Denise Hartman is a web designer in Michigan. I would never have known that if I hadn’t blogged for SeniorWeblogs last year.
Yesterday, I received an unsolicited email from her. The email ended up in my bulk folder and was nearly deleted as spam. It would have been IF the subject line hadn’t been so carefully crafted to appeal to me.
Denise lost her mother last month. Her mother died from congestive heart failure, recovery impeded by a condition known as sleep apnea.
She wrote to me in response to the following blog entry:
Friday, November 04, 2005
Sleep Apnea Comments? Please!...
Posted at 7:44 AM
Category: Health
The doctors have told me I have obstructive sleep apnea and that I'm not getting enough oxygen because of it. My husband has told me I stop breathing when I'm sleeping. Week before last while in Nashville with my son he said "Mom, do you know you stop breathing, and then cough, and then start breathing again when you're sleeping?". I get it! Nothing new here. I was born with allergies.
I have great respect for my doctor, which is why as we travel around Ohio while hubby builds Walgreen’s stores, I continue to drive to Troy to see the same one. I still see the same allergist/surgeon this doctor recommended. For a couple of weeks I saw a local doctor—only for allergy shots—with the serum provided by the Troy allergist. My arm hurt for a week after the shots and I had welts and bruising. I’m no longer trusting her to give me the shots. It IS about trust.
And now, this most trusted and respected doctor has informed me that if I don’t use the C-PAP breathing machine (note that it only blows room air, not oxygen) I not only may, but probably will, be facing congestive heart failure. He explained all of this thoroughly on Wednesday, stressing that a lack of oxygen doesn’t do much damage to the lungs, but affects the heart in terrible ways.
Still, I can't make myself believe I will sleep any better by wearing a fighter pilot's mask that shoves air in my face, while trying to sleep on my stomach--which is the only way I can sleep. And I’ve been told (duh!) it is the lack of sleep that makes me feel tired all the time. Oy!
IF ANY OF YOU DEAR READERS have sleep apnea and/or use a breathing machine at night, please leave a comment here or contact me at Linda@lindajhutchinson.com and let me know if you think it helps or not.. Obviously, my decision on this issue could mean the difference between life and death.
This is what Denise wrote in her email:
Linda,
I read your health blog and thought you would be interested in my story. You requested information on your site. I am a designer living in Michigan. I just went through the experience with my mother in Florida about a month ago. It disturbs me that the health care professionals at the hospital she was in were not aware of the link between sleep apnea in congestive heart failure patients. After my mother's death I found many articles online stating that this was a problem, that 50% of congestive heart failure patients have sleep apnea, but only 5% are ever diagnosed or treated for it and many doctors think that CPAP lowers the morbidity rate in CHF patients.
I am trying to get the info out, for the next person who has this problem.
I have created a web page chronicling the events of her death. I did this because I watched her die and it seemed to me that undiagnosed and untreated central sleep apnea played a role. Please visit -- Denise's Sleep Apnea Site for the whole story.
Thanks,
Denise
No, Denise. Thank you! This was a wake-up call for me and I am re-considering my stance on that breathing machine only because you took the time to contact me, a complete stranger. I have a doctor’s appointment today.
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