Posted by Marco on February 25, 2004 at 20:20:46:

In Reply to: Re: Fear of surgery posted by Wabasha11 on February 25, 2004 at 11:06:51:

Hi Wabasha,

Thank you for your advice - It's much appreciated, as well as the empathy.

Sorry to hear about your friend, while it sounds like his weight and height were in proportion, despite having OSA. Yes, I have read about the potential heart issues linked with OSA, along with the increased risk of stroke at any time, whether awake or during sleep. I hope he's feeling better now, and he'll be o.k.

I'm also 33 years of age, of the same height, but 255 lbs. I have read that OSA has been linked to depression, where I know that anxiety and depression tend to also be related.

I wrote to me ENT last night, and I asked if he could place me in the hospital as an inpatient the night before, give me something, and then when morning comes, hopefully, I will still be somewhat spaced out (anyway, I usually do feel spaced out in the early morning b/c the OSA), and have no opportunity for these wild thoughts and not back out of it. Therefore, I can simply be prepped for surgery, and then wake up afterward, and only focus on healing, since all the anxiety of "what will be" would be over. I feel that's the only way for me, really. It's like getting over that first hurdle, and even if my insurance will not pay for the night before in the hospital, I would gladly pay for it, since to me, it would be worth it.

You know, my two sleep studies revealed a mild case of OSA, and of course, all my ENTs' have suggested CPAP, to lose weight, and of course, quit smoking the ciggies. Actually, since age 30, my weight has jumped from about 230 to what it is now (255).

When I went for my two sleep studies in the past, naturally, I was so anxious, so it wasn't easy to sleep, thus I don't know if they had that accurate of a measure of RDI, etc., with them, since sleep was only achieved in the very early morning, and only lasted for about 1.5 hours. I have a friend who is much heavier than me, and he has a severe case of OSA, and totally loves using the CPAP, while I did try it for a month with the full-faced mask, and I kept waking up with the usual discomforts of the tight mask, the air leaking out on my face, etc. Anyway, this friend of mine really likes his nasal mask, and it really works well for him, even though for about the first month, he sometimes would wake up startled from the mask, thinking that an alien was clamping on to his face. :) He told me that his sleep study was done at home, where his HMO (which is his hospital, too, but I don't know if I can mention names here) sent him home with a kit in a box, where he hooked himself up to the wires, O2 sensor, etc., in his own bed and the sleep study was recorded from that, and he took the thing in the next morning to be read. Totally cool, really, since sleeping in your own familiar environment seems so much easier when doing something like that. I never knew they had anything like that for the home, and he's lucky, while his insurance pays 100% for his CPAP machine and replacement masks.

Well, thank you again for your advice. I wish you peaceful sleep, and hope you will feel better soon, as we all want the same thing.

Marco

Follow Ups:

• Re: Fear of surgery Wabasha11 08:42 2/26/04 (0)

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