TKR Canadian Girl's Journey

[Phil75070]

lack of oxygen to the brain at night plays havoc

I would think lack of oxygen to the brain would play havoc at any time!

Joke du jour:

In a car garage, where a famous heart surgeon was waiting for the service manager to take a look at his Mercedes, there was a loud mouthed mechanic who was removing the cylinder heads from the motor of a car. He saw the surgeon waiting and lured him into an argument.

He asked the doc after straightening up and wiping his hands on a rag, "Look at this car i'm working on. I also open hearts, take valves out, grind them, put in new parts, and when I finish this baby will purr like a kitten. So how come you get the big bucks, when you and I are doing basically the same work?"

The surgeon very calmly leaned over and whispered to the loudmouth mechanic, "Try doing it with the engine running."

Pun du jour:

I couldn't quite remember how to throw a boomerang, but eventually it came back to me.

 

[Tamsmom]

Jeff, can I give your number to my husband, I have been begging him to do a sleep study for a long tome! Heck he needs to do it now since we are at 100% on our health insurance


4/1/2014 TKR

 

[tiredwife]

@dogwheels Sleep apnea is very serious. It starves the brain of oxygen during the night. The heart stops working the right way. It causes depression, because they aren't really getting any rest. The muscles get starved of oxygen and start having problem. They are twice as likely to fall asleep behind the wheel of a vehicle. They can die in their sleep because they do stop breathing. They can't rest so they are more irratable. Their blood doesn't get the oxygen it needs for the rest of the organs. etc etc. I was after hubby for years to get tested, and one night he really got scared because he woke up not breathing and couldn't get his breath. When he took the test he was so bad they wouldn't let him finish the test. They put him on a machine. The machines do make a little noise but it is far better than the snooring. It took him awhile to get use to the hose and mask, but has adjusted well.

 

[kneeper]

Those cpap machines seem to do wonders. I know several people who say their daytime energy levels are much better. (Not to mention helping with the cardiac risks as you say, tiredwife).

 

[71Beetle]

Thank you so much for all of the support on sleep apnea, sleep studies and CPAP machines. Like Jeff, my husband will back pedal for a long time before doing anything about it. I better start nagging now. If he won't do it for himself, hopefully he will do it for me and our boys. He always lacks energy no matter how much sleep he is getting. He does not work out like he should because of the lack of energy which causes the weight gain. It is a vicious circle.

@Phil75070 - there's the joke I was waiting for! I am a big fan of the puns too!

I'm also getting tired of having to explain to people that YES, I AM still recovering from TKR that I had almost 8 months ago.

This is what I love about this forum. Only those that have been through it or are very close to someone that has truly understand the process. Some heal quicker than others but nobody should judge until they have "walked" a mile in our shoes. Hope you are felling okay. It is so frustrating isn't it?

@Celle! Nice to "see" you! Thanks for stopping by! How were your holidays? I will stop by your thread later but thanks again for the visit. Loving my BoneSmart buddies!

But you are absolutely right, the quality of sleep he gets is poor and he is always sneaking a quick nap. There is not much more I can do - for a clever person he can be so stupid at times.

My hubby is not a napper but I find he just looks, and acts, tired all the time. I agree with you - he is a very intelligent man but his stubbornness is stupid. Now to be fair, I have never brought up sleep apnea with him - I just chalked it up to weight gain and I can't really nag about that while I am carrying an extra 40-60 pounds on my small frame.

@JustJeff - I will let him know about your experience - thanks for sharing.

@tiredwife - I appreciate your concern and for getting this conversation started.

@Tamsmom - how is your hubby doing today? Is he fanning you and bringing you tea after your courageous feat yesterday?

 

[71Beetle]

Those cpap machines seem to do wonders. I know several people who say their daytime energy levels are much better. (Not to mention helping with the cardiac risks as you say, tiredwife).

I am sold on the benefits for my hubby and the relief for me. If I have to knock him out and drag him to the Sleep Clinic I will. We will be married 25 years in May 2015 and I want to be married to him for many more!

 

[tiredwife]

@71Beetle Do the research, have the facts to back you up and tackle him with it. He will later thank you for it, if he doesn't want the machine they do have an operation but the success rate isn't that good for curing the apnea.

 

[tiredwife]

@Phil75070 I didn't miss your remark, just got sidetracked. hehe. With apnea the oxygen deprived to the brain is at night, but yes it is bad any time.

 

[LauraLeigh]

Yep, my husband also has sleep apnea but refuses to use his CPAP machine. He had one type of corrective surgery which didn't help much. He lost a bunch of weight which did help but then gained it all back and then some. He doesn't get enough sleep and what he does get is poor quality, obviously. He gets through the day by drinking energy drinks and falls asleep in front of the tv most nights. I worry about his health but he hates doctors and won't get help for the apnea. It drives me nuts but unfortunately I can't force him to see a doctor or lose the weight.

 

[tiredwife]

@LauraLeigh Is his the full mask? They make one just for the nose that he may be more comfortable with. How old is the machine? The new ones are quieter, smaller, easier to use.

 

[JustJeff]

I use nose pillows. I couldn't stand the mask and it leaked all the time. The nose pillows are two small soft silicon cones, for the lack of any better words, that fit in the nostrils. I can scratch my nose and it feels relatively normal.

 

[JustJeff]

Jeff, can I give your number to my husband, I have been begging him to do a sleep study for a long tome! Heck he needs to do it now since we are at 100% on our health insurance


4/1/2014 TKR

Sure, but I think what we've said here should cover it. If you still want it pm me.

 

[Jozilla]

I also use a Cpap. When I went to my ENT for snoring he sent me to a wonderful sleep clinic. In my case I have to sleep with a mask that covers mouth and nose as I sleep with my mouth open. In my case the Cpap would be useless if my mouth wasn't covered. My hubby also has one but his apnea is a different type where several times a night he woke up gasping for air. I was petrified until he got his machine. I also thought I had insomnia for years and tried all kinds if medication and nothing worked. As soon as I got my Cpap what I thought was insomnia stopped. It is well worth having the test!

 

[tiredwife]

@Jozilla Hubby has to have the mask too (mouth breather). The way I finally got him to go in is the gasping scared him.

 

[71Beetle]

Thanks again for the tips everyone. Right now he uses a funny looking plastic thing that goes in his nose to open the air waves. He has quite a large nose so the Breathe Right Strips were too uncomfortable for him. He loves falling asleep on his back and always rolls back into that position no patter how times I elbow him during the night

Today is a sunny and HOT day in Ottawa. Sure wish I could swim. I am still struggling with a lot of pain. I went for my physio assessment and she had me bend both knees as far as I could to measure. I am 90 on the right knee (the most recent surgery) and have regressed to 99 on the left knee. So this morning the pain was excruciating in both knees. I know it is temporary but I am sooo tired of the whole thing. I have not yet done my exercises today and I am not looking forward to doing them but I know I have to.

I am a bit concerned that I have gone from 106 to 99 on the left knee, and 99 came with a lot of pushing. It did not hurt to push it was just uncomfortable. I guess I am so focussed on the exercises on the right that the left has been getting ignored. Anyway I start my physio classes on Thursday.

My hubby and two younger boys are going camping on Thursday for two nights. My oldest is working Thursday evening and likely has plans for Friday night so I will be hanging out here. My mom wants me to stay a night at her place but I am comfortable here so I declined. She and my dad will come to visit I am sure.

I am tapped out on jokes today...need some inspiration... @Phil75070, @tiredwife and @new knee in June...any new ones for me?

 

[Pumpkin]

Eye candy for you. Sunrise at Lake Tahoe.

 

[71Beetle]

Eye candy for you. Sunrise at Lake Tahoe.

Stunning! Thanks for sharing! I will stare at that picture and allow my mind to take me there. It sure beats my current position on the couch watching old Criminal Minds reruns. (although Shemar Moore is pretty good eye candy)

 

[Phil75070]

Bob, a 70-year-old, extremely wealthy widower, shows up at the Country Club with a breathtakingly beautiful and very sexy 25-year-old blonde-haired woman who knocks everyone's socks off with her youthful sex appeal and charm and who hangs over Bob’s arm and listens intently to his every word.
His buddies at the club are all aghast. At the very first chance, they corner him and ask, 'Bob, how’d you get the trophy girlfriend?' Bob replies, ‘Girlfriend? She's my wife!' They are knocked over, but continue to ask. 'So, how'd you persuade her to marry you?' 'I lied about my age,' Bob replies. 'What, did you tell her you were only 50?'
Bob smiles and says, 'No, I told her I was 90.'

 

[Phil75070]

For a while, Houdini used a lot of trap doors in his act, but he was just going through a stage.

 

[tiredwife]

Hubby's joke - A cannible passed his brother in the woods.

Mine - a family of mice were surprized by a big cat. Father jumped out and screamed "bow wow". Cat ran away. Baby mouse says, "wow dad that was great". Father mouse says, "see why a second language is important!"

@71Beetle Our home therapist stressed that he get in the habbit of doing exercise on both sides, he even does it at PT. Hopefully he will continue for the 2nd knee. I wouldn't stress over it, just make sure you do the same thing to both legs and it will catch up. Our therapist also make sure we move his knee cap and gently message the scar now that it is healed.