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I have sleep apnea, and I am not alone.
Sleep apnea is a very common type of sleep disorder, in which over the course of a night, a person experiences involuntary, interrupted breathing or very shallow breaths. These breathing pauses last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, and can occur up to 100 times per hour. As a result, the person suffering from sleep apnea usually does not experience adequate episodes of deep Stages 3-4 sleep, which is the type of sleep that allows the body to restore itself. Hence, the person feels fatigued all day, regardless of how many hours they sleep in a given night.
There are also many other dangerous consequences.
Because a person’s breathing is so shallow and interrupted so frequently, their blood oxygen level fluctuates, reaching dangerously low oxygen saturation levels. Typically, a normal, healthy person maintains a pulse oximeter reading of 95-100 percent (a measure of oxygen saturation), with levels below 90 percent considered low. In contrast, during episodes of breathing pauses, a person’s pulse oximeter reading can dangerously drop to less than half of the normal range — my own personal reading dropped to a low of 56 percent over the course of my diagnostic test. Given the nightly experience of sleep apnea, these constant fluctuations cause very serious bodily damage over time.
In addition, individuals who suffer from sleep apnea are at a much higher risk for diabetes, hypertension, stroke, obesity, heart problems, falling asleep while driving, mental health issues, pregnancy complications, and a variety of other health issues. It is also a double-edged sword, in that individuals who currently have problems with hypertension, diabetes and obesity are also at greater risk for developing sleep apnea.
More recent research has also implicated the experience of systemic poverty as a significant risk factor. This is not surprising, given that the effects of systemic poverty are widespread and insidious, and include poor access to proper nutrition, exposure to greater levels of pollution, and a high level of chronic stress. Given that the Latino community suffers from significant levels of poverty – especially in children – Latinos tend to be at a higher risk for sleep disorders of this nature.
Sadly, sleep apnea is very much underdiagnosed.
It is often dismissed as a mere snoring problem by many who suffer from it. Typically, a person realizes they have nightly breathing interruptions only after their partner or other family members witness these interruptions for themselves.
Unfortunately, diagnosing and treatment of sleep apnea can be very expensive. First, the patient must participate in a sleep study to determine the severity of the sleep apnea and generate an appropriate treatment level. Second, sleep apnea is treated through the nightly use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine that the patient must purchase, along with the monthly supplies. Nightly CPAP use is literally a life-saving treatment, but unless the sleep study and machine are covered by an individual’s insurance company, they are often beyond many individuals’ financial means — out-of-pocket costs can easily be around $5000-$6000. Given that many individuals in poverty are either underinsured or not covered at all, this makes proper treatment often unattainable.
I encourage any of you who think you may be suffering from sleep apnea to consult a physician as soon as possible. It could literally save your life.
About Nick Baez
The best way to get rid of the apnea – is loose weight. I lost weight and most of my apnea left.
I have it and I know it.
I was in bed and going through my phone reading articles and the moment I saw this article I jumped up. My 36 yr old brother passed away from sleep apnea somewhat recently. When people probe into his cause of death and I reply with ‘sleep apnea’ they usually have puzzled looks on their faces, completely confused. My father had it severely since he was a little boy and such things went undiagnosed and he didn’t go for help until he found himself falling asleep at the wheel on the job as a garbage man. It took a failed trachea (which was the extent of sleep apnea-related medical care in those days) and an extremely successful surgery out of Stanford in which they broke his jaw and pulled it out- replacing the extended gap with bone from his skull- for him to be cured from his disorder. My dad dropped 80 lbs seemingly overnight and slept for days after. Part of the fallacy in people’s thinking is that obesity causes apnea solely. You can have apnea and not be overweight. Apnea drives your weight up dramatically as your sleep deprived body is deficient of oxygen and therefore your body starts retaining extremely high levels of water. Think of it in the sense of how people who have high blood pressure take Lasik pills to remove the water retained by their bodies- causing them to dread those pills because they urinate frequently. The surgery saved my dad’s life. Unfortunately, my brother didn’t posess a adequate insurance to cover a surgery/CPAP/or decent medical services. His lack of decent coverage and his lack of decent medical professionals because of living in an extremely low socioeconomically devastated area and the social politics related to race/class/medical care the “perfect storm” dealt the worst case scenario to my brother. Sleep apnea ultimately tragically took Sonny’s life. I sincerely want to thank you Nick Baez for this article, it is likely going to save another.
I know that many people have and don’t know they do. If you are always tired and dose off at the wheel while driving or at work you should have your self check out. Insurance company cover this test.
Frightening to hear someone stop breathing. Men, women and children. Causes are far more complex than weight. Get checked out or encourage a loved one to do so. Even a child.
Before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, I would often find myself dozing off during the day, sometimes while driving. I had no energy for anything, and as a result, gained a lot of weight. Since being diagnosed and treated (I use a CPAP machine), I have become more active and have begun to lose weight. Also, I’m not that grouchy anymore. LOL!
Ma’Risa: your words deeply touched me and made my entire week. Thank you so much, and I’m glad that you gained much from this article. This is a very dangerous disorder that unfortunately goes mostly untreated for those who are amidst socioeconomic strife.
I also want to respond to Mario’s comment above: it is extremely irresponsible and misguided to simply say “loose weight and it will go away.” Comments of this nature reveal a lack of even an elementary understanding of the severity and nature of this disorder. Like I said, I encourage people to consult a physician as soon as possible if there are any suspicions.
Nick: you couldn’t have said it better. Thanks for the clear and yet comprehensive piece. I blasted this article to all of my contacts via fb as well as sent a link via text. It generated much discussion and prompted many of my contacts to follow up with appts with their physicians =)