Any doctors or Medically experienced people?

[98ninja]

i have a question relating to my problem with carbon dioxide retaining and i was wondering if there are any doctors or anyone with
experience in the medical practice that could help clarify a theory i have about something that happens to me

anyone?

[Rossi]

Not a medico but I work with the stuff

[Smitty]

Not a medico but I work with the stuff

yeah...bottling it

[MickLC]

i have a question relating to my problem with carbon dioxide retaining and i was wondering if there are any doctors or anyone with
experience in the medical practice that could help clarify a theory i have about something that happens to me

anyone?

I've got a background as a scientist in a pathology lab, the majority of which was in the clinical chemistry lab, so I know a little bit about that kind of stuff. I'll say straight up though that I am not a doctor and you should never take medical advice from anyone on the internet. If you have a problem, go see your doctor, and if they can't help then get them to refer you to a specialist who can.

So what do you mean by "carbon dioxide retaining"? And what is your theory?



...and did I mention that I am not a doctor and you should never take medical advice from anyone on the internet

[craig]

good advice mick.......now if you could help me with....

[Glen]

...and did I mention that I am not a doctor ...

That's not what you said when you were offering free prostate examinations in the Love Shack.....

[98ninja]

im not on here to cure my problem just looking for others opinions.

ok here goes.....
I enlisted in the Navy as a clearance diver and got through all the training until the phase of training where you dive
on a closed circuit rebreather. To explain a closed circuit rebreather in its simplest terms, an oxygen canister feeds 100% oxygen into a closed circuit which is then recycled over and over by having the carbon dioxide "scrubbed" out of it by a lime substance.
Now the good side of such a dive set is the phenomenal amount of time one can stay submerged for. up to 6 hours in some cases with the more experienced and relaxed divers in comparison to maybe 40-50 minutes max on an open circuit set like scuba.
one of the bad sides is the closed circuit is prone to not be such a closed circuit with inexperienced users and once the lime substance gets moist or wet then it loses its carbon dioxide scrubbing qualities. you then have a diver breathing carbon dioxide until he/she realises it and follows procedure to flushes out the carbon dioxide.
The way i had it explained to me was everyone has a little switch inside someones brain that says " hey your breathing poison".
it was determined that i do not possess this switch and its supposedly quite common amongst the population but not that common amongst divers. after some horrid experiences and some really bad carbon dioxide poisoning i was declared permanently medically unfit to dive.
i was also warned to stay away from any commerical rebreather diving or breathhold diving as i have the potential to die or become very badly damaged doing so.

Now on to the point.
anywhere from 2 to 10 times a night i will wake up and be completely paralysed and unable to move and struggling to breathe. its really distressing. i decided to change the conditions i sleep in too see if it was an environmental cause.
i found that in a room with high air circulation it doesnt happen either at all or anywhere near as much.

now my question is
does anyone else experience this whilst asleep?
does it seem likely that im choking on carbon dioxide?
my girlfriend has remarked that i dont move or make any noise whilst asleep apart from these episodes. she seems to think that when people "stir" when theyre asleep that its the switch waking them up.
any opinions? any advice ? ( yes im planning on seeing a doctor about this)

[MickLC]

Ah OK, I see. I'll have to do a bit of reading first on that one but I'll see what I can find.


....and Glen, I know you're not a nurse, so why were you offering all those bed baths in the love shack?

[aardvark]

I'd suggest you get a referal letter from your doctor to attend a sleep study. They'll hook you up to more wires than you've ever seen before find the cause of your sleeping problem.

[Glen]

Ah OK, I see. I'll have to do a bit of reading first on that one but I'll see what I can find.


....and Glen, I know you're not a nurse, so why were you offering all those bed baths in the love shack?

Ah well you know when a mans away from home for a while.........

[Frank]

I'd suggest you get a referal letter from your doctor to attend a sleep study. They'll hook you up to more wires than you've ever seen before find the cause of your sleeping problem.

I had one of those sleep studies done, it's a PITA but it certainly tells you alot, like apparently I stop breathing up to 20 times a night and need to use a cpap machine when I sleep, mainly due to my snoring (sleep apnea) or need to lose a bit of weight.

[ducati_paul]

Check your PM I sent you some info that may help

[JetPilot]

My father and i suffer from something, not sure of the medical term, but both of us awake in our sleep from not breathing. I awake with a huge breath then I'm back to sleep. This might happen 2 or 3 times a night. I know this doesn't help, but your not alone in this world with the similar symptoms.
I'm not dead yet so thats a good thing....

[Glen]

I'd suggest you get a referal letter from your doctor to attend a sleep study. They'll hook you up to more wires than you've ever seen before find the cause of your sleeping problem.

I had one of those sleep studies done, it's a PITA but it certainly tells you alot, like apparently I stop breathing up to 20 times a night and need to use a cpap machine when I sleep, mainly due to my snoring (sleep apnea) or need to lose a bit of weight.

It's probably got more to do with your roommate sticking a pillow over your head but hey if you want to go with the medical opinion Franko ......

[Rossi]

oddly enough the place I work for is the leader in the field for sleep apnea equipment - you'll need a referral from your GP.
I can get you a contact to talk to in NSW --- if you want just drop me a PM