Carrie Fisher Died From Sleep Apnea, Other Factors

[Calista241]

Source: CBS Washington

LOS ANGELES — Carrie Fisher died from sleep apnea and a combination of other factors, but investigators were not able to pinpoint an exact cause, coroner’s officials said Friday.

Among the factors that contributed to Fisher’s death was buildup of fatty tissue in the walls of her arteries, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said in a news release late Friday. The release states that the “Star Wars” actress showed signs of having taken multiple drugs, but investigators could not determine whether they contributed to her death in December.

Her manner of death would be listed as undetermined, the agency said.



Read more: http://washington.cbslocal.com/2017/06/17/carrie-fisher-sleep-apnea/

[Mrs. Overall]

1. Still sad about this (and Debbie, too).

[Honeycombe8]

11. Me, too. Two very talented, effervescent artist personalities, gone.

Is "effervescent" the right word?

[Cryptoad]

2. Sawbones told me,,,,

wearing a CPAP when I sleep would add years to my life span....... can't argue against what she said,,,,,,,,yet!

[Chemisse]

3. This gives me more ammunition to insist my husband wear his CPAP.

He often just doses off, glasses on, CPAP off.

Once I put an oxygen monitor on his finger while he was asleep. The low reading was enough to convince him to use his CPAP more consistently - for several weeks.

[packman]

4. Just curious - How can one sleep with that on their face?

Seems to me that alone would interfere with a night's sleep.

[Chemisse]

5. A lot of people feel that way.

I also have sleep apnea and it was scary to put the mask on at first. And it took time to figure out how to still sleep in my favorite positions.

But once I got used to it, I could no longer sleep without it. I didn't used to remember gasping for air multiple times during the night before I got my "sleep machine", but now I wake up each time (say, if I doze off in a chair, without the machine), and it's pretty unpleasant.

But you're right; there are a lot of people who just can't get used to it.

[mvd]

10. Same here

It has become where it feels weird to NOT go to sleep with the mask on. I have trouble breathing in the sleeping position and it makes me have extreme sleep apnea. I think I had it undetected for a long period, and it just suddenly worsened to where I needed the mask to sleep.

[Chemisse]

12. What I was told was that the apnea episodes would wake me up, but then

I would go to sleep again so quickly that I would not retain them in my memory.

After I got the machine, and got used to sleeping well, if an episode did happen (like if I went without the mask), it would be more alarming to me and I would stay awake long enough to remember what happened.

Because I also was (mostly) oblivious to the apnea before (and it was quite bad), but absolutely can't sleep without the mask now.

[mvd]

15. I know what you mean - glad we got relief

I was told I was snoring, but it's only when I started having problems even getting to sleep that I got help. My current doctor diagnosed it. When I was younger, I had a doctor with no bedside manner who only seemed concerned with blood pressure and weight.

[forgotmylogin]

7. It's very scary.

My friend gave me his old one to try, but it was too much like being underwater. He swears by his, and says that until he got it, he didn't realize how poorly he was sleeping and now is an alert morning person who doesn't nap as much.

I have had success by elevating my head when I sleep with wedge cushions. You just need a few inches of elevation to keep your airway valid if you're a night mouth breather. Finally I bought a bed frame that can tilt up a few inches, bending the foam mattress similar to a hospital bed. The only issue is that it works best if you sleep on your back. I can start on my back, I always roll on my side in the middle of the night (which is a much better position for a snorer/sleep apnea sufferer), but the tilt in the bed ended up hyper-extending my ribcage so I woke up sore on that side.

Another really great thing I've tried: taping my mouth when I go to sleep. It sounds crazy, but if you seal your lips with medical tape and sleep on your side, it forces you to breathe through your nose which is much better supported structurally than your throat as an airway. Of course your nose needs to be clear enough to breathe through. Taping my mouth was not at all as disturbing as wearing a CPAP mask.

[TexasBushwhacker]

14. You can get a set of those bed risers and just use 2

Ato raise the head of the bed.

https://m.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/1/7363-salt-bed-liftsTM-black-set-of-4.html

[forgotmylogin]

18. I have read that a very subtle incline

can benefit *anyone*, even without sleep apnea. The idea being the body and organs are designed to be in an upright position.

The article I read said just putting two bricks under the head-side legs of your bed helps circulation drastically.

[TexasBushwhacker]

19. Interesting

I know it helps people with acid reflux and allergies. I never thought of the circulation aspect.

[forgotmylogin]

20. Here are a couple of links

http://inclinedbedtherapy.com/

http://www.naturalnews.com/032808_inclined_bed_therapy_health.html

[chelsea0011]

13. I felt that way when I got my machine but I adjusted easily to it and,

I just can't imagine sleeping without it on now. It reminds me how I used to sleep in my younger days waking up refreshed after snoozing all night. I was stunned when I went to a sleep lab and was told I was waking up 47 times an hour. You don't remember even waking up once.

[Bradical79]

16. Doesn't bother me one bit

Couldn't say why though. Part of it was probably the pure relief of the machine helping me breath. My case was extremely severe. Even if it doesn't kill you directly, the toll it takes on other bodily systems can be pretty brutal.

[Paladin]

6. Sleep apnea is nothing to take lightly.

If you're diagnosed with it, get a CPAP machine and endure a few uncomfortable nights until you get used to wearing a mask. It beats the hell out of dying of a stroke.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

8. +1

It's amazing how well I sleep when my wife isn't kicking and hitting me because of the snoring.

I have been getting a good nights' sleep since I got my first one, 13 years ago. The difference is amazing. It took about 3-4 nights to get used to it, is all. and the benefits are wonderful.

[Paladin]

9. Sleep apnea puts enormous strain on sleep.

It's amazing how much better you sleep with a CPAP, and how much more rested and pain-free you feel in the mornings. Not to mention sparing your loved ones the snoring.

[GulfCoast66]

17. I have apnea

I have been wearing a CPAP for six years. From that first night that they tested it on me I have yet to sleep another night without it. I call it my magic sleep machine. Fortunately, I got used to it immediately.

I have convince five other people to get tested and they now use one as well. You will eventually get used to wearing the mask. What I could never get used to again is the awful sleep and choking feeling I would often have waking up. It literally changed my life.

My wife calls me a CPAP evangelist!

[NobodyHere]

21. Sad it had to end like this

http://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/celebrity/carrie-fisher-had-heroin-cocaine-in-system-when-she-died-as-daughter-billie-releases-emotional-statement/ar-BBCTybM

[FLPanhandle]

22. Heroin, Cocaine, and other drugs in her body...

Yet the headline is Sleep Apnea and fatty arteries!?!

Come on.

[EX500rider]

23. The heroin is especially worrisome...

...not really a "sometimes" recreational drug