Have you always needed more sleep than most even before XPAP

Beckah54 · Post by **Beckah54** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 5:47 pm

Thinking back, it seems I always needed more sleep than other friends and family, even when in my twenties. I remember sleeping 12 hours when I could and when I finally woke up, I could always go right back to sleep if given the opportunity.

Many people have told me that once they wake up, they are done. There is no way they can go back to sleep. Do you think sleep apnea starts in your youth with no visible symptoms (snoring, tiredness, daytime sleepiness) and progresses until later when the symptoms become obvious?

Just wondering

storminnormin · Post by **storminnormin** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:35 pm

Becka,
Personally, based on my limited knowledge, I do believe apnea starts for a lot of people either since birth or way prior to when they are diagnosed. As we get older (for those of us who are "older") I believe we are less able to withstand the symptoms of sleep apnea and doctors are more willing to test for it. I feel I've had sleep apnea since a child as I've had the symptoms all my life but never did I know why.

Hope others with deeper insight can answer your question better. Stormin

CollegeGirl · Post by **CollegeGirl** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:43 pm

Hi Beckah,
I know this was true for me, only I did develop daytime sleepiness and other symptoms earlier than many, perhaps because my apnea is so severe. I believe I was born with it. I was not diagnosed until age 26, however (I'm 28 now).

leholst · Post by **leholst** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:54 pm

Hi Becka,

Since I can remember.........as a very young child through most of my adult life...I slept wonderfully. I can remember waking up as an eight year old at almost noon with the most wonderful feeling of "wellness" and tranquility. Sleep was such a blessing back then. Sleep was as smooth and friendly as anything could be. It was only as I grew older and became less active....and as the weight crept up....that the sleep apnea started robbing me of my energy and quality of life. But I never realized it. It was as subtle as frost comes in a cold winter night. I remember looking in the mirror several years ago and asking myself, "who is this man looking so tired and depressed". This can't be me. Why do I sleep through the night and wake up so tired and depressed? Why has this child changed into this tired old man. Now I know.

I expect it will take a bit of time to reverse the damage........both to my physical self and to the child within me. I think I'll give it the time. Sometimes I need to talk to myself like my mother as I can almost hear her say, " This is a good thing for you and you need to be calm with it".

Beckha, This is a good thing for you and you need to be calm with it.

Lloyd

blarg · Post by **blarg** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:51 pm

Yes. I have always been able to sleep for hours and hours. In 5th grade I went to bed on Friday night and woke up on Sunday morning. My parents thought about waking me up for dinner on Saturday but figured I needed the sleep.

I'm currently 23, and just got the results back from my sleep study today and I show severe obstructive sleep apnea.

kteague · Post by **kteague** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:53 pm

Beckah,
Sure it is possible that your sleepiness through the years has been apnea related all along, and usually someone with apnea needs more and more sleep just trying to make up for the fragmented sleep. After some time has passed getting treatment for the sleep apnea, when all seems to have stabilized and you are consistently getting good sleep with your mask, if your daytime sleepiness is still there, have your doc look for additional answers. You could have more than one reason for being sleepy, but fixing what you know is step number one.
Kathy

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 2:18 am

for me it seemed to start in my 30's but now I realize I had some form of it before then. I used to be an avid water skier since age of 9, in my 20's we would stay and drink booze and then sleep on the top deck of the houseboat, they said I sawed logs all night long. I could never tell, all I could hear was them snoring. It seemed to get worse the older I got, never have been heavy.

Before cpap it would seem to build up and catch up to me, I'd wake up to some major migraines that seemed to last all day long, usually after a bad night of sleep, I'd see auras, have major sensitivity to light, couldn't focus, vision would get so bad I could n't read a monitor, could not function at all.

Only thing I could do was go home and sleep, when I did, I'd sleep about 12hrs or more when I finally woke up I was fine and be good to go again several more weeks, then I'd have another bad night sleeping and it would all return again where the cycle would repeat. Right before my first PSG it would seem to get shorter and shorter between those bouts.

But for years, I'd wake up with night sweats, or if I fell asleep on my right side it would feel as if my heart would actually stop beating for a minute, I'd get like a hypnic jerk but instead of just one or two, it would seem like I had a dozen or more before I could ever get to sleep, it was like my body was fighting to fall asleep, I'd roll over to my left side where I'd finally be so exhausted I fall asleep. Sleep on my back forget it.

Many times it was like I was having a apnea while awake, I didn't know what they were but it didn't seem normal. Didn't know what the heck it was at the time but it seemed much worse sleeping on my right side than any other position, I'd have this pounding right in my chest.

I bet I told my GP about it a dozen times, he didn't have a clue. He took a EKG didn't see anything, but because of my family history sent me on to a Cardiologist for a complete cardio workup including treadmill, echo cardiogram, a color nuclear scan and finally a angiography.

I realized afterward I just bought my Cardiologist a new BMW. My Dad had died from a single sudden heart attack after getting up from a nap at age 51 when I was 16, he was 6' 4" and 240lbs. I'm now 50, got one more year to go to make it past him, no heart problems were found but about that same time frame I have a stroke. I used to have some major hypertension, no medication seemed to touch it. I'd be at longs drugs getting my shoebox full of prescriptions refilled and take my BP using their machine, it pops up 172/110, I think nothing of it, Pharmacist leans over the counter, you know you should really go over to the ER. I laugh, she says no I'm serious, oh it gets higher than that, she says that is dangerous. That was the old BP standard. After the stroke they said you have to keep it below 130/80, I finally reached that goal after going on cpap and then they change the rules again, you can never win, just took it, it is 118/78, so it is not too bad any more.

I remember waking up to those night sweats, completely soaked and heart racing. I finally told my GP I thought I had OSA and to refer me on to a sleep doc for which he did.

Been on cpap ever since, no more problems falling asleep, no more wakings during the night, no more night sweats, migraines are gone and I don't need a nap during the day unless my dog hypnotises me into one. Hypertension controlled.

Now if I could just keep my dog from farting, he makes your eyes water and drives you right out of the room. He does give me a warning, I know now when I see him get up and briskly walk away what's up.

Offerocker · Post by **Offerocker** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 5:27 am

Snoredog wrote:Now if I could just keep my dog from farting, he makes your eyes water and drives you right out of the room. He does give me a warning, I know now when I see him get up and briskly walk away what's up.

. . . . . ROTFL !!!!

Back to topic: I too could sleep endlessly, any time, and day, etc. And a 'nap' for me was a minimum of 2 hours, usually 4.
My sleep was VERY interrupted, and I'd wake up with chest hurting, feeling foggy and groggy for HOURS. Maybe I coulda used Snoredog's "Fart Dog" as a "rude awakening"?? What a way to really come to life, eh?

I still don't know why I hold my breath during the day though! I know ---"don't DO that!"

SpookyFodder · Post by **SpookyFodder** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:39 am

I have always had troubled sleep. Thats for sure. What really gets me though is between me, my brother, my father and late mother there are 15 heart attacks. My mother who almost certainly had undiagnosed sleep apnea had 2 or 3 miscarriages and a baby die from sids. My dad had his 1st heart attack at 37, my mother at 32 and I had mine at 35.

beckah · Post by **beckah** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 6:34 pm

You guys are great!
Snoredog, I was ROTFL about your dog, mine is the same way except no warning. I can't believe such a cute little dog could produce such a terrible stink.
Thanks for sharing your stories. Maybe I'm not quite as odd as I thought with the amount of sleep needed. I know I feel better since CPAP and hope, given time, I will once again feel human. I, too, would wake up feeling as if my heart had quit beating-even asked my doctor about it. He said "if your heart quit beating, you would be dead". Hmmm!
Well, I'm not dead so I guess he was right.
Feeling more alert and rested little by little. I think I can see some light at the end of this tunnel and the funny thing is, I feel very attached to my CPAP now. I don't know if I could sleep without it-kind of like my good luck charm.
Sleep well and sweet dreams.
Becka

Have you always needed more sleep than most even before XPAP

Have you always needed more sleep than most even before XPAP

Apnea since childhood?

Snoredog, you're a hoot!