Tell me about your sleep apnea treatment

In My Humble Opinion
1

I was afraid that if I submitted to the suggested overnight “sleep study,” I would be diagnosed with sleep apnea, which seemed to me to be the disease-of-the-month. I do have problems with insomnia and daytime sleepiness, so did the sleep study and yeah, was diagnosed with moderate to severe sleep apnea (25 wakings an hour). Well, shoot. I asked the doctor if taking the sleep medication, Ambien, causes or aggravates this and he said not really (seems like it would make it worse to me). I take 5 mg just about every night. Now they’re talking CPAP machine I need to wear to bed. My father is a rampant, savage snorer, but from reports I only snore occasionally. I went to the internet and my favorite treatment for sleep apnea so far is learning to play the didgeridoo. I don’t know if insurance will cover it, though.

I go back to the doc next week to get fitted with the dreaded CPAP machine. Have you been diagnosed with sleep apnea? Have any of you had surgery to correct it? Have you tried different kinds of positive breathing devices to help you sleep? Any other good resources I should know about? Are any of you like me; you don’t snore but have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea?

2

Please ask another doctor for a second opinion about the Ambien. I’ve heard that it does indeed worsen apnea in some cases.

3

I’ve heard the same. I don’t have formally-diagnosed obstructive apnea (some sleep studies have shown mild hypopnea, meaning I don’t breathe that deeply). However, I did try Ambien a few years ago. My husband and I both noticed I had an increase in episodes of “breath holding” (we think it’s a form of central sleep apnea but it’s also never been formally diagnosed) - basically, I would inhale, and hold my breath until either my body figured out I needed to breathe, or my husband would shake me to get me breathing again.

Ok, the plural of “anecdote” is not “data” but what the heck.

I’ve heard that some people do need to use Ambien or other sleep aid to help them get to sleep with the CPAP mask on; presumably the mask would mitigate the problems the Ambien might be causing.

4

I had sleep apnea since I was a child. I was skinny as a rail for much of it so it was just a design flaw involving a few different factors. I had a sleep study and they made me wear a CPAP machine. I understand they are a life-saver for some people but I wanted no part of that. I was amazed that they expected me to hold my mouth closed the whole night for the most common type of mask. I couldn’t comprehend that and didn’t want to try it again.

I opted for surgery. I had a uvulaplasty, tonsils and adenoids removed, and a deviated septum corrected all at once over 2 years ago. The surgeon told me that it would probably be one of the most painful experiences of my life but I didn’t think it was that bad. You can’t eat for 3 - 5 days and you are down and out for close to two weeks but it wasn’t all that painful for me (the Oxycontin helped).

Today, I don’t have sleep apnea although I still still and it changed the sound of it so that it is still loud. I have no regrets about the surgery.

5

The O2 on those CPAP things can give you one hell of a woody, but having to wear a mask that bulky and ugly looking defeats the purpose. Unless your wife is really into SciFi…

6

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea a few years ago. I don’t snore. They prescribed a CPAP for me, but try as I might I can’t fall asleep with the damned thing on. I tried a couple different masks for it, but it’s incredibly uncomfortable (I’m one of those people for whom the planets have to be aligned in perfect syzygy to be able to fall asleep). My dad wears his CPAP every night, and reports that he sleeps much better with it than without (and he also has very vivid dreams).

In my case, it’s most likely an anatomical problem instead of a neurological one. I have a very short jaw and the tonsil tissue on the back of my tongue was very inflamed (I had it removed, but that’s a whole other thread). I visited an oral surgeon, who made a device for me to wear at night that holds my jaw forward. I haven’t been able to sleep with that in. I’m supposed to have another sleep study soon to determine if it was the tonsil that was causing my apnea.

Did the doctor say anything about the causes for your apnea? If it’s at all anatomical, you might ask for a referral to an ENT. I’m sure you’ve also found in your research that being overweight is also a factor, but I don’t know if that applies to you.

Good luck.

7

I’ve known for at least 20 years (since well before it became popular) that I had sleep apnea. Both of my parents had it, and ever since I started sleeping with other people, they’ve said ‘do you know that you stop breathing when you sleep? A lot? For a long time?’. I also had all the other symptoms - daytime drowsiness, tired all the time, etc. Over the last couple years it had gotten bad enough that I finally broke down and had a sleep study a few months back. Eventually (about 3 weeks ago) I even went and got fitted for a CPAP. Can you tell I did NOT want to do this?

The techs that fitted me were really nice and I tried on several different masks. I ended up with one called a ‘nasal pillow’, which is a fairly small thing. A bit larger than a roll of quarters, it sits in front of your nose and blows air up your nostrils. It’s only got a couple of straps around your head, but you do have to keep your mouth closed for it to work. They added a chinstrap to my set to help with that, but I don’t wear it. The big advantage to me is that I can wear this with my glasses - I’m blind as a bat and wouldn’t even be able to read if I couldn’t wear glasses.

So far, it’s been pretty good. I immediately, as in the next morning, noticed a difference in how I feel. I actually wake up in the mornings, rather than stumbling around for several hours half-dazed. I only get really nappish in the afternoon if I’ve stayed up too late, instead of spending half the day trying not to fall asleep most days.

Part of what has worked for me is that the techs (really, really nice ladies) were so careful to help me get the right mask for me, and then explained that I shouldn’t get frustrated too easily because it can take a while to get used to it. “If you wake up at night and it’s driving you nuts, take it off. Don’t get upset that you didn’t wear it all night, just figure that you got 5 hours of better sleep than you would without it.” It mostly hasn’t bothered me too much, but I have pulled it off a few times (usually when I tried to wear the chinstrap.) I don’t sweat it - I still feel better than I would if I’d gone without it entirely. And my sweetie laughs at me in my headgear (and who wouldn’t!), but is otherwise supportive - I’m not the only one who noticed how much better I’ve been feeling.

I know several other folks who have gotten CPAPs recently, that’s part of what convinced me to go ahead. They all love 'em because they feel so much better. The most recent, who got hers 5-6 months ago from the same place I got mine, got a full-face mask because she’s a mouthbreather and didn’t think she could sleep with her mouth closed. She said she doesn’t even notice the mask anymore. She recently went on a weekend trip without her machine and swears that she’ll never do that again. She also says she’s been magically (without effort on her part) losing weight since she started wearing it.

So from someone who dreaded the idea of CPAP, give it a try. If it doesn’t work for you, then it doesn’t. But if it does, it’s terrific. Just be sure they let you try different masks and talk to you about the advantages/disadvantages of each, so that you can get something that’s most likely to work for you.

8

I had a sleep study about a year ago and was diagnosed with sleep apnea; IIRC I was having over 100 waking events per hour. Got fitted for a CPAP and didn’t have any trouble adjusting to sleeping with the mask over my face. I was also referred to an ENT, who scheduled me for surgery to correct a deviated septum. Shortly after that, I noticed that I was having some problems in the morning with gas, and after a little research figured out that the surgery migt have improved my breathing to the point where the CPAP was pushing too much air into me at night.

I finally got myself scheduled for another sleep study, and I still have sleep apnea. I’m going in this Saturday to have them recalibrate the CPAP setting, which I’m hoping will put an end to me leaking from either end in the morning.

I’ve been told in the past that I do snore, rather loudly. Regarding Ambien, I’ve taken it in the past when I was having trouble sleeping. I’d been warned that I shouldn’t take it until just before I was going to bed because it worked so fast, and not to take it unless I was going to be able to sleep for 8 hours. In my case, it didn’t put me right to sleep, and I still woke up after 6 hours without being any sleepier than usual the next day.

9

I’ve used a CPAP for better than 8 years now and, frankly, it’s made a huge difference in the quality of my sleep. I have it to correct obstructive sleep apnea. (The sleep tech I spoke to said CPAP’s are used to correct central apnea as well).

It took weeks to get used to it but now that I am used to it I frankly cannot sleep without it. My only problem right now is my latest mask is fitting a bit wierd and is making a sore spot under my nose. I’m still tweaking the straps trying to get it right. Too loose and it leaks, too tight and it hurts or makes a sore spot. There’s lots of different mask types, it may take some practice to get it right and/or find the right type.

I used to be a mouth breather at night, too, but it’s pretty easy to get over that habit with the CPAP. It’s frankly uncomfortable to sleep mouth-open, the pressurized air comes out of your mouth, so it stays closed pretty much on its own. The only trouble I have is when my nose gets stuffy with a cold or something.

I tried camping a couple months ago without my CPAP and, frankly, the quality of my sleep was so poor that I’ve vowed to never go without it again. For the last-month’s family camping vacation, I constructed a 12 volt, 50-foot extension cable and ran it off my car battery. I did much better that trip.

I am, however, currently investigating the surgical option. The pressure I need to compensate has increased as I’ve aged and I’m hoping that the surgery might just eliminate the need altogether.

I just completed a second sleep study and have a consult with the surgeons coming up. My own research, though, suggests that “50% of the people that receive the surgery do 50% better.” I’m also going to consult the the hospital’s endocrine clinic to see if they can help me lose weight before making the final decision to have the surgery.

The pulmonary doctor I spoke with has personal experience with her husband & father-in-law both have received the surgery. Her husband still snores pretty loudly but her FIL is “cured”.

I know that I still experience apnea symptoms if I have alcohol before bed or take an over-the-counter sleep med (like Unisom). Anything, it seems, that causes excess relaxation is capable of increasing the symptoms (everything sags more…).

Also, if your apnea is mild, you might google “Somnoplasty” or “radio frequency ablation”. It’s a technique to shrink the tissues in the throat using targeted radio frequency energy. It’s non-surgical & out-patient. Some Dr’s are offering it simply as a cosmetic anti-snore treatment but it’s supposed to be good for mild apnea, too. YMMV, IANAD, etc.

10

My mother used to snore like a lumberjack, but a CPAP fixed that for her. She did have to go through a handful of different mask types before finding one that was bearable. Think she did wind up with the “nasal pillow.”

For me, it wasn’t so much snoring as stumbling around groggy half the day. I wound up with a septoplasty to correct a septum so deviated it looked like a roller coaster, and a UPPP - uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (whew!) to take out the uvula and cut out a chunk of “redundant” soft palate. Tonsils and adnoids were already gone, having been removed about a year earlier.

None of those surgeries are pleasant for an adult. They are surgical procedures, after all, and not a day at the amusement park. Not horrible either, just not something you’d want to repeat. Fortunately, they’re not something you’d be able to repeat. I’ve never heard of a uvula growing back. :smiley:

11

It probably won’t help you, but I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea, primarily when I was sleeping on my back. The doctor prescribed “positional therapy”, i.e. don’t sleep on your back.

The doctor advised me to obtain and use a high-tech medical device. I was to take an old T-shirt, sew a pocket in the middle of the back, put a tennis ball in the pocket, and sleep in the T-shirt. When I would roll onto my back, the tennis ball would cause me to roll over. I wore the shirt for several months, and now I just don’t sleep on my back.

Good luck with your treatment.

12

Are you significantly overweight? That was the root cause of my ex’s apnea (not that she wanted to hear that); a CPAP did help her when she bothered to wear it.

13

I had a sleep study done as part of a battery of pre-gastric bypass surgery testing. I can’t recall how many times I woke up during the test, but it was a lot. I loathed my CPAP machine, but I cannot begin to tell you the difference it made in my sleep. For the first few weeks (I think I had it about 3 months before surgery), I would wake up & find the mask on the floor, but I gradually got used to it.

I stopped needing after about the first 30-35 pound loss - about 4-6 weeks after the surgery. I haven’t needed it since.

VCNJ~

14

I have some sleep apnea, whether obstructive or central I’m unable to say. Suffice it to say that I’ve used the CPAP machine off and on for a while, without getting earth-shattering results. It’s easy enough for me to sleep with it (I have the nasal pillows), but it just doesn’t seem to make a ton of difference.

Of course, last time I was at the doctor’s, he told me I might have idiopathic hypersomnia, which in a dead language means, “You’re very sleepy and we don’t know why.”

15

I’m the same way, except I’ve always been able to fall asleep whenever I want. I can fall asleep quickly enough with the mask on, but it’s definitely uncomfortable, and I usually wind up taking it off in my sleep. Plus, I’m a mouth-breather, and the strap they gave me to help keep my mouth shut doesn’t seem to last long.

I was diagnosed with mild apnea (I went in because my wife doesn’t like my snoring, and sure enough, the sleep study led to the apnea diagnosis). I’m tired as hell in the mornings, but i’m fine by the time I leave for work and throughout the day. When I’m able to wear the mask all night, I feel good in the mornings but otherwise I don’t see much of a difference.

Anyway, the bottom line is that this was supposed to help with the snoring, and did it? Heck no. I still snore with the mask on (even with the chin strap keeping my mouth closed), then snore worse once the chin strap pops off. I did also see an ENT as part of the process, and they said surgery was an option. My guess is that at some point, I’ll want to get my tonsils out and some other widening of my throat, and maybe the turbinate surgery, too.

16

Oh yeah–great site for all questions CPAP:

17

I’m about 80 pounds overweight, but my father and brothers aren’t and they have apnea too. It really bothers me that my doctor stopped looking for other causes when she saw my waistline.

I’m getting fitted for a CPAP next week. I hate the things. If you open your mouth in your sleep, it will suck all the air out of you. Not my idea of a good restful night’s sleep.

18

I’ve been using a CPAP for severe obstructive sleep apnea for about 8 years. I would never have gotten through one night with a nose-only mask, so I have always used a full face mask, which blows the air (not 02) into my mouth instead of my nose. From the first night, I was finally able to get a full night’s sleep and stop (mostly) falling asleep during the daytime.

This past year I lost 140 pounds, so I am planning to go back and have another sleep study. I still seem to need the CPAP, but after 8 years it may be more custom than necessity that makes it seem more comfortable with than without.

By the way, lack of sleep (whether due to apnea or another cause) can contribute to weight gain, so getting good sleep can help you lose weight which can help you get better sleep, and so on, in a cycle of accelerating goodness. At least that’s the theory!

Roddy

19

Are the CPAP machines noisy? I’ve never seen one (nor heard one), but it sounds like pumping a constant stream of air would make some noise. Or does it sound like a “white noise” machine once you’re used to it?

20

It’s a white noise, although I think if you have it at the wrong altitude proportional to your head, it becomes a lot noisier.