My wife says I snore. Perhaps I do, I’m asleep at the time.
But I don’t think I have any issues with sleep apnea.
At least, it’s never been a problem serious enough to consult a doctor.
So: are these things really medically necessary, or are they a fad or a fake?
You don’t need a CPAP until a doctor suggests you get one. If you are concerned, get tested. They are not a fad and they are not fake. They help lots of people with sleep issues.
It is not at all uncommon for a sleeping partner to identify an apnea issue before the hapless victim does. By definition you’re asleep and unaware of the mictoawakenings, but your sleep quality and well-being long term can be improved by having a sleep test done (home ones are possible) and following through on the findings.
Pulmonologists are usually the speciality that handle screening, testing and treatment for sleep apnea, which is definitely not a fad or gimmick.
Honestly, that’s not necessarily something you can determine, given that you’re asleep when the issue occurs.
Until I lost a lot of weight, mine was a godsend. I was having somewhere between 20 and 30 apnea events per hours and had no idea. I was only a light snorer. After my first night with the device it was obvious that I had been operating at only partial capacity for some time. The exhaustion and brain fog lifted and was only something I could recognize in hindsight.
The only way to find out for sure if you have sleep apnea or not is to have a sleep study conducted on you.
While snoring is merely annoying (especially to sleep partners), untreated sleep apnea can have serious health consequences, including cardiac issues, stroke, and death.
I had a sleep study conducted on me in 2017. Right around the same time that I got the results of the study (which confirmed I had sleep apnea), I was diagnosed with aortic root enlargement. This malady typically has no symptoms until they get very large or burst due to an aneurysm (which can be fatal). There are some studies that suggest that sleep apnea can result in blood pressure spikes while sleeping as your body tries to wake you up so you don’t suffocate (because sleep apnea is essentially the cessation of breathing due to relaxed throat muscles while sleeping). These blood pressure spikes can cause cardiac issues such as aortic root enlargement. And the gold standard to treat sleep apnea is a CPAP.
I was prescribed a CPAP shortly after these two diagnoses and I use it religiously…I take it with me when I travel, even for an overnight stay. I’ve taken it on cruise ships. I’ve taken it to Europe. I even have a battery pack to use it while camping. It is literally a life-and-death issue with me, along with taking my blood-pressure medication.
As a side benefit, I also no longer snore while sleeping with a CPAP. But that wasn’t the primary reason I got one.
So no, not a fad or fake.
Ask your wife if you actually stop breathing or suddenly gasp when you snore. When I finally got tested they said I stopped breathing 59 times in an hour!
I used to fall asleep at work all the time, even in meetings with the boss. I finally got tested when I fell asleep while driving. It’s dangerous! As well as not being good for your heart.
You think you’re sleeping, but you’re not getting any REM sleep. Go get tested! My CPAP is the best thing ever.
Yes. I was recently diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and started using the CPAP about 6 weeks ago. I noticeably better rested each day. Now my “bad” nights are better than my “good” nights from before I started.
My undiagnosed sleep apnea was very bad. It got so I was falling asleep at my desk at work, and in my annual review my very kind bosses, rather than dinging me formally for that, said that I frequently “seemed fatigued.” Then off the record they said I needed some kind of medical intervention and soon. So I mentioned it to my doctor, who sent me for a sleep test, and I got my first CPAP a few days later.
I will never forget that first night. Not only did I sleep through the night, I don’t think I even moved once. My daytime fatigue and sleepiness disappeared, and I haven’t looked back. I still use a CPAP more than 25 years later. Without it, I might well be dead by now.
Three or four years before my diagnosis, a work friend who was with me at a conference away from home watched me falling asleep during presentations, and told me that I probably had sleep apnea and should get it checked. I had never heard of it, and she wasn’t a doctor, so I ignored her advice. More fool me.
Back when Mrs. Geek got her CPAP many years ago, she had to go into the hospital overnight for a sleep study. When I did it last year, I did the study at home. You just need to hook up this (slightly annoying) monitor stuff and go to sleep. It’s not that big of a deal.
I never had any symptoms that I noticed, just Mrs. Geek told me that I snored. But the sleep study showed that I had mild sleep apnea and a CPAP machine was warranted.
Mrs. Geek did really well on her machine. She slept a lot better and felt a lot better. She lost weight through diet and exercise and eventually the machine indicated that she didn’t really need it any more.
My experience was horrible. I have sinus issues and the machine aggravated those rather dramatically. I also have insomnia and the machine bothered that as well. I basically wasn’t sleeping for more than a couple of hours at a time and I was horribly sick from my sinuses. Since my apnea was mild, I went against doctor’s advice and discontinued the machine’s use.
YMMV.
Unless your apnea is extremely severe, you probably won’t be able to tell whether or not you need a CPAP yourself. You’ll need to have a proper sleep study done. Since they do it at home these days the sleep study really isn’t a big deal.
See your doctor.
I can second (or third) the fact that I am much more rested now. In fact, I feel more rested with only 5-6 hours of sleep on my CPAP than I did with 7-8 hours of sleep without it.
Last week, I underwent an at home sleep study using a device prescribed by my doctor. The device consisted of a finger ring measuring blood oxygen and pulse rate, and it transmits the data via Bluetooth to an app on your phone. This convenient study took 2 nights and upon completion sends the data to the company (Blackstone) for evaluation.
My doctor received the data and advised me I have mild sleep apnea requiring no treatment. This was an ideal test for me because I knew an off site study would have resulted in a sleepless night.
Yes, that’s what got me to the doctor. I’ve used the CPAP quite happily since 20122.
I had a sleep study done because I moved around a lot during sleep and slugged my wife while I was sleeping. It found mild apnea, and I am using a machine. I can keep in on all night after a couple of weeks, but the jury is out on whether it and\ or the melatonin I’m taking are slowing down the movement. I bought a ring camera that I need to set up and monitor my movement. I kinda get the impression that they’re just throwing darts to see if anything works.
It’s not something anyone would use as a fad. Look up the correlation between apnea and death due to heart attack and stroke. It’s also indicated in a bunch of other issues. Apnea does not equal snoring. You can only tell if you have apnea with a sleep test. It can usually be done at home with minimally invasive equipment. You don’t have to go to a hospital and try to sleep with a million wires hooked up.
Have you looked into the Inspire implant device?
Since my apnea was mild, I chose to address it through lifestyle changes (diet and exercise) instead. If it had been more severe I would have chosen a different path.
Having a sleep study and getting a CPAP was the best thing I ever did for myself. I, too, was falling asleep at my desk and fatigued all day. My life has changed dramatically for the better since I got it.
Have you tried a mouth guard made for the purpose? My doctor said it could be effective for those with milder symptoms. I’m too advanced to even consider it.
My mother wore a sticky strip on her nose that held her nostrils open, and that was enough for her