Sleep Apnea (continued ../2)

So I got myself a referral letter from a company doctor and after having obtained a guarantee letter I went to Gleneagles and admitted myself for a night (Friday, 28th August 2009). After a healthy dinner (not necessarily tasty) in my room a technician came over and strapped me up with a device programmed to take some readings during sleep.





It wasn't uncomfortable but, during sleep, one part of the cable would come off, and later the tube from my nostrils came off, and so forth. Other than that I guessed my snoring took centre stage throughout the night. The night staff outside would have been laughing at the noise though they did not show it wen I awoke early the following day.



A week passed before I was called by the specialist when the report was ready. The first words that greeted me was, "I've never come across any patient with such a very severe OSA! In fact, yours was the worst!" Funny, that revelation didn't surprise me.



After some explanation which was not really helpful the specialist said that the same technician, who earlier strapped me up, would come over to my home and let me try on the CPAP machine (continuous positive airway pressure) for a week.



Well, he did come, and after explaining how the machine works, and fits over my face, he guaranteed that the next morning I would wake up feeling fresh like I've never experience it before. Now that really excited me!



Little did I realise that the first night was the beginning of daily frustration that words cannot express..



to be continued.. (it's getting late..)

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Sleep Apnoea

Sleep Apnoea is something I came across during my visit to the clinic late last year. I chanced upon a health magazine while waiting my turn and I thought it was all too relevant to my condition where I used to doze off while at work. Little did I realise I was to become a test subject last Friday for sleep study and getting eventual treatment in the days to come.

I have been wondering why I used to get occasional sleepiness during work while doing programming. My focus seemd to drift off to wonderland and my head nodding to and fro, oblivious to the watchful eyes of colleagues. I knew I am one person who never enjoy physical exercise and always sleep late those days, like after midnight, surfing away in the tide of the internet, and waking up at 5:30 in the mornings. I always thought that this stubborn regime contributed to my thunderous snoring every night. Poor wifey, had to wake me every now and then to turn over to my side to stop the snoring.

I also realised that in the past 2 years I was unable to keep awake while driving to work every morning. Even day time driving to Bangi for work or meeting I sometimes had to struggle very hard to stay awake. My wavering focus even got the better of me even in meetings, but more prevalent during monotonous seminar. I even had to fight to stay awake during homily every Sunday at Mass.

For temporary remedy I have tried the medical patch over my nose, sold at Guardian, purportedly helpful in suppressing the snore but it was just a waste of money which I would gladly have used to purchase another pack of cigarettes. I kept telling myself it could be due to the age thing and so I started to do some walking, not wanting to allow the age thingy to depress me. Couldn't commit as usual.

So when I read about sleep apnoea I was convinced that I might be a victim of such a condition because the symptoms mentioned in the article were what I have been experiencing and it also warned of the fatal consequences that may happen not only during sleep but on the road when dozing off behind the wheel.

to be continued..

How to Shape-Up your Toes!

Fun guaranteed! Danger! May cause addiction!

Wasted by Migraine!

Today, Saturday, was a day full of opportunities and the day I have been anticipating for a week. Alas, if not for the migraine it would also have been very fruitful.

Woke up at 6:30am due to migraine. Couldn't continued sleeping. Went downstairs, made myself a cup of tea after shower, and surfed the net a while before switching to Astro channel. Thought I could let the migraine subside but later at about 8am gave in to 2 Panadeine, which never failed to cure. Continued to be glued to the TV while the pills worked their magic.

An hour passed, the migraine which was attacking my right eye and surrounding area still persisted. Took another 2 pills at 12:30pm and laid down on my bed to rest. When I woke up at 3pm the pain did not even relent, not even a little. I began to worry. Worst case scenario for me was half a day of suffering. This is the first time I was suffering migraine for a full day. Maybe something was wrong with my nerve, or blood vessel somewhere.

Fortunately, the migraine subsided a little but still I swallowed another pair of Panadeine by 7pm. Till now, even as I am typing this blog, a small trace of migraine is still prevailing causing me to dread waking up tomorrow with another repeat..

"SiCKO"

This morning I was watching Oprah Winfrey's talk show with Michael Moore on the American Medical Healthcare system and how it's 250 million insured are worried whether these healthcare companies will pay for their medical bills.

Michael Moore, an American filmmaker who directed the Academy Award nominated documentary film 'SiCKO', regarded as controversial and provocative, probably earned the wrath of the US government for taking on the trillion dollar healthcare industry but considered a hero by most Americans who are at the receiving end of this life and death issue.

The film, released in June last year, served as an eye opener to most Americans who were unaware that their healthcare plan were not as good as those found in the Western world. The issue is not so much about those who do not have healthcare plan, but those who have, and having different levels of healthcare plan, where their claims have been denied after being subjected to rigorous investigation. Many of those who became ill, or suffering from critical illnesses, have been accused of hiding the fact during pre-signing of the plan.

During the talk show a video clip was shown to the audience where a medical practitioner for a healthcare testified that advancement in the healthcare company is based on how many claims are denied, which would save the companies millions in dollars; more claims means failure. Driven by this pressure and motivation it's not hard to imagine how far these healthcare companies would go.

Moore was quoted as saying, "We need the healthcare guaranteed for every American, remove the profit from the system and regulate the pharmaceutical companies."

This makes me wonder if healthcare companies in our country is even anything like that. While it is true that profit is essential for companies to survive and remain competitive but how much weight is placed on the insured?

Side effects of medicine

It has been one week that I am having a blissful and uninterrupted sleep unlike the past 8 months, ever since I've had my blood pressure tablet changed to a different brand.

Before, I have been waking up 2 to 4 times during the night just to go to the bathroom and I was worried that it might have something to do with my bladder control. It went on for about 8 months before a colleague told me he had the same problem when he was on that same pill. So I went to another clinic and related my problem to him but was cautioned that it could be my sugar level cos it was not documented that the pill I was taking has side effects. Anyhow, I opted for a change in brand more than a week ago. Since then the frequency to the bathroom at night reduced the first 3 days, and now I could sleep straight into the morning. Thank God for that.

7 Hours of Sleep is all we need

After work I thought of paying the doctor a visit - to check on my blood pressure after changing tablets last week. While waiting for my turn I noticed that the clinic had 2 new health mags, well some improvement there as there had never been any mags past 2 years.

Anyway, there was a short article quoting a well known professor (couldn't make the effort to jot down the name) revealed his latest research the frequent less sleep or too much can put one's heart at risk. Therefore, he concluded that the optimum hours of sleep would be 7. And I always thought as we grow older our bodies could do with 4-5 hours of sleep.

Well, I guess I'll start tomorrow as it's 1:30am and I'm still surfing..