I’m beginning to think it’s
thinksnow=Information Savior. 
just wanted to chime in…
My former employer’s son (12) had ADD and was on Ritlin. His Dr. did a sleep test and found out he suffered from sleep apnea. They removed his tonsils, and he’s doing much better now. It seems to have helped the ADD.
thanks thinksnow
I meant to include more info regarding children. From this brochure (emphasis mine):
Also, I saw it on a page this morning, but I don’t recall where, but some say there may be a link between apnea in children and ADD. Think about it: tired, restless, cranky, inattentive, poor memory in a child- sounds about right, eh?
thinksnow, that made me wonder about SIDS… Damn.
O
…and man, is that some good information, think. Thanks a million!
My husband sleeps with a CPAP machine, and has for almost 6 years now. Saved his life, I’m sure. I want him to have the surgery, but there’s no way in h*** that he’ll go for that. He’s a musician, and he sings a lot. The doctors he’s seen have told him that surgery would more than likely alter the tone of his voice, and that is just not acceptible.
But the CPAP machines do work, when they’re set properly. And always, always be sure to tell your sleep specialist about any health or medication changes you may have. My husband had to have his CPAP adjusted after he started taking anti-depressants, for instance.
Thanks again, thinksnow, for sharing this information. You may save a life or two.
ts, do you know if sleep apnea is related to stress in any way? The reason I ask is, there were two stressful periods in my life where I was occasionally aware of the fact that I had stopped breathing in my sleep: when I was in college and when I was dating my psycho (long since ex-) girlfriend. In each case, I would be dreaming about having a bad asthma attack that I couldn’t get rid of, despite using my inhaler. After a while, I would wake up and gasp for air (I had, in fact, stopped breathing). I haven’t had this experience for several years now. I am frequently tired, but I blame that on staying up too damn late and watching “The Daily Show” instead of getting my stupid ass to bed.
Also, in those sleep studies, is it possible for the whole setup (the unfamiliar environment, the instruments, etc.) to disturb your sleep in such a way as to invalidate results? I’m not questioning the validity of your results, I’m just wondering how well I (or anyone else who has trouble adjusting to that sort of thing) would do in such a test.
Strainger, apnea isn’t brought on by stress, but stress can aggravate it. In many cases (my husband’s included) there are physical characteristics that cause the apnea, such as oversized tonsils (my husband’s are freaking HUGE). He also seems to have a lot of extra tissue in his throat. The sleep specialist let me look down my husband’s throat at the first visit. I’m telling you, the airway at the top, right at the back of his throat, isn’t any larger than the length of my pinkie fingernail. Less than half an inch. It’s a wonder he can breathe while he’s awake. :eek:
I feel for ya ThinkSnow. I’ve been through the whole shebang myself. Mine was largely weight related, which doesn’t seem to be the case with you if you’re only 10 pounds overweight but in light of my history I’d try dropping them and see if it helps (I know how tough it is to drop weight, I’m not saying this lightly).
I was diagnosed with apnea while in the hospital for pneumonia a few years back. They had me do the sleep study (one night without CPAP, one night with). I couldn’t stand the CPAP machine. At the sleep study, I slept about 3-4 hours with it on then woke up and was wide awake and lay there for the rest of the night. They said it helped though and they ordered one to the home. There it was either the same as at the study (waking after 3 hours feeling wide awake) or I’d tear the mask off in my sleep and continue sleeping without it.
I had a bad attitude about the machine from the start. I was already in a bad depression from having been in the hospital and being under such strict supervision by doctors (I had been never been sick before this whole event). The thought of spending the rest of my nights attached to that thing terrified me. I was single and although I had (have) little hope of that ever changing that I couldn’t imagine how I would explain that thing to any prospective girlfriend. I know, it was shallow but that’s where I was at. My doctor relented and took me off it since it was distrupting my sleep as much as the apnea. He mentioned the surgery but by this time I had dropped enough weight that the problem was alleviating itself to the point that neither of us felt that was a viable answer.
Over a period of about 8 months from when I first went into the hospital with pneumonia I dropped about 80 pounds (I’m extremely overweight) and I found that the problems I had with apnea largely went away; no more waking up with a pounding heart and throbbing headaches, no more dozing while at work. I’ve gained about 30 of the 80 pounds back and I get occassional (once a month) attacks of apnea. I sometimes have trouble staying awake if I’m not actively engaged in something (e.g. when I have to sit at a desk at work all day with no project to work on) but otherwise I’m okay.
Whatever you do, find an answer that works for you.
I work with developmentally disabled adults. A handful of our clients have Down Syndrome. One of these gentlemen (I’ll call him Rick) was forever falling asleep during work. We would ask him about what time he went to bed at night, how much sleep he was getting, etc. Rick swore up and down that he was getting eight or nine hours of sleep. Last summer, he went on a trip with his mom, and they were sharing a hotel room. She noticed that Rick would stop breathing several times during the night. It wasn’t enough to wake him up all the way (he had no recollection of any breathing problems), but it was obvious to her. After many trips to doctors, they discovered that he has sleep apnea.
Just recently, another one of my clients who has Down Syndrome was diagnosed with sleep apnea as well. I’ve been poking around a bit on websites, and discovered that sleep apnea is fairly common in people with Down Syndrome, due to differences in their nasal passages and such. I am by no means an expert in sleep apnea or Down Syndrome, so someone else may have more info. I just thought I would mention this in case anyone has any friends or family with Down Syndrome. If your loved one seems to be having difficulty staying awake or is overly fatigued a lot, you might want to help them look into the possibility that they may have sleep apnea.
Many of the sites I’ve seen specifically mention DS as a possible cause of, or risk factor of, sleep apnea. Thank you for bringing that point out.
This is something that, obviously, affects many, many people of all ages, genders and body-types. As has been said so many times already, if you or someone you care about even thinks they might have a problem, ask your doctor if you can participate in a sleep study. It is very important, I really can’t say that enough.
By the way, if anyone is wondering how to go about getting into a sleep study, it’s pretty simple: ask you doctor.
Tell them about your symptoms and request a study. There should be quite a few, depending upon where you live. University and city hospitals will generally have a center for testing. You might have a two-three week wait to get in, but it’s better than continuing to get terrible sleep.
You forgot the added bonus that getting it taken care of will make you easier to sleep next to as well.
MUCH easier. 
I have apnea and sleep with CPAP. It’s stil uncomfortable, and I wake up with funny lines around the bridge of nose from the mask. But I sleep much better.
The first thing I noticed was the dreams. It had been a long time since I had any dreams that I could remember. The sleep study said I was waking up 7 times per hour, and not going into REM too often, so that might have something to do with it.(that is considered mild apnea)
spooje: Oh yeah, the dream thing. My husband always said that he never remembered his dreams. Turns out he just wasn’t hitting REM sleep. Once he got the CPAP, he started remembering dreams. Freaked him out, because it had just been so long since he’d gotten decent sleep.
[sub]bumping this again, because it’s really a darn good thread, and needs to be seen a lot.[/sub]
I just wanted to chime in and say that, while it mainly affects men, woman can suffer from apnea too.
I have a female friend who was diagnosed with it last year.
So don’t assume that it can’t be apnea because you’re female - if you fit the other symptoms, then it is worth getting checked out.
Thank you for some much needed public education. But where did the “1 in 10 males” come from? According to Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine, Kryger MH the incidence/prevslence in the USA is 4% of middle=age and older males and 2% of middle-age and older females. While I would accept it is somewhat underdiagnosed, I’m still asking for a cite, if you could be so kind.
Dr_Pap, MD.
I’m female and 35, but I think I may have it as well. I used to scare the crap out of my mom when I was little because I’d stop breathing and she’d have to wake me up to get to get me start again (SIDS would seem to be a valid concern, OICU812). I have always slept very lightly and woken during the night from the time I was about 10. Many nights I feel like I have not gotten any rest regardless of how many hours I sleep. O, if you get any information on a study in Tampa, let me know, okay? I have to go see my doctor soon anyway.
Dr, you seem to be correct. Oddly, while researching this, I came across a number of cites stating 8%+, but, of course, I can’t find a one of them now and that information is not in any of the sites I cited. Huh…sorry 'bout that folks.
Correction: Upwards to 5%, or 1 in 20 men, and 1-2% of the total population has apnea.
Thought I might have apnea, since I rarely remembered dreams, often wake up after only 4 hours of sleep, and usually feel very lethargic in the morning. However, after talking with the sleep Dr. we determined that I probably don’t have apnea, since I lose most of the sleepyness fairly early on, and once I start moving the lethargy also goes away, I also do not snore. So for now, we are assuming that apnea is something I don’t have really. (When I am conscious I sometimes forget to breath, but that is something different I am told.)
Your sleep Dr. is assuming?
They did the study? Hooked you up to the electrodes? What were the results?