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Newbie Here
Hello!
I'm Jen, a newbie, but not new to sleep apnea :) (or should that be a sad face)!
I've had this issue off and on for about six years, but it has been worse lately. Currently, I am not using any machine/mask or other treatment.
The last sleep study I had was three years ago, and at that time, I was told my case didn't warrant a CPAP machine, nor would my insurance cover it because my case was considered mild. Now, I sleep too much, never feel rested, and I miss work about three days a month because I am so stinkin' tired. I don't go out with my friends as often, I hardly exercise because I'm fatigued, and I generally have heavy eyelids and a heavy headed feeling all the time. My moods are iffy, I have difficulty concentrating at work, and I feel too young for all of this (I'm 41)!
I have another appt. scheduled for next week, and since it's been so long, I've been told the dr. will want to schedule another study. Can you share any advice or questions I should be asking the doctor? I really need some relief to improve my quality of life.
Glad to find this forum!
Views: 718
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chris H on
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Hi Jen, Have you read Dr Parks book "Sleep interrupted" You can go to his web sight and see excerpts. He talks about UARS, apnea and the effects of poor sleep breathing. You sound distressed ,Have you been to an ent to evaluate your entire airway? A Sleep Dentist could possibly make an oral device or you could go on a pap device.....You may have to travel to find Sleep trained people to consult with. For the mean time try and stay off your back thats usually the time when the most apneas happen.See if their is an A.W.A.K.E meeting near you .Their is much help there. Their is plenty in the past threads to look at also. Good Sleep,Chris
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Permalink Reply by Mary Z on
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I would go to the doc prepared with a list of symptoms you've been having and for how long. Also bring a list of meds and if you can't rattle off your basic medical history, write down the details. You really won't know what questions to ask until after your sleep study. About the sleep study- if one is ordered find out if they do a split study or a separate titration.
Good luck. Hope the ball gets rolling soon for you.
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Thank you for the info!
I am basically starting from scratch again. I have not seen an ENT and my last sleep study was in 2008. So, I have been reading about surgeries, CPAP, and basically feeling overloaded by info!
I am writing down my symptoms/issues along with my questions.
Mary, is there a difference with the titration study?
What bugs me the most is feeling tired all the time, the headaches, lack of energy..
I am praying for relief!
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Tell the doctor everything you wrote. If your sleep study shows your conditiion didn't worsen, there could be other factors, such as thryoid for which they can test.
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Jen, if you have bad sleep apnea, or if the doc orders a split study they will put you on the machine half way through the night to find out the pressure needed. Sometimes they bring you in a second night to do a titration study to determine your correct pressure. That night you would use the machine. This all depends on whether your first study shows sleep apnea.
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I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2005, and that is monitored every six months. The sleep problems probably started in 2006, but it has worsened this year. For example, I went to bed around 10:30 last night, and I struggle to get up when my alarm goes off at 5:30..usually I get up after 7. And today I felt the familiar exhaustion and heavy headedness. I went back to bed and slept until 3:30 in the afternoon. I am at the point where I am missing one day of work each week. I am napping at work, and sometimes I wake up suddenly.
It is almost 4:45 and my eyes are heavy, and I feel like going back to sleep. I have never felt this bad.
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When is your sleep test? If it's going to be a while there are wakefullness drugs such as Provigil and Nuvigil which will help you stay awake during the day. I know many of us do not like to take drugs,, but this may be a stop gap measure. Your PCP may prescribe Provigil (short acting) Nuvigil (longer acting). I take Nuvigil for continued EDS in spite of CPAP therapy.
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My dr. app. Is next Wednesday, so I hope the sleep study will soon after. I will ask the doctor about those other Mede you mentioned.
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Permalink Reply by Helen Macleod on
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Hi Jen
I was diagnosed around 4 months ago, I was really goood and then after a couple of weeks
I started to get fatigued tired again, like your symptoms, so I went back to have another sleep study and now they tell me I need less air, I cannot work it out I feel like I did beofre and getting
more tired by the day.
Helen
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Hi Helen,
I'm sorry to hear you're having problems. I am ready at this point for anything that will bring me relief. I did make it to work today, but I still feel so scatterbrained and disorganized. I just don't understand how one can be so tired after sleeping so much! Seems like a vicious cycle.
I hope your problems will get resolved soon so you can have restful sleep again.
At this point I'm wondering if I should just have surgery ... take out my tonsils, remove excess tissue from the back of my throat. At times it does seems like that area closes up and that I have more than enough tissue back there. UGH!
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Helen and Jen, often there is a sleep debt that must be repaid. Sometimes this happens after a few months of therapy. It also takes some of us longer than others to feel better. Surgery is usually thought of as a last resort, but you could see an ENT to see if some minor work would help, Jen.
Hang in there, both of you. Use your machine all night, every night, and naps. Hopefully you will soon start to feel the full benefits of therapy. I had a similiar expeerience, but then things got better.
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Hi, Jen and everybody else,
This is my first posting to this forum. It will serve as a reply to Jen's questions and as a general introduction to myself
.Jen, the most important question to ask to your health care providers is whether your sleepiness could be the result of something more than sleep apnea.
I was born in 1932. Although I complained of excessive sleepiness in 1950, my sleep apnea was not diagnosed until 1980. But that was not sufficient to explain my sleepiness. Eventually, in 1990 I was diagnosed to have ALSO narcolepsy (sleepiness, sleep attacks, restless sleep, etc) and in 2000 to have also circadian dyssynchrony (my internal, biologic clock not in sync with the terrestrial, external or solar clock).
Keep asking everybody: (a) your health care providers, (b) this and other forums, etc. Not everyone has all the answers and sleep apnea frequently co-exists with other sleep disorders.
I wish it takes you less than the 50 years it took me to get most answers. Why didn't I say all answers? Because I'm still lacking answers about a few topics related to apnea, sleepiness, and CPAP : effect of the apneas on the hart, medication side-effects, and intolerance to the CPAP machines/masks.
Good luck!
JC
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