where can i get a CPAP machine i think my DH has got sleep apnoea

[chuffinell]

hope i have spelt that right!

there has been a few threads on this subject recently, but i cant find them

he snores badly and seems to stop breathing totally for ages then launches into a huge snort and shudder, its so bad we have to sleep separately. he says he will go to docs but i know thats going to be a long time coming!

is there somewhere we can hire/buy one of those snorkel gadgets for him to try out? also i think it may be the case that the DVLA cd take his driving licence away if diagnosed?

any advice/recommendations wd be greatly appreciated, Im fed up of not being able to sleep with my lovely husband because of this!

You can't buy CPAP machines without a prescription - they have to be set to the right pressures for each person, and that has to be done by the sleep clinic depending on just how much he needs. They are also rather pricey

If you have diagnosed, untreated/ uncontrolled Sleep Apnoea, then yes, you can't drive.

There is a very serious consequence to untreated sleep apnoea, so he needs to go the GP and ask to see a sleep specialist.

thanks CMOT, i as hassling him as often as i can and he promises he will. i have videoed him on my mobile and i want him to take it with him, to push the GP into referring him to a sleep clinic

he is constantly tired, and has to go to bed as soon as he gets in from work - no matter how long he sleeps, he is always tired still

thanks for the advice re the CPAP, no quick fix there then

Go with him to the GP - make an appointment yourself for him and explain about the effect on you.

Would my DH's POV help ? He has severe OSA, and the difference that CPAP has made to him is immense, and he is really evangelical about getting other people to seek treatment. If you think it would, CAT me, and I can get DH to email yours

Sorry to ask, is he overweight? Alot of men (not all) who are overweight and have this condition notice an improvement if they loose some weight.

He also shouldn't be driving if he's tired. It's not safe. Sorry.

oh how kind, thank you so much, i wd really appreciate it

i dont know what CAT means but my email is amarieb1966 at yahoo.co.uk and i can pass on anything to my DH

good idea to make the appt and go with him - our GP is lovely and im sure she wd help him

thanks so much

thanks fluffy, i agree re the driving, but he has been tired for 20 years and puts it down to his stress etc

dont worry about asking, he is only slightly overweight, fairly slim apart from large beer belly! he plays lots of golf so is reasonably healthy

the snoring/disturbed sleep is much worse when he's had a drink, but no surprise there eh?

I'll get DH to email you later.

Weight is difficult for OSA - it does have a role, but it is v v hard, if not impossible to lose weight with untreated OSA (due to tiredness and hormone changes with the stress on your body).

DH had OSA when he was underweight

Sounds familiar. Less alcohol???

thank you and your DH again CMOT - the kindness of strangers eh?

he has cut back lots on his drinking fluffy, but he wont give up - i think he is in a vicious circle, poor sleep, tired, stress, wants a drink, even worse sleep then feeling rubbish the day after

If you can't sleep with him when he snores then there's no chance if he uses one of those machines. My dh was diagnosed last year and got one, but they make so much noise I still slept in the spare room. Also, he kept pulling it off in his sleep and still ended up snoring .

We now just accept we can't sleep in the same bed - and we're only in our forties. Becomes a nightmare when we go away - last year he was relegated to the basement bedroom of the rented house - and we could still hear him on the 1st floor

Gosh Underpaid - which model does your DH have ? My DH has two (one main one and one he bought for travelling), and neither makes any significant noise at all. Certainly less than our central heating

Apologies for barging in on this thread, but I would really appreciate some advice.

DH snores terribly. I am 90% certain he suffers from sleep apnoea. Just like the OP's DH, he:

"seems to stop breathing totally for ages then launches into a huge snort and shudder".

I can often hear him snoring in the bedroom when I'm downstairs and all the doors are shut!

He is permanently tired during the day and has the most bizarre sleep patterns. He seems to need at least 10 hours sleep per day, but usually doesn't sleep properly during the night, gets up at works for a few hours and then sleeps until past midday. (He works from home.) He is 2-3 stone overweight and a smoker. He does not drive, BTW.

I suffer terribly from broken sleep. If we share a bed, then I get woken at least 6 times per night and usually feel shattered in the morning. I go to bed at 10.00pm during the week because I have to get up at 06.45am to get DS off to school, and the only way I can get at least 6 hours kip is to have a sleep before DH comes to bed.

My health has been seriously affected in the past by long-term exhaustion resulting in a knackered immune system and post-vital syndrome.

DH went to the doctor ages ago about his snoring and was told to lose weight and stop smoking, nether of which has happened. I am at my wits end. I ended up in the spare room yet again at 1.00am this morning, DH switched off our alarm at 06.45 and went back to straight back to sleep and DS was very nearly late for school.

This problem has such a huge negative impact on our lives, but I CANNOT seem get him to take responsibilty for his (and my) health.

How can I scare the bejasus out of him and get him a to a sleep clinic? He keeps promising he'll diet etc but it never happens.

Sorry, I meant post-VIRAL syndrome!

Sorry to barge in, but MrsF, this is how you can scare your dh.

My dad had sleep apnea. It was massively contributory to his first and second heart attacks. In fact, they could find no earthly reason for them, when he had them he was fit and at the right weight, did not smoke or drink (he had been overweight when younger).

After his second heart attack he was diagnosed with sleep apnoea. He got a CPAP machine and said his life changed dramatically. He was suddenly able to function again. He said he had not realised how blighted his life had been for the last 30 years until it went away.

Sadly his heart was too weakened from the two previous attacks and he died of a third one at the age of 57. Chances are, if he had been diagnosed and treated for his sa before his first heart attack, he would have lived much longer.

It isn't just an annoyance, it's a really serious condition.

Thanks ib.

I've just had a serious discussion with him and he's agreed to get himself checked out ASAP!

I also pointed out to him that this condition can affect his metabolism and hormones, and could explain just why he finds it so hard to lose weight. He seemed relieved to hear he might not just be a lazy bugger who loves his kip and eats too many pies!

Joking aside, thanks again. We need to get this sorted out.

If you need to scare him then - he is vastly increasing his risk of stroke and heart attack. There is evidence emerging that OSA is a huge factor in premature death in men. DH was told by his consultant that he would have died from his OSA before he was 50

It is going to be genuinely hard for him to lose weight with untreated OSA, so he needs to get a sleep study and treatment first, and then lose weight. The smoking he just needs to deal with himself, but maybe the tiredness isn't helping with that.

Make him an appointment with the GP, record his snoring, go with him, stress the impact on you and your health, and don't take no for an answer

CMOT, where did you get them from - the one we had was like a hairdryer going on low speed, you could hear it downstairs. I too really miss sleeping in the same bed - we've spent the whole night together twice in the past 12 months

DH's main one is the Sleepstyle 604

Could be that the other CPAP was broken - DH's travel one suddenly got very noisy and it was that the pump was broken

Only time I hear anything is when his mask slips

IB - really sorry to hear that about your dad

hi all

thanks to everyone for input and experiences - this is such a serious problem, ib i am so sorry about your dad, a sobering thought

underpaid, we have slept separately for years now, he sleeps on the settee downstairs (and we are only in our 40s too!) and we can still occasionally hear him upstairs. the only holidays i can cope with are in caravans where there are separate bedrooms and i end up sharing with DD. it sounds as if your DHs CPAP is broken??

mrs flittersnoop, your DH sounds exactly the same as mine, i am glad he has agreed to get it sorted

CMOT thanks for all your really helpful advice on this issue.

as an aside, someone ran into the back of DHs car yesterday on the motorway (he was stationary so not sleep related) and it looks like he has whiplash. he is going to docs about it today and i didnt have the heart to nag him about his sleep at the same time....but i will make sure its mentioned to the doctor soon, especially considering your comment

"DH was told by his consultant that he would have died from his OSA before he was 50"

thats really scary, my DH is 46

i will report back if i get any further with this

CMOT etc we have a breakthrough - he talked to the GP without being nagged! she has referred him to a sleep clinic for tests, am so pleased.

mind you the GP was fairly dismissive, and said she doubted he had apnoea as he wasnt obese but we shall see

thanks again for all comments here

Fantastic news ! Although it shows how little she knows if she thinks you have to be obese to have OSA. There is an association, but it is mostly to do with neck size, rather than overall BMI

DH has a big neck! he told her that i had videod him and she said to take it to the sleep clinic

What size collar is he ? Studies have shown that having a collar size over 17" really, really increases the risk of OSA

I know someone with sleep apnoa who isn't obese, not even the slightly bit overweight, and no other health problems. He hasn't even got a thick neck. He got seen by the sleep clinic and now has a special machine for at night (a CPAP I presume).

he is a 17.5 collar size cmot, so on the large size neck-wise!

cheers belgo - doesnt it prove that you shouldnt made assumptions like that? im surprised our gp said it - she is brilliant normally but they cant know everything can they, at least she has referred him - he has to ring them now and make an appointment to have a "sleepover" at the sleep clinic

just watch - it will be sods law that he wont snore/grunt etc that night