Do I have sleep apnea?
Okay, sorry this is so long, i just had to explain myself :p
For about the past year or so I’ve been noticing that during the day I am always fatigued. Some days when i have nothing at all to do I could sleep about 16 hours. My mom didn’t think anything of it cause I’m 16 and she just thinks i stay out all night lol. I could sleep about 16 or so hours, wake up, be exhausted, and take a nap and sleep some more, then around 8 go back to sleep. I know this isn’t normal, and isn’t physically, nor mentally/emotionally healthy. I am anemic and i figured it was because my lack of iron. And thats also what my doctor told me. but recently i’ve been noticing that in the middle of the night I will get woken up due to bone aches. Not like muscle aches, but bone aches. And there so bad ill have to get up and take something and suffer through until the medicine kicks in. It’s normally like, my elbow, the bones all through my legs, and my pelvic area. I also wake in the middle of the night and catch myself not breathing. But that doesn’t happen as often as the aches. I did some research and found that i have many symptoms of sleep apnea. But i don’t want to be put on a breathing machine, because I don’t want to become dependent. I also don’t like, wanna be married and before bed have to plug up on oxygen or whatever. I was just wondering if anyone could give me any information or suggestions. Or if anyone knew if there were other procedures, not sergical, that I could take into consideration.
Thank you, if you read all of this and are attempting to help me. I appreciate it. :)
no, i am not overweight. i’m about 5’5 and weight 115. i dont have diabetes either.
And i also do not sleep on my back, I can only sleep on my stomach. And i’ve always been that way =/
Tagged with: bones • breathing machine • diabetes • elbow • lack of iron • legs • medicine • mom • nap • oxygen • pelvic area • sleep • stomach • symptoms of sleep apnea
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Machine Questions
Without a night stay in a lab. or hospital, where you will be monitored for the frequency and duration of a "stop breathing status", usually caused by obstruction of the air flow into your lungs, you can never be sure of your status. True that tiredness is typical with sleep apnea, usually helped by the CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machine which you mentioned, or by laser removal of throat tissue which may cause the obstruction (office procedure by a physician). Here are things you can do: 1. Try to raise the upper portion of your bed, by either inserting something under the mattress or what is available at pharmacies known as a foam wedge. 2. Try not to sleep on your back all night long. This can be accomplished by locating an object on your back (tennis ball, etc.), so when you roll over in your sleep you will not remain on your back. 3. Keep a water bottle handy to simply wet your mouth, since chances are your nose may be obstructed as well, causing you to sleep with your mouth open.
Throat obstruction is usually caused by floppy tissue, which by gravity, as you sleep on your back, will block your throat. Some persons stop breathing for even 1 minute, which causes them to wake-up suddenly, or fight in their sleep as if they were being asphyxiated. If you do have to end-up using a CPAP machine, keep in mind one must do what one must do to stay healthy. Sleep apnea and high blood pressure are usually connected. I wish you the best!
Sounds like you could have more serious
medical problems than sleep apnea. See your doctor.
Are you overweight? This could cause the problems you discribed.
Type 2 diabetes?
See your doctor. Really.
Your hormones are out of control and doing all sorts of weird things to you. Assuming your weight is under control, it is unlikely that you have osa (obstructive sleep apnea). I am 30 and meet a lot of the criteria as well (since the symptoms are not that specific). I would recommend seeing a pulmonologist and/or sleep specialist to get a sleep study done, but again it is very unlikely you have it at your age.
As for treatments there a several options.
There is UPPP surgery (uvulopalatoplasty) which basically reconfigures you throat.
CPAP/Bilevel/VPAP are all noninvasive methods of splinting your airway open, but do involve masks.
As far as sleep apnea — you may have it or you may not. It requires an overnight sleep study to find out. There are other things that can cause the symptoms you such as hypothyroidism, or possibly even a different sleep disorder (there are about 80 classified sleep disorders).
As to breathing machine (CPAP machine) — they don’t make you dependent, unless you consider getting a good night’s sleep dependency.
As to other solutions (not surgical) — weight loss, staying off of your back when sleeping, no alcohol or drugs before bedtime, etc.