Neutral

....Thanks for bringing sleep apnea to the forefront i know many people who suffer from this disorder...myself included....congrats shaq for finding someone more suitable than the messy, lying, cheating, stealing shawnie i never liked her when we met in los angeles at a lakers game years ago and i am glad you found a mate in "Hoopz" she has natural beauty, sincerity, charm and i think you two will make it....

Reply to this Comment | Report This

Neutral

Good girl! It usually takes someone else to inform apnea sufferers of this issue.

Several years before I felt any effects from sleep apnea, my daughter pointed out that I often stopped breathing while asleep. I ignored her because I thought she was imagining; to the best of my knowledge I was sleeping just fine, and never attributed the progressive tiredness and sense of not getting enough rest to this malady.

Last year it became such an issue that I had to take my daughter's observations seriously, and I went to an ENT. (who wants someone poking something up their nose....buck, yuck)!!!

The at-home Sleep Study showed "mild apnea," but the ENT seems more concerned with reflux damage to my esophagus (didn't know I had that either. I thought it was just indigestion since the attacks were so sporadic), than with the mild apnea.

I'll know more next month after having been on the reflux meds for about 3 1/2 months by then.

Left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to heart attack and stroke. Thanks, Miss Nikki for getting such an important message to such an important Brother, and pressing him to take care of himself.

Reply to this Comment | Report This

Neutral

Sleep apnea is no joke; not a new health risk and it's good that his girlfriend cares enough about Shaq to realize that he has a health problem that can potentially kill him as he sleeps.

The risk of sleep apnea rises with increasing body weight, active smoking and age. In addition, patients with diabetes or "borderline" diabetes have up to three times the risk of having sleep apnea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea

Reggie White, the late pro football hall of famer and super bowl champion with the Green bay packers, died from sleep apnea in his sleep several years ago after he retired and it became a complete shock top everyone since people who suffer from sleep apnea don't realize that they have a medical problem since while sleeping they can't tell and are rarely aware of having difficulty breathing, even upon awakening. Sleep apnea is recognized as a problem by others witnessing the individual during episodes (as in Shaq's case with Hoopz noticing) or is suspected because of its effects on the body.

My cousin for years had the problem of falling asleep during the day at a moment's notice.

He would be talking to someone or just sitting and suddenly he would just fall asleep. You would be talking to him on the phone and they would be pauses in the conservation because he suddendly fell asleep. I would yell his name through the phone and in each case he would just suddendly wake up and could not remember what we were talking about. And he complained about being sleepy and fatiqued all the time.

He had medical test done, spent four nights in the hospital and performed controlled sleep testing (slept in the hospital every night while being monitored) was diagonsed with sleep apnea and now he has to sleep every night with a mask called a Automatic Positive Airway Pressure (APAP) device which 'splints' the patient's airway open during sleep by means of a flow of pressurized air into the throat. The patient typically wears a plastic facial mask, which is connected by a flexible tube to a small bedside CPAP machine. The CPAP machine generates the required air pressure to keep the patient's airways open during sleep.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea

So in Shaq's case and to his benefit, it was a great observation by Hoopz instead of just waking up, shaking him and staring at him in anger saying that "you snore to damn loud", complain about it every night because she couldn't sleep, leave the bedroom to to find another bed to sleep in just to get away from him.

She probably saved his life.

And if someone you care about is constanly sawing logs or snoring like a freight train at night and has those snoring gaps of sucking for air at night which is totally unaware by the person who does the snoring, make an appointment immediately to see the doctor.

Reply to this Comment | Report This

Neutral

what the hell is sleep apena?

Reply to this Comment | Report This

Neutral

I read an article that said "sleep apnea" may be related to air pollution or exposure to other toxic chemicals. Does anyone know about this, I have sleep apnea too. God Bless

Reply to this Comment | Report This

Neutral

This is very helpful especially sleep problems caused by cognitive behavioural factors such as caffeine dependence, altered sleep pattern and stress. hypnosis

Reply to this Comment | Report This