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Lost A Friend /Sleep Apnea
#1
Sad 
Lost A Friend /Sleep Apnea
Hello c-pap-ers. I joined to tell you what happened to my friend, and my concerns.

My friend Carol had sleep apnea, gained a lot of weight in three years due to medications and maybe one for Breast Cancer. She was very tall, maybe nearly 6ft, but also over 250lbs I would guess. Her face very puffy and double chins from weight and meds. She was only 40 on Dec 22nd and I last saw her Jan 17th. We got on the subject of death because a year before she stopped breathing when she fell asleep on the drive home from a Christmas party. Her husband called 911 and she was unconscious for several days not expected to make it, but did.

My friend mentioned she was not afraid to die, and knew there was still a risk, but did not want to leave her two teen boys and husband.

She was found Feb24th in the afternoon having been dead at least four hrs where she was sitting in a chair by tv where she apparently fell asleep and stopped breathing, and just faded away. She had only been happily married for three yrs to her devoted husband. But her 14 yr old son found her!

This is so very sad. carol was an exceptionally caring person, and at the memorial, stories supported that.

My concern is, I too have sleep apnea and am overweight and fall asleep in front of the tv for maybe 5-10 minutes. I never wake gasping, I just wake up. BUT.....who wears a c-pap while watching tv? Especially in the mid morning after sleeping all night? This is a huge concern. What are your thoughts on this? It was such a shock to actually see her dead lying there at the memorial. I think of her often and wish there had been a way to prevent this tragedy.
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#2
RE: Lost A Friend /Sleep Apnea
Hi Sleeping Beauty,

I'm sorry to hear about your friend! Your friend should never have died from sleep apnea in this day & age. This just shows that untreated sleep apnea can cost you your life and most people do not realise the consequences of not getting treated or not being compliant with treatment.

You do not say if your friend was being treated for sleep apnea but from your post I think that she wasn't or wasn't using her machine. If she had been on treatment she probably wouldn't have fallen asleep in front of the television because she would have been getting rest at night through cpap therapy.
I use my apap all the time...even for a nap( wich I very rarely do because my therapy is working). If I had a tendancy to fall asleep while watching TV I would wear it.

You say that you sometimes fall asleep so having said that ...I would think that you should wear your's while sitting and watching the TV. I don't know how long you've been using cpap but if it's been some time and you are still feeling tired enough to fall asleep while watching TV I would check with my Doctor to see if there are other problems causing you to be fatigued.

Welcome to the forum!! I know it's not easy to use cpap and it's hard to find information about apnea but I hope we can answer your questions and help you through the cpap life.

tombarelybreathing
anything worth doing is worth doing well...sleeping included...sleep well friends Smile
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#3
RE: Lost A Friend /Sleep Apnea
(03-14-2012, 01:11 AM)Sleeping Beauty Wrote: Hello c-pap-ers. I joined to tell you what happened to my friend, and my concerns.

My friend Carol had sleep apnea, gained a lot of weight in three years due to medications and maybe one for Breast Cancer. She was very tall, maybe nearly 6ft, but also over 250lbs I would guess. Her face very puffy and double chins from weight and meds. She was only 40 on Dec 22nd and I last saw her Jan 17th. We got on the subject of death because a year before she stopped breathing when she fell asleep on the drive home from a Christmas party. Her husband called 911 and she was unconscious for several days not expected to make it, but did.

My friend mentioned she was not afraid to die, and knew there was still a risk, but did not want to leave her two teen boys and husband.

She was found Feb24th in the afternoon having been dead at least four hrs where she was sitting in a chair by tv where she apparently fell asleep and stopped breathing, and just faded away. She had only been happily married for three yrs to her devoted husband. But her 14 yr old son found her!

This is so very sad. carol was an exceptionally caring person, and at the memorial, stories supported that.

My concern is, I too have sleep apnea and am overweight and fall asleep in front of the tv for maybe 5-10 minutes. I never wake gasping, I just wake up. BUT.....who wears a c-pap while watching tv? Especially in the mid morning after sleeping all night? This is a huge concern. What are your thoughts on this? It was such a shock to actually see her dead lying there at the memorial. I think of her often and wish there had been a way to prevent this tragedy.

Actually, she did use a machine and was compliant. It was just that she didn't think she needed it that morning while just sitting in a chair, probably watching tv. I don't usually fall asleep watching tv, but at 9PM it has been known to happen. Last time was when watching American Idol actually. I just dozed off for one song. I do not know anymore details of Carols' death but do not think an autopsy was done. I think most people have fallen asleep watching tv one time or another. Maybe a c-pap would have saved her, maybe not. maybe more going on. I think I get good sleep when I replace my pillows etc when necessary. It is just a concern when I am Not wearing it. If I were ever a passenger in a car and dozed off, or a place when I have no c-pap. Like church, I hate to admit, I have dozed there as well.

BTW I had a very difficult time logging in again and had to change my username slightly to get back to reply. Thank you for your reply.
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#4
RE: Lost A Friend /Sleep Apnea
Hi Sleeping Beauty
For the logging issue SuperSleeper did mention something about deleting the cookies on your computer but anyway he probably read this in the morning and deal with it.
We,re not suppose to be on CPAP 24/7, just when we sleep at night or take a nap in the afternoon which is OK some people benefit taking a nap with PAP. If being compliant and still feel sleepy during the day than may be see your doctor as could be the therapy is not working as should be which need to find out what,s the problems and fix them whether mask, leak or pressure issues.
Welcome
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#5
RE: Lost A Friend /Sleep Apnea
(03-14-2012, 04:02 AM)zonk Wrote: Hi Sleeping Beauty
For the logging issue SuperSleeper did mention something about deleting the cookies on your computer but anyway he probably read this in the morning and deal with it.
We,re not suppose to be on CPAP 24/7, just when we sleep at night or take a nap in the afternoon which is OK some people benefit taking a nap with PAP. If being compliant and still feel sleepy during the day than may be see your doctor as could be the therapy is not working as should be which need to find out what,s the problems and fix them whether mask, leak or pressure issues.
Welcome

Im very compliant with my treatment yet I still fall asleep watching tv or reading a book so I went to my doctors. He told me its just normal probably boredom or just well relaxed? So what am I suppose to do because sometimes I have woke up gasping......

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#6
RE: Lost A Friend /Sleep Apnea
Sorry about your friends passing.
Your post brings about an awareness to all of us here on this forum about just how fragile life can be. It reminds us to be very compliant with our CPAP if we have been diagnosed with sleep apnea. It also sounds like in your posting that she may have had other health issues that complicated her sleep and breathing.

As Zonk expressed...if one is still sleepy during the daytime, although CPAP compliant, then perhaps your therapy is not working as intended and a following up with a doctor is in order

Yesterday is history; Tomorrow is a mystery; Today is a gift; Thats why its called "The Present".  
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#7
RE: Lost A Friend /Sleep Apnea
Just wanted to say that I can't remember how to delete cookies. I also had a lot of trouble trying to log back in and ended up re registering with a slightly different username to thank you all for your replies. I have a doctors' appt Friday and will discuss all my concerns. Upper respiratory congestion/infection and lack of enough oxygen has been a recent problem from a cold before valentines day. It always settles in my chest even with antibiotics. I am much better finally. I hear this virus was going around and hard to get rid of.

Thanks for your replies and condolences. I know her family and friends want to go back in time and prevent what happened to her. Probably going over and over the events that lead to her death. shudda wudda cudda. I guess you have to believe it was her time and Gods' will. She is no longer in pain ( I know she had physical pain and discomfort) and she is at peace.
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#8
RE: Lost A Friend /Sleep Apnea
(03-14-2012, 10:44 AM)Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Wrote: Just wanted to say that I can't remember how to delete cookies.

Sorry to hear of your loss, Sleeping Beauty...

On the cookies thing, here's a site that explains how to delete them:

http://www.aboutcookies.org/Default.aspx?page=2



SuperSleeper
Apnea Board Administrator
www.ApneaBoard.com


INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.


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#9
RE: Lost A Friend /Sleep Apnea
Some comments:

First, my condolences.

Second, what was her official cause of death? Obstructive sleep apnea would not cause us to stop breathing and then not wake back up for several days. We would not be unconscious for several days for one event. It sounds as if she had something else going on health-wise. Did she have central or obstructive sleep apnea? Even with central, when we stop breathing, we're not in a coma, simply asleep and our brain gets confused. When we are woken up, we breathe again on our own.

Third, don't log out. Select "remember me' or whatever it is and stay logged in. I am way lazy to remember all my usernames and passwords.
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#10
RE: Lost A Friend /Sleep Apnea
(03-14-2012, 11:21 AM)PaulaO2 Wrote: Third, don't log out. Select "remember me' or whatever it is and stay logged in. I am way lazy to remember all my usernames and passwords.

here's a trick. when you make something a favorite or bookmark, rename the link to add your user id -pw.
First Diagnosed July 1990

MSgt (E-7) USAF (Medic)
Retired 1968-1990
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