I'm connecting the dots and it feels GREAT!

Wow. This site has been a godsend. It has confirmed a lot of my suspicions about my sleep situation.

A short history:

I think the first time it clicked in my head I may have sleep apnea was back in my freshman year of college. My lucky roommate had to resort to wearing earplugs and having the fan on to deal with my snoring. But he made a point of saying it "didn't sound like any snoring I've heard" and that it was way worse than his dad's which he USED to think was bad until he met me
Fast forward to my last year in college. I'm now sharing a room with my friend and nightly he complains bitterly about my snoring. He says it sounds like I'm choking and even mentions it might be sleep apnea. Now I'm even more sure I have it but I don't do anything about it because either I don't notice any side effects (like loss of libido, more on that later) or the considerable effects I DID (and still) have (sluggish throughout day, emotional flatness, almost no motivation) I attributed solely to poor diet and little exercise.
Now cut to about 3 years ago where I start to pack on another 10 pounds (bringing me to around 200 lbs on my 5'7" frame). All of a sudden I start waking up at night, awakened by my snoring! I couldn't believe it! It sounded like someone popping a brown lunch bag over my head and it startles me! Some nights it happens multiple times within a 20 minute span. My daytime blahs and lethargy began to increase and in the last few years my short-term memory has truly suffered to the point where I almost feel like I'm an octogenarian! Also, finding words and forming sentences on the fly is becoming increasingly difficult. I've also found I have almost no interest in sex -- obviously a very troubling issue for a 27 year old male! Years ago when my apnea was probably less severe, my libido was more robust and my articulation was more fluid and effortless.

*So I guess my question is: Does this sound like a classic case of sleep apnea to you guys? I will be seeing my doctor probably next week to get the ball rolling on a sleep study (even though it may be a nightmare of red tape that could take upwards of a month to get done). **One more question: I have a hunch it will be difficult for me to fall into a deep sleep in a lab setting. I have some anxiety issues and I know I'll feel pressure to sleep. As a last resort, if a sleep study doesn't work out, can a CPAP be accurately prescribed (with all the correct settings and such) without a sleep study?

Thanks!

If you are anxious and think you will have trouble falling asleep, be sure to have your doctor prescribe a sleep med.

It certainly sounds possible that you have sleep apnea. I went to the doctors because my snoring was so bad my wife and I were no longer sleeping in the same room for close to 2 months.

I went to the docs having no idea I may have apnea. The doc listened to my symptoms and referred me right then and there to a sleep clinic.

the Sleep clinic confirmed I have it.
The snoring is no longer an issue and I do feel much better these days.

I hope it all works out for you. If you do have it the treatment is effective and will really help you out.

Yes, it sounds like you have sleep apnea.

Doctors can diagnose it without a sleep study EXCEPT that insurance companies require the study to decide if they are going to pay for the treatment or not. So when you see sleep doctor, ask about:
1. The possibility of a home study with an approved device, OR
2. Sleeping medicaitons to help ensure that you have observable REM sleep during an in lab study.

Not all is bad. Your story sounds like mine except it was my wife telling me I snored too loud AND stopped breathing during the night. She's a nurse and I believed her but was unwilling to be wired and filmed while sleeping. I'm much older now and feel like I could've done more with my life if I had been tested earlier. However, I was always so stubborn that I probably would have never worn the equipment even if I had it. After all the anxiety I felt, I actually didn't feel embarrassed or intimidated when I finally allowed the sleep test in the lab. The technician was great and when I was fully instrumented, I took a sleeping pill and calmly went to sleep. The follow up to fit CPAP to me also went well. I knew I wouldn't choke myself and I again took a sleeping pill. With the second visit, my rem sleep increased by a factor of over eight! I had energy that didn't bleed off for several days. At this point I couldn't wait to get my own machine. The lab experience turned out to be the easy part. Getting used to all the quirks and accessories associated with this therapy is testing but worth it. I wouldn't delay getting tested.

In the scheme of things i'm just a new kid on the block, when it comes to OSA.
My wife had been on my back, forever and a day, about my snoring, stopping breathing, and all other symptons mentioned in previous posts.
I have just started treatment and last night had a home sleeptest. Believe me when i say, it is the best thing since sliced bread.
I wish you well with your upcoming treatment. Give it the time it deserves and you won't know yourself.

Jon

cinephile wrote:*So I guess my question is: Does this sound like a classic case of sleep apnea to you guys?

Yup. Sure sounds like it to me. But I'm no doctor.

cinephile wrote:I will be seeing my doctor probably next week to get the ball rolling on a sleep study (even though it may be a nightmare of red tape that could take upwards of a month to get done).

In the meantime, I'd be putting myself on CPAP, one way or another.

cinephile wrote: As a last resort, if a sleep study doesn't work out, can a CPAP be accurately prescribed (with all the correct settings and such) without a sleep study?

Yes, sure can be. The settings may take some trial and error, so it would be an enormous help if the machine can give AHI and leak data, and can use software to get a detailed look at how the therapy is going.

If your doctor is uneasy about prescribing CPAP before a sleep study is done, below are a couple of links that might make him be a bit more inclined to do that for you.

The first is to a research study to see if people, on their own, could find an effective CPAP pressure...be able to "titrate" themselves well at home. The answer was yes. And those people were doing it with just CPAP machines (not autopaps) and without the benefit of software:

"Can Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Titrate Their Own Continuous Positive Airway Pressure?"
http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/reprint/167/5/716

This second one is:
Link to a Powerpoint presentation by board certified pulmonolgist/sleep doctor (Dr. Barbara Phillips) at a meeting of the American Lung Association of the Central Coast - November 2004:
"Not Every Patient Needs to Go to the Sleep Lab"
http://www.tnlc.com/Lara/laura/osa/Barb ... t_0830.pdf