A few years ago, I had some baffling symptoms. If I dozed off or took a nap, I would sometimes wake gasping for breath, truly struggling to breathe.Every morning, I had terrible pain in my feet. I was always tired. I had once had an issue with snoring but that had gone away after I lost weight. So I didn’t even consider sleep apnea as a possibility. I assumed it could only affect overweight people who snored. Was I ever wrong!
When I brought my symptoms up with my doctor, she said I needed to get a sleep test. I was skeptical. “But… but I don’t even snore! and I’ve lost weight! ” I protested, feeling like she was missing the boat completely. She still insisted I should check it out. So. reluctantly, I went in for a sleep test. As I walked into the waiting room, I saw a roomful of patients in chairs, all looking sleepy or actually snoring away.
Step one was a preliminary screening at a sleep center, this one: www.yellowpages.com/info-LMS68945498/American-Sleep-Medicine/maps. There, the doctor asked some intriguing (and enlightening) questions, including these: “Do you have leg pain? Do you often awake gasping for breath? Are you always tired?” Clearly, the answers to these questions were yes, yes and yes.
He then explained how all of this could be related to or caused by sleep apnea. I was shocked.
Much of the info I got that day can be found at the American Sleep Apnea Association, located here: www.sleepapnea.org/ From information given to me by my doctor and this site I was able to learn that sleep apnea is very common but that the vast majority of people with it remain undiagnosed! Just as I did, they often made incorrect assumptions about snoring, weight and other factors.
After my exam, I went through a sleep test where I was hooked up to an EEG to measure my brain waves and an EKG to measure my heart rate and rhythm. I went to a local sleep center which only does sleep tests. The entire procedure was painless and I was even given a private room, luxurious bed and pillows and was allowed to watch television until “bedtime. It was actually rather pleasant, all things considered and the room was very clean and dust-free.
If you’d like to know more about how sleep apnea is typically evaluated, you can check out this page:
www.sleepapnea.org/resources/pubs/evaluated.html
I was diagnosed with a mild form of sleep apnea known as obstructive apnea. A few lifestyle changes took care of the problem, making a world of difference. I stopped sleeping on my back, something I thought would be hard to do but was actually fairly easy after I learned to place a tennis ball behind my back as I lay on my side in bed. If I rolled onto my back, the tennis ball would automatically cause enough discomfort to get me to move into a side position. Usually, I wouldn’t even wake up!
I also avoided using any medications that would cause drowsiness, from alcohol to certain cold medications – unless absolutely necessary and then only for the shortest time possible. I cut down on my caffeine and set regular bedtimes for myself.
Within a few weeks of treatment and these minor lifestyle changes, I felt energetic and rested again. I was no longer gasping for breath at night or during naps. But I got retested to make sure that I was truly better, a step that is often necessary after a diagnosis of apnea. I wasn’t going to make the mistake of jumping to the wrong conclusions again!
In all honesty, some patients do need more aggressive treatment than I did, including dental appliances, surgery or a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine. A CPAP machine keeps the air pressure in the airway high enough to keep the throat open and unobstructed during sleep. I may eventually need one. I get evaluated yearly and I do work on keeping my weight down and informed about what I can do to keep my apnea from reoccurring. .
Besides the info provided by my personal experience, here are some basic facts worth knowing, :
1. Anyone can get sleep apnea, whether the individual is thin or overweight, young or old.
Actually, I should have known this because one of our children had snored due to enlarged tonsils. He was a thin, healthy kid. His snoring was one symptom of temporary sleep apnea. When the tonsils came out, the apnea disappeared and he slept much better.
2. The symptoms caused by sleep apnea may not seem to be related to sleep
An example? Hyperactivity. Children who sleep poorly due to sleep apnea may actually be more hyperactive while awake than those who have better, less disrupted sleep. Before my own diagnosis, I had trouble focusing for long on anything and always wanted to take naps.
3. Sleep apnea can be deadly or cause dangerous conditions
High blood pressure and even heart disease have been linked with sleep apnea. During my own sleep test, my blood pressure varied widely, although it never went into the high range. Also, I had a very, very mild case but some people are not so lucky. Again, it is important to remember that anyone, even athletes, can get sleep apnea.
4. Sleep apnea poses a risk to those who don’t have it.
People with sleep apnea, according to the American Sleep Apnea Information Association, may be impaired while at work or have memory problems. They may also fall alseep at the wheel, leading to potentially deadly automobile crashes. Proper diagnosis is vital.
5. There are three types of sleep apnea, so proper diagnosis is important.
I won’t go into all the details about the various types of sleep apnea but you should know that there are various types, each with different symptoms. I have obstructive sleep apnea but there is also central and mixed types of sleep apnea.
6. Your habits and lifestyle can raise your risk of sleep apnea and lifestyle changes may be enough to cure it.
While it is true that anyone can get sleep apnea, it is also more common for people who are overweight, drink excessively or have enlarged tonsils to get sleep apnea. Sometimes weight loss and other changes can be enough to solve the problem.
If you find yourself gasping for breath when you sleep or are excessively sleep, contact your doctor. You may or may not have sleep apnea.
Disclaimer: None of this is meant to be a substitute for medical diagnosis, evaluation or treatment but is simply my own personal experience.
