A substantial marketplace is developing online for pre-owned CPAP masks and machines. Sites like craigslist and ebay offer used CPAP masks and machines at heavily reduced prices, giving many access to CPAP supplies they otherwise would not be able to afford. The benefits are undeniable, and lots of good has come from this marketplace. But I was recently talking… Continue
If you're like me, you had your polysomnography sleep test done in a cold, clinical medical setting, devoid of any creature comforts whatsoever. Not so for those lucky enough to have their sleep study done at the Vanderbilt Sleep Disorders Center, which recently held its grand opening at a new location: the local Hyatt hotel. The Hyatt Place Cool Springs will be… Continue
Sleep Apnea and Truckers. To the Respironics, Resmeds and Fisher Paykels of the world, the two go together like Love and Marriage. To truckers the combination is more like oil and water. Clearly, the manufacturers have the moral high ground. But whether they will be able to woo truckers remains to be seen.
Truckers are disproportionately predisposed to having some form of Sleep Apnea, with one study pegging the number at 28% of all those holding commercial trucking… Continue
Now you can find others on SleepGuide.com who are just like you. Check out our Advanced Member Search, and find other people with Sleep Apnea by region, by interest in Sleep Apnea, by type of machine or mask they use, and more. Let us know if you'd like to find people some other way and we can look into incorporating your suggestions into future releases of the site. Enjoy!…
In a prior post, we brought to your attention a personals ad we came across for a gentleman with OSA seeking a woman with the same. The ad read: "I am an intelligent, kind, and passionate man and I refuse to let the CPAP machine dampen my social life and passion for life and, hopefully, for someone like you! Are there any smart, cute women out there that have this condition too? I don't feel like I need to find someone else with this condition, since it is not all that bad and most… Continue
Sleep Apnea and Obesity have become synonymous in the public's awareness, so much so that when the term Sleep Apnea is mentioned, the term obesity is reflexively, and often improperly, tacked on. Case in point: yesterday's USA Today article. The story (which can be found at http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-24-obesity-sleep-apnea_N.htm?csp=usat.me) is about new scientific research showing that liver disease, insulin resistance and a less-than-active lifestyle are all independently… Continue
For all of you who don't know the difference between A-Flex and C-Flex on Respironics CPAP machines, you're in good company. Each is a comfort option on the most popular Respironics CPAP machines that makes it easier to tolerate CPAP treatment. A-Flex is a little more comfortable than C-Flex, in that it provides pressure relief on both inhalation and exhalation. C-Flex only provides pressure relief on exhalation.
However, there is often a trade-off between comfort and the… Continue
Add saving your life in case of fire to the list of CPAP benefits. Geraldine McNeil, an Alabama woman whose home was engulfed by fire Wednesday morning has Sleep Apnea and was using the machine the night of the fire. Her daughter says she may not have escaped from the house were it not for CPAP. The daughter, Danna Hollis, reported that her mother's entire face was black except for where the mask was "so we know that had it not been for the good lord and her having a c-pap on she probably would… Continue
It's long been common medical knowledge that an increase in physical activity can help prevent people from getting cancer. A recent study, though, has found something new: that the cancer preventative effect of exercise can be undermined by insufficient sleep. The study, conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr. James McClain, cancer prevention fellow at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, tracked women aged 65 or younger over the course of nearly a decade. It… Continue
Do you experience frequent urination at night? Or did you experience frequent urination at night before getting treated for Sleep Apnea? If you have Obstructive Sleep Apnea, it is very likely the cause of your urination problems. Treat the Sleep Apnea problem, and you will find yourself waking up to go to the bathroom less often. Here's how come:
When the airway is blocked or partially blocked as it is during an apnea or hypopnea event, the body must exert more effort to… Continue
in honor of today's inauguration, we wish to reprint the following Top 10 article: My grandmother, quoting Benjamin Franklin, used to tell us kids that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." As Barack Obama and his administration consider their health care priorities, I respectfully remind our President of this old truism. Aggressive diagnosis and treatment of the estimated 30 million Americans with Sleep Apnea is the ounce of prevention that would be worth a pound… Continue
Does OSA raise a red flag on the dating scene? I'm clueless since I was already in a committed relationship when diagnosed, but it remains an open question, especially for my single friends. Here's one personals ad I came across that just "puts it out there":
"Yes, I am a man with Obstructive Sleep Apnea. I am not obese, nor do I have a neurological condition. Some doctors claim they can 'fix me' with surgery, but after much research about the procedures I decided not to pursue… Continue
If a loved one ever winds up in jail, you might think twice about smuggling contraband in by using a CPAP machine as the Trojan Horse. That's exactly what an El Paso woman, Bernadette Valenzuela, pictured here, did for her husband, an inmate at the El Paso County Detention Facility. Ms. Valenzuela got caught loading up the CPAP with a nice assortment of contraband, including 200 pain and barbiturate pills, 10 utility blades and a knife.
At the request of some members of the community, we thought we'd jazz things up here by offering more variety in the default profile pictures you can add to your profile page. Right now, you're automatically assigned a picture of a snoring man next to his frustrated wife if you have not uploaded something else there. We encourage you to make this icon your own. You can change your default icon by going to your profile page ("My Page" on the above menu bar), and clicking the link to change your… Continue
If you didn't like first three minutes of the Sleep Apnea Surgery segment on FOX featured in yesterday's article, you're going to hate the last minute. At about the three minute mark in the video, embedded below, the host, co-host and even the surgeon being interviewed each take turns at belittling and mocking CPAP users:
"Kind of makes you look like the Montauk… Continue
Sleep Apnea surgery vs. CPAP: a recent FOX News interview provides some colorful commentary on the battle unfolding between proponents of either treatment option. During the interview, FOX News interviews Dr. Jennifer Walden, a doctor who is presented to us without any information other than she is affiliated with New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital. The topic of the interview is one which we have reported here, that Sleep Apnea kills. So far, so good: an interview with a trained medical… Continue
A publicly traded company in Canada made an announcement yesterday that would allow us Sleep Apnea folks to give the Six Million Dollar Man some stiff competition, at least when it comes to healthy breathing at night. The company, Victhom Human Bionics Inc., filed a patent related to "decod[ing] what the lungs and the airway passages are reporting to the brain to identify [when someone with Sleep Apnea] is in distress and is in need of help. . . [O]nce apneas [or hypopneas] are… Continue
It's the ordinary little good deeds that go unnoticed that are often the most powerful. One of our members donated a CPAP machine to a person in need, and now that person is headed down the path to compliance with CPAP and a better life. To avoid embarrassing the donor and the recipient, I will not mention their names, but the deed speaks volumes about the quality of the community we are building here.
Like many in these troubled economic times, the recipient of the machine… Continue
Yesterday, we ran an article on the risk of death if Sleep Apnea is left untreated. We were a bit reluctant to post such a morbid article, but the response has been overwhelming -- it obviously struck a chord with many of you. Below are some of your comments. We couldn't have said it any more eloquently:
"My dad died 25 years ago at age 67. Now we know that he had untreated obstructive sleep apnea. He never…Continue
Sleep Apnea can kill you. There, I said it. I didn't want to say it, because I prefer to emphasize the positive aspects of treating Sleep Apnea rather than dwelling on the negative consequences of not treating it. But some among us will only respond to fear, so for their benefit, I'm putting this stark message "out there."
What's the proof that Sleep Apnea can kill? The study published by Terry Young, Ph.D. and her colleagues at the University of Wisconsin at Madison is… Continue