Sleep Apnea

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Cork

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 2, 2006
Messages
54
Location
Pittsburgh, Pa
I was wondering if anyone has experienced sleep apnea following their implant surgery? If so for how long?
 
OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) usually has a lot more underlying causes than just being linked to a surgery. Typically it is in males (although some females), who are over 40, overweight, and heavy snorers. Given those parameters, you can almost guarantee the condition. The airway in such individuals loses a lot of its elasticity and collapses during sleep, creating vacuums. These are the apneas. The brain has to do the waking .. and these are called micro-awakenings. Moderate to severe OSA causes the blood oxygen to dive down into the 60 (or even lower) percentile -- when it should remain up around 95% during sleep. So - every organ in your body is being starved of oxygen, and over time it literally kills you.
 
Thanks for the quick reply. I'm actually 24, under weight and only snore rarely but I am male. One out of four isn't bad. I've been told that since my surgery I stop breathing and then start gasping for air while sleeping however I don't wakeup during it. Just wake up with headaches and sore throats in the morning. Never had my SpO2 checked while I was sleeping though except after the surgery and they were low just from the surgery (75 - 80).

"OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) usually has a lot more underlying causes than just being linked to a surgery."

Do you know if it can be linked to surgery?

Thanks for your help
 
Cork..
I think a visit to a sleep clinic may shed lots of light on your situation..
Sorry no answers here..but I hope you can get to the bottom of it quickly..doesn't sound like something to let go for long.
 
sounds like sleep hypopnea, not same as apnea.. shallow breathing and yes i have this ,occured after my surgeries, my o2 in hospital would drop to 60... but Ive severe heart disease as well as severe copd..but I had to respond ..lol:eek:
 
Cork said:
I've been told that since my surgery I stop breathing and then start gasping for air while sleeping however I don't wakeup during it. Just wake up with headaches and sore throats in the morning.

Well this certainly DOES sound like Apneas - but possibly it is what is known as Central Sleep Apnea instead of OSA. CSA is more brain related and therefore could definitely hit you at your age, and being under weight, etc. And I suppose (no expert here) that CSA could be triggered by surgeries. CSA is not nearly as common as OSA.

Yaps mentioned hypopneas -- those are kind of like the forerunners to Apneas but just don't last as long. Another ingredient that could be playing a role is Hypoventilation -- I had this a year ago which was being exacerbated by my Aortic Insufficiency. Whether it be OSA, or hypopneas, or hypoventilation - the end result is kind of the same - a much reduced SpO2.
 
Cork,

Cork,

I was just diagnosed with mild sleep apnea after having had a sleep study. I was told it may be something that I can remedy by lifestyle changes, such as having my septal deviation fixed and also sleeping on my side.

I have always been a snorer, am 46 years of age and female (in perimenopause). I have gained about 20 pounds since my heart surgery in November of 2003. I have a lot of belly fat and that is a contributor to sleep apnea, so I have read.

I have not seen the pulmonologist since my sleep study to see what he has to say. I wear oxygen at night because they (doctors) initially thought I just had hypopnea at night. We live at 7800 feet elevation in the Rocky Mountains and I had my sleep study at 5800 feet and saturated evenly through the night at around 94-95% - up here at elevation, I was saturating around 90% on average without oxygen.

I think a lot of things go wacky with our bodies after heart surgery (major understatement, huh?) - since surgery, I have also been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which is a contributor to sleep apnea - our bodies are very intricate and all systems work together - when one is interrupted, well...

Hypothyroidism also causes high stress levels and depression - I have always been a high-strung person, so I am not sure which came first...anxiety or hypothyroidism.

There is obstructive sleep apnea and also central sleep apnea - as stated before in this thread. Sleep apnea is truly not something to fool around with. It can cause heart disease if severe and left untreated.

They CAN and do treat sleep apnea easily with CPAP or Bi-PAP and lifestyle changes. It is treatable and a very common problem in a lot of folks - most don't even know they have it.

I am struggling with my diagnosis and the fact that I am wearing oxygen at night at 46 years of age. However, I am coming to terms with things and realize that thankfully I can be treated and will get better.

Christina L
 
Sleep Apnea

Wow this is the same thing that has been going on with me since surgery. I quit breathing or start choking and my wife has to wake me up, now the funny thing is that it only happens when I use a contour pillow for my neck, however if I sleep on a flat pillow or proped up no problem. I also have a sleep test coming up in July.
 
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