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Physical and Emotional Pain Need Equal Attention in CMT and Polyneuropathy Communities
Alongside research for treatments and cures, the CMT community needs to take a hard look at some elephants in the room — the most common and most remnediable pains and struggles impacting our quality of daily life.
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CMT, Depression, and Anxiety
It’s not surprising to learn from another (and more detailed) study (summarized here) than I’ve seen before that people with CMT are very often dealing with depression and/or anxiety, especially with more severe versions of the disease, and many go “untreated.” “Untreated” in this case means “unmedicated,” and there is a lot more that can…
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Disease, Depression, and Family Denial
CMT and other hideable/hidden diseases may often be denied by the people closest to you — a potentially devastating, psychologically defeating, and depressing, gaslit reality that is toxic and abusive.
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CMT’s Impact on Respiration
Many people with CMT report having problems with breathing.
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CMT, COVID-19, and Respiratory Health
A few weekends ago, I listened to the HNF webinar on COVID-19 and CMT with Dr. John Bach of Rutgers University Medical School, a leader in the field of pulmonary rehabilitation, particularly for people with neuromuscular diseases. You can watch it and get a bunch of other materials now — for free — thanks to…
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CMT and Respiratory Dysfunction
Science is starting to confirm very wide ranging effects to the nerve damage CMT does, often slowly and over time so it may not be very noticeable for many years.
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Do I Have Sleep Apnea?
Previously I mentioned and linked to several of the self-tests that can be done to check the likelihood of having sleep apnea. One of these self-evaluation tests is called STOP-BANG, and you can get it at the Harvard Medical School website.
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Should I play the didgeridoo (or harmonica) to fight sleep apnea‽
Some recent studies on obstructive sleep apnea got attention for concluding something fairly obvious — losing weight and reducing fat in the tongue might be the best treatment for OSA.
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Respiratory Problems and CMT
Earlier in life, relatively healthy people with CMT can overlook signs of compromised respiratory function which will start to cause more and more problems for them later.
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Sleep Apnea and CMT
Studies show CMT tends to come with Disturbed Sleep, Depression, and Reduced Quality of Life. 😞 This post summarizes the scientific research I’ve absorbed on the subject of CMT and sleep apnea. It’s definitely accurate relative to my own experience in the past year or so.