How was your OSA/CSA discovered?

I've always snored, as far as I remember. One day after mowing the lawn, I got a sore throat and then snored worse. This caused my wife to notice that I quit breathing.

I ended up going to the dr, and told him about my snoring. He sent me to his ENT and referred me to sleep study. I did not go. Months later, I woke up with a migraine so severe that I thought I was going to throw up, I had also been feeling more and more tired. I went back to my dr, told him what was going on, and he again referred me for a sleep study. I went this time. I liked this first sleep study that I went back 2 more times /sarcasm. I now have a resmed s9 vpap adapt and my mixed apnea seems more or less under control.

I was 21, 5'11", weighted about 175, and had a blood pressure of 155+/100+. I saw one doctor who seemed baffled and felt it was something serious. He went as far as to tell me to get life insurance while I can and then told me he was going to France for two months and that we would work on it when he got back. Needless to say I got a new doctor. The new doctor was better than the other bastard but was still hesitant to believe I had sleep apnea "because I was at a healthy weight." After a couple months of pestering him I finally got my referral for a sleep study.

About 22 or 23 years ago my wife complained that I stopped breathing during the night and wondered if I might have obstructive sleep apnea. That led to a diagnosis. Of course, when I was only about 13 years old my sister had complained that I snored just like my grandfather, who I'm certain had obstructive sleep apnea. (By the way, I was WAY underweight .. so while weight might not help, eliminating weight is not necessarily a cure). So, I had had obstructive sleep apnea for more than 20 years before a diagnosis. Still, it's a shame that initial diagnosis is not made more frequently. GP doctors SHOULD get this one by now. It's not as if OSA is a new diagnosis.

salton wrote:Wife told me years ago I stopped breathing when I slept. New wife, same story... She ....

Seems that your wife picker is defective?
Actually, I was never diagnosed. Speaking of the spouse, at her Mayo Clinic Sleep Clinic visit, she was told she needed BiPAP, and her reply was "He's the one who needs it the most!" So after learning more about this deal, I asked my MD for an valuation, which started with a home test showing small event and minor desats. At the same time, a coworker offered me an S7 AutoSet, which I used to self titrate... and 2 years later, i'm still relying on myself and this forum for keeping me straight.

Ironically, the decade before all this, I had been looked at and/or treated for asthma, arthritis, vertigo, prostate (day and nocturnal urgency) and several other issues that should have made one of my MD's ask questions. The only thing they found was low-T and huge allergies and chronic trigger point issues. So, I have huge respect and regard for the 'non-medical opinions' and experience Y'all avail we apnea sufferers.

I have snored for pretty much my whole life. I remember being 6-7 years old and waking myself up from snoring.

About 4 years ago, I had emergency gallbladder surgery. I had an infection so I had to stay in the hospital for a total of 5 days. I was sleeping one day and one of the doctors came in to check something. She woke me up and asked me if I had ever had a sleep study, and if not then I really needed to get one scheduled. I didn't take it too seriously.

3 years ago, when I moved in with my now husband I went through about 6 months of not being able to sleep in bed. I would lay down and start panicking because I thought that I was going to suffocate so I would go into the living room and sleep sitting up on the couch. It was very odd and I didn't understand it at all at the time. Now I wonder if it was actually my subconscious telling me that I truly was suffocating in my sleep.

2 years ago when we were in Vegas I woke up one morning with the absolute worst headache that I had ever had (although waking up with headaches was pretty common for me). It was awful. I had gone through such a long time of just being exhausted, waking up several times a night to go to the bathroom, irritability, inability to focus, etc.

Last year in September, our health insurance through my husbands job was changing so I decided that I was going to go to my doctor and get my sleep study. I went in, told him what was going on and that I wanted a sleep study and he set it up for me. 3 trips to the sleep clinic later and barely under the deadline of our insurance switch, I got my machine. My AHI was 91.4. Oxygen saturation was 86%, dropping to as low as 58%. It explained so much, and I luckily have taken to therapy very easily. My life has very literally changed.

The first hint that sleep apnea might be a problem in my life occurred back in 1985 when my wife told me that I stopped breathing at night and we set up a doctors appointment to look into the matter. The doctor ordered a recording heart monitor that I used for four days and found no problems by that means concerning sleep apnea.

2000 saw my last term as a Chief Engineer of a Radio station. 2002 my last job in broadcasting ended as I was replaced by non-technical personnel in a downsizing move.

In January of 2003 a bunk mate in shelter sat down with me and told me what I had and what I needed to do about it. I got an appointment (for much later) that day.

August 2003 I started CPAP.

Mine was discovered because of a sore shoulder and iron deficiency. The sore shoulder is what sent me to see a doctor for the first time in years, and the iron deficiency was my doctor's hypothesis for why I looked tired. She started questioning my sleep when I still looked tired after fixing the deficiency. A sleep study ensued when I admitted to having insomnia and not feeling rested.

I couldn't open my jaw - and was complaining about how much it hurt. I finally got my doc to take an x-ray of my jaw which showed significant TMJ with two cysts. She sent me to an oral surgeon, he examined me, then explained that I grit my teeth in my sleep and it's destroying my jaws - and explained WHY I grit my teeth. I was in the Sleep Center's office an hour later for an appointment and was in a sleep study soon after.

I would have never have guessed that sleep apnea causes TMJ.

I had dealt with a 25 year gut issue vbia the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) and had lost 180 pounds.

I started having hip pain which woke me up 2-3 times a night. It would drag me out of sleep, and I would claw my way awake enough to take some anti-inflammatories, and would go pee. 2-3 hours later, I would be dragged out of sleep with hip pain. I was continuously exhausted, but every time I mentioned it to my (now former) GP, he would tell me to "Stop stuffing my face and lose some weight, and it would ALL clear up."

He had told me the same thing about the gut issue. He said the same thing when I presented with the symptoms of uterine cancer. I fixed the gut issue myself, and got a second opinion on the symptoms.

My oncologist asked, before my surgery, if I had sleep apnea. I said, not so far as I knew.

While I was in hospital after the surgery, and even on oxygen, I had horrible hip pain... and I wasn't getting any sleep because the d@mned alarm on my oximeter kept going off. The nurse said I was probably rolling on the wire.

The pain from my surgery wouldn't go away, and the hip pain was getting worse. I was sent to a pain management doctor.

She said I was doing everything right to manage the pain, and sent me for a sleep test. I said that I knew the pain was interrupting my sleep... and she corrected me that interrupted sleep could CAUSE the pain issues I was having.

Yes, I had moderate apnea. When I went for the titration, my brain said, "Oh, CPAP... she doesn't need me to tell her to breathe anymore."

Which is how I ended up with a Bipap ASV.

Luckily, I had found this group prior to the sleep test, and had learned a few things, so my shift to being a hosehead when reasonably smoothly. If I'd been dependent on my DME, it wouldn't have.

In my case its all a matter of perspective...

Some view the glass as half full and others as half empty.

I was visiting with my cardiologist when he asked me if I had sleep problems. I told him no, but my wife tells me that I stop breathing while I sleep.

He immediately scheduled me for a sleep study.

I picked up a Pulse Oximeter for pre xPAP checking and he reviewed the results with me.

The perspective part goes like this...

My perspective is that I am "developing a history of sinus rhythm." My doctors perspective is that I have a history of afib.

I like my view better.

In follow up visits my cardiologist went over the recent data that he could find on sleep disorders. There is nothing that indicates that using an xPAP machine will eliminate afib, but he assured me that it would improve my cardiovascular health.

I love reading all these stories. It does make you think about other people that didn't get help though. That is really sad. It makes you really appreciate this forum even more.

In the past few years, my health was slowing declining. HBP, gained weight, became depressed which I attributed to a death in my family, GERD, night sweats, very tired, starting napping on Saturday mornings after breakfast... Went on vacation with a friend who told me I snored and I thought I'd ask my doctor at some point.

I started getting nosebleeds in drier environments (desert) while traveling, and then started having them at home as well. One night, I had the third serious nosebleed in 24 hours and it was so severe, the blood was backing up into my tear duct and I was crying tears. Rather disturbing. Went to the ER, had very elevated BP and pulse rate without real explanation.

Followed up at the ENT the next day per the ER doc. He said the packing needed to remain an extra day, so he really didn't do anything... other than to suggest that he thought I had apnea and if I wanted a sleep study, let him know the next day when I came back in. I also asked him about this cough I've had for a couple of YEARS. He said it was GERD. I had no idea. That was late July, took till mid-September to get a sleep study due to scheduling issues, and got my machine in mid October. Took to it immediately, despite the difficulty at the sleep study (my freakout!)

I now have an explanation for so much that was going on. I've started working in the yard, something I haven't been able to do for some time. Ability to focus is much better. No need for weekend naps, but I still enjoy them on occasion. I can stay awake during boring meetings at work, too.

No more depression or night sweats. Sleeping better, low AHI. Working on getting the extra weight off, don't cough anymore, etc. etc. Honestly, that nosebleed and the subsequent events saved my life.

Stormynights wrote:I love reading all these stories. It does make you think about other people that didn't get help though. That is really sad. It makes you really appreciate this forum even more.

I find these posts very interesting also. I haven't done an official tally, but it seems like more here were not diagnosed with OSA until the disease significantly progressed or manifested other illnesses.

What if the OSA was discovered promptly and treated? I'm not trying to play the "what-if" game, but it seems like this disease isn't being handled responsibly by the medical profession. It's much more widespread and dangerous than most think. From what I've read here, untreated OSA *will* kill you. Not immediately, but eventually. And no one will even know OSA was the culprit..

Stormynights wrote:It does make you think about other people that didn't get help though.

As I stated previously, my body is starting to self-destruct the last few years.

I had a jaw dropping moment a few days ago. And it's a scary one.

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I think I had many of my OSA symptoms as a child. Could I have had OSA for over 20 years? (I'm 43).

As the Myth Busters would say: "plausible"

jdr999 wrote:

Stormynights wrote:It does make you think about other people that didn't get help though.

As I stated previously, my body is trying to self-destruct. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, positive calcium scoring for heart disease (although extremely low), overweight, gout, gerd, esophageal spasms and severe OSA -- just in the last few years. ... I think I had many of my OSA symptoms as a child. ... Even bumped into a highway divider - lucky nothing serious happened. ---- Could I have had OSA for over 20 years? (I'm 43). --- As the Myth Busters would say: "plausible"

In order to cure the OSA we need to understand what causes OSA (xPAP is a mechanical splint for a physiological problem - not a cure). We have a long way to go.