Re: Ages?
Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 3:56 pm
I'm 41 and was diagnosed at 40. I had to go through testing twice because the first sleep study concluded that I had an average of 4.5 events an hour (not good enough for insurance). I knew the way I felt was "text book" and the "sleep apnea overview movie" that the pulmonologist had first shown me made the light come on for me. I knew that I hadn't slept well during the first study. They concluded that I hadn't gotten much REM sleep at all and thought my problem might be more prevalent during REM (like others). Luckily, I was able to to get re-tested after several months. Knowing what I was going into the second time, I was more relaxed and was greatly surprised when they woke me at 1:00am. I had 12+ events/hr during light sleep and 74 events/hr during REM. As a result, the second day's "narcolepsy" testing was cancelled and I was certified with severe sleep apnea. The morale of the story is, "Don't give up." I honestly don't know what I would have done if the second test wasn't so conclusive. I know that I've battled all the symptoms (extreme sleepiness, stopping breathing, morning headaches, unclear thinking, crankiness, borderline high BP, etc) for at least 3 years until being incorrectly diagnosed with mild depression. Thank goodness we got to the real root of the problem.