Jubilee Hospital, Trivandrum.
This post s for those suffering from this deadly, little know deadly disorder-OSA-Obstructive Sleep Apnea, searching for an effective treatment. Please read the experience of one of my patients. Kindly read it till the end and judge yourself.
Dear Dr. Paulose,
It is with a deep sense of gratitude that I write this mail to you. You have literally given me a new lease of life!
It is so unfortunate that many – even experienced doctors – are not willing to go beyond a simplistic CPAP prescription for treating this illness. It is in such a scenario that I firmly believe that you and your website have been instrumental in not only educating Sleep Apnoea sufferers but giving them a tangible alternative from a life of CPAP misery to a full recovery from their illness. I salute your compassion for your patients and your commitment towards raising awareness and treating this little known ailment. I sincerely pray that the Good Lord bless you and your family with good health and strength to continue this charitable endeavour. My warmest wishes also to the nursing staff at the Jubilee Memorial Hospital for their service with a smile.
I too wish to make a small contribution to your wonderful effort by sharing my experience with OSA (see below) with readers of your website in the hope that it will serve to increase the awareness even further.
Thank you and best regards,
Aldrin Luiz
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea – My Story
“I don\’t want to become a slave of CPAP”
I am a 37 year old working as the General Manager for the international Research Agency Ipsos in Bahrain. 3 years back, I started experiencing unusual fatigue despite having a good night sleep. During the same period, I also appear to have developed loud snoring with regular complaints from my young children that they couldn\’t bear sleeping with me! Also I was feeling tired at work all the time. At first I did not think too much about it and thought it would go away if I used some energy supplements. But it didn\’t. I first sought treatment 2 ½ years back when while driving I had few incidents of falling asleep behind the wheel; albeit momentarily, it was frightening. The doctor who first saw me did a number of tests including Thyroid functioning check followed by Adrenal Gland functioning check but couldn\’t make any conclusive diagnosis and suggested that job stress might be to blame. Another doctor even suspected I might be going through a phase of depression! So that was it. I left it at that for the next 1 year but all through, my routine check up\’s indicated increasing BP and uric acid levels. Also my heart beat rate was viewed as high. Though I controlled intake of purine rich foods, the uric acid levels continued to remain high and I started taking Zyloric. Also doctors advised that it was dangerous to continue with the high BP and heart beat rate. So I started taking medicines to control the BP as well.
Whilst in India for Christmas in 2010, my parents chanced to notice the momentary stoppage and starting of my breathing while I was asleep and took me to see an ENT in Ernakulam. His advice was to have a sleep study conducted but since I did not have the time, I did this on my return to Bahrain and the results concluded that I had severe obstructive sleep apnoea and the doctor there advised that there was no alternative treatment but to start CPAP immediately. I was even recommended a supplier promptly!
Having read through the experiences of OSA patients on the net regarding their experience with CPAP, I was very disappointed and couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life hooked up to this machine at night. The un-comfortableness of using the equipment, constant maintenance required, difficulties while travelling, how the family would react to me using this were all concerns. But all the doctors that we consulted had only one standard response – “use CPAP immediately”. I had almost resigned to the fact that this was it but my father couldn\’t bear the thought of me using this machine for the rest of my life. He was constantly checking with doctors and on the internet for alternatives and this is when by God\’s Grace he came across Dr. Paulose\’s website. It was both interesting and encouraging to read Dr. Paulose\’s take on OSA and his mode of treatment sounded so logical. Dad contacted Dr. Paulose and also informed me about it. Having visited the website, I read the testimonial of one Mr. Sundaresan from Oman and also had the good fortune of talking with him about his problem and subsequent surgery. After more than 2 years of struggling with the tiredness and not understanding the cause for it, there finally appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel.
Dr. Paulose was extremely cooperative and we arranged for myself to come in for a few days in April 2011 to have a check-up. I still cannot forget that initial interaction with Dr. Paulose. I have seen many doctors before but I can honestly say that Dr. Paulose is a rare gem of a doctor. Simple words, genuine empathy and caring interaction spiced with humour really put all of us at ease and we left the hospital full of hope after confirming the surgery date with the doctor.
The surgery was in June 2011 and Dr. Paulose was kind enough to accommodate me despite his busy schedule. I was admitted on the day before the surgery. The hospital room I stayed in was air conditioned, had Cable TV, attached toilet and clean. The procedure took around 1.5 hours under anaesthesia following which I was transferred to the ICU/observation room for 1 day before being shifted back to my room the following day. I was discharged the next day and we travelled back to our home in Kochi. All the doctors and caring nursing staff at the Jubilee Memorial Hospital that I interacted with deserve special praise for their genuine caring attitude all of which went a long way in making me feel relaxed during the whole experience.
There was some amount of pain comparable to a really bad sore throat for the first few days as in my case there was a partial removal of the tonsils and pain killers were prescribed. For me, it was mainly pain while swallowing so for the first few days, I was limited to liquid food and Dr. Paulose recommended liberal doses of ice-cream as a bonus to soothe the pain! By the end of the first week after surgery, the pain had nearly subsided and I had started having my normal foods though avoiding spicy and hot food items. Within the first week itself I could notice a significant improvement in myself. Gone was the daytime sleepiness and fatigue. For the first time in many years, I now wake refreshed after a good night sleep!
I am more than happy to share my experience with anyone who needs to talk about this. If anyone needs to contact me, they can do so at my email: aldrinluiz@hotmail.com
