THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506160174
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Mr. Roberts' Neighborhood
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
I was wide awake for the seminar an eye opener for some, memories of sleepless nights for others.
The session on ``Sleep Disorders: Their Cause, Their Treatment,'' at The Women's Center of Obici Hospital was a familiar topic to this once-sleep-deprived writer. Two years ago, I wrote of my experiences with sleep apnea, and readers still ask me about it.
The condition means that you are not getting enough oxygen while you are asleep, and that can be dangerous.
Dr. Michael Slattery, a sleep specialist and neurologist, spoke to a roomful of people with the problem, plus several who had overcome it.
Excessive daytime sleeping and loud snoring are major symptoms, he said. ``People often wake at night, sometimes gasping or choking,'' he said. ``They're restless (because) they had a non-refreshing sleep.'' That was me a few years ago.
Possible results: poor memory, a personality change, dry mouth, headaches, depression and a rhythm disturbance of the heart that could be life threatening.
Me? Well, my memory is still not too good; my personality - well, ask my family and co-workers; I still have dry mouth at night; I don't get headaches; but my memory is still not too good.
Sleep apnea, affecting 1 to 3 percent of adults, is most common among elderly males, especially those who are overweight and have short, fat necks. I'm not slim but not way over the scales, and I don't have a short, fat neck.
Slattery said people with sleep apnea often fall asleep at the wheel, resulting in accidents. I can attest to that. I wound up in many a ditch between Suffolk and my Hertford, N.C., abode.
When Slattery asked the 50 or so people if they dozed off while driving, four admitted it. ``Some,'' the doctor said, ``may not admit it.''
He also discussed another symptom I clearly remember: ``Driving from one point to another, not realizing how you got to your destination.'' Many times I tooled along in a sort-of twilight zone, my vehicle seemingly steering itself.
I sometimes made an incorrect turn, taking the long way home - but I got there. Talk about guardian angels!
A seminar video and I parted company when it introduced a mask to enable ``continuous positive airway pressure,'' giving the proper amount of air for a good night's sleep.
Technicians at Sentara Norfolk General tried to persuade me to use the mask, but my doctor recommended surgery. Two weeks of heavy throat pain followed the operation, but it was worth it. For me, sleep apnea is history.
A woman at the meeting said she had been using a mask for about a year and was quite content with it.
Whatever the route, the important thing for people with apnea is to put the dangerous sleep problems behind them. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by FRANK ROBERTS
Vivian Beauchamp, left, and Ann Lassiter, right, staff members at
Obici Hospital, help Mary Anderson try on a mask for sleep apnea.
by CNB