rjzeller

Here's a followup for everyone who may be interested.

I visited with a friend who is about to finish up his residency at Mayo Clinic and is very familiar with Sleep Apnea AND used to play trumpet.

He strongly encouraged against having the surgery done. He said if you give it time eventually just about anyone can get used to the machine. He pointed out that the surgery does not always work, and once you've had it you often cannot use the c-pap anymore, and said it's far too risky. He said he almost gurantees I'd have problems with playing if I had the surgery done.

So there we have it. No surgery.

One thing he did mention, especially since I've only contracted it recently -- loose weight. It won't help for everyone, but for folks like me (245 pounds...so....anyway...) it might help.

Dangit. I guess I won't be making that award-winning three-meat, 12-pepper chile any time soon.....

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tpter1

mmmmmmmm... 12 pepper? I'm intrigued! (wipes drool from chin)

pushtrumpet

Hey rjzeller,

About 3 years ago I went through a sleep study because I suspected I had sleep apnea. Even though I got a full night's sleep, I was a danger on the road and I had a lot of trouble staying awake at work. Caffine got me through the day, but I knew I had to something to fix the problem. The study showed that I got almost no REM 3 sleep, I stopped breathing for prolonged intervals repeatedly all night long and my blood oxygen level was close to brain damage levels.

I got a CPAP and it totally straightened me out. I sleep the whole night through and wake up tested and refreshed. I had a lot of trouble adjusting to the machine and mask for about 3 weeks. I was able to use it for only 1 or 2 hours a night at the beginning and I started to get disgusted. After the second week, I started to adjust and then once in a while made it through the whole night. Now it's like a sleeping pill. I put on the mask, fire up the machine and I'm asleep within minutes.

The set up is a part of my life now, and I don't even think about it. Some people adjust easier than others, some never get used to it. If you have some trouble at first, stick with it. The results are well worth a couple weeks of discomfort during the adjustment period. After getting my CPAP, I found that I was not alone. I found that several of my friends and friends of friends were using them for years.

Good luck,

Rich

bandman

Just to give you some hope, I lost about 50 pounds and when frm serious apnea to no apnea at all. I have gained about 15 pounds back and have noticed some sleep problems again, but still no serious apnea.

As a more serious side of this issue, there are several side effects of the condition. I have a serious heart condition and sleep apnea does damage your heart.

My brother uses the c-pap machine and has had great comfort from the machine. He went from totally worn out to feeling great. For me the c-pap did not work because I had a closterpobic reaction. I felt like someone was smothering me and I would awaken in the middle of the night and have a mild panic attack.

Good luck -- people who have not had this condition just don't understand how it changes your life.

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rjzeller

Bandman and push -- thanks for the comments. It's really kinda got me scared lately -- I've had trouble staying awake at work, too. For a while I just assumed I wasn't getting enough sleep at night. But after our third child was born (three weeks ago!!), the nurse came in one night while I was sleeping in the room beside my wife's bed and noticed that I had stopped breathing several times. Apparently my wife said ti was pretty alarming (my wife has never noticed before because she always makes sure she gets to sleep before me -- otherwise my snoring keeps her awake all night), as she had never really noticed it before.

Heart problems? Brain damage? yikes....

OH...and tpter1 -- I can send you the recipe, but be warned: It's a six hour process, and very spicy (8 serrano, 2 cayennes, and 2 habaneros). however, I've won four chile cookoffs with it and have not found one person (even these bland-food fanatic Minnesotans) who didn't like it....

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There are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who understand binary and those who do not.

tpter1

Six hours investment for chile that won awards...sounds like a fair balance! Part of the criteria for me is if chile makes me sweat a little. Sort of a purifying process there. I'll share my family's reaction with you!

ROGERIO

WOW.... amazing how many of us are suffering from apnea.

I was diagnosed 4 years ago... severe apnea. I was a pain to live and work with... like operating on 2 hours of sleep every day...

Bandman and Push have the right answers here folks. As many of you know, there are 2 types of apnea... to keep it simple, one is a brain / body communication breakdown... the other (and more common) is the weight issue where the weight of the body restricts the air flow.

We all store fat differently. In my case, and from what I understand in most cases, there is too much fat stored around the throat area. When all your muscles relax the fatty tissue weighs down on the air passage way and everything closes up.

I'v ebeen on the CPAP for 4 years now. You are right, it's a pain to get use to... but if you continue without doing something you are damaging your body and mind.

STAY AWAY FROM THE SURGERY!!! LOOSE SOME WEIGHT and see if it improves.

Who would have ever thought we could have a apnea support group on the Trumpet Master.

All my best!

Rogerio

rjzeller

Okay, for he who indicated an interest in the chili recipe, it's posted in the lounge:

http://www.trumpetmaster.com/forums/...780c8ffe#30889

You will probably quickly see that the "loose weight" side of my apnea problem won't come easy for me....

Here's another thought, too: Anyone with asthma out there find that when the weather suddenly shifts from cool dry winter air to the damp, heavy moist humid air of spring and summer that breathing just really sucks right now?

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There are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who understand binary and those who do not.

trumpetgirl612

of course breathing sucks right now
also its a high pollen season, a quite common trigger

and asthma for trumpet players should be ILLEGAL!!!!

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More than just a trumpet player

Ai_Dygress

Pretty soon you'll be able to have "bore size" modification surgery for your throat... Yay, progress.

Can see it now. Talk about the new backbore.

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Alas...Ai Dygress