Can young people have Sleep Apnea?

Cameron · Post by **Cameron** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 10:20 am

I thought Apnea was only for my grandparents?
I am curious as to the age that most are diagnosed with Apnea. I am relatively young and I am experiencing symptoms of Apnea. Will you tell me when you realized you had Apnea or when you were diagnosed? Also what realizations did you make to determine that you had Apnea?

Thank you so much!

Cameron

sleepycarol · Post by **sleepycarol** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 10:27 am

Age is irrelevant to sleep apnea. Some children even have apnea.

On the forum we have all ages of people so there is "no magic" age.

If you have symptoms get to a doctor the sooner you get treatment the better your odds of beating some of the serious side effects that some of us have.

RipVW · Post by **RipVW** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 10:55 am

From: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Dis ... tRisk.html

Who Is At Risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

Anyone can have obstructive sleep apnea.

It is estimated that more than 12 million Americans have obstructive sleep apnea. More than half the people who have sleep apnea are overweight, and most snore heavily.

Sleep apnea is more common in men. One out of 25 middle-aged men and 1 out of 50 middle-aged women have sleep apnea that causes them to be very sleepy during the day. Sleep apnea is more common in African Americans, Hispanics, and Pacific Islanders than in Caucasians. If someone in your family has sleep apnea, you are more likely to develop it than someone without a family history of the condition.

Adults who are most likely to have sleep apnea:

Snore loudly.
Are overweight.
Have high blood pressure.
Have a decreased size of the airways in their nose, throat, or mouth. This can be caused by the shape of these structures or by medical conditions causing congestion in these areas, such as hay fever or other allergies.
Have a family history of sleep apnea.
Obstructive sleep apnea can also occur in children who snore. If your child snores, you should discuss it with your child’s doctor or health care provider.

amandalee · Post by **amandalee** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 11:23 am

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea shortly before I turned 27.

I'm also female and somewhat overweight.
Sleep apnea often gets stereotyped (even by doctors) as a condition for obese older men, but it can affect anyone.

I agree that if you are experiencing sleep apnea symptoms you should get a sleep study. If sleep apnea is left untreated, it could possibly lead to other problems like high blood pressure, heart problems, etc.

johnnygoodtimes1 · Post by **johnnygoodtimes1** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 11:56 am

I also was diagnosed with Sleep apnea in my late 20s. I am slightliy overweight but not a lot....

If you think you have some symptoms...get checked....we are too young to put our hearts through the stress and our brains through the lack of oxygen for too long. I think back and wonder if I had apnea in my teens...and i was not slightly overweight back then...just thought i hated mornings.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 12:23 pm

Cameron wrote:I thought Apnea was only for my grandparents?
I am curious as to the age that most are diagnosed with Apnea. I am relatively young and I am experiencing symptoms of Apnea. Will you tell me when you realized you had Apnea or when you were diagnosed? Also what realizations did you make to determine that you had Apnea?

Thank you so much!

Cameron

About 3 years ago, when I was interviewing the local DME offices, doing research and price checking on the equipment they carried, one of the RTs mentioned that some research was pointing to Sleep Apnea as being a cause of SIDS in infants.

There's no age limit, although it's being discovered more in older individuals. There are no absolutes in regard to weight or body size/structure. It's true that Sleep Apnea is found more in heavier people.....but which came first......the weight or the Apnea? Poor sleep also has a bearing on whether we develop OSA and gain weight.

Den

sonadams1 · Post by **sonadams1** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 1:30 pm

Diagnosed at 25

Looking back at symptoms I think I may have had some issues back in high school (at that time was thought to be thyroid issues, but the thyroid levels fixed themselves), then through undergrad suspected it was depression but never went in for treatment or anything (I hate pills when there's no numerical test for what the pill fixes, of course, I now realize I had no clue how normal was supposed to feel). Then in grad school my mom was diagnosed with OSA, we realized the symptoms were similar, I got tested, and voila.

Handgunner45 · Post by **Handgunner45** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 1:46 pm

My 15 year old son was diagnosed just three months ago. I would guess that I have had OSA since I was about his age. Diagnosed about 2 years ago myself.

split_city · Post by **split_city** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:02 pm

I spoke to a 24 year old male who had sleep apnea. At the time, his BMI was 39, RDI 124 (all obstructive), with sats going down to 60%. Very nice guy to talk to.

Captain_Midnight · Post by **Captain_Midnight** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:18 pm

Cameron - -

Yes, as other posters above have so well stated, young folks can have sleep apnea.

In fact, in my case, I strongly suspect that I developed OSA at the age of 9 (following a playground accident that broke my nose.) This was fifty years ago.

In every likelihood, I would have developed the disorder later anyway, as it's in my family (although nobody really knew this until a few years ago.)

Also what realizations did you make to determine that you had Apnea?

My symptoms were mounting, year-by-year. I had less and less mental focus (making my job as a scientist particularly difficult). I had fatigue, meaning that I always felt too tired to do things, and took frequent naps. I had frequent colds, and I always took much too long to recover from them. I even experienced some depression (associated with a flu-like virus), and that was luckily temporary. (As I was beginning to suspect apnea, I tried sleeping on my side, and found that my depression was cut in half!)

I also recalled from a blood test that my RBCs (red blood cells) were above normal. I did some checking online, and sure enough, high RBCs ( and also an elevated hematocrit) are symptoms of sleep apnea.

Tons more symptoms, these are just a few. No one gets all of them.

One thing more. Physicians are becoming more and more savvy to sleep apnea, but they are (as a group) still learning about the tremendous scope of this under-diagnosed disorder. For example, as I am of normal weight, some docs really didn't think that I had sleep apnea. What I'm getting at is that you might have to be insistently vocal about getting a sleep study. Be a pest, it's in your interest.

Good luck in getting a proper diagosis.

Regards all - - Tom

Brett-OrbitMedical · Post by **Brett-OrbitMedical** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:41 pm

Yes, sleep apnea is getting more and more diagnosed and is common in younger people as well as older adults. The good news is that technology is also advancing. As medical improvements and physician knowledge increase it will continue to make dealing with sleep apnea easier. I wish you the best.

lvwildcat · Post by **lvwildcat** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 4:02 pm

Absolutely!!!!! My VERY BUFF 19y/o son has sleep apnea and he won't go in for a sleep study. Tried(even made appointments) when he was still on my insurance but...he's 19 and KNOWS EVERYTHING!!!!!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:40 pm

sonadams1 wrote:Diagnosed at 25

Looking back at symptoms I think I may have had some issues back in high school (at that time was thought to be thyroid issues, but the thyroid levels fixed themselves), then through undergrad suspected it was depression but never went in for treatment or anything (I hate pills when there's no numerical test for what the pill fixes, of course, I now realize I had no clue how normal was supposed to feel). Then in grad school my mom was diagnosed with OSA, we realized the symptoms were similar, I got tested, and voila.

This is almost my exact experience (though sadly took longer to get a doc to connect the dots and order a sleep study)--I am a skinny female (BMI 18) who doesn't snore. (There are other structural problems that cause it for me, not soft or fatty tissue)

drummergirl410 · Post by **drummergirl410** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:25 pm

I was diagnosed during June of this year. I'm 33 years old. I'm no spring chicken but I'm not "over the hill" yet either. The first hint that something eas amiss was my family hearing me make all kinds of strange noises in my sleep when I used to be as quiet as a mouse. I also was dealing with a good bit of fatigue and sluggishness, but I relaly didn't know exactly how much that was having an effect until after I started xpap. THings have been going great since then though.

allen476 · Post by **allen476** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 7:53 pm

I was 36 when diagnosed 1 year ago this week. And while to some that is old, I thought it was quite young at the time. After reading more on the subject, I started to conclude that any type of sleep apnea can happen at any age, weight, sex, or body type. This is a far cry from a year ago when the sleep doc asked if I knew what sleep apnea is and he got the "deer in headlights" look. Quite honestly, I had no idea that I had any type of sleep apnea until a hospitalization (one year ago) got it noticed for me.

After only 6 months of CPAP, (yes it took that long to save to buy the machine and mask), I do feel better and find that I no longer nap at work, stay awake after supper, etc. but it has me thinking if my obesity is really caused by the OSA. I am overweight (my BMI is about my older sister's age). Since I have started CPAP, I have lost 30 pounds without changing diet or implementing a workout schedule. I smoke a lot less as well as being able to think better. My first and only cold while on CPAP lasted all of 2 days. Usually between the time our daughter goes back to school and Christmas, I have had 4 colds and the flu at least once.

If you are having the symptoms now you might want to get a sleep study. Don't wait until it is too late.

Allen
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Can young people have Sleep Apnea?

Can young people have Sleep Apnea?

Re: Can young people have Sleep Apnea?

Can young people have Sleep Apnea?