Do I have some form of Apnea (CSA, OSA, CSR)

[Jamescook84]

Hi there, I appreciate this question is a bit off topic but i'm hoping you can help. For about a year I've been having problems with my sleep, waking up etc and a couple of times i'm sure its been because of not being able to breathe. of course its hard to tell when you're asleep. My girlfriend is a heavy sleeper and she say she hasn't noticed anything but just over a month ago i stayed with a friend in the same room and he said i woke him up with a big gasp, like i was being drowned.

I recorded myself sleeping and uploaded it to youtube along with a small section of the wave form i got from the recording; i noticed when i listened to it that i didn't stop breathing at any point but my breathing did get shallower and then louder (as the wave form shows) at one point you can hear me say 'uh huh' i said that when i woke up, in the full recording i wake up around 4-6 times an hour. its a strange feeling as i'm dreaming and then suddenly i'm woken up (i notice this most in the early morning - 6/7am onwards.

here is a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJkjmIA- ... e=youtu.be

I would be most grateful if you could take a couple of minutes to listen to it and let me know what you think.

Thanks,

James.

[chunkyfrog]

Not at all off topic.
Have you looked at any of the apnea questionnaires?
You probably could see your doctor for a referral for a sleep study;
but since you are here, I suspect you are not insured.
There is a site for a home study, but someone else may be able to provide a link.

[Jamescook84]

Hi, thanks for your reply. the thing is that I live in the UK so I get free medical care with the NHS, however I went to the doctor about this issue almost a year ago along with the fact that i have had a constantly blocked nose for a while, see gave me a nasal spay and told me to come back in a month, i did this and the spay didn't do anything so i went back again and she gave me another spay then sent me to an ENT doctor, he said that i should try a different spay which i'm doing now and that i don't look like the sort of person who would suffer from sleep apnea as im not overweight etc - this has all taken almost a year and i'm no closer to finding out whats wrong - this is why I put the the video up on youtube of me breathing, i thought someone on here might listen to it and say 'you've got this problem' etc.

Because its been going on for so long its just starting to get to me

Thanks again,

James

[TheUglyTruth]

If you were asleep, your youtube shows you are not breathing rhythmically. Normal sleep breathing is one type of autonomous breathing and should be rhythmic. Get a sleep study.

i don't look like the sort of person who would suffer from sleep apnea as im not overweight etc

Idiot government doctor. 40% of people with sleep apnea are slim.

Good luck with that government health system.

[Jamescook84]

Thanks for listening to it and replying so quickly, i'm seeing the ENT doctor again soon so i'll talk to him about a sleep study. I was just interested to seeing if anyone had seen anything like this i.e the breathing pattern i've been getting.

Also its interesting that lots of slim people get it too, he was mainly talking about me not having a think neck or something like that.

Thanks again

[chunkyfrog]

Since apnea causes the release of appetite-enhancing hormones (ghrelin), it is quite likely many of us gained weight
as a RESULT of apnea.
Oh, and your doctor is an IDIOT. Is there any chance of getting in to see someone competent?

[slepybear]

Hi, I listened to your video. It is difficult to hear if there are apneas or popneas in that. I have beeb in bed with my wife for 22 years. Just this year I thought I heared her having a stop in breathing at night. She has CPAP now. When that was established, I the, snorerer in the family, was the suspect of the same condition. Two months later I have the same equipment. Just illustrates that it is very difficult to hear.
I also live in a cuntry with free medical care. But it turns out that all ENT doctors do not have a speciality in sleep diagnosis. Try if any of these questionaires on the net can give you something. For me the one about sleepiness in the day told me to contact my doctor. Tell your GP that he should send you to a sleep center in a hospital or to a ENT that has a speciality in sleep diagnostics. As in my country, it might take some time before you get an appointment. It is worth the wait.

[Jamescook84]

Thank you all for taking the time to listen to my video (i know it must be strange listening to someone breathing!) i forgot to mention that i put a drum sound in the middle to separate 2 different clips.

your advice has all been noted. as for looking at a questionnaire; I did this earlier today but the thing is that i don't snore (not that i have recorded or my partner has noticed) and i don't fall asleep during the day but I DO have a really lack of drive/get-up and go and sometimes headaches in my eyes (i know this sounds odd)

anyway thanks again, i'll post updates etc. if anyone else happens listen to the audio on the video clip i'd be interesting in knowing what you think.

thanks,

James

[kaiasgram]

Hi James, I listened to your breathing. Of course none of us can diagnose your breathing problem but it sure sounds like laborious and distressed breathing at times. There are sleep disordered breathing conditions that don't necessarily involve complete cessation of breathing but that do make wreckage of your sleep and cause the daytime issues you're describing. As I was listening to your breathing I was wondering how in the world you could be getting into deep sleep with that going on. I think the consensus on this forum is and will be that you definitely need a sleep study. Keep us posted.

[TheUglyTruth]

I also live in a cuntry with free medical care. But it turns out that all ENT doctors do not have a speciality in sleep diagnosis.

As in my country, it might take some time before you get an appointment.

The second example in one short thread.

And we are told in the U.S. by lying politicians that "free" government health care in Europe is wonderful.

[jencat824]

Hi James,

I agree you need a sleep study, but I have a question - do you have asthma? I hear some wheezing sounds, perhaps those were in concert with the apnea like events, but I listened twice & definitely hear wheezing. I still think you need a sleep study, but you also probably need a Pulmonary Function Test to see if you may have mild asthma. If you do, its good to know, as you grow older, if you have asthma and get respiratory infections, you may need a rescue inhaler. I've had asthma since early alduthood, probably since childhood, just undiagnosed then.

Just a thought.
Jen

[DeadlySleep]

Also its interesting that lots of slim people get it too, he was mainly talking about me not having a think neck or something like that.

"It's not the size of the neck on the outside, it's the size of the airway inside the neck."

Your doctor is poorly informed.

[Julie]

Suggestion - first you should know that a lot of the time, i.e. in certain people (probably most of us) apnea is worst if we sleep on our backs - more events are provoked. The second thing is that we'll often breathe with our mouths open, though sometimes that only begins once we are on Cpap (the air pressure does it), and as someone else said, snoring can be a tip off, though not always, so it would be interesting to see if you were to e.g. sleep on your side for a night (if you're a back sleeper) maybe with pillows or something behind you for a time (during which you do your recording again) to see if there's a difference and that could be a tip off. And ask your girlfriend if you sleep with your mouth open a lot and/or snort when you do it.

Google Epworth Sleepiness Scale - answer the questions (it's short) and that's the gold standard to get an idea if the answers add up to possible apnea...

Good luck and let us know what happens.

[zoocrewphoto]

I have a set of detailed questions from my sleep doctor. Tonight, I will scan them and post them. I would print them, fill them out, and take them to your doctor. They ask about bathroom trips at night, headaches, etc. lots more than snoring.

[ughwhatname]

I have a set of detailed questions from my sleep doctor. Tonight, I will scan them and post them. I would print them, fill them out, and take them to your doctor. They ask about bathroom trips at night, headaches, etc. lots more than snoring.

I was shocked to see a 14 page questionaire for my sleep study. I get it now though.