General sleep apnea question

[cppoly]

Hi all, I haven't been sleeping normally for the past 10 years and it's been getting progressively worse over the past 5. I wake up about 30 times every night without any help from any supplements, change in sleeping habits, change in lifestyle, changing diet, etc. The thing is that I'm conscious of all my wake ups that are destructive to my sleep. So I have a simple question relating to sleep apnea. If I truly had sleep apnea, would I be conscious of all the wake ups or does sleep apnea primarily only cause destructive sleep wake ups that you are unaware of? I'm trying to determine if I truly have sleep apnea or an another underlying medical condition. Thanks.

[library lady]

You will not always be aware of wakeups, and apnea is not the only cause of wakeups... the only way to know what's going on is to see a doctor. A sleep study is the only way to know if you have apnea.

[chunkyfrog]

------Six of one, half a dozen of the other. (for those with apnea)
I think most have both conscious and unconscious arousals.
When the conscious arousals are most plentiful, one is more likely to realize an immediate benefit from cpap.
I was one of the "lucky" ones--I immediately started enjoying uninterrupted sleep;
and have not willingly missed a night in over four years.

[Janknitz]

You may THINK you are conscious of all the sleep disruptions but you may be experiencing far more than you are aware of. We've seen people here with more than 100 per HOUR. The fact that you remember 30 of them suggests there are many more. Quit arguing with your health and life. Get tested.

[doc47]

Hi all, I haven't been sleeping normally for the past 10 years and it's been getting progressively worse over the past 5. I wake up about 30 times every night without any help from any supplements, change in sleeping habits, change in lifestyle, changing diet, etc. The thing is that I'm conscious of all my wake ups that are destructive to my sleep. So I have a simple question relating to sleep apnea. If I truly had sleep apnea, would I be conscious of all the wake ups or does sleep apnea primarily only cause destructive sleep wake ups that you are unaware of? I'm trying to determine if I truly have sleep apnea or an another underlying medical condition. Thanks.

Sign up for a sleep study tomorrow, you won't regret it.

[palerider]

Hi all, I haven't been sleeping normally for the past 10 years and it's been getting progressively worse over the past 5.

Sign up for a sleep study tomorrow, you won't regret it.

*rofl*

more fodder for the money mill *crank crank crank*

[Wulfman...]

Hi all, I haven't been sleeping normally for the past 10 years and it's been getting progressively worse over the past 5. I wake up about 30 times every night without any help from any supplements, change in sleeping habits, change in lifestyle, changing diet, etc. The thing is that I'm conscious of all my wake ups that are destructive to my sleep. So I have a simple question relating to sleep apnea. If I truly had sleep apnea, would I be conscious of all the wake ups or does sleep apnea primarily only cause destructive sleep wake ups that you are unaware of? I'm trying to determine if I truly have sleep apnea or an another underlying medical condition. Thanks.

No, you wouldn't be "conscious" of all the wake-ups. And, sleep apnea doesn't necessarily "wake you up". It's the lack of breathing for 10 seconds or longer. Most of us slept through lots of them and didn't know it. We THOUGHT we were sleeping soundly and "normally". Chances are, if you're also waking up, the apnea events are much longer and you're starving for air......and that's what's (potentially) waking you up.

Get a sleep study done. Or, initially, ask your doctor to order an overnight pulse-oximetry study. It should be free. It will record your blood oxygen through the night and whether you're desaturating (dropping too low).


Den

.

[zoocrewphoto]

My personal experience was that I would wake up 4-8 times a night that I knew of. My sleep study was a split night study, so in 2 1/2 hours, I averaged 79 events an HOUR. I was only aware of one wakeup during that time period. If I had done a full night study, my average would probably have been higher since I would have had more back sleeping, and I never made it to deep sleep or REM, which tends to be worse for apnea.

Part of the problem with sleep apnea is that we assume it is about sleep disruption, and we don't remember much. But it is really about oxygen deprivation, and that we can't recognize at all.

If i had known years ago that so many problems I had were caused by my sleep apnea, I would have gotten treated a long time ago. But I thought it was just messed up sleep, and I figured I coped just fine. It wasn't until I had 5 hours of straight sleep with a cpap that I realized just how crappy my normal sleep was. And then things improved that I had no idea were related. Headaches gone. Nightmares gone. Gasping choking fits gone. excessive bathroom trips gone. More cheerful. Energy drinks only when traveling and having to get up early.

Honestly, the only way to know for sure is to get tested.

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies. I've had 3 sleep studies done and none of the doctors made it seem it was anything significant. One picked up mild sleep apnea, another picked up mild upper airway respiratory syndrome, and another one said treatment was not required. I've tried CPAP for a week, going through all the mask types, it just made my sleep worse. I've tried several mouthpieces and they all made my sleep worse, even an expensive one.

I'm trying to figure out if my wake ups are caused from sleep apnea or another medical condition which I am also pursuing. The wake ups last for 2 seconds and I immediately go back to sleep after I must change positions with my pillow. When I wake up, I am not gasping for breath or feel like I was choking. Does this sound like sleep apnea?

The wake ups that I described only occur during the last 3 to 4 hours of my sleep. And they happen about 30 times. Given that I've tried CPAP and sleep appliances, I'm almost convinced it's not sleep apnea. Any thoughts?

[palerider]

The wake ups last for 2 seconds and I immediately go back to sleep after I must change positions with my pillow.... Any thoughts?

get a better pillow.

[Guest]

I've been through about 20 pillows in 4 years :/

[palerider]

I've been through about 20 pillows in 4 years :/

quantity != quality

[zoocrewphoto]

Thanks for the replies. I've had 3 sleep studies done and none of the doctors made it seem it was anything significant. One picked up mild sleep apnea, another picked up mild upper airway respiratory syndrome, and another one said treatment was not required. I've tried CPAP for a week, going through all the mask types, it just made my sleep worse. I've tried several mouthpieces and they all made my sleep worse, even an expensive one.

I'm trying to figure out if my wake ups are caused from sleep apnea or another medical condition which I am also pursuing. The wake ups last for 2 seconds and I immediately go back to sleep after I must change positions with my pillow. When I wake up, I am not gasping for breath or feel like I was choking. Does this sound like sleep apnea?

The wake ups that I described only occur during the last 3 to 4 hours of my sleep. And they happen about 30 times. Given that I've tried CPAP and sleep appliances, I'm almost convinced it's not sleep apnea. Any thoughts?

You gave cpap a whole week and decided it didn't help? Um, it takes longer than that to get used to it. Your brain has to learn to trust it and actually relax and sleep better.

Do you have copies of the sleep study reports? It seems like that would be much more useful to making a diagnosis than your perceptions that don't include what was happening while you were asleep. As I mentioned before, I only remembered a few wakeups per night, yet I was having 79 an hour. your perception is NOT reality. That is what the medical testing equipment is for.

[borgready]

So when you wake up were you dreaming that you can remember your dreams? Tell about your dreams. Are you dreaming a lot? Any death themes?

Get a pulse oximeter that records data and wear it over night. As much as your waking up just wear it for a couple hours and when you wake up look at your O2. Look at the data and see how low your o2 goes before you wake up.

Are you using a cpap machine when you wake up?

[borgready]

Do you take any drugs or supplements? What are they?