Sleep apnea solutions: Breathless no more

by Vincent Ma

After reading several posts here on the subject of the sleep apnea, I just thought I would add my two cents worth. First of all snoring is not normal. As men, we tend to think that snoring is macho, my father snored, my grandfather snored and my uncle snored so it's natural that I should snore. Snoring itself is not an indication of sleep apnea; however, if the snoring is frequently interrupted by periods of silence followed by a gagging or choking reflex is usually indicative of an episode. Severe sleep apnea (and what insurances look for) is an AHI of 15 or greater. AHI stands for Apnea-Hypopnea Index and an episode of sleep apnea occurs when a person stops breathing for 10 seconds or longer. The AHI is an hourly average during sleeping hours. So an AHI of 15 means that for every hour that you were asleep you stopped breathing for 10 secs or more, 15 times an hour.

Your body will react to the lack of oxygen by increasing your heart rate to increase your blood flow and "wake" you up. Most people do not become consciously awake, they only get out of REM sleep and slowly fall back into deep sleep.

The reason that sleep apnea has taking center stage in health is because sleep apnea has been linked to high blood pressure, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. Sleep Apnea is also blamed for a large percentage of automobile accidents.

Treatments range from lifestyle changes, oral devices, CPAP, minimally invasive surgery and major surgery:

Lifestyle changes include losing weight, which helps reduce pressure on the airway, sleeping on your side, exercising to increase muscle tone and dietary changes.

Oral devices are like mouth guards that you wear while sleeping. When you bite down on them it moves your jaw slightly forward to reduce the blocking of your airway. However, many patient complain of discomfort and excessive drooling.

CPAP is by far the most common treatment and usually the first-line of treatment. CPAP stands for Constant Positive Airway Pressure, and the machine just blows air to help keep your air passage open. CPAP technology has come a long way and now there is APAP (Auto-Adjusting) and BPAP (Bi-level). Both of these machines offer more comfort features to normal CPAP and just makes it easier to exhale. There are many different types of masks and more of them are becoming less obtrusive. As you can guess the major complaint of CPAP is the mask and the noise, but I can assure you at CPAP machines are now near silent and the newest mask that I have seen is not much larger than a snorkel.

There are a couple of different new surgical procedures that have recently been introduced that are just out patient procedures. The most popular is called the Pillar System by Restore Medical. The entire procedure involves three small incisions on the roof of your mouth and three pillars inserted. This makes the top of your mouth more rigid and less likely to block your airway.

The last option is the most severe and involves breaking your jaw and moving it forward to increase your airway. This procedure is now not often done except as a last resort.

I hope this helps to clarify a few myths about sleep apnea.

Learn more about this author, Vincent Ma.

How to lose 10 pounds in a week

by Trisha Orlando

How to Drop 10 Pounds of Excess Baggage in 7 Days

OK, I admit it, the only reason I try to lose weight is because I hate shopping for jeans.
Trying on pair after pair in a public dressing room makes me nervous. Besides that, there are just too many different styles and cuts of jeans and it confuses me.

There should be charts for women like me. Each pair of jeans should come with instructions.

"If your hips are 36" and you are 5" tall, please do not buy these jeans."

Usually I just buy my jeans at resale shops without trying them on. I figure whatever doesn't fit can be brought back in my next load of consignments.

I'll tell you one thing, those low riding jeans are defintely not for me! Back in the day, I wore hip huggers and looked damned good if I do say so myself. Now that little roll of belly fat hangs over and it is not attractive. And they make them SO LOW nowadays, how the heck do you keep your butt crack from showing?

Ah, but I digress.

Now I have found this method to be tried and true so listen up.
Drop soft drinks like a hot potato. You'll shed 3-5 pounds in a couple days.

The rest of the 7 days to better fitting clothes is simple.
WATCH YOUR CARB intake.
Carbs are your worse enemy.
Here are some foods that are Carb-less or low carb:
Steak
Eggs
Mustard
Fish
Butter
Lettuce
Spinach
Cucumbers
Cheese

Well that's no so bad is it? I lived on steak and eggs for a week and lost 11 pounds.

Here's the bad news, these are the NO NO foods:
Breads
Pasta (remember I said I am ITALIAN! this part was the painful part for me)
Hot Dogs
Bacon
Baloney
Most fruits
Carrots
Corn
Peas
Potatoes
Anything with sugar is off limits

TESTIMONIAL:
I had been stick thin all my life. Being Italian this is a rarity. My sisters and my Mother have battle their weight all their lives. I could eat anything and not gain an ounce.

UNTIL.....
I turned 43. For some reason, things were going good until then. My sisters hated me because I had never been on a diet before.

Well about the time I turned 43, I discovered the internet. I was one of the lucky few who got involved with a work at home website job when the Dot Com era was in full swing. Made good money sitting on my rear end all day and it started getting bigger and bigger. Not the website, mind you, my rear end.

I had to take a trip to Vegas for my job one spring. It was then I realized that my thighs rubbed together when I walked! *GASP!*

Since I live in another state, I was lucky. My sisters would not have the divine pleasure of seeing me on the hefty side. I had gained almost 40 pounds.

I sure as heck was not going to ask them for diet advice and let them know the spells they had put on me all their lives had worked. "Someday you'll find out what it's like to have to go on a diet", they preached.

I went on the internet and researched diets. I was drinking Pepsi, smoking cigarettes and eating Bugles as I searched.

That came to an abrupt halt.

Long story short: Within 3 months I had shed not only the extra 40 pounds but 3 bonus pounds too!

Oh and by the way, my idea of excercise is driving 3 or 4 miles a day so for those of you who aren't into the excercise scene, this is the plan for you!

Good luck!

Learn more about this author, Trisha Orlando.

How to insure your horse

by Linda Ann Nickerson

"Only insure your horse, if you could not afford to replace him," a trainer once told me. Actually, this has turned out to be pretty good advice.

For many years, we did carry insurance for our horses. As our herd grew, however, this became prohibitively expensive.

WHAT SORTS OF POLICIES ARE AVAILABLE?

Horses may be insured against mortality (death by accident or illness), specified perils (fire, lightning or transportation damages), reproductive hazards and infertility, theft, and loss-of-use (disability). Loss-of-use is difficult to prove, and this coverage can be quite costly.

WHAT'S YOUR HORSE WORTH?

If your horse is worth a lot of money (as in, more than $10,000), then it may be worthwhile to purchase insurance to cover life or loss. If you paid $1,000 or less for your horse, then you may opt out of insurance. (This does not diminish the amount of love you have for your equine companion!)

Of course, an equine insurance premium is generally based on the value of a horse. Other factors include the horse's age, location and intended uses. Jumpers and eventers are costlier to insure than dressage horses. Horses who travel to shows may have higher premiums as well.

WHAT ABOUT FOALS?

In some cases, breeders will opt for in-utero insurance. This may cover stillbirths or even hazards of multiple conceptions (i.e., twins). Live foal insurance is another possibility, although many stallion owners offer rebreeding as a recourse.

Several insurance companies refuse to insure foals. Others offer limited policies, which change monthly, as the foal grows.

WHAT IF YOU HAVE SEVERAL HORSES?

If you have several horses, the insurance premiums can add up quite quickly. It's important to weigh the odds and determine whether the output is worth it.

WHAT ABOUT MEDICAL INSURANCE FOR YOUR HORSE?

Major medical insurance can be quite costly for horses. For example, coverage for a 10-year-old horse could be $500 or more per year. This does not cover shots, worming, joint injections, or other routine-classified procedures. Most policies will not cover x-rays, ultrasounds, or other diagnostics. Shock-wave therapy, equine massage, and chiropractice care are usually excluded as well.

Basically, major medical insurance protects the owner from massive surgical or hospitalization expenses.

In other words, if your horse should suddenly require colic surgery, you would be glad to have medical insurance. If your horse came up lame, your insurance coverage would be irrelevant.

READ POLICIES CAREFULLY.

Detailed exclusions apply to virtually all equine insurance policies. For example, will your insurance compensate you, if your horse dies from a snakebite or eating a poisonous plant? Can you file a claim for an injury he suffers during a foxhunt?

A wise horse owner will consider all possibilities before signing a contract. If you have any questions, ask your insurance carrier upfront.

Learn more about this author, Linda Ann Nickerson.

When insurance is prudent

by Perry McCarney.

Insurance can be defined as prudent when the financial harm caused by a particular event would be more damaging to you than the regular cost of the premiums. This harm may be to the person considering taking out the insurance policy, or to the ongoing circumstances of their loved ones.

In today's world, this covers an amazing range of possibilities, from models insuring their faces and track athletes insuring their legs to the basic standards of car, house and life insurance.

Some insurance policies are necessitated by law, although the degree of cover required may vary depending on state or country. In most places in the world, third party insurance is a minimum requirement for all car owners, so that any damage caused to others will be covered, although not your own.

Whether or not a particular type of insurance is logical or prudent for a person depends on their circumstances and social affiliations. But it is certainly prudent to consider not only those circumstances that are current, but also those that are foreseeable or desired in the future.

A young single person with no dependents might consider life insurance to be a waste of money that they could instead be spending on enjoying life now. However, for life insurance, the younger you start the higher the insured amount will be in comparison to the premium you pay; effectively the opposite to car insurance.

Most people eventually wish to partner with someone and start a family, at which time they recognize the need to have sufficient life insurance to support and care for their loved ones if the unfortunate happens. Even for those that decide to stay single, there may be family members or charity organizations they wish to bequeath financial resources to in the event of their death. It is therefore prudent to take out life insurance at your earliest convenience.

Health and dental insurance presents a similar situation; medical expenses for most occur in their later years, by establishing a policy early on you can spread and minimize your costs. Historic family vulnerabilities and lifestyle choices can dramatically affect risk analyzes however, so this is not a certainty for all.

Many employers offer health, dental and even life insurance to their employees as part of their benefits package, which can be very attractive. But nowadays, employment situations are considerably less secure than they have been in the past; having at least some level of independ

advised. When offered such packages it pays to check to see if they are transferable, especially if you are accepting a lower salary based on the package.

Deciding that an insurance policy for a particular circumstance is advisable is, however, but the first step. Taking out a policy with, and paying premiums to, a fly-by-night insurer will do you no good at all. If the cost of premiums versus the proposed payout sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Consultation with friends, family and independent insurance brokers recommended by those you trust, is to be advised before consulting an insurance company. Before signing on the dotted line, you should always read the complete insurance policy, especially the smallest print and the most boring sections.

Unfortunately, many policies are still written in such obtuse legalese jargon as to be incomprehensible to even the greatest intellects that don't specialize in such matters. Do NOT be pushed into signing before consulting at least one independent lawyer who specializes in such matters. A knowledgeable friend might be best, but be absolutely certain that they really do understand such matters and are not merely attempting to impress you with their savoir-faire.

If the insurance salesman tries to manipulate you into signing without such consultation, they are NOT to be trusted. Discontinue your negotiations immediately. There is no shame in not being able to evaluate such complex documents without help. Consultation is not only sensible but also admirable, showing strength of character, rather than weakness. Begin the process again with worthy insurers instead.

Learn more about this author, Perry McCarney.

ent insurance is वेल

When insurance is prudent

बी A.W. Berry.

Insurance is often times prudent because it is a hedge against misfortune. Anyone who does not like risk may be inclined to want lots of insurance because it can really help a lot should an unfortunate circumstance arrive. What's more, many people experience some kind of adversity or another in their life and in many cases insurance can help with that. There are many reasons why insurance is prudent, a few of which are outlined below:

*Peace of Mind: It is nice to know if something bad happens, one's family will be taken care of, or the related bills will be paid, or the car will be fixed etc.

*Socially Responsible: Owning insurance is also socially responsible in some cases because sometimes life is about responsibility and taking care of dependents or those affected by others mistakes or unfortunate circumstances.

*Self Respecting: Owning insurance is a sign of self respect because it means one values their life and isn't just willing to put it on the line in the name of low probability of something bad happening.

*Risk Management: Insurance of any kind lowers risk in life. The more insurance one has the more assistance insurance companies can provide if necessary.

*Legally required: Often automobile and mortgage insurance can be a requirement rather than a choice. In these cases one simply has no choice but to be insured or face potential penalty.

*Future Insurance Protected: If one is insured, that insurance can generally not be taken away should one's circumstances change. However, if one doesn't have insurance and one experiences a need for insurance, an insurance provider may deny an application for insurance.

The Prudence of Knowing which Insurance is Right:

In addition to understanding why insurance is prudent, it is also helpful to know which type of insurance is prudent. The reason for this is because not everyone needs to be insured by every type of insurance product and not everyone can afford every type of insurance that is available because there are so many. In other words, it is also prudent to be able to distinguish between probable risk, and low risk. To illustrate, the list below demonstrates just how many types of insurance can be acquired, and this does no't include all the types of insurance available.

*Health Insurance *Life Insurance *Auto Insurance *Liability Insurance *Long term care insurance *Hazard Insurance
*Accidental death Insurance *Dental Insurance *Mortgage Insurance *Investment Insurance *

Insurance

All these insurances can add up to a tidy sum and if there is never an actual need for the insurance one may regret the decision financially. The inverse is true if one does need the insurance but didn't have it. For example, if one is a medical doctor and frequently performs operations, liability insurance can be a very good idea to protect against lawsuits. However, if one is in a profession that can not be so easily sued, the need for liability insurance declines.

Insurance is thus prudent, but it is not always prudent to have every kind of insurance. What's more, there are many types of sub-categories of insurance that may suite one's needs better than other policies. For example, if one doesn't have a family, a highly leveraged life insurance policy might not be as necessary as a more simple type of policy such as term life. Also, some insurance policies, such as employer health savings accounts may be tax deductible and thus financially prudent.

Summary:

Insurance is prudent for several reasons such as legal requirements, an insurance to be insured in the future, potentially better sleep, and social responsibility to family members and/or loved ones. Knowing this, it is also prudent to assess which type of insurance is wise and which types can be put on hold or avoided through savings or another financial instrument. There are many types of insurance to choose from, and thinking about one's own life and needs can assist in determining the wisest of policies to purchase.

Learn more about this author, A.W. Berry.