My current research shows all 3 are inter-related. Hubby went to the sleep center a few weeks back and got his results yesterday. Now, I knew he quit breathing at night. I thought maybe 2 or 3 times throughout the night. My problem was that when he started breathing again, he would flop so hard on the bed it would wake me up.
The results of his sleep study show that he quits breathing 60 TIMES AN HOUR! And that was an average! OK....I was completely shocked over that one!!! Thats once per minute! I am amazed the guy is still alive!
He got the machine and put it on last night, but had taken it off sometime before 1:00 am when I woke up to his flopping once again. He said this morning that the machine shut off and he will try it again. I didn't bother to ask why he didn't try it again last night!
The research I've read shows that Sleep Apnea can cause weight gain which can cause diabetes and depression. Diabetes can cause depression. Depression can cause weight gain. Seems like a vicious cycle.
But here's my question (and I can't find anything on this, maybe I'm not searching right). Hubby has been a diabetic for years and has nerve damage. Could it be this damage that causes him to stop breathing? Something doesn't "fire" correctly within his central nervous system. Could it be possible that the CPAP machine will not work for him?
And what about all the long naps that he takes during the day....he still quits breathing during them.
Once again, observing the progression of this disease, combined with the aging process and the loss of kidney function is an interesting journey.
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Hmmm . . . I've never run across anything that attributes apnea-type symptoms to any of the various forms of neuropathy but sure wouldn't rule it out. The disease damages nerves in every other part of the body, so it seems logical it would damage respiratory sytem nerves as well. In some ways, this disease reminds me of a cancer with the way it eats away at everything.
Hope things went better last night with the machine. Yes, he should be wearing it during nap, but they may not push it til he gets comfortable with it. Hopefully he can tolerate it more and more every night. Seems to be easy for some, while others can only manage an hour or two at a time the first few weeks.
I do hope he gets used to it soon so you can get some good sleep too!
He made it all night long last night with it on! So progress! Sad to say I'm still sleeping in the other bedroom or on the sofa, but hopefully that will change soon. I seriously doubt he will ever use it during a nap, but I'm hoping that the naps will decrease if he gets a good solid night's sleep each night.
I agree, this disease is a cancer. It eats away at the nerves, the organs, the brain cells...as we sit here watching this slow death, one cell at a time.
My friends have started making comments about how fast they think DH is going downhill. I suppose when you only see him once every month or 2 there is a huge difference. Being here daily, I'm sure I miss some of the more subtle changes as they occur so slowly.
I was looking through some photos and came across one taken of him just a year ago. That's when it really hit me. He looks 10 years older today than he did just a year ago.
Here's hoping for night # 2 with the mask on all night long! :o)
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