To ask if sleep apnea is an emergency?

[Sleepapneaproblems]

I have undiagnosed sleep apnea and am awaiting the sleep study for official diagnosis. After being in hospital for something unrelated the consultant I saw expedited the referral because I was struggling to wake and kept falling asleep during conversation.

I will fall asleep sitting up, sitting on the floor, with a coffee in my hands, eating etc, it’s getting really bad.

I get dizzy often and feel like I’m going to pass out when I stand up. I have a headache all day every day. I also get a frequent thundering in my ears which comes with waves of pressure.

this week the earliest I have woken is 1pm, my partner cannot physically wake me up and he’ll tell me he tried multiple times and I have no recollection of this.

This week has been particularly bad and I’m getting worried. I didn’t wake until 4pm and despite this still slept until 2pm today and im still exhausted. I had a fall two nights ago when I briefly woke up, stood up to go get some water and fell and face planted the floor. Currently have a nice big bump on my head.

Today im really feeling quite out of it and im getting a lot of palpitations and dizziness, and even standing makes me feel nauseous because of how light headed it’s making me.

I’ve barely moved off the sofa today because it’s literally exhausting me to move.

Really panicking about tonight/tomorrow because I hate not being able to wake up.

When does sleep apnea become an emergency, and is this something I should just wait to see GP/continue waiting for the sleep study?

@PeopleAreWeird not home, I meant the nurse has sent me home

Go private for a diagnosis - you could have the test sent to you this week and once that’s returned then you can privately rent a CPAP machine whilst you wait for the NHS to do their test and then give you a CPAP

As a health care professional I would be concerned about your heart rate and your oxygen levels. It does not sound like sleep apnea, I would be asking for an endocrinology review, 10 stone weight gain is not normal.

Just because you have a potential diagnosis doesn't mean you can't seek medical attention!! Your PCo2 could be high with Type 2 resp failure get some medical advice asap !!

Do I have high bmi if you don't mind me asking as you are young??

That's very odd to send you home at 88% without further checks. Have you been very clear this weight gain is not you eating differently? Sounds like you need a head scan. I'd be concerned about the pituitary gland or adrenal glands, it seems more like the sleep apnea is another symptom of whatever is causing that tbh. I'm not a health expert at all though.

ive got sleep apnea, and if I were you I’d phone the doc and ask to push for the sleep study. It’s no fun being tired and lethargic all day.

Its all very odd but makes me think heart issues

I too was thinking about narcolepsy if you have those sleepy spells during the day that you can’t control.

Having a cpap machine would reduce your tiredness in case of sleep apnoea.

Have you got a sats probe / finger monitor at home?

Not sure if its the same where you are but here chemists have the monitor you need for a sleep study . You just take it home and wear it for a day. Take it back and they print out the results to give to your GP. Is that an option?

I agree this doesn't sound like sleep apnea. Narcolepsy has been suggested by pp and should be investigated. It's not an A&E situation but you need to ask your GP if they can escalate the urgency of your referral because these symptoms are not tolerable you need a full assessment in a matter of days not weeks.

No ecg? No CT head? No testing your blood pressure in sitting and standing? Did you actually see a doctor or just the triage nurse? What you are describing does not seem to be sleep apnea, I'm not denying you don't have that but that does not appear to be your main issue here. Do not be afraid to go back.

My ex has sleep apnea and this is not how he presents at all but my father has narcolepsy and this is exactly how he presents. I think you need to have an ecg and ct scan as this sounds like a neurological issue.

Have you had your eyes tested recently? did they look at your eyes?

I am only asking as the headaches, dizziness, pressure and thundering in your ears sound a lot like Idiopathic Intercranial Hypertension (IIH) The thundering could be pulsatile tinnitus.

There is also a connection with Sleep Apnea and this condition.

I had IIH and untreated sleep apnea and was experiencing the same issues as you are describing. I was absolutely exhausted no matter how long I "slept" for and this is because I wasn't actually sleeping.

My heart rate also used to go very high too as exhaustion and pain can also send it high.

I hope you get some answers soon.

I don't think the nurse should have sent you home from triage (i work in a&e). Thr sleep apnoea is potentially a red herring and those are abnormal sats and pulse

Sleep apnea, when you stop breathing, can kill you. It’s dangerous when a person stops breathing. DDs boyfriend used to stop breathing. Obviously started again but the op describes sleep apnea as well as other things that might be wrong. So GP should be consulted. Private specialists speed up help.

If all that is caused by your sleep apnea, then it's worse than my father's which killed him.

If I were you I would rent a CPAP machine. If you don't improve massively after a month of doing that, there is definitely another underlying cause and you can push for a referral for that. You shouldn't have to, but sometimes you have to do the NHS's work for them to speed a diagnostic up.

I was told in our A and E the queues went down at 8 when the UTC opened and thered been a shift change....

Sleep apnoea can cause rise in pCo2 in the blood and type two resp failure. Not sure if you are talking about sleeping or being unrousable.
If you are drowsy / episodes of unconsciousness you need urgent medical assessment.

i have severe sleep apnea & was given a cpap before I saw a consultant. The sleep study they did was just a thing I wore on my finger in bed for 1 night at home.
I actually saw the consultant last week who explained in severe cases they are starting treatment before formal diagnosis because the wait for a consultant is so long.
Call your go & ask if they can arrange this for you?

Did the nurse just discharge you without you seeing a doctor and just taking basic observations, I would have expected at least an ecg and neuro exam.

I have recently been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. I'm a middle age woman and about 16st. According to my sleep study I stopped breathing (AHI) 63.2 times an hour , for more than ten seconds at a time. It took 3 weeks from diagnosis to revive a CPAP machine and get it set up from the NHS. So they certainly didn't think it was an emergency in teens of it had to be fixed there and then v like say, a striker or heart attack.

It's been life changing for me but it's really not recommended to just buy a cpap. It needs to be set to a certain pressure for your own specific criteria. They have to take your results, weight, sex, type of apneas and your neck measurements to calibrate it. It HURTS if the pressure isn't set right and can cause even eye issues. Plus it also depends on whether it's obstructive Siri apnea or central, it could be mental which means a cpap is no good, you could be better with a a bipap instead.

In the mean time you shouldn't be driving or opening heavy machinery at all.

Didn’t wake til 1pm today. Still. So. Tired.

This is clearly far more than a sleep apnoea problem @Sleepapneaproblems.

Please insist on seeing a GP tomorrow. Have you been checked for diabetes?