Sleep Apnea Challenge

The Coffee Shop
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Thom’s responses in the thread about falling asleep in front of the TV has made me realize that I probably should get a sleep study done. Falling asleep watching TV? - #7

After doing some research, I have quite a few symptoms of sleep apnea. I’ve decided that I am going to talk to my doctor about getting a sleep study done.

Since it seems like I’m not the only one who may be dealing with it, I would like to challenge others to get one done too if you exhibit the symptoms. Who’s in with me?

The following is from a google search and was generated by AI, so copyright is probably not an issue.

Sleep apnea is a disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, often causing loud snoring, gasping for air, and daytime sleepiness. It can be either obstructive, where the airway collapses, or central, where the brain doesn’t send signals to breathe.

Here’s a more detailed explanation:

Types of Sleep Apnea:

** Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA):*

This is the most common type, occurring when the upper airway collapses or becomes blocked during sleep, restricting airflow.

    • Causes: The muscles in the back of the throat relax too much, causing the tongue and soft palate to fall back and block the airway.*
    • Symptoms: Loud snoring, gasping for air during sleep, daytime sleepiness, and morning headaches.*

** Central Sleep Apnea (CSA):*

This type occurs when the brain doesn’t send signals to the muscles that control breathing.

    • Causes: Problems with the brainstem, which controls breathing, or other medical conditions can lead to CSA.*
    • Symptoms: Similar to OSA, but may also include sudden awakenings with shortness of breath and difficulty staying asleep.*

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea (both types):

** Loud snoring*
** Breathing pauses during sleep (reported by a bed partner)*
** Gasping or choking sounds during sleep*
** Excessive daytime sleepiness*
** Morning headaches*
** Difficulty concentrating*
** Irritability*
** Dry mouth upon waking*

Risk Factors:

** Obesity*
** High blood pressure*
** Family history of sleep apnea*
** Certain physical abnormalities in the nose, throat, or upper airway*
** Age (more common in middle-aged and older adults)*
** Male gender*

Complications of Untreated Sleep Apnea:

** High blood pressure*
** Heart disease*
** Stroke*
** Diabetes*
** Increased risk of accidents and injuries*
** Mood swings and difficulty concentrating*

Diagnosis and Treatment:

** Diagnosis: A sleep study (polysomnography) is often used to diagnose sleep apnea.*
** Treatment:*

    • Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy is the primary treatment, using a machine to deliver pressurized air through a mask to keep the airway open.*
    • Central Sleep Apnea: Treatment depends on the underlying cause and may include CPAP, medications, or other therapies.*
    • Other Treatments: Lifestyle changes (weight loss, exercise, avoiding alcohol and sleeping pills) and oral appliances can also be helpful.*

This is for informational purposes only. For medical advice or diagnosis, consult a professional. Generative AI is experimental.

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I manage simple sleep apnea as part of my clinic. For anything complex we have dedicated sleep specialist.

Early on in my career, I struggled as it felt a bit sales pitchy when I tried to screen and assess someone. Over the years, I’ve been impressed seeing people present for “dyspnea and fatigue” as their primary symptom, and after a pretty thorough work up, I am convinced that sleep apnea is the cause. Obtaining a sleep study, proving it, and starting treatment has been life changing for many.

Depending on the study (research), compliance with CPAP is about 60%. So, 3 to 4 out of every 10 people are gonna hate it no matter what. But the ones that stick it out are thrilled. And, as you note above, there are consequences to overall health if you do have untreated sleep apnea.

The formal score we use the STOP BANG

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For what its worth, I’ve been tested 3 times over the last couple decades. Last time, I got popped for recommended treatment, due to low blood oxy and sleep interruptions. Trying a dental mouthpiece to treat it, been using for about year and a half. Don’t love it, but seems better than a CPAP, if it can work. Jury is still out, have a follow up with neurologist who is managing it later this year for follow up testing.

The mouthpiece completely solved my snoring issue (I tracked it on cell phone app before/after). Blood ox still dips slightly low at times during night is the issue. I also use breathright nasals strips, which help me breath a lot better too.
.

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I did a study 1.5 years ago and was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea and was the lucky recipient of a CPAP. It’s been life changing in my household, now my wife doesn’t hear me snore and she sleeps better. Fortunately her snoring doesn’t bother me.

As far as my sleep quality, no difference per my Oura ring.

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Been there, done that. Treating it makes a huge difference in day-to-day life!

And, the FDA has now approved taking a GLP-1 for sleep apnea.

FDA Approves First Medication for Obstructive Sleep Apnea | FDA

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Oh, that is interesting

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I’m a sleep apnea person. I seem like the last person who would get it, not obese/overweight, train a lot in triathlon, was diagnosed at age 40, which is not too old. I couldn’t sleep more than 5 hrs a day for most of my younger adult life, but would be tired all the time during the day, finally got tested when I caught a cold and the fatigue became so overwhelming I couldn’t even function during the day. MDs thought it would be mild at worst, turns out it was severe on the test. Even the tech on the followup visit to set the CPAP machine pressure, lowballed me and put it on the minimum setting, which did nothing for 6 months, until I researched it (as much as I hate saying DIY your own health care), found out there’s no real drawback to higher pressures if you’re sleeping better, and cranked it up until it started working (which meant nearly maxxing out my CPAP machine).

For me, managing sleep apnea with CPAP is a lot closer to managing a bad situation than calling it ‘good sleep’. I now get 7-8hrs sleep consistently, but I’m still mildly fatigued during the day, and I wake up at least 4 times during the night but only briefly, to change the pressures on my machine (even with the autodetection setting, it’s too slow to respond, and I wake up first.)

I will add that while you’re younger, you can still ‘get away’ with triathlon training if you’re motivated despite being fatigued during the day from untreated sleep apnea (not a good thing), as you rev yourself up during your workouts so you might do fine during the workout, but get even more fatigued at baseline afterwards.

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the sleep study showed my blood oxygenation was dropping to 80% at night for extended periods… the general recommendation is anything below 88% is an ER visit…

the cpap helps, still having troubles with sleepiness and fatigue though, now getting a sleep study done while using the cpap. Doc suggests I might need oxygen supplement at night…

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I was diagnosed with severe apnea several years ago and have a CPAP machine. It has been a life changer for me in my overall quality of daily life. Before I was constantly exhausted. With my case if I went to bed for 8hrs I would actually only get 2-4 hours of actual sleep or rest. Snoring badly as well. Now I wake up refreshed and ready for the day. Took me a while to get used to the CPAP and I use a full mask as I"m a mouth breather. It really was a game changer for me. 56yrs old now,

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My suggestion is get checked at a sleep clinic associated with something very regarded like a university hospital. There are some sketchy characters associated with sleep medicine some who put every pt they see on cpap. Otherwise therapy quite helpful for those who have it.

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Timely

I’m off to see a ENT physician as I know I have had a deviated septum for years

I am going to see if I can get it fixed as I’ve never been able to breathe through it

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My Dad has always snored horribly and finally got it and the associated sleep apnea treated a few years ago. He had a mandibular osteotomy, where a surgeon breaks your lower jaw bone and repositions it with plates to open up the throat. It made his face look different but was quite effective at helping his snoring and sleep apnea.

When I was a teenager I had the herbst appliance, which is an orthodontic appliance that repositions your jaw while it’s still growing. Without that I probably would need the jaw surgery. I don’t have sleep apnea and don’t snore.

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@Endo , and others, for your consideration:

42 m highly active all my life in endurance sports, short to short-med distance. Have snored like mad my whole life.
Was told for years to get a study done bc of the snoring and breath holding. Avoided it; CPAP machine “pain in the butt”, and “I sleep fine, and feel refreshed.”

Wrong. On both counts.

1 - If you have a semi-obstructed airway that causes occasional snoring, about 10% of the purpose of the CPAP mach. is to stop the snoring. 90% of it is to open the airway, and let you breathe properly for the first time in your life. You can’t know what this feels like until you try it. You have been climbing stairs / hiking up hill while breathing through a straw your entire life, you just don’t know it yet. This is preventing you from sleeping deeply: You are working hard to breathe through that straw; that partially closed airway. It is just your “normal”. Instead of truly, deeply relaxing all night, you are working hard, all night long.

2 - I have a nostril-only “mask”. It is tiny, lightweight, and not intrusive at all. The machine is silent. Not “quiet”; silent. You can not hear it. = CPAP is not “a pain in the butt.” Even if I had to use a full face mask, I would still love it.

It has changed my life. I feel like a new human; I’m alert, full of energy. Vs. my life before CPAP, I wake up feeling like I have already had 2 - 3 cups of coffee; but only the alertness & lack of grogginess; no adrenaline rush, etc. I have insane energy throughout the day vs. before, and I actually sleep less, because my sleep is suuuuuper deep and refreshing.

The couple nights I accidentally knocked the mask off my face, I woke up feeling like absolute garbage. I can’t believe I used to live like that !!! :open_mouth:

If you even might need it, get checked out, and just try it. If you hate it, return the machine and don’t use it.

You owe it to your future happiness. It is one of the best things I have ever done.

Oh, and my partner now sleeps like a baby, all night long. And she confirms; she literally can not hear the machine, mask, etc.

[ It does of course take a few nights to get used to at first. Duh. ]

[ I’m open to DMs or replies here if anyone has any questions about getting the settings dialed in, particularly RE: humidity, hose temps, etc, to avoid rainout, etc. ]

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I had it bad.

Went away entirely when I quit drinking.

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Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Your story makes for a compelling reason not to put it off.

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my wife used to grouse about my snoring. the CPAP machine eliminates snoring, which is a nice bonus.
Now she grouses about the one night a month that the mask slips, and there is a light whooshing sound from the air escaping. marriage, you can’t win, you can’t even stop playing the game :wink:

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I had a sleep study 2 years ago. I don’t have sleep apnea but I do snore and grind my teeth. A dental mouth appliance has stopped the grinding and most of the snoring.

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Fellow dental guard user here. I ground some some of my teeth down to the dentin. As for snoring, I haven’t gone through the study, but found using a cervical neck pillow pretty much stops my snoring. Finding that out was a bonus, I initially tried the pillow because my right arm was going numb while I slept, from an old neck injury. The pillow as initially to help with that.

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I was diagnosed with mild to moderate sleep apnea about a year and a half ago. I tried CPAP and I was one of those who could not do it. It was like a torture device. I tried a bunch of different masks. Just could not tolerate it - so I got a dental appliance - Prosomnus Evo. Life changing! I did not realize until I started wearing this device, that I had not been dreaming, or REM sleeping, for a long time! I knew my sleep was crap, but I am not overweight, which I erroneously believed to be mostly associated with have sleep apnea.

Do not put off seeing a sleep doctor if you think you may have issues.

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@Rick_pcfl thanks for posting this. I thought it was Thom. Oops.

Anyway, ive been wondering why I am so tired trying to get out of bed as well as being extremely irritable.

Going to schedule a doctor appointment.

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