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Anyone experience if sleep apnea?

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Sally W

Sally W

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I struggle to sleep waking myself up snorting every night. However, once I get to sleep eventually I then sleep till early morning.

Seems odd to me and I currently manage by taking piriton tablets occasionally after several nights of lack of sleep.

GP told me to lose weight, which is right. In short term any advice much apppreiated. @mikeyB can you help?
 
I bought a fitness tracker as I need to lose a stone and a half. It tracks my sleep and has been telling me my breathing quality was low "Glossopharyngeal discomfort can negatively impact on breathing quality during sleep" didn't realise my breathing was so bad during sleep, sometimes a bit wheezy as I have Asthma. Still trying to work out how it knows all this from my heartbeat.
 
@Sally W - if you have (or think you might have) sleep apnea it can be dangerous if not managed properly, so I'd really advise you to see a doctor about it, and if they don't know much about it, ask them to refer you to a sleep specialist. R's brother has it and he has to sleep wearing a mask to help him to breathe properly.
 
TheClockworkDodo said:
@Sally W - if you have (or think you might have) sleep apnea it can be dangerous if not managed properly, so I'd really advise you to see a doctor about it, and if they don't know much about it, ask them to refer you to a sleep specialist. R's brother has it and he has to sleep wearing a mask to help him to breathe properly.
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Thanks Juliet. Doctor said it wasn’t & told me to lose weight. Seems may not be as i have it dropping off to sleep for couple of hours then I sleep for a few.
 
With severe sleep apnoea you tend not to get any quality sleep and are sleeping through the day can drop off day time at a drop of a hat. Snoring is one of the signs you may have sleep apnoea, and if you wake up through the night and feel like you've not slept a wink. People with severe OSA usuallywill need to use a CPAP.

I was diagnosed years back but I am not treated for it as I do believe my apnoea has improved ie I may not have it any more. One of the things that I had was the back of the throat collapses when the body relaxes for sleep I could not and do not now lay flat but have upper body slightly raised.

If you think you may have it even thought the doc says he doesn't think you have you can ask for a referral to the hospital to be fitted with a 24 hour monitor which will measure what happens while you sleep.

Being overweight can cause it but some people have it who are not overweight. Likewise if you are over weight and lose some, symptoms of sleep apnoea may go away. The other thing worth keeping in mind is not everyone who is overweight has sleep apnoea.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sleep-apnoea/
 
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Sleep apnoea puts quite a strain on the heart, and losing weight might not make any improvement.
I had an overnight assessment and my oxygen levels were dropping off the bottom of the graph, so I have a CPAP machine to use every time I go to sleep.
I snore terribly if i do not use it, and wake with a dry mouth and throat plus I bite the inside of my mouth when I am jolted awake through low oxygen levels.
 
Thanks for above replies. I’d seen the NHS advice Jodee. It seems very odd to me that it’s intermittent and have 3 weeks of exhaustion, bad mood etc & then 2 weeks of relatively good sleep. Also it’s accompanied by blocked nose, although no cold or flu. Maybe another doctor is the answer.
 
Could be something blocking your nose, like nasal polyps, which is causing the problem, rather than something as serious as sleep apnoea? But either way, I'd be talking to a doctor if I were you - a different one if the original one you saw is unhelpful.
 
Funny you should say that Juliet. I have noticed days I get it my nose is blocked. Not like a cold though. I mentioned polyp to doc and she looked into my nostrils. I thought initially it was an allergy back in May but since we’re now outside hay fever season I don’t think it can be that. Surely sleep apnea would be consistent rather than intermittent problem. I think 2nd opinion may be required. (BTW thanks for your note about ecover products in garden due to wildlife - been spaced out regularly but meant to say I only use that product anyway as I’m into saving environment & wildlife). Thanks Juliet !
 
It certainly doesn’t sound like sleep apnoea if it disappears completely for a fortnight. As folk have said, the commonest cause is a high BMI, or (in women) a neck circumference 16 inch or greater. Clearly, neither of those disappear for a fortnight.

I would have thought a referral to an ENT specialist might give you an answer.

The hay fever season rather depends on what causes your symptoms. At this time of year, there are a lot of fungal pollens flying around. I get wheezy in May with tree pollens. And it’s not just plants, either. You might find that when you change your bedding, hoovering the mattress might help to reduce the house dust mite load. (Don’t worry, everybody has them).

Sorry for the delayed response to your plea, I used to work in the NHS.:D
 
It could still be allergies. Mine come and go and are much worse in Feb-May because of trees but then come and go all summer depending on weather and air quality. It may not always be pollen that makes it worse for you. It can be worth trying antihistamines (supermarkets have them dirt cheap) or a nasal spray - something like Pirinase nasal spray can also help reduce any inflammation as it’s a local steroid (you can buy it at the pharmacy).

I hope you find some answers. Poor quality sleep is horrible to live with. My friend who has apnea had all the classic symptoms including falling asleep any time she sat down and you don’t sound like you have that.
 
Sally W said:
Funny you should say that Juliet. I have noticed days I get it my nose is blocked. Not like a cold though. I mentioned polyp to doc and she looked into my nostrils. I thought initially it was an allergy back in May but since we’re now outside hay fever season I don’t think it can be that. Surely sleep apnea would be consistent rather than intermittent problem. I think 2nd opinion may be required. (BTW thanks for your note about ecover products in garden due to wildlife - been spaced out regularly but meant to say I only use that product anyway as I’m into saving environment & wildlife). Thanks Juliet !
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I have nasal polyps and I have perennial allergic rhinitis, I have symptoms most of the year to varying degrees.
 
I have perennial allergic rhinitis too, but no trouble at all sleeping. I do sleep in an exceptionally low-allergen environment anyway though, as I also have MCS.

If you want to try a steroid-free spray to clear your nostrils, Sally, you could get Sterimar - the BreatheEasy one is just salt water. Tip your head forwards as far as you can to use it (if you tip it backwards it goes down your throat) and have a hanky ready!
 
Lots of helpful responses so many thanks! @mikeyB my weight is on the up - partly due to lack of sleep - but it’s good to have thought if not being sleep apnea. I will be deep cleaning as you say. Neck is 15ins at mo. (Bet you’re pleased to be out of NHS now 🙂:(

The odd thing is when I first got the issue I lost my sense of smell for a month - it’s now back and almost gone the other way & I'm very sensitive. Not sure how they diagnose a polyp although doc felt not. @grovesy how was yours diagnosed? I had a nasal endoscope check by GP. Thanks

I love idea of getting a non steroid spray Juliet so will be looking that one up.
 
I had mine diagnosed by an ENT surgeon. I have had numerous operations to remove them over the last 40 years. They go hand in hand with allergies. I have little sense of smell.
 
My Dad had no sense of smell and perennial allergic rhinitis - I suspect he also had polyps, but as he would never see a doctor he never found out.

Sally, you can get special vacs for cleaning mattresses which have a vibrating pad which bounces the dust mites out of the mattress and a UV light which kills them (I think that's how they work, something like that anyway). Mine's a Ewbank Raycop, but I don't think they make them any more - there are Hoover ones though, and VonHaus ones, eg https://www.amazon.co.uk/VonHaus-Handheld-Anti-Allergenic-Upholstery-Mattresses/dp/B01DUDUCWE (I've no experience of using that one, just picked it because it seems to get good reviews and is about the same price mine was).
 
grovesy said:
I had mine diagnosed by an ENT surgeon. I have had numerous operations to remove them over the last 40 years. They go hand in hand with allergies. I have little sense of smell.
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Thanks Grovesy. Sorry about loss of smell for you
 
No problem it occasionally comes back but I have lived with it for years.
 
Sally W said:
Thanks for above replies. I’d seen the NHS advice Jodee. It seems very odd to me that it’s intermittent and have 3 weeks of exhaustion, bad mood etc & then 2 weeks of relatively good sleep. Also it’s accompanied by blocked nose, although no cold or flu. Maybe another doctor is the answer.
Click to expand...

I also have blocked nose problem not sure if they are related, I use sterimar nasal spray for that or Nasofed is nice a gentle also. I did have a referral to the ENT guy but in my case he said I am too narrow at the bridge from one side to the other to do anything.

I know drinking alcohol makes the snoring worse not that I drink much at all, but even a small amount when I do, probably because it relaxes things more.

Hope you find something to use when you notice things getting out of hand Sally.

Good luck
 
to find out what is going on you need a referral for sleep test which they can arrange to be done at home. mine showed something and when ent put a camera through the left side was smashed in so needed an operation.

what caused it? drinking and walking in to a door o_O didn't know i had done anything till a lot later on when i began to snore heavy.
 
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