Sleep Apnea?

[Deleted]

I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night, I kept tossing and turning and dreaming that I couldn't breathe, I woke up enough to realize that I wasn't breathing and caught my breath.  Now that I'm up for the day I can't shake the feeling of being suffocated and it's making me think of all the times I've woken (awakened? arose?) myself up snorting, trying to get air.  I'm a really deep sleeper, I snore loudly on occasion(according to J), and have been getting more restless at night as I get older, I'm also a mouth breather if that means anything.  I've wondered about apnea for awhile but dismissed it, now I'm getting worried because I had such a hard time last night.

I used the symptom checker on WebMD this morning and sleep apnea was one of the possibilities, none of the other things seemed to fit - asthma, pulminary embolism, anaphylactic shock, pleural effusion, GAD.

1. Does anyone here have sleep apnea and is willing to talk about it?

2. Should I talk to my Dr about this? It's kind of embarrassing for me, I don't know why...

[cymru]

My doctor thinks I have it. I have the first of a two part sleep study next week to see if I really do.

Your symptoms sound a lot like obstructive sleep apnea.

Definitely talk to your doctor. Lots of people have it - it is nothing to be embarrassed about.

[seattlekari]

I used to coordinate research studies for patients with sleep disorders including apnea. Apnea can lead to all sorts of other health issues if left untreated, so it's definitely worth getting checked out and getting a sleep study like cymru mentioned if your doctor thinks it's appropriate. It should be an easy referral from your primary care to a sleep specialist. A sleep study should identify any/all sleep issues you may be having. Sometimes people have a combo of issues going on that a sleep study can help sort out.

[never2amazing]

I have sleep apnea. I hate using my snuffaluffagus...but as seattle wrote it can lead to all sorts of health issues. You should talk to your doc. I can name 5 people of the top of my head that have sleep apnea...both young and old...nothing to be embarassed about.

[awkwardpenguin]

I have sleep apnea too. I was diagnosed when I was 23 and normal weight.

Make a list of all your symptoms and discuss it with your doctor. They'll probably want to do a sleep study, which is weird but not a huge deal. If you do a study, you might want help with the kids the next day - I know for me it was a terrible night of sleep and I ended up napping the day after. Actually, thinking about it now, my baseline night was fine, but the titration night (part 2) was bad sleep.

cymru - good luck with your sleep study! I felt 1000% better once I was dx'd and on CPAP. If your apnea is mild, you can also look into dental appliances, they work for some people and can be less annoying than cpap.