News Archive 2002

The statistics are alarming.Four million Australians snore. One and a half million have insomnia. 400,000 have Sleep Apnea.

While sleep serves to re-fuel and service both body and mind so people are prepared for activity during the day, the quality and efficiency of this daytime activity can be severely affected because of factors resulting from disordered sleep.

A meeting focussing on sleep disorders will be held this Monday (November 25) at Calvary Hospital, starting at 6.30pm.

Its aim is to establish a support group for people suffering from sleep disorders.

Joan Nixon and Sister Barbara King are two local women who know what it is like to suffer from sleep disorders and who feel it would be beneficial to discuss their concerns with people who know exactly what they are going through.

After an overnight stint at Calvary Hospital, Joan was diagnosed with sleep Apnea in November 2001, while Sr Barbara was diagnosed several months later in March 2002.

A common condition affecting between two to four percent of the population, Sleep Apnea literally means absence of breath.

(A person with Sleep Apnea may have hundreds of these episodes throughout the night.)

Treatment for this condition is called nasal continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP.

This consists of a pump that blows air through a mask worn over the nose.

The pump only needs to be used at night and the treatment is immediately effective at controlling the symptoms.

“It was a relief to be officially diagnosed with a sleep disorder such as Sleep Apnea”, said Sr Barbara.

“After years of being inexplicably tired and having poor quality sleep, the relief that you’re not neurotic but actually have a medically diagnosable condition was wonderful.

“After my diagnosis I really wanted to talk to someone who was living with the condition, which is how I met Joan.

“Talking to people with the same complaints does make things easier,” she said.

Joan said the support group hoped to establish a “buddy” system, whereby people with any concerns can ring their buddy and talk over their problems.

“Hopefully, knowing they are not alone will make people feel better”, she said.

“After all, the more you understand something the more you can accept it”.

People interested in learning more about the proposed support group can contact Joan Nixon on 6926 1349 or Sr Barbara King on 6971 2147.

Article courtesy of the Riverina Leader, November 20, 2002