British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association

[b hi everyone its great to find this site.i have been suffering with osa for over 6 years and now finally i have been diagnosed with it.i guess it all started in 1999 i was working on the checkouts at a well known supermarket,i suddenly found that i was falling asleep whilst serving the customers and it was like a curtain coming down over my eyes constantly.well i left i thought i must be so bored with the job.then i started waking up every 20-40 mins at night to go to the loo.come the morning i would have a dreadful headache right in the forehead so i would take strong painkillers and i would fall back to sleep whilst sitting up in the armchair! this could be for as long as 5 hours some days.it was getting to the stage where me and hubby had no life cause it all depended on how i felt in the morning.we went to the doctors who sent me for blood tests,they came back ok.my husband told the doctor that i would wake up choking and gasping for air etc,so he sent me to an ear nose and throat specialist who decided that the only thing he could do for me was cut my epiglotis out.well i was'nt up for that no way.so i was back to square one again.then things got really bad i was sleeping virtually all day some days.falling asleep in the middle of eating my dinner or while on the phone or having a face to face conversation it was ridiculous.then at night i would be so tired that about 3-5 times a week i would fall off the toilet because i had dozed off and land head first in front of the toilet.then sleep paralysis which was scary so off we went back to the doctor (different one) asked him to refer me to a sleep clinic through the nhs.got a reply back from southampton from the consultant saying that as my pct would only fund diagnosis and not treatment she was not prepared to see me as it was pointless! well my daughter phoned around and we went privately(daughter paid bless her) to see dr hopkirk at midhurst king edward v11 hospital.after a couple of weeks of home sleep trials he diagnosed severe sleep apnoea.i now use my cpap and have a setting of 16.i have had fun and games with different masks but i now use a full face mask which cost us £120.00.when i wake in the morning my chest is aching but once i start moving it goes so i think that must be to do with the pressure maybe.i am 52 and classed as morbidly obese as i weigh in at 23st the pct has awarded me funding for a gastric bypass op which is being done in the next few weeks so i am hoping that next year i will be osa free. thanks for your patience reading my story have a good day love shirl xxx[/b]

Welcome from another recent discoverer of this wonderful forum.
I had never heard of OSA until my GP suggested that I might have it.
Since finding this Forum, thanks to a good friend of mine who sent me the link to here, I have had my eyes opened. (Pun intended!)
I think that we could all take the view that funding and budgets are the real stumbling blocks for our quest for treatment.
Instant cures do not happen, but a few weeks on CPAP has contributors praising these machines and thanking the day that they were given the machine. People are getting their lives back. People are more productive in work, families, social gatherings, etc. One machine can save thousands of hours and thousands of pounds (£) of lost time, effort, expenditure, and of course, sleep.
We are hearing daily of prisoners being tortured around the world, by prison guards who deprive them of sleep. Amnesty International and other 'voices' are up in arms about this terrible treatment of human beings. Well folks, we know exactly how those prisoners feel!!! But try and get funding to sort out the problem and we're up against a brick wall.
I have had to accept that we are a silent minority. (pun intended again) Unless our local authorities and MPs are made aware of this situation, I doubt that we can make any headway. I cannot start shouting and screaming yet because I am yet to be told that I do have OSA. I'm in a state of limbo, mentally and administratively.
Having seen the news this week of several hospitals having to sack nursing staff, I don't hold out much hope for a speedy resolution to our plight. Even the NHS staff are suffering because of tight budgets. We're losing sleep for years and the NHS staff are now losing their jobs. It's a bloody mess!!!!

Welcome Sleepyshirl! Thank you for your courageous post. I do hope that you start to feel better soon - but from what you describe, I would suggest that you contact your doc again because it sounds that you have a bit more than OSA because you fall asleep in inappropriate places ... ask if you can be investigated for NARCOLEPSY, which requires a different line of treatment; this might get you some help before you finish your long wait for the gastric op.

Keep on posting - and please know that you are not alone out there, and that OSA is NOT your fault.

Kind regards,

Alsa

Hi Shirl

I don't think its a proven fact but I've found that I'm losing weight now that I'm sleeping, my own theory is that if your body isn't getting enough rest it doesn't have time to metabolise your food intake properly. I suppose it also helps that I now have enough energy to eat properly rather than just grabbing whatever prepacked processed crap is to hand. Again it may be psycholgical but I think I've rediscovered tastebuds I didn't know I had before so food is actually tasting nicer as well.

yes i guess if you do sleep properly it helps to lose weight.i have been overweight all of my life but as i have gone past the 45 age mark that was when i started having problems.although i was overweight i was quite fit i did a lot of walking rode a bike and never suffered from high blood pressure or had chlosterol problems at all.this week i have slept better than i have for 6 years and i gave up smoking in january so food tastes better for me too.as i said in my post i am soon to go into hospital for weight loss surgery so hopefully this time next year my osa should be a thing of the past(fingers crossed)thanks for your post. love shirl xxx

Hi Sleepy,

Are u using CPAP ? You said sleep Openea will be past how come ? I will also like any other treatment.

Hi Sleepy,

Thank you very much for reply. Day before yesterday buy CPAP. Yesterday was first night and it is a mixed reaction for me. I wake up one time and had 5-6 hour sleep.

In morning I was feeling good for some times. I am having little chest pain and feeling like Temp.Any way this was first day, lets hope for the good. I will be in touch of all freinds for help and guidence.

Wish you all happy week end.