Stressed out, do I have sleep apnea?

Obviously, I know only a sleep study and doctor can really answer this. But I'd like to vent and go through my symptoms.
December 20th last year, I woke myself up then thinking I couldn't breathe at all. I went into a panic attack. Ended up in the ER where they told me I had GAD and sent me home with an inhaler and Lexapro. I didn't take the Lexapro and did "ok" for that week; still waking up groggy or with headaches. On New Year's Eve, I drank a lot then the same episode happened where I woke myself up and thought I wasn't breathing; went back to the ER where I continuously told them it was a sleeping issue and they still said it was anxiety. I understand the panic was anxiety-driven but I think not breathing in my sleep caused it. I ended up taking the Lexapro once (went into an allergic reaction of sorts) along with hydroxyzine for two weeks which only caused even more problems. I'm sensitive to medication. I haven't had a real night's sleep for a month now. I quit the meds but still having sleeping issues. I'm 31, female, 5'6", and weigh 123 pounds. I do know that I'm not within the typical grouping of people with apnea. I would like to say that I also have noticed my tonsils are rather large and I have bad allergies along with a possible deviated septum. I have a sleep study finally scheduled and a ct scan.

My symptoms-
hypnagogic thoughts then sleeping for about an hour to 90 minutes where I wake myself up in a panic
waking up to pee several times a night
scratchy throat, dry throat throughout the day and waking up
tired all-day
derealization when waking up
cognitive/reading issues
intelligence seems to lag
my heart rate goes up to 113-120 upon waking myself up
sweating in sleep (especially around neck)
tremors
dull headaches but not all the time
depression/anxiety which I didn't have until these episodes

I'd just like some comfort I guess in knowing that this may be a fixable issue even if it takes a long time and bouts of trying with a CPAP.

snowgolum wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 05, 2021 6:36 pm

Obviously, I know only a sleep study and doctor can really answer this. But I'd like to vent and go through my symptoms.
December 20th last year, I woke myself up then thinking I couldn't breathe at all.

did you have any of the symptoms you list prior to december 20?

Just a thought... I've been reading and seeing on the news that anxiety/depression is on the rise in a big way since March of 2020. And, it manifests in a different way for everyone. I think I would pay attention to that aspect first, especially because this recently started. Then maybe I would delve into sleep apnea which of course, you could have. Only my opinion and I hope you get this sorted out quickly. Feeling like you can't breath and having a panic attack isn't fun.

I’m glad you have a sleep study scheduled. When will it be? What part of your body will be scanned?

If your sleep study is weeks away, you might consider getting a recording oximeter just to see what’s happening with your O2 sats during the night. That could provide some useful information for both you and your doctor.

Have you been tested for C-19? It can manifest in some odd ways,

Julie wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 05, 2021 9:30 pm

Have you been tested for C-19? It can manifest in some odd ways,

I thought that's what it was as well and was tested twice. Both were the nasal swabs that go way up. Both negative. I also live with my family currently and no one else has tested positive. However, I am scheduled with an ENT because I can see nasal polyps in my left nostril (sry if that's TMI). I relocated last year from Houston to a town in TN and I think it wreaked havoc on my sinuses.

Miss Emerita wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 05, 2021 9:05 pm

I’m glad you have a sleep study scheduled. When will it be? What part of your body will be scanned?

If your sleep study is weeks away, you might consider getting a recording oximeter just to see what’s happening with your O2 sats during the night. That could provide some useful information for both you and your doctor.

I have an oximeter and as I was drifting off, my O2 dropped pretty fast. I have great ox levels in the daytime.
I will know my appointment by Monday morning. The sleep center here is reopening in a week and the person I spoke to acted like it will be very soon. I'm getting a head and neck scan. I kind of wonder if I'm getting diabetes because my glucose stats were in the prediabetes range when I had my blood panel done. My doctor just said she'll keep an eye on it but I do know that diabetes can cause some weird sleep issues similar to mine and my feet are prickly often during sleep along with shaking when I'm waking up.

zonker wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 05, 2021 7:47 pm

snowgolum wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 05, 2021 6:36 pm

Obviously, I know only a sleep study and doctor can really answer this. But I'd like to vent and go through my symptoms.
December 20th last year, I woke myself up then thinking I couldn't breathe at all.

did you have any of the symptoms you list prior to december 20?

I haven't been sleeping great since the beginning of 2019 but nothing to this caliber. I'd wake up with a headache or just slightly exhausted.

Lucyhere wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 05, 2021 8:19 pm

Just a thought... I've been reading and seeing on the news that anxiety/depression is on the rise in a big way since March of 2020. And, it manifests in a different way for everyone. I think I would pay attention to that aspect first, especially because this recently started. Then maybe I would delve into sleep apnea which of course, you could have. Only my opinion and I hope you get this sorted out quickly. Feeling like you can't breath and having a panic attack isn't fun.

Yeah exactly. The COVID outbreak will cause anyone in isolation to get anxious and I read about the depression/anxiety numbers skyrocketing. My dad also had a stroke last year along with there being a shooting next door to our house which I ended up hearing. I think there are a lot of factors pointing to anxiety. That's why I also want the CT scan and sleep study just to rule out any other problems before tackling it as an anxiety issue. I know doctors go to it first but I think it's kind of illogical. My blood panel did show a low vitamin D, higher cholesterol than usual, and high glucose. I read that sleep apnea can cause all three of those. My ANA came back positive as well but the numbers were still low for lupus or rheumatoid arthritis and my inflammation panels were incredibly low. So something is up. My blood panel was pretty close to perfect just a month ago. I still have questioned if I did get COVID but both tests I got were negative.

Lately, I just wake up in my sleep now about every hour. The breathing thing subsided a few weeks ago, thankfully. I have an odd dream now, wake up with a bad headache, and then feel uncomfortable. I do know that sleep deprivation can cause derealization episodes among a ton of other psychological issues and I'm running on about 2 hours a night.

It sounds like you're getting an attentive approach from your doctor, which is good. I hope the sleep test will indeed be scheduled soon.

With ANA coming back positive, it might be worth following up with a broader panel focused on a wide range of connective tissue disease. More information here:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1237162/

snowgolum wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 06, 2021 9:34 am

zonker wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 05, 2021 7:47 pm

snowgolum wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 05, 2021 6:36 pm

Obviously, I know only a sleep study and doctor can really answer this. But I'd like to vent and go through my symptoms.
December 20th last year, I woke myself up then thinking I couldn't breathe at all.

did you have any of the symptoms you list prior to december 20?

I haven't been sleeping great since the beginning of 2019 but nothing to this caliber. I'd wake up with a headache or just slightly exhausted.

tbh? i don't think this is necessarily sleep apnea. i'm glad you have the sleep study scheduled. go through with it just to be sure.

but to my medically untrained eye, it seems that this could pretty much all be down to stress/anxiety.

please come back and let us know the results of the sleep study.

good luck!

snowgolum wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 06, 2021 9:50 am

Stressed out, do I have sleep apnea?

You have many of the classic symptoms of sleep apnea. There is not a single symptom in your list that ISN'T a symptom of sleep apnea. Get the sleep study.

snowgolum wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 06, 2021 9:50 am

Stressed out, do I have sleep apnea?

BTW, you might be interested in reading some of these brief blog posts about sleep apnea causing anxiety - https://doctorstevenpark.com/?s=anxiety&submit=Search

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 06, 2021 12:31 pm

snowgolum wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 06, 2021 9:50 am

Stressed out, do I have sleep apnea?

You have many of the classic symptoms of sleep apnea. There is not a single symptom in your list that ISN'T a symptom of sleep apnea. Get the sleep study.

I keep wondering if I'm in denial about it since a lot of people have said it's anxiety. It seems like the depression and anxiety has just worsened from the lack of sleep. I look at the variables in weather changes and sinuses too which I know can cause a type of OSA. I lived in Houston for 5 years then moved to Tennessee where it's snowing, altitude is high, and tons of nature that irritate my sinuses. I had about 4 terrible colds last year. When I lay down too, my left nasal passage completely closes up and my throat feels tight.

Thank you for the link. I was doing alright and ever since this started, my concentration is awful and my anxiety has skyrocketed. I haven't had a panic attack since high school.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 06, 2021 12:31 pm

You have many of the classic symptoms of sleep apnea. There is not a single symptom in your list that ISN'T a symptom of sleep apnea.

which of these sentences is correct?