Consider George Sebring, a successful executive at a Fortune 500 company.  At least, he was successful until his early 40's.  His resume is a template for a great career: MBA from a good business school, then a rapid progression up the corporate ladder, culminating in an appointment as VP of Customer Service for his company's fastest growing subsidiary.

A year or two ago, he started feeling burned out.  Some afternoons, he sits at his desk wishing he could just walk out of the office and go home and lie down.  Occasionally, he finds himself struggling to stay awake in meetings.  He has trouble staying focused.  I never had this problem before, he thinks; I used to thrive on running meetings efficiently and getting through the agenda early.  I just don't seem to care about this job any more. 

His doctor is sympathetic.  He says there really is such a thing as a mid-life crisis.  He prescribes Prozac for George's depression.  Tells him to lose some weight and exercise more. How's your home life?   Fine for the most part, George replies.  Molly is sympathetic.  She kids me when I say I'm tired all the time...she says she's the one who should be tired, as she can't get to sleep with my snoring.  The doctor laughs. Join the club, he says, most men are snoring by your age.  Check back with me in two months, let's see if the Prozac is helping. 

George's doctor hadn't read this web site...if he had, he'd have picked up on an obvious clue to his patient's problem.  George is suffering from obstructive sleep apnea which is robbing him of a refreshing sleep and directly leading to the sleepiness and depression that is derailing his career.  Left untreated, this sleep disorder can lead to increased blood pressure, heart problems and stroke, not to mention memory loss, depression, even impotence.  No wonder we say that patients like George are Snoring out an SOS.

Check out our suggested remedies for George and those like him.

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