What symptoms do you have?

[beth0277]

What are some of the symptoms of Sleep Apnea? (Yes, I know I can google this, but I prefer to get "real life" answers from those who have dealt with it).

I have suffered from extreme snoring, panic attacks during sleep and also early morning headaches. I don't wake up much at night (that I know of) unless I have a panic attack (which hasn't happened since I started treating my silent reflux with PPI's) or unless my son is making noise in his room.

I am going to talk to my doctor about a sleep study but I am just curious what other symptoms some of you may experience.

Thanks in advance for any input!

[liliaqha]

I was extremely tired during the day, never felt like I slept well, lots of nasal issues and sinus headaches. My DH videotaped me one night, because I didn't believe him.

[Julie]

Hi - The 'biggie', the most telling one is something you are unlikely to be aware of yourself unless you have a very severe long time case, and that is that your sleep is broken many times every hour by apneic events lasting from a few seconds to close to a minute... an event meaning you are awoken because you've stopped breathing while asleep, then finally gasp to get air, but the awakening is not usually strong enough for you to be aware of it (tho' your panic attacks are probably responsible in your case), and you return to sleep afterward. Some people set up a videocam close by overnight if they live alone (or with no adults) to see if the above happens.

Otherwise, apart from the headaches (which are common), you probably find that the more you sleep the less refreshed you are (because you've actually been woken up repeatedly all night by events) and because of it, you are half asleep all day, to the extent sometimes that you fall asleep while driving, or in front of the TV, or during an exam, and your memory is not as good as you want it to be. For some people the symptoms are a bit more subtle than others, and you may be so used to being 'out of it' a lot of the time that you don't realize what it's like to be different... so getting a study is very important - also because there may be related sleep disorders such as 'restless legs' or something called UARS (you can learn more by clicking the lightbulb at the top of the main page here) and other similar respiratory or neurologically based problems and only a professional sleep study can pick those up vs getting 'titrated' in a home study or just by borrowing a friend's machine for a couple of nights, though people do that if they are in dire financial straits with no other options. You may also experience GERD (esophageal reflux of acid) as many of us do.

Good luck!

[jabman]

Well, I had exessive day time sleepness and some memory loss. I also experenced something wierd but not sure if it was caused by OSA but it hasn't happened since I have been treating my OSA and that is my uvula would swell up.
I also beleave that I got type 2 Diabetes earlier then outerwise because of OSA but that is my beleaf and I have no way to back that up.

[teknomom]

I had decreased energy & lack of focus on some days. NO snoring, gasping, nightmares, panic, morning headaches, daytime sleepiness or frequent urination. Lack of typical symptoms does not mean that you don't have sleep apnea. I was shocked at my diagnosis. But.... when I look at the data from my machine each morning, I know that I need it and I'm glad I have it! I had to gather lots of data for myself in order to accept this diagnosis. Good Luck in your search for answers!

[retrodave15]

Excessive daytime sleepiness, irritability, trouble getting out of bed, waking up numerous times at night, and periods of time during the day that I had no recollection of. I even fell asleep during a staff meeting at work.

I went to the doc for trouble sleeping, looking for some sleeping pills; he did the right thing and sent me for a sleep study. About 6 weeks in, getting my AHI down below 5 on a consistent basis and feeling much better.

Dave

[JeffL]

I snored so loud that I'd wake myself up.
My wife would shake me a dozen times a night to try to stop my snoring.
I fell asleep at at a red light while driving to work.
I'd often need a nap during my lunch break.
When I retired, I'd nap for 2 to 3 hours in the afternoon.
I'd sometimes wake up short of breath, and be afraid to go back to sleep. That was when enough was enough

CPAP has fixed all of the above from day one (for me).
Sometimes I'll still nap in the afternoon, but not everyday, and mostly for 1/2 hour when I do.

[ameriken]

As for me, I would fall asleep instantly at night, and stay asleep. At least, so I thought. There were times when I woke up gasping for air, but mostly I felt like I was in the deepest sleep for almost the entire night, every night. However, waking up was like trying to come out of a coma. Maybe more like waking up from death. I felt like all the life was drained out of me. I was barely coherent for 3 hours while I tried to come out of my coma. I would be terribly tired during the day and found it difficult to handle any kind of stress, problems, or difficulties. I couldn't face anything that would be mildy difficult (mentally, physically, and emotionally), like calling an agency or company to deal with a billing issue, or something like that.

I could barely work, and didn't want to talk to any of my clients. Even if I did, I would forget the conversation by the next day, sometimes forgetting a morning conversation by afternoon. A client would call and say "Ken we decided to do what we talked about this morning". I was like "What did we talk about?" I couldn't focus, couldn't remember, and had difficulty holding down a conversation. In fact, I didn't even want to talk to anyone, period because conversations were difficult. I just wanted to get off the phone. I ignored many friends for a long time because I just didn't want to deal with a conversation.

Driving, I never fell asleep, but was in a fog. My judgment was way off, and my peripheral vision was narrowed down from 9 o'clock/3 o'clock to 11 o'clock/1 o'clock.

All I wanted to do everyday was stay at home on the couch and watch tv and nap. I was very afraid to go to sleep every night because I didn't think I would wake up the next morning. One of the other symptoms my wife noticed was my color, I was very pale every day.

And that's that.

[Guest]

Recently, I went to the ER with a case of atrial fibrilation. The ER doc admitted me to the hospital and referred me to a cardiologist who ordered a battery of tests and meds. After 5 days in the hospital my AF was under control with heavy doses of various meds. The total work up with the heart clinic continues. Apparently, a large percentage of people with AF have sleep apnea and so a sleep study is part of the total work up. The results of my sleep study were that I do have sleep apnea and I will soon be doing the sleep/CPAP study.

Honestly, I'm not 100% convinced I have sleep apnea. I think I sleep fairly well, although I do doze off watching TV or riding in a car if I'm not driving. I am usually reasonably refreshed when I get up in the morning.

[MaxDarkside]

My clues, generally in order:

1. Snored. Occasionally quite bad
2. Wife said I stopped breathing at night
3. Awoke frequently at night
4. High Blood Pressure for no known reason (might have been from a bacteriological infection)
5. Daytime grogginess, severe at times, increased caffeine and nicotine use to compensate
6. Arrhythmias (heart flutters)
7. "Significant Arrhythmic Event" that put me to the ground in pure euphoria
8. Loss of short term memory (didn't know where I was, what I was supposed to be doing for a few moments now and then)
9. Loss of cognitive (thinking) ability... could not do reasonably complex tasks at work.

Most all are now fixed, except the blood pressure. Still some heart flutters now and then.

Get thy self to a sleep study, asap.

[cowlypso]

My only symptom was extreme daytime sleepiness. I felt like I slept fine. Very minimal snoring that everybody chalked up to my allergies. No reports of me stopping breathing at night (my events are pretty much all hypopneas, rather than apneas).

I went to the doctor because I was so tired I could hardly function. Falling asleep at work, unable to get anything done when I came home from work. Complete lack of energy.

They sent me for all kinds of blood tests and also to the sleep doctor. Came back with low vitamin D, and correcting that helped a little, but did not fix the problem. Sleep doctor didn't suspect apnea at all - sent me for testing looking for narcolepsy and the apnea showed up.

[wolewyck]

Snoring, excessive anxiety (sometimes acute, but more frequently knowing I was much more worried about things than the situation warranted, but unable to calm down), irritability (overreacting to minor stuff), difficulty focusing on work, memory impairment.

[cindjo717]

I had exceptionally loud snoring, a lot of irregular heartbeat episodes, anxiety, lack of concentration,memory was very bad, focus was not good, excessive sleepiness, deep need for sleep in mid afternoons. Most all of these symptoms are gone or almost gone. Still a work in progress, but much better than I have been in a very long time. I realized the other day that I do not have any more heart palpitations. I used to think it was due to a mild low thyroid, not aware yet about my sleep apnea. So already it's working.

[ThirdOutOfFive]

Hubby complained of my snoring. He said that I didn't gasp for breath or stop breathing. I felt extremely tired and had trouble concentrating, but I chalked that up to the chronic illnesses that I've had for more than 15 years. Finally, I went for a sleep study to prove to Hubby that I did not have OSA. . .

I've been on PAPpy since August. No more snoring. Still tired and forgetful, but less so than before. So, I'd say PAPpy is a success, but not a cure-all for me.

[BlackSpinner]

Recently, I went to the ER with a case of atrial fibrilation. The ER doc admitted me to the hospital and referred me to a cardiologist who ordered a battery of tests and meds. After 5 days in the hospital my AF was under control with heavy doses of various meds. The total work up with the heart clinic continues. Apparently, a large percentage of people with AF have sleep apnea and so a sleep study is part of the total work up. The results of my sleep study were that I do have sleep apnea and I will soon be doing the sleep/CPAP study.

Honestly, I'm not 100% convinced I have sleep apnea. I think I sleep fairly well, although I do doze off watching TV or riding in a car if I'm not driving. I am usually reasonably refreshed when I get up in the morning.

Tiredness is only ONE of the symptoms of sleep apnea and since you are asleep while sleeping you really can't tell how well you actually sleep.