Hey guys, I haven't been on here in a while, been busy with hospital trips and being tired.
Has anybody here got sleep apnea? My partner noticed last night I stopped breathing in my sleep, and I've woken up a few times cause I felt like I stopped breathing.
After it was confirmed last night that I did stop breathing I will book in to see my gp, but just wanted to know if anybody else has suffered with it x
Hi Broomesa
I think a fair few of our members have this.
Do speak to your GP about it. You can be referred to a Sleep Clinic where your sleep is monitored to see if you do have Sleep Apnea.
I hope you manage to get some help my friend.
Take care of yourself
Lu xx
Hi, I think i might suffer from it, im booked in for an appointment at the hospital later this month. Ive got a leaflet which explains the equipment they rig you up with. They fit it all and then you go home, sleep for the night and then return the equipment the next day. Then they look at the readings to see if you have it.
Im not sure what the outcome of mine will be, i was hoping it would be taken over a week or so rather than just one night. I will just have to wait and see.
I seem to be doing a lot of waiting these days, im sick and tired of waiting weeks and months for appointments.
My doctor was the one who thought i might have it, gave me a questionaire to fill in, i have to say it was the most basic document ive ever seen. Still at least i eventually got an appt.
Hope you get sorted soon xx
Hi 
I hope you get some answers soon. As you say, it does seem very odd to only take one night into account.
Please do let us know how you get on.
Lu xx
Yeah it does seem odd, i wonder if this is the same for everyone? maybe someone else on here could tell us more about it. I do know i have a few relatives that have it, but they only found out when they were in hospital getting treatment for other things.
I will let you know how i get on xx
My daughter says that I stop breathing and then gasp for air. I have no idea how many times I do it.
For me, I feel sure it is because I have blocked sinuses.
I think (could be wrong) that our Ken TheAuthor may suffer with this.
He will be on later.
I know if you are diagnosed with it, you then have to wear some sort of mask at night to give you enough oxygen. Sorry I don't know the medical terms!
Lu xx
Im getting something delivered today, some oxygen product, i think you drink it, im going to give that a try and see if i feel any different , its worth trying.
The thought of the oxygen mask sounds like heaven right now as i feel short of breath all the time, the past few months have been the worst ive ever known. Its even worse depending on the weather, some days are terrible.
They tested my heart a couple of weeks ago and said they couldnt find what was wrong. My blood pressure went very high. Its never high even the doctor said usually my blood pressure is on the lower side.
Ive had a lot of problems with my eyes too and when i saw the optician because i was waking up with pain shooting out of my head and blood shot eyes. I felt like i was drunk and i dont drink.
as soon as she looked in my eyes she said there was a problem and that i had angle closure glaucoma and very dry eyes. She said i must have an underlying condition, asked if i had arthritis and mentioned sjogrens. She said she thinks i have sjogrens. She asked if i felt sick and had any dizziness which i have had.
it took 3 months for an eye appt at hospital and i got the most horrible man ive ever encountered. I complained about his attitude when i came out. He said I dont have glaucoma.
For anyone who doesnt know you can go blind very quickly with angle closure glaucoma and getting shooting pains is a bad sign and you need to seek help asap as its an emergency.
Hence the reason my doctor wonders if sleep apnea is causing some of this.
Shortly im back to the opticians and it will be interesting as to what they say. I will give you all an update when i find out. xx
Yes please do update us. Can you also let us know what oxygen you had delivered?
I am seriously struggling to breathe today. It is so humid and what with blocked sinuses and asthma it's causing me real problems.
Lu xx
This ive just had delivered is from Nutri, 02
cellular oxygen enhancement.
Activated stabilized oxygen.
It says its a great natural antibiotic, detoxifies the body, strengthens the immune system.
You put a few drops in water and drink, you need to give it a while to saturate the whole body.
This is a good one and its worth a try because not enough oxygen and shortness of breath really hampers you, I cant imagine having asthma as well.
Im hoping this will give me a boost and enable me to be more active meaning i can lose weight by being more mobile.
The one bonus is there are no nasties and no side effects so no harm whatsoever.
can only but try and give it a go. xx
Thanks for letting me know about this.
Did you get it through your GP or order it yourself?
I really struggled to get any air in at all yesterday and started to get quite panicky in the end.
I would be very interested to know how you get on with it.
Lu xx
Hi, its really bad when you are struggling for air, recently this has become quite bad for me to. It affects everything you try to do.
A family member ordered me this 02 oxygen drink from the internet and i also got some apple cider vinegar with " mother ". It has to say mother on the bottle. I mix it with water and drink it.
That has alot of uses as it helps for bacteria overgrowth and restores good bacteria for the gut. Its also used for weight loss when you drink some before each meal but you need to diet as well as.
I have read its worked for people who have asthma but i dont know if they drank it as it can be used for leg cramps mixed with i think its garlic and ginger and applied on the legs etc.
so im not sure if you could use it to inhale like you do with steam as well as drink it for maximum benefit. xx
Would you believe I bought some Apple Cider Vinegar last week.
I know I need to diet too but I don't eat a great deal as it is and I do eat healthily. My meds don't help with the weight I've put on, but it does get me down.
Lu xx
Hi,I'm a first timer on here.i have fibromyalgia, in constant pain.i have to use cpap plus oxygen at night, blood gasses don't go above 85, got to try a bipap plus oxygen machine.i cannot walk more than a few steps without getting agonising muscle spasms, I really hate being tired all the time, it depresses me alot. Has anyone used a bipap machine, can someone if you have a spare moment, tell me what it's like please, hope I get some replays, love from Sharon x
How long did it take from the time you spoke to your gp to getting your hospital appointment?
Hi
got documents off GP, so i could log in online and book hospital appt. Tried for 2 days none available. 3rd day i phoned them up and still no appt available. they said to wait 2 weeks and if i dont recieve any appt through post to go back to my doc and tell them there are no appts. lol
I was about to do just that when i got a letter a few days ago giving me the appt for the end of this month.
It was actually june 12 th when the doc gave me the documents to book my own hospital appointment. It was about ten days prior when i was given the questions to fill in but i had to wait for blood tests and some results back before i could book that appt for the 12th.
Still its faster than waiting 3 months for an eye appt, at least lol. or nearly 2 years for a referral to the rheumatologist.
Or the best one of all more than 3 months to be informed that my results were abnormal from a scan i had done, they simply forgot.
Then last year i had a load of blood tests and was told they were all normal only to come home one day and open the mail to find out they were abnormal.
You might be lucky depending where you live and what hospital you get, if you get a choice of hospital make sure you choose the best one xx
I've never heard of booking your own hospital appointment before. I live near Cardiff so I'm guessing there will be a couple of options.
Thats not too long a wait, not I'm certain it happens it's made me a bit anxious.
I feel like I'm always at the doctors with a new issue, and feel like I'm being a nuisance. Or a drama queen.
It all seems very dependant on what doctors you get to see, and doing your research into them. If you get the wrong one it seems to delay everything and some consultants are too eager to sign you off back to your gp. I have been very lucky so far
I know what you mean, i think we all feel like that, there are such alot of symptoms. one thing i know for sure though is that its not in my head, so i wont have any doctor fobbing me off with the depression route. My health gets me down but thats not the same thing as depression. I feel the doctors are too happy to prescribe pills for depression and dont do enough to find the real cause. so at least i feel lucky to be getting tested for the sleep apnea, then it can be ruled in or out.
Keep trying to get answers and dont give up although i dont see how they could refuse you when your partner said you did stop breathing. They need to find out whats causing it. xx
Called choose and book now.
Quack gives you a letter they have put you on the system then you contact them often have a choice of places they seen what appointments you can have. you get a Quacks password on one sheet you need
Hi Broomesa I am so sorry to hear about this it must be worrying. I hope you manage to get some support and this changes soon for you.
I tend to agree with BlueMermaid3 a few people on here do suffer I would definitely recommend seeing your GP.
Good luck my friend
Thanks for the reply'. Does anybody know how long the wait time is for a sleep clinic? I waited 37 weeks for a rheumatologist and don think I could stand to wait that long for this x
I am sorry but I have no idea what the waiting time is.
I waited over a year for a Pain Clinic appointment, then a further 3 months to wait for an assessment then another 3 months to have some treatment (which actually didn't work but made things worse!).
Unfortunately the NHS just cannot cope with the amount of patients needing help so most waiting lists are extremely long.
Lu xx
I didn't have to wait to long. The test showed I stopped breathing 21 times in an hour. No wonder I felt so tired. I was given a cpap mask and it's not long ago I put a post on here asking if anyone else had one. It definitely works but takes a lot of getting used to I also think I do the stopping breathing thing during the day too. Since using the mask I'm more aware of my breathing.
My doctor thought this could have been the answer to a lot of my health issues but unfortunately not. I'm not as tired but still fatigued if that makes any sense. Be good to know how you get on. X
Good morning all
In my quest for a diagnosis my Dr. ordered a sleep study. We found out two interesting facts...I do NOT have sleep apnea and when I fall asleep I skip the restorative stages of the normal sleep cycle, going directly to REM. After and hour or two my body tells my brain I am rested and ready to face a new day. [I am not]
This crazy sleep cycle leads to sleep walking, insomnia, exhaustion, day time napping etc.
Hi Sharon
Yes my Rheumatologist explained pretty much the same thing to me but in a slightly different way.
He said this is what causes Fibro rather than it being a symptom.
Hopefully that made some sense!
Lu xx
Hi Blue,
I am convinced that fibromyalgia is, in part, a sleep disorder.
~S
Yes I agree completely with you! xx
Interesting BlueMemaid3 & Cape_Cod_Sharon, was there any treatment for that? Anything offered to you?
(how do you add the linked name text??)
not that I am aware of. My Dr put me on Elavil [amitriptyline] to help me stay asleep but it doesn't work. I don't stay asleep, just wake up groggy.
Hi, this is exactly how i sleep - going straight into REM sleep... ever since i was about 11 years old. I am 42 now, sleep aponea diagnosed 2012. I have ME, fibromyalgia too. (Not a firm diagnoses on either only probable!). Is there any effective treatment for this?☺
Thank you for all your replies. It's reassuring to know a lot of other people have the same issue.
I will see my gp next week, I'm not too worried, I must have had it a while and no adverse effects so far x
Hi Broomesa
I am so truly sorry to read this my friend and as BlueMermaid3 says I suffer with Sleep Apnea and use a C-PAP Machine to stop me holding my breath. I would definitely talk to your doctor about this and ask for a referral to ''Clinical Measurements'' so it can be monitored. I want to sincerely wish you all the best of luck and please take care of yourself my friend.
All my hopes and dreams for you
Ken
I was diagnosed with sleep apnea a few years ago and I have been compliant with my CPAP machine ever since. It took me a while to find a mask that would work for me. I am able to use the headgear with the nasal pillows. The pillows fit just inside your nostrils and are quite lightweight and I now find that it is just very comforting to put them on knowing that I will get a restful night's sleep (unless I am up worrying a bit as I am just now). I can recommend the use of a CPAP and the pillows.
My gp recommended a sleep study and it was there when I first learned that I had sleep apnea.
Yes. I went and stayed in hospital for a night to check whether I had this, my husband too told the doc that I stopped breathing sometimes they Did a chart they said it was mild,. Got this contraption,. Large thing,. Friend had one in France that is much smaller,. Too bulky to take away,. Once you start with it you have to use it all the time,. It's awful. I sleep very badly, so I don't know how they got any reading,. So I tried it on and off over a period of around a year, but when I went to go on a. Cruise they had to check the thing,. After I gave them readings. I decided I was not going to use it and sent it back,, try it and see what you think of it,. It did nothing for me,. We now sleep separate rooms.
I suffer with sleep apnea and now wear a Cpap machine at night . You will take a test called Epworth my Gp did mine on line and I was then referred to a sleep clinic who gave me a sleep monitor to wear for 2 nights at home and I was then diagnosed . You can find the Epworth test here circlecity.co.uk/sleepdesk/... may be worth you doing,
I waited 2 weeks (this can vary a lot round the country I'm in Manchester and lucky that we have two very good sleep clinics in the area so we shorter weight times , I know in some areas it's 10 weeks before initial consul) for my initial referral they issued me with the monitor on the Friday and I had to return Monday to the reception at the clinic , then waited 4 weeks for to be seen and was told I had Sleep Apnea and was then fitted with a machine , Which I took home that day , You wear a mask at night and Air (Not Oxygen) is pumped at a constant rate through the mask this maintains pressure going into your airway to stop it closing . Put simply Sleep Apnea is a floppy airway which when sleeping can close . I know I've rambled a bit but hope it helps .
Defiantly need to see someone tho
Take care x
Hi.....My OH has sleep apnoea and was always restless, twitching even kicking at night and very noisy.....then he was diagnosed with sleep apnoea and has the cpap machine which has made so much difference to his sleep...he first of all thought he would never get used to wearing the mask but now he cannot sleep without it....he also only had the overnight test for one night.....best of luck for the future...
Ive had test a few times have some but not a massive issue.mind i do stop breathing while semi awake ive noticed just like forget to breathe.
Tried a CPAP but couldn't get on with it could never get to sleep esp with mask/noise and blowing cold air out with Raynauds was interesting!
Plus i sleep on my front/side in a sort of recovery position twisted so takes pressure off my lower back/hip and can't sleep on my back or causes issues as discs drop out for one so end up numb/in pain
Yes I have I hope you get better treatment than I did they gave me a noisy uncomfortable breathing machine. I couldn't sleep with it. They said use or don't but it's all we can offer. Good luck💕
I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep aponea in 2012. 1 night with the machine they had given me is standard for this. I only managed to get 2 hours sleep that night and apologised if i had wasted their equipment with the very little sleep but was told that this had given the doctor all the information needed. Turned out that i stopped breathing 32 times per hour, i had infact stopped breathing 65.4 times in the two hours using the equipment. Cpap does not help with fatigue but does mean that my organs are not under pressure when i'm asleep..
Hello all of you who have been diagnosed with sleep apnoea, or not. I was diagnosed with the condition Obstructive Sleep Apnoea back in 1983 after my snoring got so bad that I could have won a prize for being the loudest snorer In the Guinness book of records.
Sleep apnoea comes in several different forms. Some forms are physical in nature i.e. Obstructive sleep apnoea, this is where the airway becomes obstructed in some way. The main cause is that the soft pallet at the back of the throat relaxes and obstructs the flow of air in to the airway (Trachea) When the airway becomes compromised you wake up. Then immediately fall back to sleep again. There is a pattern of sleep which starts off with you feeling tired and dropping off to sleep. The first stage of sleep hygiene is REM sleep ( Rapid Eye Movement ) this is where you dream. Stage two you fall into deep sleep. Normally for about 6-7hours. Stage three you start to wake up and again go back into REM sleep. The problem with sleep apnoea is that you vary rarely go into deep sleep because each time that your brain wakes you up because your oxygen levels go down to a level that could be dangerous for you and you can die. As a result of this you do not go into deep sleep that refreshes the body so the in the morning you feel as if you have no gone to bed in the first place. Then there is Central sleep apnoea, here there is no blockage of the trachea. The cause of this is the part of the brain that tells you that you need to go to sleep malfunctions and you keep waking up because the brain thinks that you have had 6-7 hours sleep and wakes you up continuously.
With all these types of sleep apnoea the same thing happens no proper deep sleep to refresh your body, so that you feel terrible the next day. You make mistakes, have brain fog. You fall asleep at the wheel of your car and cause an accident. If you do not get treated with a CPAP machine. ( Continuous Positive Air Pressure ) Normal air is pumped through an electric pump and tube to a mask or nasal pillows and allow you to breath normally. When I had my Sleep lab test I woke up 800 times during an 8 hour sleep study period. It might sound a lot of times but just think of it this way. Your brain is tuned in to the autonomic nervous system. The automotive system does the main work of the body so you do not have to think about doing something yourself. i.e. beating of your heart, your breathing the way that carbon-dioxide is changed automatically with oxygen and other inert gases in the lung
Please do not dismiss Sleep Apnoea as trivial because it is far from trivial. It can cause death by HEART ATTACK and STROKE. Need any more information regarding sleep apnoea.
Angelray, I am so sorry but using CPAP on a continual basis each night does improve sleep hygiene and you do feel ready to face the day with out feeling drowsy.
To the other Forum members may I ask you to reconsider your decision to stop using your CPAP machine because with out it you are severely at risk of life threatening problems such as Stroke and Heart Attack. Good luck Oldman1952.
Hello all readers of this post, I forgot to say you do not need oxygen for sleep apnoea, the air we breath is enough as we only take in 4% oxygen to help keep us alive and well. Cheers Oldman1952.
My husband has it. I wasn't sleeping well because of his snoring and would also give him a shove when I couldn't hear him breathing. He went to a doctor and spent a night at a sleep clinic. They recorded he would stop taking a breath for up to 45 seconds. Prime heart attack candidate. He now uses a machine. It's like sleeping next to Darth Vader - but the machine actually lulls me to sleep now, and he is so much better as he was previously always tired like he hadn't slept at all.
Yep I've been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea recently.
I never feel like I have a good nights sleep, because I'm waking up so much where I stop breathing, so I end up staying in bed longer because I'm so tired.
I'm currently waiting for my appointment in August to go to the sleep clinic to try a CPAP mask, hope it helps me get some decent sleep!
part of the issues i have with sleeping is my head is too hot as always trying to find a cool patch on pillow.
I have proper cotton sheets and pillow can't get on with polyester crap.
It's worth spending the extra on likes of Egyptian cotton bed wear
fibromyalgia and sleep
Sleep problems
Sleep paralysis
