I’m thinking about seeing a doctor about it. After some time reading about the symptoms and their long-term affects, I feel like I’ve been missing out on what real sleep should feel like.

So, for those who have it or know something about it, I have a couple of questions:

1. With the following symptoms, would you say I’m pretty likely to have it?
- Overweight
- Sleep with my mouth open and wake up with dry mouth most mornings
- breathe through my mouth almost exclusively when I sleep
- irritable/anxious/depressed, especially in the afternoons/evenings
- never feel like I got enough sleep regardless of how long I slept
- Wife says I snore, sometimes quite loud
- Wake up intermittently without any reason, and then I have to go to the bathroom

My wife says she has never noticed me stop breathing or gasp for air, but she is a sound sleeper and always falls asleep before I do. She can get to sleep in like 10-15 minutes, while it takes me at least 30 minutes, sometimes an hour or two, and that’s after the melatonin has kicked in.

2. How long does it take to get used to a CPAP machine? Does it work?

I started out w/ 3 mg like the bottle recommended, but it didn’t really do anything so I doubled the dose. It still didn’t have an effect so finally I just went all out. Is that normal? I’ve had problems falling asleep my whole life, is it possible I’m like insensitive to melatonin?

My husband was snoring and not sleeping very well for a few months. We had a lot of issues going on and neither of us were sleeping well. He went to a sleep clinic and spent one night. His AHI was 5 point 1. 5 through 14 is classified as mild sleep apnea. His oxygen saturation was 89%. He had heard all kinds of horror stories on how uncomfortable the CPAP machine was so he decided to lose some weight (20lbs so far), start exercising and eating better and taking melatonin at night for a more peaceful sleep. Both of us are doing so much better.

His DOT physical dr required a release from the sleep clinic. The sleep clinic refused to release him until he spends another night in the clinic and receives a CPAP machine. We have very good insurance and I see this as a subtle display of insurance abuse. They congratulated him on the efforts he has made to become more healthy but they refuse to acknowledge that he may be maintaining his MILD sleep apnea without any medical interference. Could I be wrong about the sleep clinic? Could he really need this contraption for his face? Can’t we control this on our own? He is sleeping fine now. Should he get a second opinion?