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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Suggest Treatment For Sleep Apnea

Hello, my husband has sleep apnea and stops breathing at least 50 times in a 30 minute period. he sleeps a lot and is still very tired. I know he has high blood pressure and is overweight. My concern also is that his sweat has a sweet taste to it? not salty and that is strange. He is 52 oh and he drinks every day....I am so worried about him. He is terrified of needles and hospitals. I am tired because I am up nudging him when he stops breathing. so nights are worse than others. I d rather he snore and sound like a group of bears and tractors than to stop breathing every two breaths. signed I m sleepy too.
Tue, 13 Jan 2015
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Neurologist 's  Response
Sounds like you're going through a lot and I hope things get better for the both of you.

You haven't really provided very many questions so I'm not sure exactly what you'd like me to address. How about a little rant on my part? Sound good? You are wonderful to take care of your husband BUTBUTBUTBUT.....if you don't start taking care of yourself as well then, you won't be much good to him in short order. Keep that in mind as you read the rest of what I've written.....and I do hope he's not a smoker to boot after all this! Ugghhhh..

You are correct in being concerned for his condition because it can lead to complications having to do with heart and brain health for the most part. But he can also suffer from daytime sleepiness which can lead to overfatigue while driving or on the job as well and that's a hazard for him, for yourself if you're in the car, and for pedestrians and other drivers who don't know that he may be dozing off behind the wheel.

He really needs to use a cpap or bipap machine for his sleep apnea and that's just the beginning.

He needs to lose weight and get in shape and likely see a doctor for a good thorough checkup...and then, COMPLY with instructions.

You on the other hand could use some sleep....why not speak with your husband and suggest to him that because of his condition being so out of control right now your own health is at risk. Would he not consider doing something definitive about at least the sleep apnea so that you don't have to stay up all night and try and do what the CPAP machine is supposed to do.....after all it runs on electricity without any worries.....YOU don't!

Also, even if he's snoring it doesn't mean that his oxygen saturations are any better compared to if he stops breathing. Your nudges to him so he restarts breathing should be given as well when he starts snoring.

For some reason people worry about snoring thinking it's better than apneic spells since at least you can HEAR the person which means they're "alive"...isn't that kind of the mindset? The truth is that in either case he's not being well oxygenated.

If you really wanted him to oxygenate all night long then, you'd wake him up when snoring the same as when he's not breathing....uh oh....now the horses are out of the barn, aren't they? HA! But it's the truth....if you're going to nudge him just because he stops breathing then, you should by rights be doing the same for when he snores. Now what???

Answer?

He MUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT HIS CONDITION and no questions asked...no complaints, fear or no fear of needles or hospitals....he's got to get things taken care of otherwise, he may end up having more needles and tubes being inserted than he'll know what to do with when you have to call 911 when he has either a heart attack or goes into some type of respiratory failure or arrest because of all this.

If I've helped in any way with this answer could you send me a little written feedback along with a STAR RATING. And if you'd like to ask me any other questions (I'm a neurologist so this stuff is part of what I do for many patients) please write directly to me at:

bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi

Happy New Year....Good luck and Good Health to the both of you.
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Suggest Treatment For Sleep Apnea

Sounds like you re going through a lot and I hope things get better for the both of you. You haven t really provided very many questions so I m not sure exactly what you d like me to address. How about a little rant on my part? Sound good? You are wonderful to take care of your husband BUTBUTBUTBUT.....if you don t start taking care of yourself as well then, you won t be much good to him in short order. Keep that in mind as you read the rest of what I ve written.....and I do hope he s not a smoker to boot after all this! Ugghhhh.. You are correct in being concerned for his condition because it can lead to complications having to do with heart and brain health for the most part. But he can also suffer from daytime sleepiness which can lead to overfatigue while driving or on the job as well and that s a hazard for him, for yourself if you re in the car, and for pedestrians and other drivers who don t know that he may be dozing off behind the wheel. He really needs to use a cpap or bipap machine for his sleep apnea and that s just the beginning. He needs to lose weight and get in shape and likely see a doctor for a good thorough checkup...and then, COMPLY with instructions. You on the other hand could use some sleep....why not speak with your husband and suggest to him that because of his condition being so out of control right now your own health is at risk. Would he not consider doing something definitive about at least the sleep apnea so that you don t have to stay up all night and try and do what the CPAP machine is supposed to do.....after all it runs on electricity without any worries.....YOU don t! Also, even if he s snoring it doesn t mean that his oxygen saturations are any better compared to if he stops breathing. Your nudges to him so he restarts breathing should be given as well when he starts snoring. For some reason people worry about snoring thinking it s better than apneic spells since at least you can HEAR the person which means they re alive ...isn t that kind of the mindset? The truth is that in either case he s not being well oxygenated. If you really wanted him to oxygenate all night long then, you d wake him up when snoring the same as when he s not breathing....uh oh....now the horses are out of the barn, aren t they? HA! But it s the truth....if you re going to nudge him just because he stops breathing then, you should by rights be doing the same for when he snores. Now what??? Answer? He MUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT HIS CONDITION and no questions asked...no complaints, fear or no fear of needles or hospitals....he s got to get things taken care of otherwise, he may end up having more needles and tubes being inserted than he ll know what to do with when you have to call 911 when he has either a heart attack or goes into some type of respiratory failure or arrest because of all this. If I ve helped in any way with this answer could you send me a little written feedback along with a STAR RATING. And if you d like to ask me any other questions (I m a neurologist so this stuff is part of what I do for many patients) please write directly to me at: bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi Happy New Year....Good luck and Good Health to the both of you.