I snore. Should I be worried?

[Her0toZer0]

I've suspected that I snore for a while. I recorded myself last night & now have it confirmed. Should I be worried? My weight is high so it's likely to be caused by that isn't it. Can you snore & it not be sleep apnoea or is it, 'Snoring IS sleep apnoea'? (I've tried googling but it's confusing to me)

I've been to the GP about feeling tired/falling asleep randomly & they were very dismissive.

Should I do anything with this information I suppose is what I'm asking!

I snore if I’ve drunk alcohol or if I’m really tired. It doesn’t worry me, should it ?

KangarooKenny I don't know, I worry about everything

It's the snoring WITH the randomly falling asleep, excessive tiredness + weight gain that I'm worrying about really.

Snoring can be just snoring. Sleep apnea is when you snore very loudly after stopping breathing for a 20 secs or so. If you've recorded it you will hear it is different to other snorers. If you sound like a typical snorer then it's not sleep apnea.

Thank you pensionconfusion, that's reassuring.
I think it sounded 'normal'. It stopped & started a bit & got louder & quieter but I don't think it sounded like I stopped breathing.

I had an ex with sleep apnea (so I should be able to spell it!)
So that's probably why my mind went straight there.

Snoring and sleep apnoea are different. Snoring is the vibration of tissues in the airway, usually the soft palate. Being overweight increases the likelihood of snoring. The symptoms you mention of being tired all the time and falling asleep randomly are indicators of sleep apnoea though. Sleep apnoea occurs when the tissues of the airway become relaxed and completely block, thus stopping breathing for period of time. Given what you've described, I'd be asking your GP for an assessment.

Sounds like sleep apnoea with the daytime sleepiness and randomly falling asleep. Ask for a sleep study. I’m not in the UK so I don’t know how your medical system works. I have sleep apnoea and use a CPAP machine. I no longer wake up with a crappy headache and sore throat, and I’m less sleepy during the day.

Given the tiredness and randomly falling asleep etc I would get back in to see the GP, a different one to previous to get a second opinion would be best.

My partner snores, never thought anything of it and I've always looked at it as just that, snoring and in a deep sleep. No other symptoms like yourself.

My son at the age of 6 had to have his tonsils out and they were large, and he also had sleep apnea which tonsils played a part in. In turn of this he would wake up with sore throats, he used to snore ridiculously loud and have night terrors.. all of which has stopped since having the tonsils removed! 😊

Sleep apnea is different from snoring, my partner has never suffered with sleep apnea, juststhe snoring as I said, almost like he belongs on a farm!

Thank you. I went with my ex to his assessment, they gave him a recording device for the night & a survey of which places made him sleepy & how much.

Examples of the daytime sleepiness for me are, I was watching a 45 min programme the other day, it had just started, I was sat on the edge of the sofa & felt sleepy & thought 'Ill close my eyes for a second' then woke up with 2 minutes left on the programme. Still sat there with my head dropped down.

Also any time that I'm 'still', so reading my kids bedtime story, I start stumbling over the words, struggling to stay awake. (I hate that one)

I'd definitely get back in with the GP to get a second opinion. If you haven't already I'd also request a routine blood test to make sure all your iron and vitamin levels are of that within range to make sure that's not contributing to the tiredness side of things.

Thanks Adeleex, I'm glad your son is all better

My ex always told me that I was a completely silent sleeper & never made a sound, so this is all new to me!

I think I will have to go back to the GP. I've got a lot of other things going on, including mentally, & the GP put it down to the 'decline in my mental health' (which wasn't nice to hear & only kind of made sense)

I will do Adeleex. The blood tests were a 5 week wait, I had one & waited 3 weeks for the results (GP kept saying to phone back) only to be told they hadn't come through & I had to book another one. 6 weeks wait for this one.

Oh bless your heart. I would imagine it all comes in to play if that is the case. Definitely head back to see a GP, raise your concerns. Even make a diary or a log of your daily routine, listing exact times and periods of when you fall asleep, your sleeping pattern etc, and hand that to them, see what they say and go from there. There really is nothing wrong in getting a 2nd opinion. I hope you feel better soon xx

Thank you for your kind posts Adeleex I appreciate it