Is it sleep apnea?
OK, first I was wondering of the symptoms of sleep apnea, like fatigue in the mornings, headaches, etc.
Second, I was wondering if it was possible for me to have sleep apnea but not ever remember waking up. Also, my boyfriend says he doesn’t notice anything but he always falls asleep before me and sleeps very heavily.
Additional: I used to snore and my dr. said it was highly likely I had OBSTRUCTIVE apnea, my throat was blocked by my tonsils. I had them removed but the fatigue, headaches, symptoms, etc. haven’t gone away at all.
What is the name for the apnea that is caused by a malfunction of your brain? Is it possible for me to have that type?
—additional: no, I am not overweight but do endure high levels of stress
Tagged with: brain • fatigue • headaches • levels of stress • sleep • symptoms of sleep apnea • tonsils
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Symptoms
All the above are great answers. What you need to do is ask your doctor to refer you to a sleep disorder clinic for assessment. ‘Apnea’ actually means a period where you stop breathing. You have a ‘sleep-over- hooked up to a bunch of wires and your sleep is closely monitered by computers. That’s the only was to find out for sure. It’s not uncomfortable and is actually quite interesting. It’s very important that you get your condition properly assessed because if you don’t do anything at all you could have major health problems or even die. Heart attacks, strokes, nervous disorders, etc. You could even fall asleep at the wheel of your car and get in a very serious accident. When I went for my sleep study they found that during a 7-hour sleep I stopped breathing (apneas) almost 500 times, once for as long as 50 seconds. For me it’s OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) … that’s the most common kind. Since then (8 years) I use a CPAP machine when I sleep (continuous positive air pressure). Awkward at first, but I got used to it very quickly. Have a good look at sleep.com for lots of information. Please don’t try to diagnose yourself … see a sleep specialist because your life may depend on it. Good luck!!
My husband had sleep apnea a few years ago, he had this diagnosed by attending a sleep clinic and wires and sensors placed all over him to measure the amount of times he woke up. he had a total of 117.
Sleep apnea is when you stop breathing and your body wakes itself up to get it going again, then you fall asleep again, you would not remember being "awake" as you aren’t fully awake. He went to see the doctor because he was falling asleep in the day alot, he was prescribed a nasal spray and we changed his pillow, losing weight also helped him too.
Hope this helps
Please spend some time doing some research of your own on http://www.webmd.com. It’s a very well designed website for preliminary self-help and then go see a doctor if you need too. I’m self, but not clinically, diagnosed with sleep apnea and my girlfriend says I stop breathing many many times for extended periods (up to a minute) during my sleep. I thrust awake and upwards to capture "air" at times when stressful days are added.
The one thing I’ve found that works for me is to remember to sleep on my stomach instead of my back when the symptoms are worse. There’s nothing less agravating than being extremely exhausted throughout a working day and thinking that I had a full night’s sleep. (argh, I mean ARGH).
Anyway, good luck with that!
Yes you can have sleep apnea and not remember waking up during the night. You are never going into REM sleep, which means you aren’t getting the full rest you need.
Sleep apnea is obstructive. Are you overweight? Having the tonsils removed can help OSA (Obsructive Sleep Apnea) but there may be other things blocking when you fall asleep as well. You entire airway is collapsing, and just one small part of that is your tonsils. A cpap machine would help to alleviate this problem.
Central apnea is a neurological disorder that is very rare in adults. I doubt you have that.
I think the best thing for you to do is to consult your physican and get a sleep study done.
Sleep apnea is not usually stress related