Sleep Apnea

Steadfast · Post by **Steadfast** » July 23rd, 2004, 6:34 am

I have a buddy who says he has had Sleep Apnea since RVN. What I am interested in and am not sure I can get that question asked here as it has no revelance to being an Army Ranger. I am interested in finding out if Sleep Apnea would disqualify an individual from any sort of SCUBA training or work. I will not be disappointed if you told me you don't know. If you intend to respond to my question, please don't rush. I am leaving tomorrow for west coast reunion & won't be back until middle of next month. Thanks in advance either way. Feel free to PM me for reason for this request.

Ranger2 · Post by **Ranger2** » July 23rd, 2004, 7:37 am

It shouldn't disqualify you from anything. It can be treated. My dad has it and it really is just a sleep disorder but it can lead to other things just because you aren't getting good sleep. So it really leads to things that evolve from not getting enough sleep and being fully rested. There are all kinds of treatments and any good doctor should be able to help. My father ended up going to sleep specialists and sometimes wears a device that helps prevent it at night. I am sure there is tons of info on the internet.

Ranger2

McD · Post by **McD** » July 23rd, 2004, 7:58 am

I have Apnea Steadfast. It is very treatable. I can't see any reason it would pose a problem for either Scuba or work. For those who want to know having Apnea causes you to stop breathing while you are sleeping. It happens as you go into your deep sleep cycle where your body gets its "Real" rest. As your body relaxes the airway closes which causes you to wake up gasping for breath hence the lack of sleep. Couple ways to treat. One is to use a mouth piece which actually forces your lower jaw forward and helps to keep your airway open. Another is the "Machine" which pumps air into your airway while you sleep which keeps your airway open. The final way to fix Apnea is with surgery, where they cut out some of the soft palet at the back of your throat which is what actually saels of your airway when it relaxes while sleeping.

If you can breath through your nose well the mouth piece and machine will work with the machine being the better method. But with the machine you have a nose mask and hose strapped on which is a pain but works well once you get use to it. But there are side effects from using the machine. You get filled with air during the night and fart your ass off for an hour or 2 in the morning. I counldn't breath through my nose very well so after a year of using the machine I ended up having the surgery. IT SUCKS!! Take your worse sore throat and multiply by 10, but it works. Looks funny in there though no little ding a ling hanging down.

I have my machine still kicking around if need to get one. They cost about a grand! I'd give him a good deal!
I bet he snores like a SOB. I did which is hard when you are trying to keep your noise disipline!!

EDIT I should have mentioned.. kind of important. Apnea is bad for your health. Your oxygen level can become dangerously low during the night which puts a huge amount of stress on your heart. Not Good.

Steadfast · Post by **Steadfast** » July 23rd, 2004, 1:58 pm

Thanks for the responses. Very informative McD. That makes another question pop up in my mind. If the diver had a deep dive and had to stay in a Compression Chamber for like 18 hours after a dive to avoid the bends, technically he could still be in trouble if he were to fall asleep, without the proper aids.

I still think it might be one of those items that disqualifes a person from going SCUBA.

McD · Post by **McD** » July 23rd, 2004, 2:43 pm

It is the long term effects of having a low oxygen level and the fact that you can fall asleep at the drop of a hat. I wonder if you snore in a high squelly pitch if there is a helium mix in the chamber?