What led you to your diagnosis of apnea?

[ldj325]

I'd know I was a snorer and often caught myself in meditation having my airway collapse a bit. I had some vague general information about sleep apnea for years, but nothing other than snoring to tip me off that I had it.

Then after very debilitating bouts of gout for about 2 months, one day i saw a chin strap ad. i thought that would be easy enough to try so I bought one. On first using the chin strap my gout suddenly improved and I started sleeping better with a significant fatigue lessened. I started reading more and figured out that I had OSA that the chin strap helped me with. So I suggested to my cardiologist that a sleep apnea evaluation might be in order.

Before the sleep study even occurred I ordered a ResMed S9 (great machine, not so great company). I started using the S9 right after the sleep study and before getting the results and received tremendous relief. Later the sleep study results indicated I had CSA. Thank God I got the S9 first as while it can't treat a central apnea directly, in my experience through whatever mechanism it can prevent CSA (in my case specifically Cheyne-Stokes Reapiration induced centrals). The S9 has helped me a lot in the 3 1/2 months I've been using it. If I'd waited until the sleep study reports I would have been immediately directed to an ASV unit which so far I haven't responded well to.

[snuginarug]

My story starts with my mom. She has always snored. LOUDLY. The whole house could hear her when she was asleep. And boy did she sleep... off to bed at 8 pm, waking up in the middle of the night, going back to bed, etc. We would all listen as her breath paused, and wait for her to gasp in air after seconds and seconds had gone by. All this was made worse when her drinking went through the roof (lifetime alcoholic, still drinking today, at age 76). I worried about her, especially during those long long pauses in breathing. Somehow, the phrase "sleep apnea" became a household word. I don't know why this didn't lead to a sleep study and xpap. Anyway, I began snoring in college--- when I was very slender btw. But my mom had been snoring all these years, and she's ok. The snoring got worse as I gained weight. I can't say when I decided I also had sleep apnea. It was years ago. But my mom had it too, it couldn't be something serious. I would periodically tell my psychiatrist I was going to get a referral to a sleep lab from my pcp "soon, " figuring it might help with my insomnia. She thought it would be a big help too, and said "good idea!" every time I mentioned it. But again, my mom's had it all this time, it's just a matter of convenience and comfort, right? Well, I learned to not value my convenience and comfort growing up, and dragged my feet about the referral because I always figured my comfort didn't matter. Finally, FINALLY, I became convinced that my comfort did matter, and I started taking care of a lot of things that had been bothersome in my life. So I got around to getting my referral. (It took seven months to get an appointment at my crummy doctor's office, about 4 days to get my appointment at the sleep lab.) I decided that since I had a cool online forum for another health condition, I might find one for apnea. I got my machine a month ago. The rest is history.

Hooray for cpap!

Thank god I finally started valuing myself, my needs, my comfort. I wish my mom would value her own.

[Breathe Jimbo]

My wife. She had not been able to share a bed with me for the entire night in years. Finally, when I recently scheduled a yearly appointment with my main doctor to renew prescriptions for blood pressure and cholesterol meds, my wife said I should ask for a sleep study because my snoring and breathing were "horrible." She had complained about my snoring for years, but this was the first time she mentioned my breathing. My doctor said that "wives are usually correct." I had to delay the sleep test because of an imminent vacation, but I was excited because I anticipated an OSA diagnosis and treatment that would improve my life. Sure enough, severe OSA. After only three nights of CPAP (12), I now feel significantly better. I am now excited about the real possibility of finally losing weight and reducing or eliminating one or more meds prescribed for the physical and mental effects of years of sleep deprivation from severe OSA. If only I had made this journey earlier; perhaps I would have had fewer problems in my career.

[AThom10731]

I began to have insomnia and headaches. My primary care physician suggested I see a neurologist. At my first neurologist appointment the nurse discovered I had high blood pressure. I had no idea!!! Off to the sleep lab I went.

[PaJoe]

It has been about 10 years, maybe more, I was being treated for chronic sinusitus and reflux disease. I would wake up at night choking. One time I actually woke up and walked to the bathroom before my throat opened and I could breath. I told the respiratory specialists and he sent me for a sleep study. After using cpap, I only ever had one episode where I woke up choking and that was during an aborted surgery, the doctors were trying to intubate me for about 1/2 hour and I woke up choking, there was a room full of doctors standing there watching me flop around on the table trying to breath. They ended up putting some type of contraption in my throat to hold it open and rescheduled the surgery for a week later so I could take medicine to reduce the swelling in my throat from the intubation attempts. It had me very angry because I told everyone about my sleep apnea before surgery; the one anthesiologist they called in after the trouble started talked to me afterwards and said I had more than just sleep apnea as he can usually intubate patients with severe sleep apnea. I may not be able to post the super low ahi reports like some on here do but I breath all night these days and that is most important to me.

[redmaxx]

When I got back from the Storm in 1991 my wife and daughter were back in the States while I was waiting for housing in Germany. I had to live in the barracks and every night someone would pound on my door and yell at me to stop snoring. I told the Army Dr. about it when I was getting out and he said don't worry about it. I gained over 50 lbs in 6 months and was tired all the time. My wife says that I can fall asleep at night almost as soon as my head hits the pillow. To me it seems like forever for me to fall asleep. When I used to hunt all the guys that I hunted with hated for me to be there because my very loud snoring kept them up at night. A couple of times I woke up not able to catch my breath. I finally had a friend that asked me to get checked out for SA and I went to my Dr. and asked to be setup for a sleep study. I now have my machine and mask. I wore it for over a year and finally my mouth was getting so dry at night and it hurt so bad that I stopped using the machine. It has been over a year since I used it and after my wife had two heart attacks I decided that I needed to start wearing it again. I am tired of being tired all day.

[RachelM]

I was experiencing extremely excessive weariness and exhaustion, morning headaches, frequent nighttime bathroom trips, restless body at night. At yearly physical dr was looking at blood work, checking for urinary infection, checking thyroid. All came back OK. I did some internet research and asked for a sleep study. Dr ordered it just to humor me. AHI results came back as severe apnea. Doctors are not all well informed about apnea. Considering my symptoms, she should have ordered sleep study immediately after labs came back normal.

[OKCCowboy]

My partner made me go. I was told that I quit breathing, snored loudly, etc....

His father & sister have OSA and told me that I sounded like his father did before he got on a machine.

I went for my first sleep study and the tech there told me I scared the other 2 patients. He also told me that I would be back for a test with a machine. They woke me up after 6 hours and asked me how I felt. I told him that I couldn't remember the last time I felt that good.

Anyway, I got on my machine in December 2004 and have not spent a night without it. I just got my S9 Auto about 1.5 months ago.

[mhjyskjxhlk256]

After reading Hunter1's story about seeing an apnea report on Discovery Health, and VenDexter finding a new doctor who sent him in for a study, I just wondered how everyone realized they had apnea.
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Me too!how could us can solve this problem? led spot light

[Musica]

I am now passing the word to everyone I know who has any kind of sleep problems to get checked for OSA.
God bless you all,
Ernesto

Ernesto, just as an aside, the next tropical storm/hurricane will be Ernesto. I know the lady who named them a long time ago. She recently reminded me that one of her "name lists" is being used this year. It will be the next one. As a Floridian, we're hoping it's mild.

[Musica]

My rheumatologist suggested a sleep study after diagnosing my fibromyalgia.

[rimp]

I had always been told I snored loudly. 5 yrs ago my primary doc suggested a sleep study. I was the type who couldn't sleep with anything near my face. I declined the sleep study. Fast forward to 6 wks ago and I was soooo fatigued all the time and had gained 50#:( Went to see my primary for knee pain and high blood pressure. He again suggested the sleep study.....this time I listened:) After my titration night I was hooked.....couldn't get a machine fast enough.....hadn't felt that good in MANY years. Sleep study showed 39.5 AHI and some centrals.
Been a hosehead.....husband calls me snorkle face, for 6 wks and after firing my 1st DME who said no machine could give me data......she also set my bi pap up as straight bi pap instead of auto My 2nd DME is wonderful....set my machine up correctly and I'm down to 1.7 AHI Life is much better and finally worth living again....gotta get working on the #'s after my knee gets right. Love my machine Now I'm on the quest of finding the perfect ffm:)

[lazer]

After reading Hunter1's story about seeing an apnea report on Discovery Health, and VenDexter finding a new doctor who sent him in for a study, I just wondered how everyone realized they had apnea.

-Persistent snoring

-Associated health issues (including some physical & more emotional)

-Daytime fatigue & tiredness

-Insomnia & poor quality of sleep

-Lack of dreaming

Note: Even though prior sleep study(s) both 1 in lab 6 years+ ago and more recent in home this January indicated AHI below 5, I never reached beyond stage #2 sleep. PCP still very suspicious that my conditions merit giving xPAP treatment a go and is on my side.

Edit: The items above in this color have been greatly diminished and/or solved post-xpap treatment.

[SleepDepraved2]

For years I thought my husband was the one with sleep apnea. He does have it, but has been complaining about MY snoring almost as long as I have been complaining about HIS.

I started getting the fatigue after my third child was born. The school my two older children were going to is one block from our house. I would walk those two to school and come home and take a nap. I thought it was the birth control pills I was on messing with my blood sugar. I have always been paranoid about diabetes because I had 3 grandparents who all had it. I had gestational diabetes with my first child, so I started getting very concerned about Syndrome X. Went off the birth control pills, started taking lots of supplements. This did help with the fatigue a bit.

Then I got diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Aha! THIS must be why all the fatigue, even though my TSH was never abnormal. They only found the cancer because the doctor I had started seeing in the practice we had been going to for years finally LISTENED when I told him that I felt a lump when I swallowed, something I had told at least 3 other doctors and who had all found nothing because my thyroid liked to live behind my collarbone and you could only feel the lump when I was laying down. Most doctors only palpate your thyroid while you are seated. He saved my life. He's a great doctor.

Anyway, fast forward 8 more years to this year. I am still dealing with fatigue. I had started working last year as a medical transcriptionist after being a SAHM for many years. I had a hard time staying awake while working. I was taking 2, 3, sometimes 4 naps a day. I had a hard time staying awake while driving my kids home from school. I would take a nap while waiting for my kids to come out of school to prevent that. I could easily take a nap in my chair at my desk and did just to keep working. It wasn't until I fell asleep WHILE I was working that I figured a sleep study might be in order. Just mentioned it to my doctor and he asked if I snored, I said yes, he said you need a sleep study and here I am. An AHI of 69 convinced me I need this therapy. And I can stay awake ALL day now, though some days I feel like I need a nap if I don't get at least 8 hours (or more) of sleep. It's been a month, so I figure I'm still catching up on my sleep debt. My husband has been convinced to try another sleep study in hopes of finding a mask that will work for him. The worst thing about it is I am beginning to forget how awful I felt BEFORE I started therapy. The feeling great part is becoming routine!

[Wonderbeastlett]

I started to have symptoms when I was 15 although at the time I didn't know they were symptoms. I was always super tired and would have sleep paralysis. I was very skinny and when I asked my mom about my symptoms she said it sounded like sleep apnea but I was "too young and skinny" to have that!

When I started college I was under a lot of stress. I had just moved out, had a full time job plus full time school. I felt like a train ran me over every morning! My then boyfriend proposed so I had wedding plans on top of all that! We got married in 2009 and health wise I just went down! I gained almost 100 pounds, my husband said I would stop breathing and I had terrible nightmares that would wake me up choking and hyperventilating!

Finally after my mom called to say my dad was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, I researched the symptoms! I felt like I was reading about myself. I then decided to make an appointment. I really wish I could have caught this when I was 15 because then perhaps my dad would have to!