Did you think you had sleep apnea?

[xgrl 0]

I was wondering if anyone knew beforehand that they had sleep apnea. I'm wondering because I'm single and therefore sleep alone so I'm not really sure if I snore or stop breathing while I'm sleeping. I thought about setting up a camera but the longest my digital camera's thing will run is like 15 minutes so that doesn't really work. I have most the other symptoms like tired all the time and wake up sweating, waking up at night and so on. Just thought I would get everyone's thoughts on this to see if anyone knew they had sleep apnea beforehand?

[MicheleK 8]

I knew I had it, mainly because I woke up with horrible headaches night after night. My DH did tell me he was worried because it "sounded" like I didn't breathe sometimes at night...however, he didn't have to tell me anything I KNEW I had a problem.

I just got my CPAP and am having a horrible time getting used to it...but I know eventually I will. Hopefully after I lose weight with the band I won't need it anymore :thumbup:

[Nanook 2]

I had a slight idea only because they tested my blood oxygen level first and it was low and I also didn't do well on the breathing test, don't know what it's called and they sent me to a pulmonologist who thought I probably had it after he examined me. Otherwise I felt really drained everyday and also had problems falling asleep at night, I also snored. Of course it was all confirmed by the sleep study. My daughter who had a different WLS also had one done and she as found to have disrupted sleep due to her snoring and that was it.

Like the poster above I also had the headaches.

[Julia_N 2]

Xgrl, you're just going to have to start sleeping with someone to find out if you have sleep apnea. :thumbup:

[RestlessMonkey 7]

LOL at Julia. But would she really sleep?

Xgrl you can't always tell if you have it. Being tired all the time is a symptom of that and about 100 other things too...if your surgeon or primary doc thinks you might be, surely one of them can refer you for a sleep study.

[*slim* 2]

I knew something was wrong with my sleeping patterns. I would wake up several times a night (a couple of times choking to breath). I was so tired during the day that by lunch time, I was exhausted. I finally told my PCP who sent me for a sleep study. I have been using my CPAP now for 2 years. I can't sleep without it now. I figure I will continue to use it after weight loss because it soothes me. Talk to your doctor about your symptoms. I hope this helps.

[xgrl 0]

Thanks for all your answers and I would love to follow some of your advice :thumbup: I'm working on it lol. I think I'm going to talk to my PCP sometime next week and see if I can't get him to get me a order for a sleep study. Since I've been denied for insurance because I haven't been tested for sleep apnea amoung other things but my insurance pays for it so why not? Thanks everyone!

[salome000 0]

I would have dreams where I couldn't breathe or had a hard time talking in them. Then, I would wake up gasping for air. It would only happen while I was sleeping on my back. My husband said I snored so I had an idea I had SA. I did the same thing you did and got rejected because I hadn't had a sleep study.

Just a head's up...the sleep study is ROUGH! They attach all these wires to you and it's not really comfortable. I would suggest not sleeping much a night or two before because it's really difficult to sleep and that's what you're there to do.

Hopefully, they will wake you around 2am to put you on the cpap...if they do, you're close to qualifying with a co-morbidity. UH wants a score of 16 and I had a 17.9 so I've got my fingers crossed for you! Let us know how it works out!

[Maincat 14]

I knew I had sleep apnoea before the band was fitted. I had been using a CPAP machine for about three years. SA can be a very dangerous condition - falling asleep while driving etc - so please get a sleep study organised asap.

Now the weight has come off, no more SA, no more CPAP.

[xgrl 0]

Thanks everyone I have a appt with my PCP so I can get a referal for a sleep study....the more research i do on SA the more I think it's possible that i have it. I'll keep you updated thanks again for the advice!

[Cappy 0]

Hey xgrl:

I was diagnosed last year with SA. Although I've been snoring for probably about 10 years, my husband noticed that it started getting worse and that I would sometimes choke. The heavier I got the worse my snoring got. Then I noticed that I would wake up and my eyes would be all puffy and swollen and it felt like I didn't sleep at all the night before. At that point, I knew I had SA. So I went for my sleep study and low and behold, I have severe SA...I don't remember exactly but I think I had someting like 120 occurences a minute...YIKES!!! Been using a CPAP for 1 1/2 years and although it took about 2 months to fully get use to it, it truly does help and allows me a good night sleep...no more puffy eyes!

Hopefully once the weight comes off, so will my mask! Good luck to you!

[horseygirl 0]

I had my sleep study in July to see if I had sleep apnea. Have you ever startled awake with the feeling like you are falling? My doc says that is a symptom of sleep apnea. I had that almost every night. I finished my sleep study and found out that I did have apnea but I DO NOT snore. I thought that was pretty weird. Anyway it got me approved for a November 6th surgery date. Good Luck!:biggrin:

[Mr. Green 3]

I have never been tested, but I did snore. Found out that due to my allergies, my nose was full of nasal polyps and I had a deviated septum. Went in for surgery 2 years ago to have them fixed and snore much much less. My wife is a health care professional and she claims to have stayed away for about 2.5 hours one night observing me?? She said I never stopped breating, but who knows, maybe a sleep study is in my future??

[gottaloseit 0]

I was wondering if anyone knew beforehand that they had sleep apnea. I'm wondering because I'm single and therefore sleep alone so I'm not really sure if I snore or stop breathing while I'm sleeping. I thought about setting up a camera but the longest my digital camera's thing will run is like 15 minutes so that doesn't really work. I have most the other symptoms like tired all the time and wake up sweating, waking up at night and so on. Just thought I would get everyone's thoughts on this to see if anyone knew they had sleep apnea beforehand?

I am married and my husband has sleep apnea, so I knew what the symptoms were. I also had all of the symptoms, but was in denial. I knew in the back of my mind and in my gut that I had it. I woke up through the night, was tired all day, etc. I spoke with my pcp about it and he sent me to have a sleep study done and I was diagnosed a month ago. I know sleep with a cpap and I have had some of the symptoms go away slowly. Well especially the night time ones (don't wake up as often). I feel a little better each morning. I'm sure there are online questionaires that you can take (don't know of any sites but there are questionaires online for everything). Good luck and you really should get that taken care of, sleep apnea can lead to a lot of medical problems including weight gain.

[Jaqui 0]

Hi,

This is a really good thread and I'm happy to be able to contruibute since so many of you have helped me already. I just had a sleep study on Tuesday of last week and if you have any indication that you might have sleep apnea I would suggest you get one done. It's not that horrible and it clears up any confusion if you do or don't. Although I haven't gotten my results back yet (takes 2-3 weeks) one of the main problems I am having is excessive sleepiness during the day. It's gotten so bad (in the past 3 weeks) that I've almost fallen asleep driving 3 times and I have fallen asleep at my desk several times. I can sleep (so called sleep) 8 to 10 hours per night and wake up like I haven't slept at all.

If you do a search on sleep apnea you will find alot of info on symptoms but that is the worst one for me.

Good Luck

Judy