Respiratory therapist Al Cady knows firsthand what it’s like to suffer from a sleep disorder.
His experience and subsequent treatment made such a profound difference in his quality of life that he wants to share the good news with sleepless people everywhere — or at least in the Gorge area.

“It is my mission to diagnose people with sleeping disorders so they can be cured,” he said. “I have been cured, and it has changed my life.”

Cady says that sleep apnea, particularly, is one of the most under-diagnosed and misunderstood disorders which is unfortunate not only because it’s treatable, but because lack of treatment can lead to serious health issues including high blood pressure — with its risk of stroke — and cardiovascular disease.

“With sleep apnea, the airways literally collapse as we exhale, and it just gets worse and worse until apnea happens,” he said. “That means that during those times oxygen is not getting to your brain and it makes your heart have to work harder.

“The implications of not breathing at night are the accumulations of lots of little suffocations and they take their toll.”

The treatment for sleep apnea is called CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure, therapy, consisting of a mask and a machine that delivers pressurized air through tubing. Though most people are doubtful they’ll ever sleep well with such headgear, they soon find the adjustment is well worth it.

“It can be uncomfortable at first, but you get used to it,” Cady said. “You get to a point that you feel vulnerable without it.”

He said that sleep medicine is beginning to tie sleep apnea to things like moodiness, depression and obesity.

“If you’re not getting full, recharging sleep, you’re not going to have much energy. I’ve treated more than 1,000 people with CPAP, and some of those people have lost 30-40 pounds because of treatment and feeling so much better and being more active.

“I really find it inspiring and gratifying to treat people,” he said. “I get a real thrill about a week down the road when I get that phone call: ‘I just had the best night of sleep ever’ — that really juices me,” he said.

Al Cady remembers one patient’s story — in part because the patient had all the warning signs. He snored loudly every night. He woke up frequently, sometimes short of breath or gasping for air. His wife worried that he sometimes stopped breathing altogether for short periods of time. She also noticed that he’d fall asleep in the recliner during odd daytime hours.

To complicate things, he was a diabetic and had elevated blood pressure that was difficult to control.

All these issues are red flags to doctors, and this man’s primary care physician was no exception. The doctor sent him to the newly expanded sleep lab at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital for analysis.

Though initially resistant, the man checked in and spent the night in a sleep lab room at the hospital, in what resembled a comfortable hotel room. The room has monitoring equipment to help diagnose a variety of sleeping disorders.

Next door, the technician analyzed data, and four hours later, diagnosed the patient’s condition as obstructive sleep apnea, a serious medical condition. People suffering from this condition stop breathing several times per night. This interrupts the patient’s sleep patterns and causes undue strain on the heart due to oxygen starvation.

Even though the man thought he was sleeping soundly all night, sleep lab cameras, microphones and other high-tech monitoring equipment revealed a different truth: a severely irregular respiratory pattern.

Each time he stopped breathing, his oxygen levels would decrease to dangerously low levels. His heart rate would increase dramatically and his blood pressure also would increase to dangerous levels. His pattern was to awaken slightly, snort, snore, and then begin breathing again, only to repeat this abnormal pattern throughout the night, as often as once per minute.

The respiratory pattern the patient was experiencing nightly prevented him from graduating to a deeper, more restful slumber. He was missing his nightly “recharge,” which rendered him progressively more exhausted.

Another risk of this condition is a potential weakening of the heart and a surge of high blood pressure that could lead to a stroke. Exhaustion can also lead to accidents while driving or using machinery. Data shows that a number of fatal automobile accidents occur when people fall asleep on the road.

After the patient was diagnosed, the sleep lab suggested a simple device that keeps his airways open and allows him to sleep soundly every night. It is a cushioned plastic mask that fits over the patient’s face and maintains continuous positive air pressure.

At first, the man didn’t like sleeping with a mask at night. That’s when Cady’s personal experience with sleep apnea helped him accept the new treatment. Cady has worn the mask every night for three years.

“You get so you really count on it,” Cady told his patient, “just try it!” The patient did – and quickly became a fan.

Cady says this man’s story reflects the work done at Providence every day. “I’m proud to work for Providence because they care,” he says. “We have a state-of-the art sleep lab right here in Hood River, which allows me to assist those who need help, without leaving the Columbia Gorge.”

• Your primary care physician refers you to the sleep lab.

• You check into the hospital and begin your test at about 7 p.m.

• Your hotel-style room is nicely appointed with a comfortable bed and plenty of homey touches (patchwork quilt, pictures on the walls).

• When you drop off to sleep, a sleep technician monitors roughly 15 of your bodily functions, including blood oxygen, heart rate, brain wave activity, and the rate of airflow to your nose and mouth.

• Sensors are attached to your body, but the specially designed sleep rooms are so comfortable, quiet and dark that most people fall asleep fairly easily.

• The sleep technician remains in a separate, self-contained control room to allow for uninterrupted monitoring.

• In many cases, around midnight, the technician has reached a diagnosis, and by morning, he or she may be able to determine the exact treatment for a complete cure. Sometimes a second test is required to fine-tune the proposed treatment.

• After treatment, you can expect to begin to sleep better and feel more rested.