Hi to you both and thanks for your replies.
I did the Epworth Test and the result can out within the normal range.
I've actually been quite unwell this week with my sinuses really sore and everything blocked up, so my snoring has got worse. However, my other half tells me that I snore pretty much constantly - it's just louder and more persistent sometimes.
I'm just back from my GP and was expecting a bit of a battle to be honest, given the previous experiences I've had. However, I've been thinking about it a lot in the past few days and the problems really seem to be related to my nose. I spoke a lot more about things I've been noticing. Like, when I've tried to exercise in the gym, I can't breathe through my nose because its painful to do this. I also get a headache during and after exercise too, like I've put a strain on something by doing this. Sometimes my nose and eyes just run constantly without any real trigger and I've frequently taken to plugging my nose up with what I refer to as 'nasal tampons'! (I fold and roll up bits of toilet paper and plug up my nostrils, then replace them when they become soaking wet - if I didn't do this, I'd be constantly wiping my nose and sneezing). I often get really intense fizzy feelings in my nose, or stabbing pains and the only way to stop them is to pinch my nose very firmly and even t the point of inflicting pain to stop the discomfort of this sensation. I'm also waking myself up frequently by the noise I make. Using steam to try to clear nasal passages was also only making a minimal improvement, which wore off within 15 minutes afterwards. I was constantly using Vicks Sinex to try to unblock my nose and it was actually painful and felt like it was burning the inside of my nose. However, I persevered with it because using it resulted in about 30 minutes of respite, where I could breathe through my nose without restriction.
Anyway, this GP was different from the last GP I saw and he has given me antibiotics because he agrees I have a sinus infection, but he has also made a referral to an ENT Consultant (don't know how long this will take to come through though). He suspects I may have nasal polyps. I've never even heard of this before, but I just searched online and it really seems like a possibility as people who are asthmatic and have seasonal allergies are more likely to develop them (I have both) and they can affect your taste and sense of smell (my sense of smell is definitely poor, and I hadn't really thought about taste till today, but that seems to have been slightly affected too). I'm actually really hopeful that this is what is wrong because then I know it can be treated and that things will get better. My other half seems a bit more understanding about it now too, although I do appreciate that his sleep patterns are getting messed up because of me.
Just wanted to thank you both again for your supportive advice - and the owners of this forum too. I really was at my wits end the other day and this place was really informative and supportive. It's amazing the effect that this can have on your entire health and wellbeing.
I'll keep in touch and say how I'm getting on as I'm now thinking that information on nasal polyps indicates they are really common, so plenty of other people must be getting affected by this too.
