Are Most All health issues Due To Sleep Apnea?

[Schnauzers 5]

Friday, had a huge scare. I woke with my left leg by knee very tender and feeling like it had a blood pressure cuff on it , or pulling tight feeling. On left side and the inside bend of my knee. I stopped by my doctors' office and made an appt for 3:40PM. The doctors' assist. wanted me to go have an ultra sound right away. I thought I would have to go to the hospital for it and wanted to because it is only two miles away and I can drive home from there in the dark if necessary. He said if it is a blood clot they will not let you go home. OH noooo, I have dogs to care for! So I was terrified of a clot especially after he said I would be on Cumadin for six months. Blood thinner rat poison. Bad stuff! So I managed to drive crying to the imaging pace a few miles away and luckily I was ok. Later, I spoke to a friend and she said vitamin D in large qualtities causes, a few days before. Diarrhea and skin muscle sensitivity. I had both. I was put on Vit D 2 50,000 units one a week for 4 weeks. After the first I am not taking any more that high. I have poor blood flow to my legs and even some neuropathy, ( not from diabetes, just poor circulation). So a blood clot terrifies me! I wonder what came first with my issues. I have vericose veins too. High blood pressure, the whole scarey mess. Swollen ankles and water retention. Is it the heart first or sleep apnea a contributor? I am going on a life style vegan diet to get my glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure in good shape. This really scared me. In replies, plesase don't tell me any scarey stories about someone you knew who died or lost a limb etc. While in the examining room Readers' Digest had two articles and photos of people missing limbs. NOT what I needed to see while in fear of my own.

[zonk]

I don,t know any stories just popped in to say hope you get better soon and good luck with the vegetarian diet
http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipeindex/R...Main/386/0

[zimlich]

I don't think most health issues are caused by sleep apnea. The problem with your leg was most probably not. I have benign essential tremor, bipolar disorder, hypothyroid- I am sure not one of these is connected with my sleep apnea. They are finding links to all kinds of illnesses and sleep apnea, but to my mind the connections to certain conditions is tenous at best. We know sleep apnea can affect the heart and blood pressure, diabetes. I think it's also important to make a distinction between treated and untreated sleep apnea. I think it's a chicken and the egg conundrum to figure out if your heart problems caused your hypertension and poor circulation or if the sleep apnea was a precipitating condition. There is so much research going on we are always getting new insight into the connection between sleep apnea and other conditions. You can't take genetics and lifestyle out of the mix either. SInce you know of each condition you have, I think the only thing to do is treat every condition and do as you're doing living a healthy lifestyle. My doc is not a fan of high doses of vit D. My last doctor had me on 50,000 units a week while my current physician has my on calcium/Vit D 600/400 twice a day. Good luck. Keep us posted.

[mjbearit]

SBT, not everything can be blamed on OSA. OSA can and often does exacerbate an existing condiion, but, looking at the facts, I have a family history of Type II diabetes on both sides of the family, yet, I am the only one I know of to have OSA. I would be much more inclined to believe that there is a gene in my family that gives one a predisposition to Type II diabetes, rather than OSA being to blame. The same is true with my Arthritis and other issues. BUT your body heals and repairs itself during periods of sleep. So has OSA made it worse or harder to control these issues? Most likely I would say "Yes". But is it to blame? No. Just my 2 cents.
As for DVT they are finding out a lot about that nowadays. Blood clots in the legs have many contributing factors and if you look up DVT or Deep Vein Thrombosis you can read up on it for yourself. It is something that needs to be taken care of, but if properly treated I understand it is not that big of a deal. Yes, I know you don't want to take more meds for it if that is the case, but at the same time it is only curable if you allow it to be cured, just like with OSA. Finding out you have it does no good without a course of action. Perhaps there are other avenues of treating this, but getting the diagnosis is the first step. If they do find you have DVT, then you can insist on an open, honest discussion about treatment options. Making an informed decision is only possible if you are informed. Insist on knowing all you can and if that means getting second opinions, reading up on the internet about stuff and asking point blank questions, then do so.. You are the owner of your body. The doctors are just the ones who help it to work properly. In the end every decision for treatment must be your decision. That is why you have to sign consent papers in the hospital. Don't sign if you disagree or don't understand. Even if you sign, you can still call a halt to a procedure if you feel it is wrong. Be your own advocate! But it all starts with information! Good luck!

[Schnauzers 5]

So far I do not have DVT and do not need blood thinners or treatment. I plan to find out the name I could not pronounce of the doctor I saw over a year ago when I had a different GP. The vascular doc was one of the best surgeons in the area. He suggested closing off a few veins that have vericose veins and I was afraid to do it. I also need compression stockings to above my knees. My father was 6'1 and a half and had vericose veins removed when I was in first grade. His father died at age 65 I think and had hardening of the arteries. My mothers' side of the family lives much longer into 80s and she lived to 92, never really overweight and very small lady under 5'2 at death. I loved being 5'7 with great legs as a young woman but now they are giving me trouble. I take this very seriously and I will do all I can to care for my legs and entire body. BTE not vegitarian, but vegan. No dairy either.