British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association

I wasn't sure which heading to put this under because I don't know yet if I have sleep apnoea.

My GP seems to be going through a checklist, I've been tested for, well pretty much everything I think, trying to find out why I'm so tired all the time; thyroid, diabetes, anaemia. And I've seen an ENT doctor who says I have no physical problems that would be causing my snoring.

I was referred for a sleep test, overnight in hospital, and go back for the results next week. The Consultant said there were some things that made him think it was sleep apnoea and some that made him think it wasn't, so just waiting

Going to be reading around the posts on here, any advice very welcome
Dee

Hi Dee and a warm welcome to the forum.

You are doing everything right ... seeing your doc, being referred for a sleep study and then waiting for your results.

Read as much as you can, but don't get too frightened by everything you read. OSA is a life-long condition which cannot be cured but can be managed so that your quality of sleep and life improve enormously, your risk of a stroke or heart attack in your sleep falls back to normal levels and you should feel good after a healthy night's sleep.

OK it requires a lifestyle change .... wearing a mask when you go to sleep is the major change, but if you can accept that this is a positive means of making you well, then you will be surprised what the body can adapt to.

You will discover that there's a lot more people than you might have thought using xPAP machines, simply they don't talk about it and you can't see inside their bedrooms!

You will be able to do everything that you did before ... go to stay at friends' houses, go on holiday etc ... and enjoy it more because you are have more energy. Even intimacy will be unaffected by using an xPAP machine because all you need to do is slip on your mask before you go to sleep. So you've nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Don't hesitate to post if you have any questions or want suggestions. There is no such thing as a silly question. Again welcome, and please keep in touch.

Welcome Dee

This site is very helpful, friendly and informative. Ask any question at all and someone will be able to give good advice or a point in the right direction

Hi Dee and welcome!!

I was really rather frightened and worried by the whole process of waiting for a diagnosis (and scared of the actual diagnosis). But know what? Once I was diagnosed with OSA (after the initial shock sank in) and treatment started, my life changed in a way that I still find truly remarkable - quite simply, I got my old life back!!!!



Not an easy journey, but my goodness, am I glad that I was diagnosed and have the benefits of CPAP treatment.

Good luck from Spain,

Michael

Thanks for all your welcome messages
It's great to find somewhere to talk about this, I don't know anyone who has sleep apnoea that I could ask.

I think I'm pretty lucky that once I saw the consultant, things moved along quite quick, well faster than some from what I've been reading. It was working through all the tests before that that seems to have taken the most time, but just as well because they did show up I had high blood pressure.

I'll know more next week anyway, am off to read posts again, and if there's a silly question to be asked here, I'll probably be the one who'll ask it lol

Dee

Hi Dee and welcome.
More or less all been said.
As said, there is no silly questions.
Just ask

Hi,

I don't want to jump the gun here but the more I read, specially seeing so many other people talk about waking up gasping for a breath, the more sure I am that the overnight test is going to show I have sleep apnoea, alarm bells are ringing.
There are nights when it can happen 3 or 4 times that I can remember for sure, sometimes within just a few minutes of getting to sleep.
Would it help if I slept more upright?

Remind me there are no silly questions

There are definitely no stupid questions

I've tried sleeping upright too but it didn't work for me. I've tried sleeping in all sorts of different positions but with no change. Others may have had different results.

LOL yes, I bought a kind of foam wedge thing and tried that. Terribly uncomfortable, gave me a bad back and made no difference. Also tried numerous 'nostril expanders' and a MAD which didn't work either.

I asked some very random questions Dee
The people on this site have proved to be an invaluable source of advice

Hi,

Thanks for your replies, and if sleeping sitting propped up in bed isn't likely to make any difference, I might as well be lying down comfy then lol

Have to say I've never tried those nasal dilator things, but I couldn't tell you how many of those bloomin nose strips I bought, and found stuck on the pillow-case or in my hair next morning, what a waste of time and money they were and the sprays made not a blind bit of difference either. Not even prescription ones.

You're right about the advice and support here, really helpful and reassuring for new folks - thank you

I got the results of my sleep study yesterday, I'm glad I'd read and learned as much here or I probably would have been panicking a lot more. A lot.
I have severe sleep apnoea, 52 AHI - I think my ears stopped listening after I heard that. I left the hospital with a Resmed machine that I have to take back on Tuesday for them to get information off, and there's a support team I can call if there are any problems... during office hours.... that probably doesn't include Bank Holiday weekends

So, a quick demo of how to use everything from the technician, a Resmed s8 machine, a Resmed Mirage Quattro mask and user manual, a ResScan data card that no-one mentioned was in the case, and I'm pretty much left to it till Tuesday!
And the least said about how I got on with the mask the first night the better - I'm determined to get it right, tonight will be easier fingers crossed.

Hi Dee,

I panicked too when I was diagnosed (with an AHI of 66) and happily found this forum that was a tremendous help. The journey ahead is not painless and I struggled with the machine and mask for a few weeks, then suddenly it all kicked in and my goodness did I feel so good.

It is so amazing to get my previous life back and to have an energy level that I never really envisaged would be possible again during the two previous years up until diagnosis.

You have done everything right. A positive attitude is a tremendous help and you will get there!!!You are not alone and I wish you every success on the journey ahead.

Michael

Hi again Michael,

Thanks for your encouragement, it's a huge help to read how other folks cope with first getting diagnosed and then starting on cpap, I've been reading your posts.

I didn't expect instant overnight success, and it was more than likely a happy accident that the mask didn't give me so much grief last night. I actually felt like I'd had a bit of a lie-in this morning
Been a long time since I woke up anything other than k-nackered lol.

Dee

Just wait till you ACTUALLY DO have a lie in Dee - the feeling is fantastic!!! I wake up refreshed now every morning and raring to go. The mask is like a second skin for me now - I automatically reach out and put it on after a read every night and have never had problems keeping it on overnight (although at the biginning I would happily have taken it off and thrown it across the room!). It is definitely now a very good friend!
I am sure there will be good nights and bad nights over the next few weeks (I remember thinking I had cracked it after about week 4 and then suddenly having about 4 or 5 nights of virtually no sleep with the mask which was depressing to say the least). But you will get there!!!

Michael