Couldn’t survive without my CPAP. - actually use an Auto-Pap (APAP). Had severe obstructive sleep apnea... 72 episodes/ hr of disrupted sleep with oxygen levels falling into the lower 70s (normal is greater than 92%). FYI up to 20% of men and 12% of females have OSA, not always associated, but more frequent with obesity. If interested see: http://nasemso.org/wp-content/uploads/neuro-epworthsleepscale.pdf
Degrees of severity: Normal - less than 5 episodes / hr of abnormal breathing, Mild - 6-15 episodes/hr, Moderate - 16-30, and Severe - greater than 30.
In one study, patients with untreated sleep apnea of moderate degree had an 8 year mortality of 50%.
This is a MAJOR health issue and is so much more than just a snoring issue.
Various treatments are available and CPAP (APAP and BiPap) are the most common remedies, but for those who won’t / can’t tolerate that, other treatments can be implemented. See your physician if you are having any issues with fatigue, snoring, falling asleep easily, concentration issues, low testosterone issues (up to 50% of low T patients have low T and treating with Testosterone can make the sleep apnea worse !!!
Great post. It’s all in the data. I had 59 episodes a night and when I first got my machine I slept for 12 hours straight. I use it every night and even if I take a nap. The proof is in the data which gets uploaded to the doc. I go in every couple of years but they a periodically check my data. It works. And it’s not just about sleep but long term health.