With regard to my and my husband’s sleep apnea situations, which he writes about on occasion in our blog -(http://boomerlifestyle.com/blog/worried-that-you-may-actually-have-sleep-apnea-realization-often-comes-slowly/)- we DO make serious attempts to get at least six hours of sleep nightly. And given that we are now both using PAP machines, this ought to be sleep of a much better quality than we formerly received prior to our diagnoses.

But I wonder: would a young parent, whose sleep is interrupted by their children, ever balance their sleep accounts if it’s not possible to “bank sleep?” Especially if that parent also has sleep apnea?

Just curious!

Thanks!

After reading your excellent book, “The Promise of Sleep”, I’ve managed to deduce that one of my close relatives has sleep apnea that has never been diagnosed – and I was proven right by a renowned sleep specialist in Singapore, Dr Lim Li Ling!

I encourage everyone to read the book and have blogged about it here:
http://knowledgecove.blogspot.com/2008/08/promise-of-sleep-1999-by-william-c.html

Surely it would be possible to conduct longer lab studies to ascertain the characteristics of sleep debt since it commonly affects so many people… Why has this never been done?

I snored for 20 years before being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, followed within in 18 months by a recognition that I also have a severs case of OSA, obstructive sleep apnea.

As a woman, I realize there are fewer women than men who have sleep apnea, but I don’t think many women who even know about OSA actually think they could have it – I believe sleep apnea is so much thought of as a men’s problem, that few women ever consider that their snoring might be more than an audible irritation to their sleep partners.

I’m out to spread the word! See my post that begins to deal with this educational endeavor here: http://boomerlifestyle.com/blog/chronic-insomnia-stress-depression-sleep-apnea-why-has-getting-a-great-nights-sleep-become-an-elusive-dream-for-baby-boomers-and-what-can-you-do-to-help-yourself/

Anne Holmes

and, it’s apleasure to discover your history in the field. thank you for your humanity doctor dement.

i’m 48 years old and a long-term insomiac who developed severe apnea 3+ years ago; bad combo.
the nurse practitioner attending me failed to follow the neurologist’s instructions on the sleep study report, which i myself didn’t see for 2 years.
the doc wrotethat i be prescribed ambien until i got used to the cpap machine.
she didn’t follow these instructions. guess i got what i paid for!

well, cpap got me a little sleep and saved my life no doubt, but i quickly lost 30 pounds and slept better not using the cpap, albeit it was poor sleep. i didn’t adjust to cpap and have been on benzodiapapines and “non-benzos” ever since.
well, i lost a total of 60 lbs. and was finally studied again on 08/10/08. i took 20mg of ambien, went to sleep, was woke later to start cpap.
although the weight loss’s improvement, regarding my condition was apparent, i still had no delta-wave sleep; with and without cpap. most disturbing.
but, atleast i got started on a properly fit out cpap 3 nights ago. i had the cpap tech check my card after 2 nights to see why i was still waking up after only 2 hours- i thought a leg jerk woke me, but, the machine’s card read out makes it look pretty convincing that the “strived for” one-apnea episode per hour is what wakes me up as soon as the ambien reaches its half life. but, i also took benzodiapines and i just read studies indicating they can cause jerking during sleep- aside from affecting delta-wave function. sadly the day before the cpap tech and i reviewed my machine’s card, i went straight to my doctor and asked him about trying lyrica to prevent jerking, and it supposedly has been shown to INCREASE the length of delta cycles. he agreed it’s worth trying.
Question #1) now, after seeing my cpap card’s read out, i think i just need my cpap’s pressure turned up a notch or so to prevent apneas altogether if possible. my cpap pressure setting was 13, 3 years and 60 pounds ago. now it’s set at 6.what do you think?

question #2) what are your thoughts on the new sleep aids- imidazopyridines, pyrazolopyrimidines, cyclopyrrolones
and, have you heard anything on merck’s gaboxadol?
so you know, over and over again i tried sleep hygiene, meditation, bio feedback, etc…- like everyone else, it all helps ya sleep if life is going great. but, there’s brain chemistry isn’t there? my research indicates all these mind over matter strategies fail when the moment is seminole. my father, oldest male sibling and i are insomniacs. my mom and other male sibling sleep like babies. no half brothers or mother in laws here- we’re a biologically bonded brood.

question#3) is there medical concensus on the new sleep aids and delta activity? my tolerance is so high, i have taken 50 grams of ambien to start each cpap trial the last 3 days to ensure i go to sleep with the confounded thing attached to my like some alien parasite. i am succeeding. last night i slept 4 hours during one usage, best yet.
i also used benzos, but want to stop that due to what so many clinical sudies say about their negative effects on architecture. i understand that 20-50mg of ambien, etc….is not optimal, but the stuff is pretty safe with a working cpap-i understand that toxcitity is reported to occur at extremely high doses with ambien, and the like. my hope is that within a few weeks, using the cpap will be routine, just as the neurologist wanted it to become 3+ years ago. apnea and improper treatment has caused slow but sure anatomical shut down for me. i’m determined to succeed with the cpap this time, even if i must megadose the new sleep aids in order to do so. what have i to lose, overdose, dependency? if i don’t get with the cpap program, long life is not in the cards for me anyway. i exercise everytime i have the strength and eat quite healthy.
hope you or a colleague see this- sleep disorder experts are hard to access. sincerely, as you can imagine, steven ray mckay

Simply stated, dentistry, as a whole, is not doing enough to fulfill its public health responsibilities. Nowhere is this more evident than in field of sleep-breathing disorders. Most dental school curricula (and, incidentally, most medical school curricula) do not provide any background in sleep medicine. Consequently most practicing dentists do not even consider including sleep questions on their medical questionnaires or asking simple questions during initial or recall examinations or even before oral or IV sedation.

Oral appliance therapy has been accepted as an alternative or supplement to CPAP in some instances and yet the public and many dentists remain unaware of the vital role of the dentist as part of the healthcare team for the recognition and management of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.

Very interesting post. A little bit confusing, but still ok….

With greatest appreciation Alan P Sobczak