What took you so long....

I attributed my sleepiness to stress on the job and to getting older (44). I knew I snored terribly, because I would keep my wife up and wake myself up, but hey, others in my family snore to, so I thought that was it. I went to the doctor in January for bronchitis, and he asked if I was a loud snorer. He pointed out some problems with my anatomy, such as a very small air way (go figure, I have an 18" neck) and an enlarged uvula (I think thats how you spell it). He told me a sleep study would be an excellent idea since I was a prime candidate for a stroke. From there I had the sleep study plus some additional tests. For the 1st time, I'm taking my health seriously. I'm on CPAP, haven't had a smoke in 4 months and am now determined to lose 30 pounds and get in shape. I'm not sure I'm sleeping better, but at least my wife is since I'm not snoring.

What took me so long? I've never slept well, so I just thought it was normal to "fade" in the afternoon. It was my cardiologist who referred me, since I'm young to have hypertension.

Doug.

We are in the same boat Doug.....I just thought it was normal. I have always been this way.

kathy said: I feel pretty salty about all the lost years too, but so glad to have not lost another or my life.

kathy, i feel the same way, but since you are so sweet, you use the word 'salty'---that is definitely not the word i use to describe my frustration and anger at having essentially lost the last 13 years... , but i will refain from profanity, it's only polite

tillymarigold said: On the flip side, I spent 17 years telling doctors I was tired all the time and I was sure normal people didn't feel like this before someone sent me for a sleep study.

this is so similar to my story...but, i've already posted long and loud about the experiences that led to my OSA dx, (i'm irish, we rant, it's what we do)...so i won't bore you with the grim details yet again

suffice it to say that i stumbled across the diagnosis myself and luckily convinced my moronic gp to refer me to a sleep specialist...luckily for me there isn't a pill for OSA, otherwise my script-writing, pill-pushing, sorry excuse for a doctor would try to put me on that, too, regardless of the side effects and long term effects that she chooses not to concern herself with (not a big fan of pharmaceuticals here, can you tell?, at least not when there is a safer, non invasive option...she couldn't possibly conceive of such a thing, though, since pill pushing is her vocation)

oh, what i wouldn't give for a real doctor

sharon

I have had apnea all my life. It was due to needing but not getting orthodontic treatment when younger. I cannot remember ever not waking up gasping for breath before. I learned to sleep on my stomach or side. I cannot sleep on my back. I just can't get enough air. I finally had my teeth aligned in 1990 and my jaw came foward a bit. After that I didn't wake up struggling to breathe as frequently. About eight years ago I had major surgery. After that I started passing out and had all kinds of aches and pains. I was diagnosed with asthma. I went on inhalers and allergy medicine and the asthma got better but i still didn't feel right. My doctor did all kinds of tests on me and suggested a sleep study but he first sent me for a stress echocardiogram. It showed that I had a leaky mitral valve. The cardiologist who did the test was involved in some research at Johns Hopkins on CFS. He said that he thought I was also suffering from cronic fatigue syndrome. He suggested added salt and hydration in my diet. the results of this CFS research had proved that this dietary change helped 50% of their CFS sufferers. In addition my internist put me on a vitamin regime which included a high B complex, magnesium and Zinc. He never suggested the sleep study again. I had some relief with those changes but still didn't have the energy that I felt i should. He said that CFS was hard to treat and that I would have good days and bad days. But he ordered more thyroid tests which again came back normal.

When I moved to this area I told my new doctor about the CFS diagnosis and that I was not longer comfortable with it. I told him that I was tired of feeling tired. Tired of having to conserve my energy and tired of paying a dear price if I didn't. He ordered some blood work for thyroid and lymes disease and when they came back negative he suggested I se a rheumatologist. That is when I asked for the sleep study. He told me that insurance companies were beginning to balk at this type of testing because it was being overly used. But when I told him about almost nodding off while driving and having to pull off the road for a nap in the middle of the day he ordered the study. And here I am.

To all....Thanks for sharing your experiences.

I feel a wee bit less guilty about not investigating my sleep problem sooner. Not because some of you had an even worse experience, but because I know I am not alone in misunderstanding sleep problems

I'm a week or so away from getting my first auto titrated cpap and reading all these posts has given me so much hope! My life is good but like so many of your stories, I've been fighting excessive tiredness for years now. I knew I didn't sleep well and I've tried lifting my head up on pillows, Afrin nose spray, EZ Breather nasal inserts, Breathrite strips, bela bela bla... Finally two weeks ago I went to a wonderful Integrative Medicine doctor who ordered me a Pulse-Ox test. Yep, I got issues. So I started searching and found this forum. For the first time, I see light at the end of the tunnel! There just may be a chance that I will: not feel profoundly tired driving home, fall asleep in my chair as soon as I get home while my kids are asking me to play with them, stop feeling totally beat ALL THE TIME, not have to make myself be intimate with my wife because I really don't feel up to it. I am so excited at what may lie ahead for me. I thank you all for your help and input and I feel the best is yet to come!

tillymarigold wrote:On the flip side, I spent 17 years telling doctors I was tired all the time and I was sure normal people didn't feel like this before someone sent me for a sleep study.

Here here! And I've had to put up with being ridiculed and poked fun of for sleeping all the time. People basically now think I'm a lazy bum. I think the ones the understand OSA feel kinda bad that they gave me such a hard time about being lazy all these years and there turned out to be an honest-to-god serious reason for it. It's good to know that there ARE docs out there that listen to us occasionally.

Susan M.

LukeIamYourFather wrote: I feel a wee bit less guilty about not investigating my sleep problem sooner. Not because some of you had an even worse experience, but because I know I am not alone in misunderstanding sleep problems....

There is nothing to feel guilty about. We all do what we have to do with the knowledge we have. It just happens that when we have problems we find the way. Education on OSA is so limited. You definitely are NOT alone and finding this forum is a great start to wellness.

Mtnman wrote: For the first time, I see light at the end of the tunnel! ..... I feel the best is yet to come!


IMHO life will get better! Finding out about OSA, getting treatment and keeping the right attitude all make for a better life IMHO. You're on the right track and have a great support group in this forum!

Good Luck, Sleep Well!

---gary

I think I have had sleep apnea for at least 8 years. My wife would tell me that I sometimes stopped breathing. I knew that I snored like a chain saw as I would often partially awaken and hear my snoring. I took a job last summer that forced me to commute but only about 30 miles. At least twice, I had to pull over and take a quick nap during that 30 mile drive. One day, I didn't pull over soon enough and fell asleep at the wheel. I woke up before anything serious happened, but I heard the rumble strips on the road shoulder. I called the MD the next day and scheduled a sleep study. I've been on the machine now since early December of 2006 and it's made a huge difference. I doubt I would be alive today if I had not taken the step.

"Sweetie, I just don't understand it. It's Monday morning, I've slept almost constantly since last Friday evening and I'm more tired now than when I went to bed 2 days ago."

In the mid-80's, I worked with a group of folks who like to go camping. During the first night of a weekend trip, I was told to go sleep in my truck....with the windows closed!!!

I've snored really loudly since my teenage years, but I didn't really start feeling the constant exhaustion until about 4 1/2 years ago, shortly after we moved here to Carlsbad, NM. I started a new job that required me to be at work every morning at 7AM. For the 4 years prior to that, I worked as a sub-contractor to this company and had quite a bit of time off so I could rest/sleep as much as I wanted.

Sweetie had put up with my really loud snoring for a long, long time before she mentioned that I sometimes quit breathing and then snorted/gasped and started breathing again. After about 2 years of steady decline in energy, falling asleep at the computer at work, getting on the average 10 hours sleep each night, complaints about how I really should have energy to play and do Daddy stuff with Bunny, our son, (after all, I wasn't THAT darned old! LOLOL) and a couple of years of Dr visits every 3 months because I was always tired, my GP ordered a sleep study. I did the kind where I slept without a mask for 1/2 the night and with a mask the 2nd half of the night. When they woke me, I felt absolutely TREMENDOUS! First thing I said was "I GOTTA GET ME ONE OF THESE THINGS!!!"

That was 2 1/2 years ago. I fiddled around with APAP mode for over 2 years and was feeling better, but it was and only lately (last 4 months or so) switched over to straight CPAP mode. I feel fabulous!!!

And that's my story. (Except for recently trying out Sleep Guy's PurSleep system. That's another major plus, as far as I'm concerned!!)

Best wishes to all of us OSA sufferers!

Kajun

For years, every time I went to the doctor, I told him I was constantly tired. He chalked it up to my meds and my working full time while carrying a full credit load at school. I told him that it wasn't that, but he blew it off.

This past spring, my mother had me stay at her apartment for the weekend, insisting that I sleep on the couch in the living room so that I would be close by. (She's disabled and sleeps sitting up in a recliner.) A few days later, she mentioned that I stopped breathing periodically in my sleep and urged me to bring it to the doc's attention. My best friend, who shared a stateroom on a cruise with me, backed her up. Two of Trish's quotes stand out in my mind:

1. "It sounded like you were competing with a train... and the train lost!"

2. "The snoring didn't bother me... it bothered me when it stopped!"

Through a series of events, I wound up with one of the best pulmonologists/sleep specialists in the city, and after a split sleep study, had the OSA diagnosis confirmed. I just got my CPAP a few days ago, and after a few uncomfortable nights, had my first really good night's sleep in a long time just last night!

It's nice to drink coffee just for the sake of drinking coffee, not because I need it to wake up! And it's nice not to need a lunchtime nap!

Well my didnt come to be an issue until after getting pregnat then I thought it was the pregnancy then I had 2 toddlers to chase then they said it was my thyroid - it wasnt until I could nt even play with my kdis anymore and my legs were giving out on me and I had muscle weakness before they sent me to get tested. I had been complaing of fatigue for 3 years. I still have some joint/muscle issues that are unresolved that began 10 years ago so Im curious to see if that too is related and maybe it just was minor back then although Ive always needed 10hrs sleep to feel okay. Ill be headed to the Mayo Clinic for muscle and joint issues otherwise but Im praying that with longer treatment that the CPAP is the fix for that too.

My husband, bless him, thought the snoring was "cute." After he died, I slept alone. The occasional friend I roomed with on trips was more concerned about shutting up the snoring than about my possible breathing difficulties. I was tired all the time, and I told doctors about it for 15 years; I was treated for depression and low thyroid, which did help a little. Finally my doctor suggested a sleep test and I am so glad she did!

Hi Airwise, welcome to the forum. please register and go to the control panelon the upper left of the page below the search box, and put in your equipment, if you have started CPAP yet. You might want to put your posts in a new thread from now on. This thread is from 2007.