For Anyone with Sleep Apnea

[mjaclyn]

I'm really worried about my husband. He snores incredibly loud every night and has for years. I have to wake him constantly to stop and a lot of times he ends up on the couch. I've also noticed that sometimes it seems like he stops breathing for a few seconds and then starts again. This terrifies me. We have two small children (4 and 22 months) and I don't know what we would do without him. We love him so much and don't want anything to happen to him. I've asked him to do a sleep study and he says he will, but he hates going to the doctor and I practically have to drag him. He also is on medication for high blood pressure and the doctor said he's close to being diabetic. SO many of his problems would go away if he just tried to slim down a little bit, but it's a sore subject and he gets defensive if I bring it up. I know it must be so difficult for him because it's not easy to diet and lose weight. I just want him to understand that I love him and the kids and I need him to be healthy. Whatever that means for him and his own body...I don't expect him to be stick thin, I just want him to be healthy enough to get off of his blood pressure medicine and not push himself into diabetes. I also think it would help a lot with the snoring. I guess this is where my question comes in... I'm not sure if he has sleep apnea, but I was wondering...is it curable? If DH loses weight and gets treated for it, will it eventually resolve itself or will he have to wear that sleep machine thing for the rest of his life? I think he's afraid what the test will show...honestly, I am too. I have realized though, that even a scary diagnosis for him is better than no diagnosis and then one day he has a heart attack. He's only 36. I'm so scared and unfortunately there is no quick solution. I feel so helpless because it's really up to him to decide when he's going to be serious about getting himself healthy. What can I do to make him see how important it is?

 

[C&G'sMama]

I'm really worried about my husband. He snores incredibly loud every night and has for years. I have to wake him constantly to stop and a lot of times he ends up on the couch. I've also noticed that sometimes it seems like he stops breathing for a few seconds and then starts again. This terrifies me. We have two small children (4 and 22 months) and I don't know what we would do without him. We love him so much and don't want anything to happen to him. I've asked him to do a sleep study and he says he will, but he hates going to the doctor and I practically have to drag him. He also is on medication for high blood pressure and the doctor said he's close to being diabetic. SO many of his problems would go away if he just tried to slim down a little bit, but it's a sore subject and he gets defensive if I bring it up. I know it must be so difficult for him because it's not easy to diet and lose weight. I just want him to understand that I love him and the kids and I need him to be healthy. Whatever that means for him and his own body...I don't expect him to be stick thin, I just want him to be healthy enough to get off of his blood pressure medicine and not push himself into diabetes. I also think it would help a lot with the snoring. I guess this is where my question comes in... I'm not sure if he has sleep apnea, but I was wondering...is it curable? If DH loses weight and gets treated for it, will it eventually resolve itself or will he have to wear that sleep machine thing for the rest of his life? I think he's afraid what the test will show...honestly, I am too. I have realized though, that even a scary diagnosis for him is better than no diagnosis and then one day he has a heart attack. He's only 36. I'm so scared and unfortunately there is no quick solution. I feel so helpless because it's really up to him to decide when he's going to be serious about getting himself healthy. What can I do to make him see how important it is?

My story. I'm a 46 year old woman and I'm overweight (although you can be skinny as a rail and still have sleep apnea). For 3 or 4 years my DP was on my case as I was tired all the time. I have a thyroid condition, I'd get it checked and it was fine. I talked to the doctor she gave me a referral for a sleep study. I didn't go. Of course I'm tired, I have 2 kids, I work full time we're busy. And naps are no big deal. I snored, I would fall asleep in meetings, etc.

In July of 2009 I was driving from work to the campground we were staying at for vacation about 45 mins from work. I had decided to go in for a few hours every day. I felt sleeply, did the usual turned up the music and cranked the air. Next thing I know I'm pulling the car out of the guard rail I had crashed into. I fell aslep at the wheel. Thank God, I was not hurt nor did I crash into any cars. 10 minutes later my DP and the kids came by. They had been at the pool in the state park where the campground is. And rather than going back throught the park they went around the park.

So there were a lot of what ifs. What if... I was killed and that's the last time my kids saw me. What if... I klled someone's child or someone's mom or dad...
I got into the Doctor the next day and within a month I got into the sleep study. (it was expedited because of the severity) I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and have been using a mask since September of 2009. Once I got that under control the other stuff came with it. I became part of the familiy again. I had the energy to walk the dog. We now make regular trips to the Y as a family to swim and play, something I didn't have the energy to do before the mask.

I implore you do get him to go. He gets this taken care of and the rest will fall into place.

So I'm still overweight, but I am eating better and am much more active.

If you want more information, please feel free to pm me.

 

[Luv'sTink]

My husband just had his sleep study....he is over weight too! The Doc told him it can cause a whole host of problems, though he doesn't seem to have many, but his sleep apnea was severe! He had 56 episodes an hour, almost one a minute! Since he has received and used his machine he has went for 56 per hour to 1.8 per hour. He says he feels so much more awake, he no longer snores and the machine is very quiet.

If he lost weight it might make the apnea better but as previous poster said, even thin people have sleep apnea. I had to make the appt. for my husband to get him to go.....men!

 

[goofyernmost]

I have sleep apnea. It is sometimes (most of the time actually) aggravated by being over weight. Basically it is an enlarged flap of skin near the entrance to the esophagus that vibrates thus the snoring but the biggest danger other than being murdered in his sleep by his spouse, is the part where it will block the air passage. That's the part where he sounds like he has stopped breathing. It puts an additional stress on the heart, contributes to high blood pressure and has a multitude of other problems related to it. Not Diabetes that I am aware of.

The only way to know for sure is to go to the Doctors and have a sleep study scheduled. It is not painful but it is kinda unpleasant. They wire you up with a million wires and then monitor you while you sleep. With this they can determine how many times, if any, that you stop breathing during sleep. There are a number of ways to fix the problem. The most common and least invasive is a machine called a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). It is a small air pump that keeps air pressure in your air passages keeping it open. It completely stops the snoring and no more halted breathing.

I cannot tell you how much better I felt after I started using it. I had energy, I wasn't falling asleep during the day or fighting being tired all the time or waking up gasping for air. It was like a miracle for me. It gave me my life back. There are other methods, I think there is a surgery available to fix it, but it is expensive and anytime surgery is done there is a risk involved. I opted for the machine. It's a little inconvenient sometimes but it beats what was happening before.

I urge you to get him to see a Doctor. Having this problem has many dangers involved, stress on the heart, lack of alertness and energy during the day and especially while driving and these things can be fatal.

Weight loss will help and possibly even stop it from being a danger but that takes time and this can be urgent. If he doesn't have Apnea then there are many over the counter things that will help cut down on the snoring. If it is Apnea...nothing will stop the snoring without the machine, etc.

 

[jsmith]

Sleep apnea is a VERY complicarted disorder with any number of causes from being overweight to heart problems-there are two types-obstructive which is the common type -and is curable or at least controlable with weight loss,sometimes surgery and a CPAP machine and central which is in fact caused by either heart disease or a brainstem malefunction and must be managed with medication and a different type of Machine called an APAP machine.
I learned all this this winter as we went thru severe obstuctive sleep apnea with our tall thin actiive 21 year old son..His was cause by tonsils so infected that he was on antibiotics for nearly 6 months with impacting the infection and so swollen they TOUCHED in the back of his throat. He was having as many as 140 episodes per hour-not sleeping at all. He's had them removed and recovered and he knows from the way he feels that he is sleeping better but the daa from his machine indicates he may have some central apnea as well-which can result from the prolonged uneven carbon dioxide levels in the blood caused by the obstructive apnea. He is having his third sleep study in 8 months on Monday.
Please encourage your husband to have the study sooner rather than later-resolving the issues is easier the sooner its caught. His quality of life will improve-and as trhe snoring abates so will yours.

 

[kacaju]

I'm really worried about my husband. He snores incredibly loud every night and has for years. I have to wake him constantly to stop and a lot of times he ends up on the couch. I've also noticed that sometimes it seems like he stops breathing for a few seconds and then starts again. This terrifies me. We have two small children (4 and 22 months) and I don't know what we would do without him. We love him so much and don't want anything to happen to him. I've asked him to do a sleep study and he says he will, but he hates going to the doctor and I practically have to drag him. He also is on medication for high blood pressure and the doctor said he's close to being diabetic. SO many of his problems would go away if he just tried to slim down a little bit, but it's a sore subject and he gets defensive if I bring it up. I know it must be so difficult for him because it's not easy to diet and lose weight. I just want him to understand that I love him and the kids and I need him to be healthy. Whatever that means for him and his own body...I don't expect him to be stick thin, I just want him to be healthy enough to get off of his blood pressure medicine and not push himself into diabetes. I also think it would help a lot with the snoring. I guess this is where my question comes in... I'm not sure if he has sleep apnea, but I was wondering...is it curable? If DH loses weight and gets treated for it, will it eventually resolve itself or will he have to wear that sleep machine thing for the rest of his life? I think he's afraid what the test will show...honestly, I am too. I have realized though, that even a scary diagnosis for him is better than no diagnosis and then one day he has a heart attack. He's only 36. I'm so scared and unfortunately there is no quick solution. I feel so helpless because it's really up to him to decide when he's going to be serious about getting himself healthy. What can I do to make him see how important it is?

((HUGS)) good luck!! My Mom was just in the er tonight because of sleep apnea issues. Now we think she just had a bad night/morning but when myself and my brothers tried to talk to her she was making no sense. Scary, and my one brother went to her house an took her to the ER since she sounded dazed and confused. My Mom flat out refuses to do anything about it. Claims she doesn't sleep when she tries to to the sleep study. They fit her for a mask and she refuses to use it, claims she cannot sleep. She also has narcolepsy and refuses to do anything for that either

 

[mjaclyn]

Does anyone know if insurance covers sleep study? Do we have to go through our general practitioner or just call the Center for Sleep Medicine for an appointment? We're scheduled to visit my in-laws on the West Coast in a couple of weeks and I'm hoping we can get DH an appointment before then.

 

[Luv'sTink]

Does anyone know if insurance covers sleep study? Do we have to go through our general practitioner or just call the Center for Sleep Medicine for an appointment? We're scheduled to visit my in-laws on the West Coast in a couple of weeks and I'm hoping we can get DH an appointment before then.

Our insurance covered the sleep study, however we will have a co-pay for the machine; approx. $200. Call your insurance co. and ask them, they will be able to tell you.

 

[piperdown]

The was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea a little over 2 years ago. The sleep study showed I was having over 100 episodes an hour. Basically, I wasn't sleeping. This affected every other part of my life. The scariest point was when I fell asleep at a stop light on my drive home from work. I rolled into the car ahead of me. Luckily, there was no damage, and other driver was very nice.

I absolutely LOVE my CPAP machine. I can't believe how much a difference it has made. No, I don't love the nightly Darth Vader impression, but I'm willing to live with that because of the improvement of my quality of life. I actually lost 20 lbs without dieting because I was more active.

I understand your fear, but this can provide the energy necessary to make the other improvements.

 

[pixiefairy]

My dh has sleep apnea and our doctor told him it can be hereditary. From what we have seen, my dh and his dad, as well as 3 of his 4 brothers have it. My dh started the ball rolling with the rest of his family...they all got checked too. I had to FORCE him to go. He would snore, and would stop breathing, sit up, gasp for air, then lie back down. He would fall asleep anywhere - movies, restaurant, people's houses, during holidays...you name it. The final straw came when our 7 year old dd was a month old. Dh fell asleep holding her and she fell on the floor. She wasn't hurt, thankfully, and after I became pregnant with my 5 year old, I told him he HAD to go. No ifs, ands or buts. We wanted him around and he needed to be present. He was worried about finding a million other things wrong with him, like high bp, heart problems, or possibly having narcolepsy. He got a full work up done and he was healthy otherwise. No high cholesterol or anything. He was heavy...and that definitely aggravated the issue. He had his sleep study done (and yes, it was covered by our insurance), then went back for another one using a cpap. When he came home from that...he was a different person. He had NEVER slept that well, he said. We got the machine, and he's been using it for 6 years now. He has since dropped 100 lbs...and I think he should go back and be retested just to see what, if any, difference the weight loss made. Yes....it takes a bit to get used to...not just for the affected person, but for the spouse or significant other. But..the white noise is comforting, and he's able to sleep and when he's awake, be active and with us. And he's not as grouchy as he used to be, lol.

I'd do whatever was in my power to get your dh to the doctor. Yes, it's scary, yes, it's the unknown, but it may save his life. ((hugs))

 

[wdwmom0f3]

OP, I have noticed that my husband does the same thing. He will be snoring and then he stops breathing and then he gasps and breaths normally again. I have been telling him that he is doing this but he thinks I'm nuts. My DH is a very healthy weight so it's not the weight that is causing him to do this. He is on high blood pressure medication, but with it his BP is always fine. He does not fall asleep during the day at all. He sleeps from around 11:00 pm-5:00 am, no naps.

I am also wanting him to do the sleep study but getting a man in there to do that is hard. He is very stubborn!

 

[perdidochas]

I'm really worried about my husband. He snores incredibly loud every night and has for years. I have to wake him constantly to stop and a lot of times he ends up on the couch. I've also noticed that sometimes it seems like he stops breathing for a few seconds and then starts again. This terrifies me. We have two small children (4 and 22 months) and I don't know what we would do without him. We love him so much and don't want anything to happen to him. I've asked him to do a sleep study and he says he will, but he hates going to the doctor and I practically have to drag him. He also is on medication for high blood pressure and the doctor said he's close to being diabetic. SO many of his problems would go away if he just tried to slim down a little bit, but it's a sore subject and he gets defensive if I bring it up. I know it must be so difficult for him because it's not easy to diet and lose weight. I just want him to understand that I love him and the kids and I need him to be healthy. Whatever that means for him and his own body...I don't expect him to be stick thin, I just want him to be healthy enough to get off of his blood pressure medicine and not push himself into diabetes. I also think it would help a lot with the snoring. I guess this is where my question comes in... I'm not sure if he has sleep apnea, but I was wondering...is it curable? If DH loses weight and gets treated for it, will it eventually resolve itself or will he have to wear that sleep machine thing for the rest of his life? I think he's afraid what the test will show...honestly, I am too. I have realized though, that even a scary diagnosis for him is better than no diagnosis and then one day he has a heart attack. He's only 36. I'm so scared and unfortunately there is no quick solution. I feel so helpless because it's really up to him to decide when he's going to be serious about getting himself healthy. What can I do to make him see how important it is?

I have sleep apnea. Best thing I ever did for my energy was to get a sleep study done, and now I'm on a CPAP machine. I can sleep better at night, and so can my wife and kids (on vacation anyway).

Don't know if it ever goes away for all, I have only lost 10 or 15 lbs, but IMHO, quality of life is worth wearing the CPAP machine. I hated fighting off sleep all afternoon at work. I would almost fall asleep while drinking coffee. Long car trips were dangerous.

 

[perdidochas]

I have sleep apnea. It is sometimes (most of the time actually) aggravated by being over weight. Basically it is an enlarged flap of skin near the entrance to the esophagus that vibrates thus the snoring but the biggest danger other than being murdered in his sleep by his spouse, is the part where it will block the air passage. That's the part where he sounds like he has stopped breathing. It puts an additional stress on the heart, contributes to high blood pressure and has a multitude of other problems related to it. Not Diabetes that I am aware of.

The only way to know for sure is to go to the Doctors and have a sleep study scheduled. It is not painful but it is kinda unpleasant. They wire you up with a million wires and then monitor you while you sleep. With this they can determine how many times, if any, that you stop breathing during sleep. There are a number of ways to fix the problem. The most common and least invasive is a machine called a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). It is a small air pump that keeps air pressure in your air passages keeping it open. It completely stops the snoring and no more halted breathing.

I cannot tell you how much better I felt after I started using it. I had energy, I wasn't falling asleep during the day or fighting being tired all the time or waking up gasping for air. It was like a miracle for me. It gave me my life back. There are other methods, I think there is a surgery available to fix it, but it is expensive and anytime surgery is done there is a risk involved. I opted for the machine. It's a little inconvenient sometimes but it beats what was happening before.

I urge you to get him to see a Doctor. Having this problem has many dangers involved, stress on the heart, lack of alertness and energy during the day and especially while driving and these things can be fatal.

Weight loss will help and possibly even stop it from being a danger but that takes time and this can be urgent. If he doesn't have Apnea then there are many over the counter things that will help cut down on the snoring. If it is Apnea...nothing will stop the snoring without the machine, etc.

Well said.

 

[LukenDC]

I have sleep apnea and had two sleep studies. The first was to diagnose the apnea and the second was to determine the best air pressure for a CPAP machine. My insurance covered 100% of the cost of the sleep studies and CPAP.

Curiously, while the classic symptom of sleep apnea is exhaustion during the day, I never felt tired. I sought the sleep study because of my snoring. I tried the CPAP machine for a couple of weeks, but could not get used to it. Having something attached to my face (I tried two different masks) bothered me so much that I was awake all night and felt exhausted the next day. I also developed an unusual condition where I was smelling smoke at home and in the office and no one else could smell it.

I abandonned the CPAP, resumed sleeping soundly at night, and the olfactory hallucinations disappeared. In the meantime, I use a mandibular respositioning device called a Pure Sleep that prevents me from snoring. The device does not treat sleep apnea, although the sleep specialist I saw said that it must mitigate the apnea in some way just by forcing my lower jaw forward.