Can young people have Sleep Apnea?

[dmstangu]

Used to doze off in the office. Colleagues+boss were such friends that they were just making innocent fun of me. March '07 moved to US, in a much bigger office and I fell asleep during my first dept. meeting. Blamed it on jet lag. But then I started dozing off in my office again and after a short talk with my new boss, I decided to go in for a sleep study. Diagnosed with severe OSA at the age of 32. AHI 117, avg. oxigen saturation 70%, min. 34% . I still wonder how did I stay alive.

I also think it's a miracle I didn't crash my car in the last 6-7 years, since stayin' awake behind the wheel always required huge efforts.

Somebody must love me a lot up there .

I suspect I had OSA since my late teen years, when I started gaining weight and developed HBP.

Proud to report I'm 100% compliant since day 1 on APAP (July '07), with an average daily AHI under 2.5

[GeneS]

I went on an overnight campout with my Daughter when she was in Campfire. Another girl and her father was also in the tent. She was probably only about 10 or 12 and had really bad sleep apnea and did not know it. I talked to her father in the morning and told him about it and he said she had very enlarged tonsils and adnoids and was going to see a doctor about them. I said to make sure that she takes care of her sleep apnea also. I never saw them again but it appears that enlarged tonsils and adnoids can cause sleep apnea. I dont know if removing them will eliminate sleep apnea.

In other words if you have enlarged tonsils or adnoids you should check out the possible connection with sleep apnea and take care of the problem.
GeneS

[socknitster]

My 4 year old son had his tonsils and adenoids removed for the same reason, Gene, and it cured him. He sleeps peacefully now.

Jen

[beachgurl_1988]

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea when I was 18 years old. I was a senior in high school and had gone to an ENT doctor to see about all my sinus infections. Well, he sent me for a sleep study and low and behold, I have it. My father also has sleep apnea. His pressure is set on 6 and he was diagnosed when he was about 38 or so. My mother actually just got diagnosed with sleep apnea after a long 3 year battle of telling doctors she needed to use a cpap machine. Her pressure is set at 18.

My pressure is set at 10. I use a Resperonics Remstar machine with heated humidifier, and a Fisher and Pykel flexifit 431 full face mask. My mother uses the same machine. My ENT doctor also had me get sinus surgery, to reduce the size of the turbinates in my nose and also to clean out some of the passageways and make them larger. Sinus surgery was one of the best things I ever had done. I had my surgery back in May 2007 and have not had a sinus infection ever since. I used to get sinus infections every two or three weeks. There was not a month that went by that I was not on a course of antibiotics.

Getting my Cpap machine was wonderful. I used to fall asleep all the time in school and my sleep was not restful. I would wake up in the morning and not feel rested at all. After my cpap was used I was much easier to wake in the morning, would sleep through the night and had so much more energy and stamina during the day.

I urge anyone who is not sleeping well to go to a sleep lab and get all wired up. It may be uncomfortable, and whatnot, but it is only a few hours and it can seriously help you get your life back!!

[kayfouroh]

I'm 22 and have been diagnosed with moderate OSA.

Sucks for my romantic life (girlfriend of 7 years HATES the CPAP.. she is a VERY light sleeper and anything regarding CPAP gets her mad), but it has helped me in all parts of my life, even though I only started a month ago.

I have ALWAYS been tired, had NO concentration in school, NO memory, etc. even back when I was younger (freshman in high school around).

[tcn.zee]

I have been having this problem for the past 3-4 years. I thought it was due to my poor work life balance at a consulting firm. I tried out regular exercises (karate, yoga and long distance running) to fight the problem until it got really bad in the last 6 months. I accidently read the Apnea symptoms over the net and rushed to the Doc last week. I have tested +ve for severe Apnea and got the CPAP device yesterday. The real problem is I am a 26 year old male and this article freaked me out "http://s7.zetaboards.com/Apnea_Board/topic/8308887/1/". Does it really impact life expectancy drastically if one acquires the condition in his 20s? Also, please tell me how soon I can get rid of the CPAP machine?

[chunkyfrog]

There are teenagers,and even younger children.
Many of us probably had it for years. You are fortunate to have been diagnosed early,
so as to avoid many of the health problems that result from apnea.

[49er]

There are teenagers,and even younger children.
Many of us probably had it for years. You are fortunate to have been diagnosed early,
so as to avoid many of the health problems that result from apnea.

As one who feels I have it for several years since puberty, I would definitely state a big fat YES that young people can have sleep apnea. No ifs ands buts about it.

49er

[Drowsy Dancer]

Also, please tell me how soon I can get rid of the CPAP machine?

At the moment, CPAP is the gold standard treatment for OSA, but there is presently no cure. So the best answer to your question is currently "never."

[chunkyfrog]

Getting rid of the machine is something that depends largely on science.
Something "new" comes out every few months, but so far most are either experimental or have
transitioned to "alternative medicine" status, with research and testing giving way to marketing.
A few people have been able to improve with massive weight loss, enough to not need the machine;
but this is very rare. Even in case weight loss does help, weight tends to come back,
and cpap helps normalize the levels of hormones that contribute to obesity.
This machine does not prevent you from having a normal life--it helps you live well and long;
and in some cases it may help you weed out prospective lovers too shallow to bother with.

[Julie]

Hi, relax, you're not alone (even little kids can have apnea), and the thing is, you found out and are doing something about it - many, many people walk (or drag) around for decades without ever been diagnosed or treated. And because you're being treated, your life expectancy should be normal, everything else being equal (genetics, accidents, too much chocolate cake ).

Now what you do have is a condition, not a one time event, so that means a pill won't make it go away. Neither will Cpap, so it's highly unlikely, even with a very large weight loss (if that applies to you) that you will get rid of it anytime soon... but the good news is that the way techology's moving these days, you may very likely be treated very differently in the future... but for now, Cpap (Apap, etc.) is the best way to go.

There are many doctors (ENT's and others) who'll tell you that a tonsillectomy, or palate surgery will cure apnea, but enough people have gone that route only to find out a year later that they're in the same boat as previously (and sometimes worse off).

Dentists will offer devices to wear overnight to cure snoring... but that's only a symptom, and not every snorer has apnea and curing snoring won't help cure the airway obstruction apnea creates. There are 1-2 types of surgery (or devices) that have helped some people, but they're relatively drastic and not everyone benefits... but as I said, things are changing quite quickly.

Your best bet is to get set with the most comfortable, least leaky, and most effective mask and machine you can. Tell yourself you're now a 'hosehead' and part of an exclusive club. Plus smart to boot as you are doing what you need to for yourself and your future. Lots of young people have 'something' if not medical, then otherwise, it's just not talked about much, but hopefully you'll also appreciate feeling better in future and that may lead to other lifestyle changes you've possibly avoided. Good luck, and let us know how it's going.