Swindon man diagnosed with sleep apnea after suffering for nearly 20 years
3:48pm Sunday 10th February 2008 in News By Serena Willoughby
Do you know someone who snores? It could be a symptom of sleep apnea
A Swindon man has been diagnosed with one of the worst cases of sleep apnea that doctors have ever seen in Britain.
The condition which causes a person's airways to close when they are asleep, tortured Philip Skeates, 39, for nearly 20 years.
Sufferers of sleep apnea are rarely aware of it, and usually become conditioned to the daytime sleepiness and fatigue that occur because of it.
The seriousness of the condition for Mr. Skeates meant that he would wake up once every 40 seconds, throughout the night, thereby only achieving true REM sleep for a couple of seconds at a time and cumulatively for about 15 minutes a night.
But after the condition's accompanying snoring pushed his wife to the end of her rope, she convinced him to see a doctor.
Doctors at Great Western hospital, monitored Mr. Skeates sleep and couldn't believe what they discovered.
"The doctors said it was one of the worst cases they had ever seen," he explained. "I was really only getting 14 minutes of sleep," he said.
The hospital arranged to have a continuous positive airway pressure machine installed at Skeates's home. It contains an oxygen mask and tube which he must wear while he sleeps. The equipment forces air into the lungs and keeps the airways clear.
advertisement His snoring stopped instantly and within weeks he was feeling refreshed after just seven hours of sleep. He's also lost weight and his family has noticed a definite improvement in his mood.
"Now we have a laugh together again and we're also able to do things as a family which we never did before because he was always so tired. I've also been able to have a good night's sleep for the first time in years," said wife Lisa Skeates.
Doctors estimate about one in five cases of sleep apnea are ever diagnosed.
The term "Pickwickian syndrome" is sometimes used for the syndrome, coined by the early 20th century physician, William Osler. The name comes from a Charles Dickens novel, The Pickwick Papers, in which the description of Joe, "the fat boy" is an accurate clinical picture of adult obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
While snoring is a major symptom of sleep apnea, not everyone who snores has it. But a major indicator is if someone snores and it stops suddenly. When breathing starts again, there is typically a deep gasp, and then the resumption of snoring.
