Anyone suffer from sleep apnea?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Last night, I woke up gasping for air for about 15 seconds. It scared the beejeebus out of me and my wife.

I'm 28 years old. I'd consider myself to be in decent health. I might be a few pounds over my ideal body weight and could stand to a few pounds, but I am in no way majorly overweight or obese. My wife does tell me I do snore at times during the night.

I think my sinuses have been acting up lately in the past couple of weeks. Plus I may or may not have a deviated septum in my nose--one of my nostrils looks to be bigger than the other.

I think the event last night might indicate sleep apnea on my part. I think this may have happened once before, about a year ago. I'd like to see a doctor right now--currently I'm just on temporary health insurance until I get full individual coverage.

My question to the lounge is whether anyone here suffers from sleep apnea and what has been done about it? I know there's that mask, but I'd prefer not to go the Darth Vader route unless it's absolutely necessary.

Any input helps. I'm a bit nervous after last night.

[Fran Kubelik]

1. Do you drink?

Drinking at night, or even taking a benadryl can exacerbate sleep apnea.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. Only socially

I only drink socially and not regularly, and actually I'd catagorize my drinking as far and few between.

I did take a Tylenol PM last night for a headache. After last night, I'm chucking those things, headache or no.

[Fran Kubelik]

7. yes - that can relax your soft palate, which would constrict your breathing

I'm dealing with a similar situation. I have cut my drinking back, don't take allergy medicine at night, and am working on losing my excess weight. Waking up gasping for a breath SUCKS, and what you probably don't realize is that you might halfway wake up several other times during the night, which doesn't bring you to full consciousness but keeps you from getting important deep sleep.

Good luck dealing with this. :pals:

[IndianaJones]

3. I had that happen once, but it never repeated...

perhaps some mucus or saliva went down the wrong way in your sleep.

[Connonym]

4. my second-hand experience

I don't have it but my ex husband and an ex boyfriend both did. Ex husband had surgery to open his sinuses. This helped his airway to some degree but still has all the symptoms of sleep apnea (falls asleep watching TV, headaches, high blood pressure, fatigue, snoring). Ex-boyfriend got a CPAP machine and reports that his life is changed. He no longer snores, was able to go off antidepressants, more alert, etc.

Definitely see your doctor because sleep apnea is dangerous and damaging to your body.

[MorningGlow]

5. Yes, both DH and I had/have apnea

Sorry to hear you're going through that, Peter. It's truly awful, isn't it? Really frightening. I always had vivid dreams of drowning or being crushed and being unable to breathe, then I'd wake up gasping and grateful that air was finally flowing into my lungs.

My apnea was a result of a thyroid problem (and being overweight because of it). Once I got on the proper meds, it went away. DH denies he has apnea, but I can hear him struggling for breath while he sleeps. He has very high blood pressure (bordering on need for medication) and I suspect it's related to that. He won't get checked for apnea, however. Stubborn! :eyes:

How's your blood pressure? It may not be related to being overweight (DH is not overweight--it's hereditary for him). I'd say definitely check with your doctor. If there's anything expensive that needs to be done, your doctor can hold off till your full coverage kicks in, or bill it later, once the full coverage starts.

:hi:

[LeftyFingerPop]

6. I have sleep apnea.

It is nothing to mess with. I've known that I have had it for years, and finally went for a sleep study after my physician stressed the dangers of not tending to it.

In my opinion, you should speak to your primary care doctor about having a sleep study done. You will spend the night in a hotel-like room, while hooked up to monitors. They will also watch you sleep via camera. The study itself is actually kind of fun.

If the study shows that you do indeed have apnea, the most common way to abate it is indeed the mask. Surgery is sometimes an option, but it does not always work...and anyway, who wants surgery?

I wear the mask, and yes, it is a pain in the ass. However, on the plus side, you do get used to it. Also, you will get a good nights sleep.

Please get this taken care of...apnea can kill.

[Burma Jones]

8. I'm 48, about 50 pounds overweight and have been diagnosed with Apnea

I have used the mask, but don't anymore, maybe if I used a BIPAP instead of CPAP.

I try not to sleep on my back which is when I get Apnea.....The lowest oxygen saturation during my sleep test was 89. 90 is the low end.....

Do you have any other symptoms such as being really tired during the day or do you have high blood pressure or diabetes? I don't have any other symptoms.

You may be having a panic attack in your sleep....who knows. If you start down the sleep medicine road, be prepared to spend time and money...

[Tommy_Carcetti]

12. BP to this point has been healthy

To this point in life, my blood pressure has always been in the healthy range. No diabetes, but my dad (64 years old) recently told me he was diagnosed with borderline blood sugar and has to change his diet, so there might be something of a family history, and since that time I've looked to decrease my sugar intake.

By the way from your Avatar it looks like you are a Marylander! Calvert County native here.

[Lex]

9. You definitely do not have to be overweight to have sleep apnea.

nt

[MissMillie]

10. I have been treated for it

mine was weight related, but it isn't always weight related. It's about the structure of nose/throat... and what happens to your airway when you're relaxed (asleep is about as relaxed as you get).

There are some surgeries, but I hear that the success rates are not very high.

I wore a mask. It was absolutely no big deal. Within a week, it was like the mask wasn't even there. Since then, the masks have gotten better. (From what I understand, some are not even "masks" but little tubes that just block up your nostrils, forcing air into the airway.)

A mask may not help you if the issue is not weight related. The only way to know is to see a doctor trained to treat this stuff--and be properly diagnosed.

[soleft]

11. I have a friend who uses the CPAP machine - I use Breathright strips

She says she sleeps much better now.

I thought I had sleep apnea and was meaning to get checked for it. But I've recently lost a lot of weight and my gf says my snoring has gotten a lot better. I also have a deviated septum and sometimes get congested at night, so I've been using the breath right strips for a long time and they really open my airways.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

13. Thanks to everyone!

Thanks to everyone for their advice and stories.

I'm definetly going to have a doctor check it out. I don't want to take this lightly--on the other hand, I don't want the fear to consume my life, either. So far in my life I've been pretty lucky health-wise.

[LeftyFingerPop]

14. Peter...

Please don't let it scare you. Yes, it can be serious, but, there are also different degrees of it.

Don't worry about anything...you may not even have it, and if you do have it, it may not be that serious. They measure the seriousness of it my the number of times, on average, you wake up in 1 hour.

Best to just get a diagnosis from a professional to put your mind at ease.

Best of luck! :hi: :thumbsup:

[Jimbo S]

15. In fact, I'm seeing a doctor this afternoon.

Initial consultation.

Found out last week my brother has been using a mask for some time now and works for him.

I'm curious to see how this will lead out.

[LaraMN]

16. My husband has it.

He sleeps with a C-Pap machine, and until he got it, he snored so badly I couldn't sleep in the same room (for about 3 1/2 years!)

It's nothing to mess around with- call your doctor; you may need to have a sleep study done.

[Roon]

17. I had sleep apnea

But I quit smoking and it went away.

[SPKrazy]

18. I had sleep apnea even when I was thin and in great shape

I've used CPAP since my mid 30's for it and it works

sleep apnea is something that is likely to do its damage over time.

daytime sleepiness

high blood pressure

strain on the heart

all good reasons to treat it to prevent or alleviate the symptoms.

[Redstone]

19. My next-door neighbor has that problem. He has one of those rigs that consists of

a face-mask sort of deal and a fan that blows air into his nose/mouth, and he says it works well.

Redstone

[REP]

20. Nope. I Use a CPAP, and Don't Suffer a Bit

Before it was dx'd - I was told I was "too young, too thin and too female" to have sleep apnea - that was suffering: the blackouts, the hallucinations, the night sweats, etc. Turns out I do indeed have severe mixed apnea (obstructive and central - tiny airways that collapse plus my brain 'forgets' to breathe when I'm asleep). Got a machine, and I can sleep for waaaaay more than 20 minutes at a time!

[Jack_Dawson]

21. CPAP = Distracting as hell

At least that was my take on the three (3) nights I tried to use it. So it gets better?

[REP]

22. I can TALK with mine on!

The pressure on mine is set at 20, which is high, but never have had a problem. I use a Profile Lite mask, a Fisher-Paykel heated humidifier and a REMstar CPAP.