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One reader reports: "I had (hopefully gone now) sleep apnea. When I was young I would record my grandmother snoring. She definitely had sleep apnea. She would stop breathing and then gasp for air. It seemed funny at the time. She died of heart disease.
Yours must be a frequent story, since sleep apnea runs so strongly in families. I hear my own mother, now crippled with the combined effects of multiple sclerosis and a stroke, snoring, gasping, and stopping breathing. She complains of great tiredness and sleeps on and off all day, taking an occasional stimulant to keep herself awake for an hour or so and a sleeping medication to help her sleep better. Needless to say, I am appalled and have tried to convince her to have a sleep study, but she flatly refuses, arguing that she already has so many problems she doesn't need a new one, especially one that involves an elaborate test. She is so opposed to going in to the doctor that she hasn't been in years--just gets her medical needs taken care of over the phone by the doctor and at home by visiting nurses, physical therapists, etc.
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AUDIENCE COMMENTS
My father also has similar symptoms. He would gasp and snort when sleeping in his recliner."
MY RESPONSE
We have to get past the point of thinking snoring is funny; sometimes it is fatal. I hope your father gets the help he needs before he ends up like your grandmother. Incidentally, I have noticed other sleep apneics using recliners to sleep; maybe this is because elevation of the upper torso does something to lessen the sleep apnea. Unfortunately, in cases of positional apnea, it also largely prevents the person from sleeping on their side.
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