Sleep Apnea Blog

Posts Tagged ‘sleep’

i have recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea and i sleep a lot each day. my husband doesn’t understand and thinks i just don’t ‘do’ anything all day. i haven’t got my CPAP machine yet. if you have sleep apnea and don’t yet have a CPAP or remember what it was like before you had yours, how long did you sleep each day, assuming you were able to sleep as long as you wanted?

thanks.

My uncle had sleep apnea and slept an average of 6-7 hours, however he woke frequently. Excessive daytime sleepiness is a symptom of sleep apnea. Other associated symptoms may include:
- loud snoring
- morning headaches
- unrefreshing sleep
- a dry mouth upon awakening
- chest retraction during sleep in young children (chest pulls in)
- high blood pressure
- overweight
- irritability
- change in personality
- depression
- difficulty concentrating
- excessive perspiring during sleep
- heartburn
- reduced libido
- insomnia
- frequent nocturnal urination (nocturia)
- restless sleep
- nocturnal snorting, gasping, choking (may wake self up)
– rapid weight gain
- confusion upon awakening
I would gather more info on apnea and let your husband read up on this and understand exactly what it is as this is a real sleeping disorder. I do know that the CPAP machine has helped my uncle immensly. I do hope that the machine will help you as well.

I am on a converter that takes rooom air and turns it into a higher oxygen level and find it hard to believe i have that problem since only sleep 2-4 hours off and on a night! But that is what tests for my oxygen intake showed so giving it a try. Do you use the converter rather than an oxygen tank? How are you doing. How long have you had this?
Bagbalm-I want to sleep,not get sloshed-besides I don’t drink.

A fifth of Jack Daniels, will cure any sleeping problem.

DE

My daughter wakes up every morning at 4am she is 1 and a half someone has suggested to me that it could be sleep apnea. What are the symptoms of this and what is it? Thanks

Sleep apnea is any period of time where ther is no breathing while asleep. Usuly the time period is a minimum 10 seconds.

The most common kind of sleep apnea is called Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome. It is characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction that occur during sleep, usually associated with a reduction in blood oxygen saturation.

symptoms:
excessive daytime sleepiness
frequent episodes of obstructed breathing during sleep. (The patient may be unaware of this symptom — usually the parents are extremely aware of this).

Associated features may include:
snoring – loud, squeaky, raspy
nocturnal snorting, gasping, choking (may wake self up)
restless sleep
heavy irregular breathing
excessive perspiring during sleep
severe bedwetting
bad dreams (nightmares)
night terrors
sleeps with mouth open, causing a dry mouth upon awakening
chest retraction during sleep in young children (chest pulls in)
sleeps in strange positions
confusion upon awakening
morning headaches
unrefreshing sleep
excessive daytime sleepiness
may develop high blood pressure
may be overweight or underweight
learning problems
excessive irritability
change in personality
depression
difficulty concentrating
Developmental problems
failure to thrive or grow
frequent upper respiratory infections
hyperactive behavior

How serious is sleep apnea?
It is a potentially life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical attention. The risks of undiagnosed obstructive in children with sleep apnea include learning problems, developmental problems, behavior problems and in some cases, failure to grow, heart problems and high blood pressure. In addition, obstructive sleep apnea causes daytime sleepiness that can result in personality changes, lost productivity in school and interpersonal relationship problems. A child with sleep apnea may lag behind in many areas of development. The child may become frustrated and depressed. The severity of the symptoms may be mild, moderate or severe.

How does the doctor determine if my child has Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

A sleep test, called polysomnography is usually done to diagnose sleep apnea. There are two kinds of polysomnograms. An overnight polysomnography test involves monitoring brain waves, muscle tension, eye movement, respiration, oxygen level in the blood and audio monitoring. (for snoring, gasping, etc.) The second kind of polysomnography test is a home monitoring test. A Sleep Technologist hooks your child up to all the electrodes and instructs you on how to record your child’s sleep with a computerized polysomnograph that you take home and return in the morning. They are painless tests that are usually covered by insurance.

How is Sleep Apnea treated?

In children, simply removing the tonsils or adenoids may take care of the problem.

Sleep Apnea in children where removing the tonsils or adenoids does not take care of the problem is usually treated with a C-PAP (continous positive airway pressure) or Bi-Level positive airway pressure. C-PAP is a machine that blows air into your nose via a nose mask, keeping the airway open and unobstructed. Bi-Level has an inspiratory pressure that is higher than the expiratory pressure. The sleep doctor will "prescribe" the pressure and a home healthcare company will set it up and provide training in its use and maintenance.

When your child needs a machine, it can be quite intimidating. A C-PAP machine requires some care and a period of adjustment, but the benefits of C-PAP therapy are worth the inconvenience. C-PAP is NOT a venilator, it merely keeps the airway open so your child can breathe easily. It is not a complicated machine like some mentioned in the above link to kidshealth organization, nor do you have to worry about 24-hour nursing care or your child being in intensive care unless there are more complicated problems. A one night stay in a sleep clinic to monitor the child’s breathing is generally all that is required. Here are some tips if your child comes home on a machine. A C-PAP machine may be "prescribed" for your child. A home healthcare company that contracts with your insurance will provide the machine and show you how it works and how to clean and maintain it.

Find out about the different manufacturers who provide respiratory equipment for obstructive sleep apnea.

Some children have facial deformities that may cause the sleep apnea. It simply may be that their jaw is smaller than it should be or they could have a smaller opening at the back of the throat. Some children have enlarged tonsils, a large tongue or some other tissues partially blocking the airway. Fixing a deviated septum may help to open the nasal passages. Removing the tonsils and adenoids or polyps may help also. Children are much more likely to have their tonsils and adenoids removed to solve the problem.

The only available treatment for severe apnea until the early 1980′s was a tracheostomy. A tracheostomy is a surgical procedure where a small hole is cut in the neck and a tube with a valve is inserted into the hole. During the day the valve is closed so the person can speak. At night, the valve is opened, thus avoiding the obstructions. This procedure is only used today as a last resort or to avoid respiratory distress, or other serious medical complications (Your child would have to be extremely sick to require this).

I am in chronic pain and my doctor said I should get a sleep study to see if I have sleep apnea. But to consult a specialist will run me $250 and then the test is probably going to cost a bunch too. I figured for $250 I could get a cpap machine and a mask and just try the therapy and see if it has a positive effect. Is this a good or a bad idea?

CPAP machines are medical devices. You can’t get one without a doctor’s prescription…. and even if you could, you can’t get it set to the right pressure setting unless you’ve had a sleep study.

My wife had oral surgery, and they added on a special procedure to eliminate sleep apnea, which was great for about a year, until her medical condition caused her to gain a great deal of weight.

She loaned her machine to her brother, although it didn’t do him any good as it was set to HER needs, and not his. We mentioned this to our doctor who smiled, but told her never to do that again. It’s illegal as it is practicing medicine without a license.

So – Bottom line is that it’s a bad idea. Sorry, wish it was cheaper and easier for you. You really need the sleep study to figure out your needs.

If you snore regularly while sleeping and especially if it is loud enough to annoy people around you, it is almost certain you have sleep apnea. If this is the case just suck it up and get the test…. it will be worth it.

I am going to a sleep clinic soon because my sleep problems are really affecting my life

I did that too. I have apnea and actually stop breathing they gave me a machine (CPAP) to use with a face mask attached to it.

My husband has sleep apnea and he just will not wear the CPAP mask. Over the past couple of weeks he has begun waking up during the night because he is vomitting.
I am wondering if this is related to the sleep apnea, maybe the vomitting is caused from the loss of breathing? I know he stops breathing during the night because I hear him gasping for breath.
Just wondering if I should call is PCP or his specialist for this one.

My question would be…does your husband have GERD aka acid reflux? This can sometimes cause the symptoms you are describing. He should try sleeping with his head a little more elevated and talk to his sleep physician about it. My other question would be is he on his optimal pressure or is he going through the trial period before his titration for optimal pressure? The combination of the two could definately cause some issues. I would seek some help from his sleep physician. Im not sure by your question if he is using the cpap with these symptoms or if hes not. Good luck

My 8 year old son stops breathing on and off all through the night and he snores loudly. He gasps for air through out the night and wets to bed. He is also on medication for ADHD. I have heard there is a link between sleep apnea and ADHD symptoms. Does anyone else know anything about this?

Yes, a friend of my daughter’s was diagnosed with ADHD but then turned out to have sleep apnea. His ADHD symptoms were severe enough that he ended up repeating a grade … but when they removed his tonsils and the sleep apnea cleared up, so did the ADHD symptoms.

It’s very hard to concentrate if you haven’t actually had a good night’s sleep. Definitely get the sleep apnea treated; it may make a substantial difference.

I believe that my fiance is suffering from sleep apnea.he refuses to go to the doctor and seek treatment for it.Im scared that im going to wake up one morning to find him dead from suffocation.What should I do.How can i make his get treatment

If he is tired during the day, has headaches in the morning, or has high blood pressure, explain to him that these might be coming from his sleep disturbance. That might make him more likely to get it evaluated. OSA typically doesnt lead to suffocation, though… your brain knows you arent breathing and wakes you up to make you start again…if he has underlying heart or lung disaease it is imperative that he be treated.

I have other health problems and I was searching for answers so I did a couple of sleep studies. When I wore the CPAP it caused "centrals" to occur so they did not recommend I use a CPAP for treatment. Is an AHI of 6 really that bad? It seems to me that sleep disorders are becoming an easy business and everyone and their brothers are getting into it to supplement income. I know a 6 on the AHI scale is "mild" but what is mild. Define mild because one word alone does not really mean much. I wonder, statistically speaking, if most everyone has a low rating and they are just trying to make a buck.

You are correct-sleep medicine has become a big industry.
First, I would like to say that the CPAP per se did not cause the centrals-they are apneas caused by a failure of the brain to tell your diaphragm to move vs. the airway closing so attempts to breathe are blocked. An improperly titrated CPAP is what causes centrals. The thing to do for that would be go to a different sleep lab.
That said, an AHI of 6 indicates an EXTREMELY mild sleep breathing disorder-I can’t tell you what to do but if it were me I think I’d just let it slide unless you are having a lot of trouble staying awake during the day. Good luck to you.

I have a patient with mild obstructive sleep apnea, who had Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery recently after a Myocadial Infarction, and now he is recovering well 5 days post-op but his sleep apnea has worsened and he can’t get any sleep ever since the surgery.
do you have any suggestion or any management options to offer?
thanks a lot !

Cardiac asthma suspected.