Subject: Fwd: Breathing while sleeping From: Ernst Meyer Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:37:57 -0400 To: undisclosed-recipients:; -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Breathing while sleeping Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:23:52 -0500 From: Marion Namenwirth Organization: University of Minnesota To: Jochen Meyer Dear Jochen, Thankyou VERY much for your letter, and for forwarding Nathaniel's letter to Helmut, and your letter to Helmut (which just arrived and is yet unread), as well as the latest chapters of the plumbing saga. It was only when reading your letter to "Cyndy" (Cindy?), that I realized that what I had assumed was Nathaniel's obscure biblical reference to "Canaan", which had been beyond my understanding, was actually referring to your visit to Canaan, N.Y! I plan to write to Nathaniel soon, about his evocative Tanglewood essay, and about Micha's reactions to the Dvorak CD. Revealing to me was that, while Micha heard much to find fault with in the orchestral rendition of the Dvorak works, his appraisal of the cello soloist was of the same order......definitely shows talent but has a long way to go. I was surprised. The cello concerto really impressed me. Well, I'm no pro, it's safe to say. I suppose I'm no expert when it comes to Fluid Engineering either, yet I'm most impressed with your engineer's letter. Great job, both of you! What a lot of work to pull all that together! Packing it into that detailed questionnaire must have been a killer. I had indeed thought that I'd give the medical reportage a rest, so as not to wear out your interest. But, since you ask....... Last Friday I had a long, leisurely appointment with Dr. Melissa King-Biggs, the Pulmonologist recommended by Dr. Skarda to get a second opinion. She went over my various test results and explained her take on my situation. She thinks that I should begin by ameliorating the overnight Hypoxia. To that end, I am scheduled for a second sleep study on Sunday night 9/25. They will monitor my Oxygen saturation and Carbon Dioxide too (she says that was too high while sleeping), and administer air puffs and, if necessary, air + Oxygen puffs, while I'm asleep, to see what it takes to get my blood Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide to where they should be. Then the insurance would rent an apparatus for me to use while sleeping. It would emit air, or air + Oxygen, whenever I breathe, and if it detected too long an interval since the previous breath, it would pulse air (or air + oxygen) in such a way as to trigger a breath. Since it had taken many hours for me to fall asleep on my previous trip to the sleep clinic, Dr. King-Biggs prescribed an Ambien tablet for the test. After reading that this alters respiration, I questioned its usefulness. We compromised that I would take only half the pill. According to King-Biggs it is possible that, once the night-time Hypoxia is corrected, some of my other abnormalities could subside as well. My daytime Oxygen saturation is on the low side and experience shows that the brain control of respiration may reset itself in time. Also the tests gave evidence of Pulmonary Hypertension, which also might improve since it could have arisen in response to my Hypoxia. King-Biggs seemed unimpressed with the Tufts X-ray person's characterization of my CT scans as showing "dirty lungs". She drew me out about my exposure to lots of dust, mold and even mouse poop when I was sorting through my things before moving a year ago. She wondered whether Thyroid insufficiency could be causing me respiratory problems, but a blood test showed my Thyroxine level to be normal. So we'll see. Meanwhile Health-Partners has scheduled another appointment for me on 9/21 with Dr. Balkrishna Jahagirdar, the Blood Cancer specialist. I suppose he wants to see if my cell count is altered from 3 months ago. I'll phone and find out what he's after; if it's just the blood draw, I can have it done at the clinic near my house. Best wishes for your journey to Konnarock. Marion