rated 17.5, and I am rated 22.5, which is how many times we stop breathing for more than just a few seconds every hour. Apparently this disorder is becoming more common than most people think, and doctors are saying that millions of people just never get it checked.

The knowledge I have gained is this. It all has to do with aging and how the throat begins to relaxe and close up while you sleep, causing you to struggle to take in air. This in turn starves the brain and the rest of your body of oxegen and creates a situation resulting in one not really getting any rest at night. In stead your body spends the entire time fighting for air fatiguing everything about you. This is why some people can sleep for 8 hours and wake up feeling wasted. This disorder leads to other problems as well like heart desease, stroke, and even brain damage or death.

So now both of us have to get these machines that we will have to sleep with for the rest of our lives. They create a positive pressure in your airway that will keep the throat fully open so you can breath properly. It also stops the snoring as well. It is a little bit uncomfortable, but we will get used to them. Now that we are going through all of this I remember many years ago that my father had the same problem, but it was not yet discovered what it was. Anyway we have been fully checked out, scoped, and anylized so we have done all that we can to make sure there are no hidden secrets. One of our colleages has just been diagnosed with inoperable colon cancer 45 years old. They have two young teens and she has been given about 6 months to live. Early detection is the key. We are seeing too many of our friends and family suddenly getting sick and passing away with very short notices. Don't wait until it is too late. Don't be shy. If you are 50 and over get checked every ten years. Life is already too short, so don't make it shorter than it needs to be.