Stop Treatment, Condition Returns

Makes commonsense. Does it NOT?

Hey folks,

Many of you know that I suffer from a few different Medical Conditions. Some I can help, some a I can't One of my many Sleep Disorders is OSA or Obstructive Sleep Apnea. This is where your breathing is cut off during the night, WHILE you are Sleeping. This means, you actually STOP Breathing. This in turn wakes you up. Occurring more than a few times a night, most of which you will not even know it. After a while though, you will find yourselves tired. I'm not talking drowsy after a hard day's work or the exercising thing. I'm talking falling asleep at a Red Light. Drowsy WHILE driving. Worn out and feeling beat up. I have also learned that this can cause High Blood Pressure, debilitating Head Aches, and Heart Burn so bad it makes you sweat. I also learned that Heart Disease risk heightens in Patients with OSA.

Now one of the Treatments for this is a CPAP Therapy.

CPAP is a common treatment for OSA patients, whose breathing is interrupted many times during sleep due to the repeated blockage of the upper airway. CPAP keeps the airway open by pumping a continuous stream of air through a mask or nose piece the patient wears while sleeping.

Now this was my reaction the first time I heard this.

So he wants me to go in and do a sleep study. That is where you spend the night and they monitor you while you sleep. Then I would get fitted for a machine that will make me sound like Darth Vader while I sleep. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to go through all this. But you know me. It got me curious.

Now to this day, I still haven't done it. But those of you who HAVE. Please keep this in mind. Like with most Medical Conditions, if you STOP treating it, it returns. Or the symptoms return. Makes commonsense. Does it NOT?

According to Health Day - Sleep Apnea Makes Quick Return When Treatment Stops

People who use a continuous positive airway pressure machine need to use them consistently

FRIDAY, Aug. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and sleepiness rapidly return when patients stop using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines, a new study finds.

CPAP is a common treatment for OSA patients, whose breathing is interrupted many times during sleep due to the repeated blockage of the upper airway. CPAP keeps the airway open by pumping a continuous stream of air through a mask or nose piece the patient wears while sleeping.

This Swiss study included patients on CPAP therapy who were randomly selected to either continue or discontinue CPAP for two weeks. Those who stopped CPAP experienced a return of OSA and sleepiness within a few days. Within 14 days, they had significant increases in heart rate and blood pressure, and a deterioration in vascular function.

The results suggest that even a short break in CPAP therapy has a negative effect on the cardiovascular system, the researchers said.

They also noted their findings show that OSA patients need to continuously use CPAP, including taking their machines with them on holidays.

The study appears online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

So if you are using a CPAP, keep doing so. But then again, no matter what treatment and condition you are dealing with. FOLLOW your Doctor's advice. Follow the program. I remember talking with Dr. Stuart Shipe. We were talking about changing my Diet and Detoxing my Body. He told me a story of a few of his Patients that went through the system, did GREAT, then stopped, going back to their old habits and lifestyles. What happens? Yup. They went right back to their negative Health conditions as well. So the bottom line here is simple. Keep doing what you are doing if it is working for you. Go FORWORD, not backwards.
Peter

Sources:
Health Day - Sleep Apnea Makes Quick Return When Treatment Stops
OPNTalk - Obstructive Sleep Apnea