Sleep Apnea
- Thread starter YouCallMeNighthawk
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I'm another sufferer of it. It can be inherited, and it can be caused by being overweight. I actually know quite a few people who have it.
Sleep apnea *can* be fatal, but it's very rare for it to be. And it's only fatal if it's not treated -- if you don't go to the doctor.
You do in fact stop breathing at night. Sometimes you stop breathing for the space of a single breath, and sometimes you stop breathing for a while. If you stop breathing for too long, you might not start up again, but this is extremely rare and you'll need to have a sufficiently severe case for that to happen...and it sounds like you don't.
The treatment is, as mentioned before, either a CPAP -- which is a humidifier / air pump / air filter that puts air into your body via a 'mask,' although my mask happens to be about the size of my pinky and go only over my nose -- or corrective surgery. Corrective surgery, when it's even an option, doesn't completely alleviate the problem in all cases. The mask varies in size - before I switched to the small one, referred to as a 'nasal pillow,' I tried one that fit over my entire nose and mouth, and one that just fit over my entire nose. The only trouble I have is that it makes cuddling with my wife in bed difficult, especially since my particular nasal pillows eject air straight forward (yes, it's supposed to do this, it says so in the manual) so if I face her I'm blowing air into her face. Also, if you find yourself sleeping in different places frequently you should be aware that the CPAP itself is about the size of my PS3, and needs a two-prong outlet, although I have a friend who has a portable battery for his.
I would definitely see your doctor, though. One good night of sleep with a CPAP after a lifetime of having sleep apnea and not knowing about it and you'll be amazed at how much better you feel in the morning.
And don't worry about what the doctor will do. Testing sleep apnea consists largely of a 'sleep study.' For mine, I was sent to what is essentially a hotel room (mine was complete with cable TV, which I didn't even have at home at the time! :-D) and some tape was put on my chest, and I had to wear a mask, then I slept for just a couple of hours before they woke me up and said, "Okay, you have sleep apnea, we have the numbers to configure your CPAP now," and let me go back to sleep. And that was it as far as testing goes.
Sleep apnea *can* be fatal, but it's very rare for it to be. And it's only fatal if it's not treated -- if you don't go to the doctor.
You do in fact stop breathing at night. Sometimes you stop breathing for the space of a single breath, and sometimes you stop breathing for a while. If you stop breathing for too long, you might not start up again, but this is extremely rare and you'll need to have a sufficiently severe case for that to happen...and it sounds like you don't.The treatment is, as mentioned before, either a CPAP -- which is a humidifier / air pump / air filter that puts air into your body via a 'mask,' although my mask happens to be about the size of my pinky and go only over my nose -- or corrective surgery. Corrective surgery, when it's even an option, doesn't completely alleviate the problem in all cases. The mask varies in size - before I switched to the small one, referred to as a 'nasal pillow,' I tried one that fit over my entire nose and mouth, and one that just fit over my entire nose. The only trouble I have is that it makes cuddling with my wife in bed difficult, especially since my particular nasal pillows eject air straight forward (yes, it's supposed to do this, it says so in the manual) so if I face her I'm blowing air into her face. Also, if you find yourself sleeping in different places frequently you should be aware that the CPAP itself is about the size of my PS3, and needs a two-prong outlet, although I have a friend who has a portable battery for his.
I would definitely see your doctor, though. One good night of sleep with a CPAP after a lifetime of having sleep apnea and not knowing about it and you'll be amazed at how much better you feel in the morning.
And don't worry about what the doctor will do. Testing sleep apnea consists largely of a 'sleep study.' For mine, I was sent to what is essentially a hotel room (mine was complete with cable TV, which I didn't even have at home at the time! :-D) and some tape was put on my chest, and I had to wear a mask, then I slept for just a couple of hours before they woke me up and said, "Okay, you have sleep apnea, we have the numbers to configure your CPAP now," and let me go back to sleep.
And that was it as far as testing goes.Yes you stop breathing in your sleep but your body knows to start up again so you won't die in a few days but you should still go to the doctor.
My dad's got Sleep Apnea. The worst that will happen is they will give you this nifty little machine that you put next to your bed, and then you strap the thing around your head and put some tubes against your nose that push air into your lungs and keep you breathing.
Sleep Apnea could be just a symptom of something else, go to a doctor instead of wasting time here.
This. For example, if you're a fatty fat fat, that can lead to sleep apnea. Of all the people I've met with sleep apnea (my mother has it, for one) only one person wasn't fat. Another thing to consider before going to the doctor is how it may affect your ability to drive. Some jurisdictions allow your doctor to declare you unfit to drive if they don't believe you're taking proper care of yourself.Cody211282 said:
I know of one or two people who have this condition. I'd say go to the doctor as soon as possible and get it medicated. For your peace of mind more than anything.