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Sleep Apnea
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Re: Wanting to learn more...

Posted by Bird Watcher on March 29, 2006 at 11:19:05:

In Reply to: Wanting to learn more... posted by airwalkrr on March 29, 2006 at 10:35:05:

If you do indeed have sleep apnea, you are not alone. It is estimated that perhaps 7 to 8 percent of the adult population in the United States suffers from some type of sleep breathing disorder that can be sucessfully treated. That is a whopping 20-25 million people just in this country!

Sleep breathing disorders can be extremely elusive. That is the first thing you must know. Many people do not recognize the symptoms and many doctors are too quick to diagnose other problems such as depression if you do not present with the 'typical' or 'classic' body type, such as an extremely large neck, etc.

It would be impossible for me or anyone else, though, to diagnosis sleep apnea over the internet, but from your own description, it would be very important that you get a sleep study conducted and find out what is going on.

A diagnosis of sleep apnea from a sleep study is not the end of the world, and in fact, it would likely be the start of a new better life where you have more energy and do not get sick as often. What I'm referring to is the invention of this device to treat sleep apnea called the CPAP machine. Most of us here on the forum use one of these 'air blowers' to sleep with and do quite well with it. A CPAP machine uses slightly pressurized room air, through a nose mask, to keep your throat and airway open during sleep. There are no drugs involved with the process. These machines can be very small in size (no larger than a Kleenix box) and are extremely quiet when they are operating.

I myself am a 40 year old male and I've had a diagnosis of a sleep breathing disorder for 11 years. Before that, I was sick and depressed most of the time from not knowing why I felt so crummy. It was sleep apnea. I've been using a CPAP device for all this time and live a normal life.

I would STRONGLY suggest taking action quickly because continued use of Ambien or other sleep medications can be a bad thing and may be masking (and not treating) the apnea, if indeed you do have it.

If you do not have medical insurance, I would get insurance as quickly as possible, even if it means purchasing private insurance.

I could go on for some length to describe everything that I know about the process of determining if you have a sleep breathing disorder, but I hope this response will bring about more thought about it for you.

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  • Sleep Deprivation due to Sleep Apnea and insufficient sleep are common and can present as insomnia, narcolepsy, or idiopathic hypersomnia. In infants and children sleep problems commonly present themselves as ADD or ADHD.


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