Apnea, the slow death sentence?
 

For about a year now I've been feeling tired and uninterested in things. I started college (I'm 30) last fall and I've been feeling like my grades just are nowhere near what I am capable of. I try to study and I have to keep re-reading paragraphs because I'm just not absorbing what I read. My libido is practically non-existent. I wake up tired and all I look forward to is going home and taking a nap.

I began seeing a counselor here at the university a couple of months ago because I wasn't sure what the hell was wrong with me. I thought I might be depressed or something. I don't feel sad, just totally worn out. Depleted. She asked how I sleep, I said I go to bed early enough, but I don't get a good sleep b/c I wake up 10-20 times a night for no reason. My wife says I hold my breath in my sleep, and have been doing so for the 7 years she's known me. The counselor said it's considered a health problem. It even has a name...sleep apnea.

She sent me to the uni nurse who directed me to the campus doc who said I need to go outside the school and get a sleep study done. How much is it, I asked, he said around 3 or 4 grand. He said sleep apnea is one of the most undiagnosed but common health problems. At a price like that, I am not surprised. I don't understand where that expense comes from. Even the janitor of a sleep clinic must have his own private jet on 24-hour standby.

We don't have insurance. My wife, a Christian Scientist, doesn't believe in it, and is convinced that even if we had it, they wouldn't pay for the study anyway. We cannot afford the study ourselves. It would basically wipe out our bank account. I go to school full-time, while she works. We had the opposite arrangement when she was in college. She has made it clear that she doesn't consider my apparent sleep apnea a medical emergency, and that none of her money is going to be wasted on something that a little weight loss will cure. I can't get under the indigent care service blanket in our city because my wife's annual income exceeds whatever income limit they have set. They don't consider existing expenses, just the net income.

I don't feel well. I had to get on propranolol due to high blood pressure last summer. It lowers my pulse but does very little for the BP. It just stays there at around 155/110. I always wondered why that was, I guess this apnea thing would explain it. I have occasional mild chest pains in random places, and pinching localized headaches that come and go. I figured I was just depressed and they were psychosomatic symptoms. Now I am not so sure.

I told the campus doc I can't afford a 4G sleep study. He told me to start taking aspirin to prevent blood clots.

I feel like this whole thing is a slow death sentence. I know that as long as you want something bad enough, you can find a way to make it happen. So getting this taken care of should be no sweat. But I feel incapacitated by this shit.

I don't know whether I should drop out from uni and get a job, but then I worry about being able to do my work properly. I'm a CNA by trade, and I can't be at some LTC or hospital walking around like I'm a zombie. At the same time, I can't go on like this.

If anyone has any apnea-related stories to share, or how they handled it with low income, I would appreciate it.

I have this condition as well. as does my dad.

theres no cure for it.

Question: do you dream often? as in are you able to remember them??

I think i'm lucky to remember even 1 dream per year because of this thing.

Are you actually overweight? If so, your wife may be right in that getting down to a healthier weight could help, but it's not a sure thing. Losing weight, if you are overweight, would probably help lower your bp too.

I'd also say that she's right in that unless you had really, really good insurance they wouldn't pay for a sleep study. If you want one done though, a way you can get around the large pricetag is to check at major universities that are doing research in your area, they may be willing to do a sleep test on you for free so long as you participate in whatever study they're doing. Even if you have to drive a couple hours to get there it would still be better then shelling out 3-4g.

It was covered for me. It's considered a medical test which was ordered by a neurologist attempting to diagnose me. I do have insurance, so it didn't cost me a penny out-of-pocket. Neither did the unit and mask they delivered, set up and trained me how to use.

This is what a typical unit would look like:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...cL._SS500_.jpg

And this is one of the newer masks:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...fL._SS500_.jpg

I can say that it did help me breathe and sleep much better. I know some for whom it works wonders. I had the damnedest time trying to sleep with the hose hanging over my head, so gave it up after nearly a year of trying different masks.

Don't get tempted to buy one on your own; at least not until your prescription has been made available to you. There are many different settings and I'm guessing it could be dangerous to have the airflow too strong or too weak for your needs.

I wish I could say it changed my life, but I do know at least a few that swear by the CPAP machines. I think you should try to get tested at least. My sleep test told me that I stopped breathing several times per hour for several minutes each time. It is a scary thought.

Oh and I do use those Breathe-Right strips. I'm not sure if they're doing anything significant, but they do keep my snoring from waking me up. :p

Prince: The very first thing I would do is have your BP med checked. Is it the right drug for you, and is it the right dose? Without insurance for the sleep study, you might want to go with the assumption that you do have apnea. With that said, you could look for a practitioner that would also go with that assumption and not insist on the study. They may be willing to write you a prescription for the machine. You can rent them by the month at some medical supply stores I think, so you could try one out. I would give it at least a full month of every night to see how you feel. It will take time to get used to, but people truly feel better and Ive heard quite a few say it changed their life. I work with a PhD who uses part of her practice time to do psych evals for the morbidly obese prior to bariatric surgery. It is standard practice for this population to get a sleep study prior to surgery because the life changes prior and those to come will require mental and emotional stamina. A goodnight's rest is essential to one's wellbeing, ability to think, survive, and so on. Good luck dude. Ill think of you tonight.

The high blood pressure you are experiencing from sleep apnea leads to strokes.

Share this article with your wife.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/24972.php


She needs to realize that your life is in danger from this condition. You do not have a minor case. Your wife will wake up to you not breathing forever if she doesn't permit you to seek proper treatment.

It was the same for my mom... and she had extremely bad sleep apnea (in her 60s, probably been going on for 15+ years), it was actually torture for me to spend a night in the same room as her because I thought she was gagging every minute or two, or having a heart attack. She stopped breathing on pretty much every breath, and when she saw that on her sleep test, she took it pretty seriously.

She got one of those CPAP machines, mask and hose and all... I know she doesn't use it all night, every night, but she does try to use it fairly regularly. Even if it's uncomfortable for you, I HIGHLY recommend that you use it. I can't tell you how absolutely terrifying it is to listen to my mother sound like she is choking with every breath, basically just trying to re-start breathing after her throat has collapsed and she is holding her breath. It is fucking freaky, and I fear for my mom dying in her sleep or having a debiliating stroke in the very near future if she doesn't continue using this thing.

Please, take it very seriously.

And forgive my ignorance, but what does being a Christian Scientist have to do with not believing in insurance? That's an expensive and risky way to go through one's life, I would think...

yeah my dad has the machine, I don't but then again I have no medical coverage of any kind that I know of.

I don't dream very often. And when I do, I usually can't remember them. I only usually remember them if they get nightmarish enough to wake me up.It's not so much about insurance itself, as much as health insurance. She just doesn't believe they really cover anything, and besides, you're not supposed to go to the doctor unless you've bleeding from all orifices or something...you're just supposed to pray, and once you reach a spiritually higher level or someshit, you'll feel better. Sickness is supposedly nothing but a person not being spiritual enough.:rolleyes:

Probably because she's never needed it.
Do you know how poor some of us would be without insurance?
And how poor some people are because they didn't have insurance?

Seriously.

My brother was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was 15, and had to have major surgery in order for them to biopsy said tumor; while they were biopsying they decided they could remove it, and did so. Bro is fine now. But major brain surgery does not come cheap--neither do the two doctors who worked on the surgery (one to operate the computer assisting in the surgery, the other to do the surgery, this article has more info: http://www.ohsu.edu/unparchive/2001/040401dch.html) or the anesthesiologist or the rest of the surgical team.

If we had not had health insurance, we would have had to find some way to pay almost half a million dollars out of pocket, after all was said and done. The surgeon's fee alone was $50,000. I am incredibly thankful that we did. All told, the insurance company paid for everything without batting an eye.

Very serious condition.

I hope you can show your wife enough information to convince her.

I have it myself and while I hate using the CPAP, I hate how I feel when I don't use it even more.

My apnea is one reason I'm seriously considering a gastric bypass.