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  1. #1

    Question Over 60, with sleep apnea......

    Question for "past" Thru-hikers! How many over 60-years old, and having sleep apnea. took the plunge and did a Thru hike anyway??
    Cherokee Bill ..... previously known as "billyboy"

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    Registered User ChinMusic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cherokee Bill View Post
    Question for "past" Thru-hikers! How many over 60-years old, and having sleep apnea. took the plunge and did a Thru hike anyway??
    Seek the opinion of your local dentist. There are custom "mouth guards" and other appliances that can make your breathing better in the field. You may even find they do as good of a job as CPAP
    Fear ridges that are depicted as flat lines on a profile map.

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    [QUOTE=ChinMusic;1493461]Seek the opinion of your local dentist. There are custom "mouth guards" and other appliances that can make your breathing better in the field. You may even find they do as good of a job as CPAP[

    You are correct, as I started with the mouth appliance about 15-years ago! Finally, the apnea got to the point, I had to go to a Bipap! This is the reason for my original post!!!
    Cherokee Bill ..... previously known as "billyboy"

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    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    I disagree, the right person for sleep apnea is a ear, nose & throat specialist. The mouth guards are a pita and are worthless when snoring. Although I am not a thru hiker, I am a Apnea sufferer. at 225 pounds. Have been since I was 26, I have had several nose operations to correct a deviated septum and uvula operation... no regrets its worth it. Just do it.

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    Last edited by Wise Old Owl; 06-27-2013 at 19:52.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

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    Registered User ChinMusic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    I disagree.... The mouth guards are a pita and are worthless when snoring.
    I AM a dentist. Your opinion is way off base. I have successfully treated snoring for years.

    Sorry your experience is lacking. Find someone better.
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    There is nothing worse then being in a shelter with some one with sleep apnea. Except when there are two, one on either side of you! (Happend to me in the Smokies, no choice in the matter)

    You can certianly try a thru hike, but at 66 with sleep apnea and possibly over weight, the odds are against you getting too far. But if your not too over weight and in other wise good health and condition, it might not be too bad.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slo-go'en View Post
    There is nothing worse then being in a shelter with some one with sleep apnea. Except when there are two, one on either side of you! (Happend to me in the Smokies, no choice in the matter)

    You can certianly try a thru hike, but at 66 with sleep apnea and possibly over weight, the odds are against you getting too far. But if your not too over weight and in other wise good health and condition, it might not be too bad.
    I cannot agree more that snoring is a pain in the butt if you are trying to sleep! Additionally, everyone with sleep apnea, are not "obese"!!!! I am only 7-lb above my "ideal weight"!
    Cherokee Bill ..... previously known as "billyboy"

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    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ChinMusic View Post
    I AM a dentist. Your opinion is way off base. I have successfully treated snoring for years.

    Sorry your experience is lacking. Find someone better.

    Oh Chin, here you go again... We are both educated, we love our jobs, and most important we are adults... Without a doubt IF I had a jaw issue I would be the guy that would call you first for an opinion and since I left Chicago .. I would still visit., I trust you. Yes I have been to the best dentists had the trays made .... Uh but keep in mind I have been to the best in Chester County here. But the ear nose and throat are IMO better... its an honest opinion. Hey damn common sense. MY snoring could not be solved as I went thru a dentist at first. A mouth guard is awesome for some - it did not work for me. That doesn't reflect on you... You are great dentist.


    Going forward if you ever see this Talk about your and others success ,, not the failures. Don't ever destroy character, measure people by what they do.
    Last edited by Wise Old Owl; 07-02-2013 at 21:20.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

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    Registered User ChinMusic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    Oh Chin, here you go again... We are both educated, we love our jobs, and most important we are adults... Without a doubt IF I had a jaw issue I would be the guy that would call you first for an opinion and since I left Chicago .. I would still visit., I trust you. Yes I have been to the best dentists had the trays made .... Uh but keep in mind I have been to the best in Chester County here. But the ear nose and throat are IMO better... its an honest opinion. Hey damn common sense. MY snoring could not be solved as I went thru a dentist at first. A mouth guard is awesome for some - it did not work for me. That doesn't reflect on you... You are great dentist.


    Going forward if you ever see this Talk about your and others success ,, not the failures. Don't ever destroy character, measure people by what they do.
    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    I disagree, the right person for sleep apnea is a ear, nose & throat specialist. The mouth guards are a pita and are worthless when snoring.

    If you had simply posted that a guard did not work for you, I would not have even posted.
    I took issue with your blanket statement.

    I can tell you with certainty that the majority of my patients do not find mouth guards "worthless"
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    getting TAP-3 shortly, suffering with severe fatigue, but also have severe bipolar: http://www.glidewelldental.com/denti...ables-tap.aspx

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cherokee Bill View Post
    Question for "past" Thru-hikers! How many over 60-years old, and having sleep apnea. took the plunge and did a Thru hike anyway??
    CB...?...are you concerned with a health issue for youself or just concerned about your snoring bothering others?

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    Hi...


    There are battery operated C-paps. Have you considered them?

    I am a C-pap user...nose and mouth mask. Others have nose mask only. My MD suspected sleep apnea, and advised me to go for a sleep test. That test gave others the info to prescribe the proper apparatus.

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    Losing weight can help with sleep apnea. My respiratory doctor tells me that a standard recommendation for patients with sleep apnea is to lose 10% of your body weight. I did that, starting from just a few pounds over weight and went from having sleep apnea to not having sleep apnea.

    My cousin has sleep apnea and going on a CPAP raised his energy level enough that he was able to lose a considerable amount of weight.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Drybones View Post
    CB...?...are you concerned with a health issue for youself or just concerned about your snoring bothering others?
    I have sleep apnea (~15-yrs) and am on a Bipap! AS I said previously, I am only about 7-lb over ideal weight, however, I am working on losing 10% or more in body weight for MANY reasons! Guess, I was wondering if others with sleep apnea (I'm 66 & in good physical health) threw caution to the wind and did a Thru anyway?? I would tent camp, so as not to disturb others with my snoring (w/o the use of my Bipap). After 20+ years of backpacking parts of the "AT" I know enough to avoid shelters at all cost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Cherokee Bill ..... previously known as "billyboy"

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cherokee Bill View Post
    ... I was wondering if others with sleep apnea (I'm 66 & in good physical health) threw caution to the wind and did a Thru anyway?? ...
    The more hiking I did, the better, for me. My sleep apnea was relatively mild. There are potential health effects from uncontrolled sleep apnea. It's a tradeoff between the benefits of the exercise and hiker weight loss and the loss of energy from lack of sleep and other health effects of going without your BiPap. You ought to talk to your doctor about this. If you can find a battery powered CPAP/BiPAP that you can carry then I can't think of a reason not to do it. Without a battery powered bipap you need to discuss the pros and cons with a doctor, especially a sleep specialist. I hope you get to do the hike.

    Looking this stuff up, I find there are two kinds of sleep apnea:
    obstructive sleep apnea where weight or tight nasal passages, etc., restrict air flow causing snoring and apnea.
    Central sleep apnea, where the brain is fails to activate the respiratory muscles. I'm not sure Central sleep apnea would be affected by losing weight.

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    Registered User Cyngbaeld's Avatar
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    Might I suggest you try a gluten free diet first and see if the sleep apnea improves? My daughter had severe problems with it till she went gluten free and hasn't had any trouble since. She doesn't even snore at all now and I wasn't able to sleep in the same room with her before.

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    Default Hiking with Sleep Apnea

    I have hiked the AT and I am a Sleep Specialist.

    Unfortunately we determine a patients ability to use a mouth-guard (Mandibular Advancement Split) based on the type and severity of the sleep apnea. The MAS really only works for "Obstructive" sleep apnea with no worse than a mild to moderate severity (an AHI: less that 20). Surgical options really aren't recommended for patients over the age of 50.

    It is true that there are CPAP units that are battery operated. But they aren't light enough, small enough, or hold a charge long enough to be a real option.

    My opinion is to have a night time sleep study to determine the severity of your sleep apnea. If it is too severe for the MAS (Mouth-Guard) then take some time to loose as much weight as possible before the trip. The more weight you loose... Likelihood is the less apnea you will have. If you can cut your severity level down some then you can look into having a mouth Guard fitted for you.

    Generally speaking the mouthguard in about 70-75% effective in eliminating sleep apnea and primary snoring.

    I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me via email if you have any questions. [email protected]


    Quote Originally Posted by Cherokee Bill View Post
    Question for "past" Thru-hikers! How many over 60-years old, and having sleep apnea. took the plunge and did a Thru hike anyway??

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    SleepVic - Thanks for weighing in. I'm wondering - do you have an opinion on treatment (perhaps off-label use of Diamox?) for hypobaric central sleep apnea? This might be of interest if I ever hike in the West again; I'm more sensitive to altitude than the average bear. (I know: I can't take it as medical advice: you're a doctor, but you're not my doctor. But my doctor isn't a hiker, so can you let me know what words to say to a pulmonologist?)
    I always know where I am. I'm right here.

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    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SleepVic View Post
    I have hiked the AT and I am a Sleep Specialist.

    Unfortunately we determine a patients ability to use a mouth-guard (Mandibular Advancement Split) based on the type and severity of the sleep apnea. The MAS really only works for "Obstructive" sleep apnea with no worse than a mild to moderate severity (an AHI: less that 20). Surgical options really aren't recommended for patients over the age of 50.

    It is true that there are CPAP units that are battery operated. But they aren't light enough, small enough, or hold a charge long enough to be a real option.

    My opinion is to have a night time sleep study to determine the severity of your sleep apnea. If it is too severe for the MAS (Mouth-Guard) then take some time to loose as much weight as possible before the trip. The more weight you loose... Likelihood is the less apnea you will have. If you can cut your severity level down some then you can look into having a mouth Guard fitted for you.

    Generally speaking the mouthguard in about 70-75% effective in eliminating sleep apnea and primary snoring.

    I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me via email if you have any questions. [email protected]

    I agree about 2005 I had to spend a week in the woods with a troop and charged a deep cycle battery for the cpap with a 300 watt inverter (double the watts needed) from the machines needs. It was good till five am as we went to bed about 10... hopefully the men in the lean too did not complain the options of me snoring would have gotten me kicked out, instead all they heard was the noise of the cooling fan of the inverter. Each day I took it up to the Quonset hut for charging... the out of the box thinking worked very well. Prior to shut down (Low battery) the built in alarm woke me up to turn it off.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

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    Registered User Siestita's Avatar
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    Thank you SleepVic for your helpful and obviously well informed post!

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