Experiences with sleep apnea?

[Emmabryant123]

Been to my GP today as I've been having episodes of waking up gasping for air , waking to pass urine a lot at night , I've always snored very loudly
I've been told this is looking like sleep apnea and have been referred to the specialist at the hospital re this .

I am absolutely terrified something will happen to me before my appointment

I am 25 and never drink , I don't smoke
My only risk factor is I am overweight at 12 stone and a half
My blood pressure was normal at 127/70 at the appointment

My husband has it - he lost his driving license for two months but as soon as it was under control he got it back he sleeps with something called a cpap at night and he's a lot healthier from it.
Wish you luck

I have this, diagnosed at 18 but probably had it a lot longer than that. Mine is due to structure of my throat, not weight related. I use a CPAP machine at night which took some getting used to but feel so much better with it and better quality sleep. I used to have 46 episodes an hours without it! The technology is much better now, I used to have a huge noisy machine that I couldn't get on with from the hospital but bought one privately a few years ago. It's amazing in comparison.

I have always snored but the gasping for air is recent
So I think this could of come on recently
Am glad I saw the GP
She did say to see a dentist to because of the shape of my jaw to

My dad had it and the machine revolutionised his life (and possibly my mother's!). I have it but not badly enough for a machine.

A bump
Had a fab sleep last night
Sleep apnea isn't affecting my sleep yet ... I seem to wake about 2-3 times a night but go off again within a minute
Last night I slept from 10.30-2 and then back down till 10am
No waking gasping for air
...

Another question I have
I have been thinking about trying for DC #2 in the next couple of years
Once my apnea is controlled is it safe to try and conceive ?
Dd is 3 and we was thinking of trying when she is around 4-5 years old

I've had diagnosed sleep apnoea for 5 years. Please try not to worry about anything happening before your appointment. You might feel you are sleeping well, but are you tired during the day? Do you feel like you never get enough sleep? Once I was given a CPAP machine the difference was incredible.

I'm sorry, but you really do need to lose weight. It is the major risk factor for snoring and sleep apnoea. DH has sleep apnoea (not weight related in his case, he has had extensive surgery for cancer), and at the sleep clinic he is the only patient who is not overweight.

His snoring got progressively worse, and I would lie there awake listening out for him to start breathing again. He had a sleep study which showed that he was having 50 non breathing episodes an hour. He has had a silent stroke (could have been a result of the sleep apnoea - we will never find out), and now uses a CPAP machine at night.

My mum has it, she has to sleep with a mask which forces air into her lungs. She hasn’t slept thus well for years and years (neither has my dad as he used to wake and nudge her).

I have had it most of my life but was only diagnosed 10 years ago after pushing to see a consultant. I wear a cpap mask with nose pillows which is really comfortable. I can't sleep without it. It has changed my life, I wake up refreshed now without a headache. I lost my driving licence and haven't reapplied for it even though I am fairly sure I can get it back now because I'm 100% compliant with my treatment.

I don't feel tired in the day
Infact I wake up feeling refreshed...
Which every story for sleep apnea seems like they don't sleep well

Fwiw I've snored all my life even when I was 8 stone ...

I was suspected of having apnea, and slept in a clinic for a couple of nights. It was filimed and everything, and was interesting to watch it played back

People with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) sleep too well; many don't notice the wake ups at all. OP, look up UARS upper airway restriction syndrome. It's what I have, and sounds like it could be the same for you. It's not weight dependent, it's to do with the structure of your nose, mouth and jaw. CPAP helps, but not as much as it does for OSA sufferers.

While you are waiting for the appointment, it's a good idea to assume that you do have it ( it certainly sounds like it !) and do what you can now. The fact that you feel OK doesn't mean much - my DH never felt bad at all but he had it severely.

The best thing he used was a wedge pillow in bed. This is a foam wedge which elevates your body from the waist up, so your head is much higher than the rest of you. My DH's apnoea is almost completely fixed by this pillow. You don't get the same effect from using any other pillow / pile of pillows. The wedge is the real deal !

Here is an example www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CSH9DLR/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pf_rd_p=e2bfafb5-111e-4906-b089-5d691a51d45f&pd_rd_wg=80w77&pf_rd_r=Q7Q36KWPH64PNRB962D1&pd_rd_i=B07CSH9DLR&pd_rd_w=qaBBP&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&pd_rd_r=6f41cff9-8fd9-11e9-a66f-b148ebe03d3d

Any recommendations for cpap machines?
My OH has sleep apnoea and he was using a machine from hospital but it was noisy, uncomfortable and looked like a WW11 gas mask.
He didn't stick with it and we need to get something less clumsy etc.

• sorry OP for hi-jacking the thread.

DH's is from the hospital and is really quiet.it is a Philips Respironics DreamStation.

Yes my GP said the shape of my jaw was making me snore

gaelforce can you go back to the hospital and ask for a change of equipment? Our hospital gives a basic entry level model out at first because compliance levels are ridiculously low with cpap, but if you persevere you are often upgraded at your next appointment. I tend to get offered the trial samples they are given (because I've been a patient for a long time and am 100% compliant) but even then I have swapped machines and masks if I find the one I'm given too noisy or uncomfortable. I have a ResMed Airsense 10 automatic cpap with nose pillows which is almost completely silent and only has a small device which goes up my nostrils and doesn't cover my face.

Is the sound like white noise ?
I usually sleep with white noise on since we used it for my dd as a baby as I got so used to it..

Yes, like very quiet white noise. My old machine was much louder though. I can't really hear mine and sometimes have to pull the mask from my nose to check it's switched on.

Ok will wait and see what happens at the hospital appointment and see the dentist in the mean time like the GP said about a possible mouth guard
Also will try and loose some of this weight
I need to loose about 2.5 stone
I'd be back at 10 stone then

I was exactly the same as you, same age, weight, etc. Really bad apnea. They took out my tonsils and adenoids and it made a huge difference.

Good luck. It will massively improve your sleep quality, and that of your partner.

It doesn't affect my parnter
He sleeps through my snoring
He could sleep through anything
I was still snoring when I was off normal weight as well
It's only the gasping for the air that has been the only change for a few months and I've been overweight for about 3 years now

Thanks for advice - just on site again. Will look at those machines. We're in Ireland and you get a machine to try for 3 months and then you rent it at €80 a month. It works out cheaper to buy your own.
Apologies again for thread hi-jack.