Sleep Apnea Questions

bonecrusher

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2007
Location
Indian Trail, NC
Jeff B said:
Sucks to be tired all the time and never dream.
Click to expand...
From the How Much Sleep You Get thread.


Are those symptoms?

I'm 30 years old and slightly overweight. I just quite smoking and I snore really loud.

I have THE worst time falling asleep, I usually wake up intermettantly 1-2 hours after falling asleep. and I usually always wake up tired and groggy and I'm pretty run down all the time. I havent had a dream in years.

Should I see a sleep person?
 
bonecrusher said:
From the How Much Sleep You Get thread.
Are those symptoms?
I'm 30 years old and slightly overweight. I just quite smoking and I snore really loud.
I have THE worst time falling asleep, I usually wake up intermettantly 1-2 hours after falling asleep. and I usually always wake up tired and groggy and I'm pretty run down all the time. I havent had a dream in years.
Should I see a sleep person?
Click to expand...


Go to your Dr. explain your concerns & request a sleep study. That will tell you for sure. More than likely you have sleep apnea, but to what degree the study will tell you. Then you can figure out what needs to be done.
 
Definately talk to your doctor & find out if insurance covers the sleep study. My husband's sleep study is actually scheduled for tomorrow night so we'll find out if he has sleep apnea. He is approx. 30 lbs overweight, snores loudly, & is still tired when he wakes up. His primary doctor referred him to the sleep specialist after my husband complained of being tired & having rib pain from my elbow thrusts (snoring too loud). I was reading over his material last night & extra weight is a large contributor because the excess fat constricts the airway.
 
x2 on what jeff and jen said..


My bro has it, and it has really helped him out. before, he couldnt stay awake riding in a car longer then 30 min, even if he was driving. it was so bad, that he would fall asleep working. I would meet him for lunch at his office. If i was quiet, i could watch him typing away at the computer, fall asleep, wake up and continue what he was doing. It was like someone had a pause button for him.
 
jph0913 said:
x2 on what jeff and jen said..


My bro has it, and it has really helped him out. before, he couldnt stay awake riding in a car longer then 30 min, even if he was driving. it was so bad, that he would fall asleep working. I would meet him for lunch at his office. If i was quiet, i could watch him typing away at the computer, fall asleep, wake up and continue what he was doing. It was like someone had a pause button for him.
Click to expand...

That sounds like Narcolepsy to me...

Ive been having problems sleeping myself. I wake up at random times during the night for no real reason. Usually happens twice a night. If anything, I am underweight...
 
I used to have sleeping trouble.I don't any loger because;I quit drinking cola's.The lack of caffeine at night would wake me up and give me headaches and the shakes.I smoked 1-1.5 packs of cigs a day and that would make me restless at night(lack of nicotene).I now take sudafed PM an hour before bed.I sleep like a rock.I have allergies and they would stop me up at night.Try sleeping on your side also.Good luck I hope some of this helps.
 
Macdaddy4738 said:
That sounds like Narcolepsy to me...
Ive been having problems sleeping myself. I wake up at random times during the night for no real reason. Usually happens twice a night. If anything, I am underweight...
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its sleep apnea.. He was diagnosed, and did the sleep study. When they introduced the CPAP machine, it was a night and day difference. Maybe he will chime in with the number of times he stopped breathing/min or hour while he was sleeping, but i recall it being a fair amount.
 
I have most of those symptom's even the sore ribs from my wifes elbow. My problem is I snore til I have cotton mouth If my wife can't stop me with her elbow. Some times I have to get up and drink a glass of water. The sleep on your side deal doesn't work for me. What do the do in a sleep test just monitor your vitals?
 
mmcj7 said:
I have most of those symptom's even the sore ribs from my wifes elbow. My problem is I snore til I have cotton mouth If my wife can't stop me with her elbow. Some times I have to get up and drink a glass of water. The sleep on your side deal doesn't work for me. What do the do in a sleep test just monitor your vitals?
Click to expand...
The monitor EVERYTHING you have a plate of spaghetti hooked to you.
They may wake you & put on a CPAP machine, if they do that then you will feel excellent in the morning.
 
bonecrusher said:
From the How Much Sleep You Get thread.
Are those symptoms?
I'm 30 years old and slightly overweight. I just quite smoking and I snore really loud.
I have THE worst time falling asleep, I usually wake up intermettantly 1-2 hours after falling asleep. and I usually always wake up tired and groggy and I'm pretty run down all the time. I havent had a dream in years.
Should I see a sleep person?
Click to expand...

Snoring, waking up (esp. to take a whiz), and grogginess are all signs of apnea. The lack of dreams is not. With apnea because you never get settled into real deep (post dream state) sleep, you end up with some wicked wierd dreams.

Talk to your Doctor, and see a sleep person.

Also:
Cut out all caffeine before 3
Stop all exercise 2 hours before bed.
Eat lighter, earlier dinners.
Weight is a major cause of apnea.

J
 
I had trouble getting a good night's sleep for years. My family started complaining about my loud and unusual-sounding snoring problem when I was in junior high. That continued through highschool and college. I finally had a sleep study done last year, and was diagnosed with sleep apnea. The sleep center tech said I stopped breathing and woke myself up (based on lung and brain activity) anywhere from 40 to 80 times an hour

The CPAP machine is a bear to get used to. You have to learn to sleep on your back and keep your mouth closed, and get used to having a hose attached to your face all night. But it makes a noticeable difference in your productivity, mood and energy level when you're on the machine. My friends and family can easily tell when I've used my CPAP and when I haven't.

If you wake easily or often, or if your friends/family complain about your loud and sporatic snoring problem, its definitely worth having a sleep study done.
 
bonecrusher said:
Are those symptoms?
Click to expand...

That pretty much summed it up for me!

1 year ago did the sleep study, diagnosis, & got the CPAP... quality of sleep improved a bit. When on the CPAP, I don't sleep as deep... like I *am* still waking up, where without it I don't recall anything but blackness. Likely just need a higher CFM output adjustment on the CPAP...

However, that's only part of it for me, still fighting insomnia. Have spent the last 8 months arguing with my :poop: Doctor & the cesspool of "specialists" over that. According to them, "sleep meds"... Ambien, etc. are THE cause of ALL morning wrecks, serial killers, head lice, global warming, & starvation in Africa :rolleyes:... and refuse to write me a script for even a short (2 week) period to get me back on track! :mad: So, it's coming time for NEW Doctor not living in the 19th century...

NOTE: Stay far away from ANY Dr's associated with WFUBMC! They will waste your time with referrals to their "buddy buddy" colleagues... who WANT, no NEED to keep you coming back to their "study"! Seems they get paid (by you/your insurance) for "treatment" *AND* various grants to subsidize their own studies... no "patients" = NO study = NO grant $$$$, so where's the incentive to actually help you?! :fuck-you:
 
i've got sleep apnea and it sucks.if i don't use the machine for a few days to a week it realy gets hard to concentrate and stay awake.then one night on the machine and i feel as good as new.talk to your doctor,as it can cause other problems(high blood pressure).:bounce2::bounce2:
 
see I don't have trouble staying awake and I always eventually fall asleep after an hour or so.

It's just in the mornings I am groggy and hate waking up.

In high school i used to wake up 5 minutes before my alarm clock and be running at full steam before it went off!
 
Raising this from the dead.....just had my sleep study phone visit. I actually did a home version hooked to a monitor. They are suggesting a machine.
To any mask wearers....I almost always suffer from some sort of allergy. Have taken meds all my life. Fought asthma as well. So my body is almost 100 percent trained to breath only through my mouth.
Do any of the mask work this way?
As I type this I've already have my meds and still can't breath through my nose hours latter.

Looking forward to some sleep relief. Been putting this off for years. I hope it's the answer to a lot of life quality issues in the back of my head.
 
I just got my machine about four weeks ago and I'm a mouth breather too. :D

It has a mask that covers your nose and mouth. Wife loves it because I don't snore anymore. I love it because I'm not extremely fatigued and waking up constantly throughout the night.

But I suffer from both Obstructive Sleep Apnea (Restricted Breathing) and Central Sleep Apnea (Brain tells my body to stop breathing.) Both stem from my TBI in fall 2018. I packed on about 50lbs which caused the restricted breathing from a lack of gym, eating my feelings, and general suffering and misery and self-destructiveness for about a year and a half after the TBI. Then the brain damage appears to have caused the Central Sleep Apnea.

Mine apnea's are pretty severe, according to my pulmonologist. When I first got the machine it was registering 20 "events" PER HOUR. I'm now down to around 5-7. And I feel much more rested.

Do it. It's worth it. Your wife will love it too.
 
all I have seen is masks to breath Through the nose.

You can't open your mouth when your on the machine. Air will just go out your mouth. I have noticed that any congestion that I have goes away when in the machine. But I don't have issues like you describe.

If you can get the apap( I think that what is called). It varies the pressure based on if your inhaling or exhaling. It also ramps up the pressure when you have apnea event. I found it hard to get used to the constant pressure ones while exhaling..
 
Black Bear said:
all I have seen is masks to breath Through the nose.

You can't open your mouth when your on the machine. Air will just go out your mouth. I have noticed that any congestion that I have goes away when in the machine. But I don't have issues like you describe.

If you can get the apap( I think that what is called). It varies the pressure based on if your inhaling or exhaling. It also ramps up the pressure when you have apnea event. I found it hard to get used to the constant pressure ones while exhaling..
Click to expand...

BIpap. That's what I have. I should have clarified that in my post. My body fought the CPAP machine to much during my sleep study. (So I was told.)

The BIpap pressurizes, then as you exhale - it cuts off, then turns back on as you inhale.

And the machine is super quiet.

But they do have a mouth/nose piece for the CPAP. Because I used one in my sleep study. The nose only piece didn't work for me because I sleep with my mouth open.
 
WARRIORWELDING said:
I hope it's the answer to a lot of life quality issues in the back of my head.
Click to expand...

Don't rest all your hope on this.
I've had mine about 3 years now. It DID allow me to get more sleep. I don't have a flapper on my stomach so it also keeps me from waking up with acid in my lungs while exhaling fire.

I had to wear a chin strap for a while to keep from opening my mouth. But after a while I was able to keep my mouth shut.

On a positive note...I've had BAD allergies all my life. 5-8 sinus infections a year my whole life...but haven't had either in a couple of years now

Best of luck Drew...it WILL help...but it's not a magic elixir
 
WARRIORWELDING said:
Raising this from the dead.....just had my sleep study phone visit. I actually did a home version hooked to a monitor. They are suggesting a machine.
To any mask wearers....I almost always suffer from some sort of allergy. Have taken meds all my life. Fought asthma as well. So my body is almost 100 percent trained to breath only through my mouth.
Do any of the mask work this way?
As I type this I've already have my meds and still can't breath through my nose hours latter.

Looking forward to some sleep relief. Been putting this off for years. I hope it's the answer to a lot of life quality issues in the back of my head.
Click to expand...

I had an issues similar to what you go through. Deviated septum both sides. I had that fixed surgically and did the turbinate reduction at the same time. Now, my sinuses will never clog, no matter how bad my allergies get. I realized how bad it was when I first had the CPAP when this thread was made, back then I could not tolerate a CPAP and didn't get one for 4 years until I had the surgery. Before that, I had my upper soft pallet removed, to fix the obstructive side, I still have central sleep apnea. These surgerys are incredibly painful during recovery.


I was amazed at the clarity of my mind after a few days of being back on the CPAP good oxy saturation and sleep is an incredible thing.

I use a dream station now along with a resmed P10 nasal pillow. My AHI averages .02-1

CPAP Machines, Masks & Resources for CPAP Therapy | CPAP.com

I use a chin strap with this to keep my big mouth shut, or the air will blow out the mouth.
 
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Did a home sleep study early this year, after my wife had been after me for a long time about it.
Can't remember how many 'events' I'd have, but it was severe.

She was right, I knew, and I was tired of being tired.

Damn if it doesn't work. I use the nasal pillows. Don't like the full mask. I do have allergies, so my nose isn't always clear enough for it to work...been using some OTC spray to help with that.
But if I get 4hrs in a night, I'm like a new man the next day.

When I was younger, I used to go all day and night with 4-6hrs of sleep, and figured it was just the years catching up with me...but, nope. I get 4-6 good hour's worth of sleep on the machine, I'm not remotely sleepy or tired until LATE in the night, just like back in the day.

It's been great for me.

Now that said, I do struggle a bit at first with the constant pressure. I think I'd like maybe a bit less, or maybe that deal where the pressure drops when you exhale. Might look into that.
 
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