Apr 11, 2023 21:00:00

A man diagnosed with ``sleep apnea syndrome'' publishes his symptoms and experiences until recovery

Sleep apnea syndrome is a disease in which the amount of breathing decreases and stops repeatedly during sleep, and it is easy to be attacked by daytime drowsiness and fatigue due to the deterioration of sleep quality, and the burden on the internal organs. increased risk of serious complications. Luke Hines , who works as a software engineer, identifies his mental and physical disorders as sleep apnea syndrome and explains the process of recovery.

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Mr. Hines, who works as a software engineer, woke up many times in the middle of the night and said that he was suffering from extreme sleep deprivation because he could not sleep easily after the first two hours. Despite fighting drowsiness by ingesting a large amount of coffee during the day, it can be mentally dull and can be in a ``brain

fog '' state where you can't get your thoughts together at work. It had become normal.

Therefore, in order to improve the sleeping environment, Mr. Hines installed a blackout curtain in the bedroom, attached a blue light cut filter to the device, restricted coffee intake in the morning, and took various supplements and herbs. . In addition, Mr. Hines underwent blood tests and physical examinations, but as a result, anxiety, depression, and weakened immunity did not improve. I was considering taking antidepressants.

One day Mr. Hines said he saw a video about 'untreated sleep apnea syndrome' on YouTube. The video explains that ``if sleep apnea is not treated, the risk of dying from heart failure increases''.

The Effects of Untreated Sleep Apnea | Katherine Green, MD, Sleep medicine | UCHealth-YouTube


When Mr. Hines investigated sleep apnea syndrome, many of the symptoms experienced by Mr. Hines, such as lack of sleep, depression, anxiety, and weakened immunity, were found to be common to the symptoms of sleep apnea syndrome. Did. Also, sleep apnea syndrome is generally said to be more likely to occur in obese people, but even thin people may develop sleep apnea syndrome.

Therefore, when Mr. Hines introduced a smart sleep pad that analyzes sleep cycle, heart rate, snoring, etc. and measured sleep, the average AHI per hour was 43 times, that is, an average of 43 breaths per hour. It became clear that it stopped, and it turned out to be sleep apnea syndrome.

In addition, a diagnosis of sleep apnea syndrome by a sleep specialist revealed that Mr. Hines had severe sleep apnea syndrome. As a treatment for sleep apnea syndrome, Mr. Hines recommended the introduction of

CPAP , which sends stable air through the mask and opens the airway to improve the quality of sleep.

by

A. Currell

CPAP records sleep data and sends it to a specialist. You can also get professional consultation to adjust your CPAP to the best condition for your patient. However, Mr. Hines, who investigated sleep apnea syndrome, said, ``It turned out that the CPAP machine that the expert tried to sell to me was 'locking out' data from the user.' The machine cannot see the results by itself and must pay 150 pounds (about 25,000 yen) each time to have the consultant analyze it.'

On the other hand, Hines learned that an online community of patients suffering from sleep apnea had developed OSCAR , an open source software that could process and render data from CPAP machines. I decided to purchase a machine and introduce OSCAR. The online community also measured breathing volume, pressure, and other metrics to help make the settings needed to get a good night's sleep.

``The first night I started using it, the mask felt uncomfortable and leaked air,'' Hines said. .

However, when Mr. Hines analyzed the data during sleep, Mr. Hines' sleep apnea syndrome was not the general ' obstructive sleep apnea syndrome ' but ' central sleep apnea (CSA)'. One thing became clear. CSA is a disease that affects the center that controls breathing in the brain, and is considered difficult to treat with CPAP alone. The graph below is Hines' breathing pattern. According to Hines, breathing stopped for about 20 seconds every minute on average.

The treatment of CSA requires a special device called ' ASV ', which was difficult for individuals to purchase in the UK where Mr. Hines lives.

So Hines considered purchasing a second-hand ASV unit. ``I initially felt unsafe about the used ASV equipment, but I was relieved to hear that the equipment could be cleaned and refurbished and that potential problems could be detected by software,'' Hines said. Mr. Hines eventually purchased a second-hand but well-maintained ASV device.

Hines, who started using the ASV device, reported that his breathing, which had previously stopped more than 40 times per hour, was now in the normal range of about 1 breath per hour. With the ASV device, Mr. Hines' breathing pattern became regular, and

his oxygen saturation , which had dropped to the high 80s before use, improved to the mid 90s. When I first started using it, I felt uncomfortable and sometimes took off the mask in the middle of the night, but Mr. Hines, who got used to using it, reports that his physical condition has improved. Below is a graph showing Hines' breathing pattern. From the graph, you can confirm that Mr. Hines' breathing during sleep is stable.

'It's important to take care of your own health and get proper diagnosis and treatment,' Hines stressed, adding, 'Sleep apnea is relatively easy to treat for people without a diagnosis. It's a symptom that can be done, so you should get tested and treated as soon as possible.'