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Originally Posted by mikey23545
Hey Mr. Kotter
The symptoms you described are so similar to mine it is spooky...
I have always had some degree of apnea, but when I was younger as long as I slept on my side and stayed off my back, it was a minor problem. Unfortunately, as I age it seems to be a worsening problem. Sometimes on my worst nights, I'll awake 15 or 20 times a night gasping for air.
And after a quick google search, I see some long term effects that are not only scary, but in many cases I have already experienced. About two and a half years ago I had a heart attack (one listed effect of sleep apnea) and now have sometimes severe heart arrhythmias (another), high blood pressure (another), diabetes (another), weight gain (another)...well, you get the picture. My wife (who is an RN) has been urging me for years to have this problem checked out, and I have just been blowing it off, and, like you, attributing it to age and gaining weight. I think your little post has just changed my mind.
Just out of curiosity, what does a "sleep study" consist of? What's it like trying to sleep with one of those machines attached to your face? I've always been a bad insomniac, and I wonder how much trouble I would have trying to sleep with it....
At any rate, thanks for your post. I am going to be making a call to my doctor tomorrow....
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Wow. Sorry that you may share my ailment; but I'm glad it may have waken you up. PLEASE, if you've already had a heart attack...you REALLY need to check into this, at the very least. I may have been fortunate to have caught it before it caused any real issues for me. I hope you can help yourself too, man.
As for the sleep study, for me it was no big deal. Go in about 8-9 pm, they "prep" you....allow you to follow your normal routine (read, TV, music, etc)...and when you are ready for bed, they just hook you up to a bunch of monitors and electrodes. If you are a light sleeper, it might be weird....but I'd guess you'd fall asleep eventually. Anyway, if they see strong evidence of sleep apnea...they'll hook you to a CPAP that night, and try to see how it may affect your apneas during the rest of the night. Then some sleep specialist doc will review your 1100 page "record" of the night, and pass on the results to your doc.
In addition to snoring (and now, the sleep apnea) I'm also a really HARD sleeper (someone told me that was Reggie White's mistake too.) So I don't "wake-up" gasping for air....I just snort/chortle/cough....and remain "asleep" but I never reach REM--so it's low-quality sleep along with the depleted oxygen levels (mine dropped to around 76% before they put me on the CPAP--it's supposed to be about 89% I guess.)
Being an insomniac, may make the study and using the CPAP difficult for you---without some sleep aid. I don't know though, but I'd certainly discuss it with your doctor. Be sure to check into the "nasal pillows" option for the CPAP....for me, it was less confining, more comfortable, and easier to keep the head gear on. It depends on individual preferences though.
Whatever you do, bro...get yourself into an EENT specialist soon. You may need a referral, depending on insurance....but the sooner the better--given what you've said. Be sure to let me know how things go for you too. Of all the "ailments" we could have though, this isn't too bad. So I guess we should count our blessings.
You'll be in my thoughts man. Good luck.