Sleep Apnea possible misdiagnosis?
I just had a sleep study done at my local sleep center and the doctor diagnosed me with sleep apnea. I am having a little apprehension about this diagnosis because my symptoms do not match any of the normal symptoms. I have fatigue, difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, sleep walking and talking(the talking more frequent) and hallucinations while I am sleeping. The last symptom is almost like I am half asleep but I am conscious of my surroundings. For example, I was sleeping but I thought my puppy was laying on the bed with me but he clearly was not. I just wanted to know if anyone else has had my symptoms or even I would like your general input.
Tagged with: apprehension • diagnosis • fatigue • hallucinations • puppy • sleep • sleep apnea • sleep center • sleep study • surroundings
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Symptoms
It’s most likely sleep apnea. You could also have another disorder as well but if you did, I’d be surprised the doctor didn’t go over it with you. The breathing problems could cause you to not go into a deep sleep, so your mind is still racing, thinking, conscious, etc. Which will give you fatigue, hallucinations, sleep walking/talking, difficulty staying asleep.
Sleep Apnea has a wide range of symptoms/effects, so I’m sure you weren’t misdiagnosed.
To get to sleep easier, I have two things that always work for me (I had the same problem)
Try tylenol PM (even half of one) because it helps you get to bed. Also, try counting down from 200. Your mind should be cleared by the time you get to 150 and you will drift off around 120. If that works and you continue, once you get used to the numbers 0-200, try starting at 300, then 400, etc. The more you recite them, the more you will become familiar with them and the more familiar you are with them, your mind will easily get distracted instead of counting/falling asleep. Both of those work for me every time.
Some other things I have heard that work for people me and others are:
Maybe you’re room is to cold or hot. I actually open my window at -2 outside just because I get hot easily
Warm milk
Listening to a fan
Music on a low level
relax every muscle (start with your toes. squeeze them for 5 or 10 seconds, then move onto the next muscle a little higher up, and continue until you finish your entire body or fall asleep)
Try eating or drinking foods with tryptophan 30 minutes you go to bed. Tryptophans are a chemical that make the body sleepy. Don’t eat a lot because when you fall asleep, your body will still be working digesting the food instead of sleeping. Foods that have tryptophans are bananas, turkey, milk (warm or cold) and more which can be easily looked up.
Of course if nothing else helps and the lack of sleep is interfering with your work/school or quality of work, you can always contact your doctor or a local sleep specialist/center
To get a better quality of sleep, make sure you don’t have much on your mind or any worries because even though you don’t think you think about them during your sleep, you actually do and it will cause you to wake up in the middle of the night. Also try to make sure there are no noises or lights. If you sleep with someone or a pet, don’t expect to get a great nights rest. If you have an exciting or scary dream or have to go the bathroom, that will also cause your sleep to be more poor so try to avoid disrupting dreams if you can (I know it sounds hard, but it’s possible) and use the bathroom before going to bed.
Now that I’ve gotten a regular sleeping schedule, I can get to sleep within 20 minutes or less without counting, focusing, etc.
Good luck
here is what this factory guy understands bout this subject,,,,,sleep apnea may have 3 components,central=the brain sleep center periodically ceases to send electrical impulses to diaphragm,intercostal (rib) muscles,decreasing ventilation,,,,peripheral=diaphragm and rib muscles lose capacity to cyclically expand,contract and accomplish ventilation and breathing,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,=obstructive,,,,,deformations to naso pharynx,throat,larynx prevent smooth flow of air in and out,,,,,sleep studies look at,monitor all three,and note pauses,physiological blocks to air flow,,,,,,,,,it is possible that you could have one or more of all of these symptoms,have negative results in the study,,,,I.E,doctor says "you are fine,no sleep apnea is present",,,,,and still feel wretched,tired during the day,,,,this was my experience with a chicago horsepistol…1990,,,,,,"your architecture is fine ,no sleep apnea",crappa,I was still sick as a dog,and the technology was inadequate,,,what I did was to look for medical literature in thrift shops,found a book called "the yeast connection"…got the name of a practitioner in hinsdale,,this guy was an m.d,a member of the american academy of environmental medicine,,,,and treated the problem as a dinged up immune system,,with allergies to dust,mold,chicken,pets,,a sedimentation rate test and skin tests done by a board certified allergist showed 492,,this was badly elevated,,(200 being normal),,,,utter avoidance of chicken is still necessary,the hinsdale guy put me on a yeast,sugar,beef,dairy,chicken free diet,,,,,no junk food snacks,colas,pops,sugars,,,,, r.x. was sub lingual drops,nystatin to kill g.i. yeast,diflucan to kill crypto fungus in cerebrospinal fluid,these measures put me on the mend in 3 days,I put on 15 lbs .up to normal weight,made me feel like tony the tiger.The tenets of these Dr’s are that common foods,man made and nature occurring chemicals,and biological heredity are factors in many common illnesses,and can be improved on these assumptions often,,they’re not a cure all,but then,no dr issues a cert of guarantee.polio,meningitis,cytomegalovirus,mononucleosis may have sleep apnea as a component,you feel the symptoms,tests show negative,,,,,,,i.e. inconclusive results,you still feel crappy,mainstream Dr’s either do not know about these clinical ecologists,and they ought to,,,,,,or have cursory knowledge from medical school,and are taught that aaem techniques are baseless and ineffective,the numbers of health problems asked on yahoo indicate that the mainstream folks are behind the times.Your sleep study may show the parameters for sleep disorder,and a mechanical assist,like face mask,breathing nighttime respirator may help greatly.doc might also prescribe antidepressants,,,,you ought to try these.if doc says yer depressed and anxious,he treats you like a dead mouse,or patronizes you,something else needs to be done,,,these aaem docs cost 800 to 1k$,due and payable upfront, the initial appt take 3 to 5 hrs,,this covers initial testing,skin tests,blood drawn,and you bring to the appt 6 to 10 pages of health diet,and chemical exposure, history about you and your family,you will have fasted on mineral water for 11 hrs before appt,if you look at aaem website,tutorials about mold and fungus may be viewable,,,,,but their specialty is dismissed by mainstreamers,and having an insurance company pay to send you as a referred patient,you would deserve the congressional medal of honor.My ax to grind was these nice fellas in mainstream allopathic practice sent me packing sick as a dawg,and the other aaem guy put me on the mend