Woman sheds 15 stone after improving oxygen intake
A woman lost 15 stone after using portable oxygen to combat sleep apnoea, it has been reported.
Diane MacLean was 28 stone before she suffered a fall that led to doctors diagnosing her with the oxygen-depriving condition sleep apnoea, she told The Sun.
The mental health nurse struggled to partake in physical activities with her two children as her weight impacted her ability to move.
It was only when her husband, Callum, noticed that her breathing stalled during sleep that the 42-year-old realised it was time to seek medical advice.
However, before she could make the appointment, the mother-of-two took a fall that put her in hospital, where medics uncovered the underlying condition, which had been brought on by her size.
She told the news provider about her sleeping problems, saying: “It was horrible, broken catnapping where I would sleep for 15 minutes, lie awake for 15, doze off again for 15 and this would continue throughout the night.”
Sleep apnoea affects patients by stopping them breathing during sleep so that their blood oxygen levels decline.
Breathing starts again when the airway is reopened, which is usually caused by arousal.
The symptoms of the condition vary between men and women, with sleep expert professor Mary Morell telling The Sun that sleep apnoea may be less likely to be identified in women.
The reason for this is that their symptoms include lack of energy, tiredness and fatigue, while signs of the problem in men can be more evident, such as snoring.
After Diane was diagnosed with sleep apnoea, she said she “began wearing a mask” that recognised when she stopped breathing and from there she adopted a more active lifestyle.
The two types of obstructive sleep apnoea are apnoea and hypopnoea, with the former resulting in total blockage of the airway for ten seconds, compared to around a 50 per cent reduction in air flow in the latter.
Posted by Jenny Richards
16/04/2012 16:20:11
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