Robert has been very fatigued recently. I have noticed that he is having severe sleep apnea, I mentioned this to the ent and he said that with everything else going on that he will wait to address the sleep apnea. Well I am very concerned about the decresed oxyzen levels that often come with sleep apnea. He wakes up about every minute and his legs constantly move, he was not this bad before treatment. He had tonsils( bilateral) and modified radical neck in december and finished radiation 3-9-06. He is still getting taxol/carbo for 3 more treatments. He is back at work, and eatting well but he is exhausted. I know the chemo will cause fatigue ,but I can not help but wonder if poor sleep may be adding to the fatigue. I have tried to get him to work less,but the company MD put him back on 8 hour shifts, and said he could have short days anytime he wanted, but he does not take them. He has chemo today and will take the week off. Has anyone else had post-op sleep apnea? Thanks

Having had a husband with that problem until he lost weight, I would suggest that sooner than later would be the time to address this, as it is not only adding to his fatigue, as you are aware, but this places a great strain on the heart. Not a harmless thing at all.

Edited to add that this instance of sleep apnea was not related to any surgery.

Hi Nancy,

I am very surprised that the ENT is not doing something about Robert's APNEA. Despite everything that he has gone through, a potentially life threatening condition such as APNEA, should never be ignored. I would push the ENT for a sleep study and treatment. Robert's exhaustion is more than likely being increased due to his APNEA.

Good luck.

Jerry

Hi Nancy. My husband finished radiation and chemo 4/4/06 and had radical neck dissection 4/13/06. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that he has developed severe sleep apnea as well and am worried about it. His breathing is so rapid during sleep and he quits breathing for numerous seconds every so often. It seems in the mornings, after he has stirred awake and then gone right back to sleep, that it is not as bad then. I am wondering if him taking a 1 mg Ativan at bedtime, along with an over the counter sleep aid could be contributing to it. If he doesn't take them, he has trouble falling asleep. We haven't addressed to the doc yet - I guess we better but in recovering from everything else, I hate for him to have to throw another thing into the mix. Let me know how your husband is doing with it, as I notice your original post which I just read is from a couple weeks ago.
Thanks.
Michele