Severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
Discussion
Just been diagnosed with the above would like to here from any other sufferers as to what they did to stop/reduce it .
I have been given the Cpap system to try at night ,I did a test a few weeks ago over night and they found I had not been taking a breath at times for three minutes no wonder I always feel tired !!!
I have been given the Cpap system to try at night ,I did a test a few weeks ago over night and they found I had not been taking a breath at times for three minutes no wonder I always feel tired !!!
HarryFlatters said:
I think the normal advice is to lose weight (if you're overweight) and stop smoking (if you smoke) and to avoid alcohol and sedatives.
That. If you have significant sleep apnoea in the absence of all those factors, then I guess that's where medics get more heavily involved, but otherwise, dropping some weight and never ever going to bed pissed must be top of the list.
Other general health things like sensible sleep hygiene and getting a bit of exercise - including for those who are not overweight - are generally good ideas.
Oh and use the bloody machine! You'll feel like a new man once you've adjusted to it.
Iva Barchetta said:
Can I ask what Flying Meeeces means with 'sleep hygiene " ?
Just interested as I have erratic sleep.
I suspect Google may provide a far better explanation than I can but it's basically habits and routine around bedtime and sleep that should help with getting enough good quality sleep. Mostly fairly basic stuff like going to bed a sensible-ish and consistent-ish time, and actually getting up in the morning, but also stuff like getting the lights dim and screens off a bit before you try to sleep, actually switching the lights off at sleeping time rather than accidentally kipping off with everything still on (or is that just me?)… the phrase 'self care' always feels a bit twee, but it's all generally just maximising your chances.Just interested as I have erratic sleep.
On an individual note, other stuff that's made a difference to me: comfortable night clothes - just a basic tshirt for me but no scratchy seams, tight bits round biceps etc, half decent bedding (I'm not talking anything posh and expensive but at least not Ikea's cheapest), a fitted sheet the right size for the mattress so I don't wake up with it trying to give me a wedgie…
You can develop apnea as you get older through the muscles in the throat becoming weaker, especially if you have a short jaw. So if your side profile looks a little undershot for example, this can cause it.
If this is the case, get a referral to the sleep clinic as you might find you need an op to advance your jaw. You will look different but breathing is quite handy sometimes.
If this is the case, get a referral to the sleep clinic as you might find you need an op to advance your jaw. You will look different but breathing is quite handy sometimes.
bernhund said:
You can develop apnea as you get older through the muscles in the throat becoming weaker, especially if you have a short jaw. So if your side profile looks a little undershot for example, this can cause it.
If this is the case, get a referral to the sleep clinic as you might find you need an op to advance your jaw. You will look different but breathing is quite handy sometimes.
This would be a last resort for me I do have an under bite I think its called but really don't want to do that !If this is the case, get a referral to the sleep clinic as you might find you need an op to advance your jaw. You will look different but breathing is quite handy sometimes.
I am starting to feel a bit more alive after three weeks with the sleep mask etc
lexi 1 said:
bernhund said:
You can develop apnea as you get older through the muscles in the throat becoming weaker, especially if you have a short jaw. So if your side profile looks a little undershot for example, this can cause it.
If this is the case, get a referral to the sleep clinic as you might find you need an op to advance your jaw. You will look different but breathing is quite handy sometimes.
This would be a last resort for me I do have an under bite I think its called but really don't want to do that !If this is the case, get a referral to the sleep clinic as you might find you need an op to advance your jaw. You will look different but breathing is quite handy sometimes.
I am starting to feel a bit more alive after three weeks with the sleep mask etc
I went for the mandibular advancement and 100% happy with it. It sounds like a scary step to take and it did cause a bit of an issue at home with my wife, as I would look different. As it happens we both think I look better than before!
My situation was probably different to yours in that I had received multiple injuries from a car crash a few years before the apnea, which included punctured lungs, a tracheotomy, a jaw in 3 pieces and broken nose etc. All this could have contributed to the apnea. One thing for sure in my case was that I wasn't scared of having operations and at my age at the time (45), it was a no brainer. I wasn't prepared to spend the rest of my life on a machine.
Feel free to ask any questions if you want to or email me.
Hi All been doing a bit of looking up about this has anyone heard of this :
http://www.schlafapnoe.com/en/home/?gclid=CMma-KSP...
http://www.schlafapnoe.com/en/home/?gclid=CMma-KSP...
lexi 1 said:
I am a very slim build with a small tummy I have a very active life but don't do a main exercise as such but am about to change that I only noticed the issue as I have been unable to drive for more then 45 mins sometimes less for a few months without falling asleep
I have the same issue to the extent that I am worried about driving. I must restart sleep 20 times a night and am constantly exhausted - properly glazed over tiredness. The ex said I would simply stop breathing at night for ages. I have been to the consultant and done the test with the machine - which I removed in one of my many semi-wakeful / not asleep moments - but the appointment to discuss the results keeps getting postponed / cancelled. All the while I am getting more and more exhausted. Nothing I do relieves the tiredness either. Cocaine or speed it is then! bernhund said:
Have you tried an 'oral appliance' yet? This holds the lower jaw forward and opens your airways. I've tried both this and the CPAP, but neither were something I was prepared to spend the rest of my life with. My wife said it was like sleeping with Darth Vader when I was on the CPAP!
I went for the mandibular advancement and 100% happy with it. It sounds like a scary step to take and it did cause a bit of an issue at home with my wife, as I would look different. As it happens we both think I look better than before!
My situation was probably different to yours in that I had received multiple injuries from a car crash a few years before the apnea, which included punctured lungs, a tracheotomy, a jaw in 3 pieces and broken nose etc. All this could have contributed to the apnea. One thing for sure in my case was that I wasn't scared of having operations and at my age at the time (45), it was a no brainer. I wasn't prepared to spend the rest of my life on a machine.
Feel free to ask any questions if you want to or email me.
Hi Bernhund I went for the mandibular advancement and 100% happy with it. It sounds like a scary step to take and it did cause a bit of an issue at home with my wife, as I would look different. As it happens we both think I look better than before!
My situation was probably different to yours in that I had received multiple injuries from a car crash a few years before the apnea, which included punctured lungs, a tracheotomy, a jaw in 3 pieces and broken nose etc. All this could have contributed to the apnea. One thing for sure in my case was that I wasn't scared of having operations and at my age at the time (45), it was a no brainer. I wasn't prepared to spend the rest of my life on a machine.
Feel free to ask any questions if you want to or email me.
I am at a cross roads with trying to decide if I want to risk having the mandibular op would it be ok to Pm you a few questions ?
Returned from my consultant's appointment at Treliske yesterday after having the diagnosis confirmed. "Exceedingly" Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea. According to the consultant, my readings from the sleep test were extremely abnormal, especially considering I'm not overweight, don't drink or smoke or live particularly unhealthy. It is to do with a shortened jaw (and nasal congestion exacerbating the problem) and the only course of action is to go straight for the mask. On the scale of measurements (the unit of which I forget) where 30 is "severe" my reading was 73. I am now due to meet the nurses who deal with the mask etc to organise getting the treatment in place. Knowing this, I promptly returned home and had possibly the worst nights sleep I can recall, and in the pantheon of poor sleeping, that's going some. This is affecting me negatively in my daily life so anything that will help cannot come soon enough.
Simonium said:
Returned from my consultant's appointment at Treliske yesterday after having the diagnosis confirmed. "Exceedingly" Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea. According to the consultant, my readings from the sleep test were extremely abnormal, especially considering I'm not overweight, don't drink or smoke or live particularly unhealthy. It is to do with a shortened jaw (and nasal congestion exacerbating the problem) and the only course of action is to go straight for the mask. On the scale of measurements (the unit of which I forget) where 30 is "severe" my reading was 73. I am now due to meet the nurses who deal with the mask etc to organise getting the treatment in place. Knowing this, I promptly returned home and had possibly the worst nights sleep I can recall, and in the pantheon of poor sleeping, that's going some. This is affecting me negatively in my daily life so anything that will help cannot come soon enough.
You won't regret it. One you get used to wearing it, a month or so, you'll be having good quality sleep and you'll wonder why you didn't do it years ago.
Simonium said:
my reading was 73.
'Kin Nora that is some going. I think I was 31 or something. The first thing is that if you are diagnosed with OSA you are obliged to inform the DVLA and I'm afraid they will take your license off you unless you are treated/manage the condition.
The next step will probably be an appointment a nurse to discuss a cpap machine. Whether or not this is the long term answer for you is irrelevant. They work and if it solves your problem, get retested whilst using the machine, which will prove that it is under control and you can send the paperwork off to DVLA. I sent both the diagnosis and the retest off to them at the same time so they could check one against the other a decide that no further action was required. The alternative is that you risk your retest being lost in the system somewhere and the resulting DVLA bureaucratic nightmare/delays etc.
Like you I am fit, active, not overweight, so I don't fit the typical profile - a point pointed out to me by both doctors and nurses. I ended up (by luck) seeing one of the country's top Consultants on OSA for a second opinion and long story short it turned out to be large flaps on either side of my uvular (aye
).There was no way I was ever going to use a cpap machine, so before seeing the cpap nurse I tried a splint and this turned out to cure me. I took the retest with the splint in place, passed and resultant paper work sent to DVLA.
Randomly I took one of my wife's antihistamine tablets around 6 months ago and discovered that I could breathe clearly through my nose again. Never been diagnosed with an allergy, but I'm clearly allergic to something without realising. Being able to breathe through my nose has also made a massive difference as well - it might be worth trying this for the sake of £1.50.
There's another thread on here that might help (I posted a picture re flaps): https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff