To other 30 something women who have sleep apnea

[tiredascanbe]

Hi
I have been diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea, and whenever I tell anyone they say "What? You're too young and not fat enough to have sleep apnea!" I'd like to hear from some other women my age who have moderate sleep apnea and who are using a CPAP machine.

[not2worry]

Well, I am not as young as you but I am in excellent physical shape and have never had a problem with my weight.

I am 55 and never heard of sleep apnea, so I don't really know when I actually "got it". My internist never asked me about my sleep habits at my annual physical. I have always snored, but it wasn't until about a year ago that my husband just could not stand it!

I tried everything from the nasal strips, to the sprays, even exercises for my palate. It was then that I asked my internist to write an order for a sleep lab test.

I was shocked when they told me I have moderate sleep apnea.

The tech at the sleep lab the first night I was there said as he was hooking me up with the electrodes that his guess was that I did have sleep apnea just because the way my nose was strutured. I turned out he was right.

I suspect I have had sleep apnea for a number of years. For me, I think it may be just a hereditary thing and if I lost any weight I'd look like skin and bones.

Welcome to the CPAP club. It ain't pretty, but it beats a lot of other things that could be wrong with me!

[tiredascanbe]

To not2worry,
Thanks a lot for your reply. It's great to share with other people! I had my first night with the cpap machine and it was shocking! I hear that this is very typical, though, so I'm not too worried. I live in Brisbane, Australia, so you can imagine how hot it gets here in summer (everybody faints on Christmas day while they eat their roast dinner). I'm looking into getting air conditioning because I wear a full face mask to bed and it's already hot (it's spring here).
Hope to chat again

[not2worry]

Dear Tiredascanbe-Today was the end of my first week on CPAP. The first few nights the mask and I fought all night. I was just about to give it up and live my nights snoring and fighting for air.

I decided to stick with it, based on reading various posts on this site.

Today I had more energy then I ever had before. I did yard work for 4 hours and loved it. I still find that I want to lollygag in bed when I wake up and take the mask off, but I am finding that if I do a little meditation when I wake up, then force myself to jump out of bed I feel great within 30 minutes. I have had sleep apnea, I suspect, for longer than I know.

Keep negotiating with your mask and sooner are later I am convinced it will be worth the effort.

I would think the AC would work. Eventually you will need it as your stride at 50 and the hot flashes start. Unfortunately, I thought the hot flashes was what made me tired and irritable most days. I think it may have been a combination of both.

Now I am starting to believe what others have posted on this Board.

Heading to New Zealand in January and will be bring my CPAP equipment with me so I can fully enjoy my first vacation without feeling dragged out at the beginning and end of the day~

[J_Magenta]

Hi TiredasCanBe
I too am a woman living in Brisbane, and have been using CPAP for about 4 months. Fortunately I have had reasonable success with it, and am grateful for the effect it has had on my ability to sleep.

Like you, I am not obese, and find it hard to reconcile being out of the "overweight male with a short neck'' profile. If you are interested in catching up for a chat one day, send me a reply and we can get together.
Janet

[sharonokc]

I reluctantly admit I am no longer 30 something. However I was diagnosed with sleep apnea when I was 21. I had probably already had it at least 5 years. I am obese however and that is one factor is causing apnea. I think another may be where one's weight is located. Are you large breasted? I think that weight on one's chest may contribute to the apnea also.

[Larry]

Well, I am not as young as you but I am in excellent physical shape and have never had a problem with my weight.

I am 55 and never heard of sleep apnea, so I don't really know when I actually "got it". My internist never asked me about my sleep habits at my annual physical. I have always snored, but it wasn't until about a year ago that my husband just could not stand it!

I tried everything from the nasal strips, to the sprays, even exercises for my palate. It was then that I asked my internist to write an order for a sleep lab test.

I was shocked when they told me I have moderate sleep apnea.

The tech at the sleep lab the first night I was there said as he was hooking me up with the electrodes that his guess was that I did have sleep apnea just because the way my nose was strutured. I turned out he was right.

I suspect I have had sleep apnea for a number of years. For me, I think it may be just a hereditary thing and if I lost any weight I'd look like skin and bones.

Welcome to the CPAP club. It ain't pretty, but it beats a lot of other things that could be wrong with me!

[laurel]

I'm 34 and was diagnosed in September, though I'm pretty sure I've had sleep apnea to some degree for a long time (possibly even all my life, certainly since puberty).

I am overweight now, but until I was well into my 20s, I wasn't. In fact, as a kid and teen I was what the doctors called "underweight."

I have severe obstructive sleep apnea, I suspect once I lose some weight, it will be less severe.

But when the pulmonary doc saw me, he noticed that my nasal passages were smaller than most and that what I consider "normal" he considers "congested" (so now I use Rhinocort nasal spray and that seems to help).

He also made note of my jawline (or lack thereof). Weight can be a contributing factor or even cause for many, but there are others who are predisposed because of the way their neck, jaw, mouth, and/or nose are structured. I definitely would have sleep apnea no matter what I weigh.

Be glad you were diagnosed while you are still in shape! My docs figure that the apnea caused or contributed to my depression, anxiety, fatigue, and slow metabolism which in turn caused me to gain weight. When one is exhausted and depressed all the time, one doesn't move around all that much! And sometimes doesn't make the best choices regarding food (I tend to forget to eat or find it too much trouble for long stretches of time, and then eat; which I'm sure has screwed up my metabolism bigtime).

Anyway. Yeah. I resent the "fat middle-aged man" stereotype a bit too; I suspect as more people are diagnosed and more knowledge gets out there, there will be plenty of folks in other demographics represented a bit more.

(Not that there is anything wrong with overweight middle-aged guys, of course! I'm just not one of 'em).