Sleep apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea can have some major long-term negative effects with regards to heart, stroke, blood pressure if NOT diagnosed and attended to.

DO report this to your doctor and they can organise for a sleep study. I'm not sure how it goes in your country whether your doctor can organise directly or refer you via a sleep physician. The process is that you first spend a night in a sleep laboratory. You are connected to various equipment for various vital signs (re respiration, length of deep sleep, cardiac rhythms etc). These are then reported back and if there are clear signs of sleep apnea then it is recommended that you undergo a further "titration study".

This is another sleep laboratory study to locate the optimal air pressure for CPAP (constant positive airway pressure) - the most common means of treating obstructive sleep apnea. There are less "leads and wires" than the diagnostic study. They vary the air pressure during your sleep to find which is more effective. Before the study, they may also try various masks as to which may be the more comfortable. There are full face masks but now many people can go with just a nasal mask.

After the titration study, a prescription may be issued as to the recommended pressure and you are recommended to start CPAP therapy. Rather than buy a machine outright at the start, it may be better to rent/trial a machine for a few months to see how quickly or well you adapt.

I started therapy back in Jan and have had no problems adapting to the mask or the pressure. Whilst I have also lost weight over this period, I have also seen my blood pressure lower (and my B/P med lowered) and potential decrease in a benign cardiac arrhythmia. Whilst I've still been having anxiety worries, I've been sleeping soundly and getting good hours which has been a major relief !

That is my experience and your's may be different but I DO strongly suggest you at least investigate it as there is clear clinical evidence that untreated sleep apnea sufferers are at greater risk of some major health issues.

It is a worst case scenario and very uncommon but it IS a possibility if left undiagnosed and untreated. Sleep apnea is not generally something that the person themselves is aware of but rather something that the partner or others will observe the disturbances in the sleep pattern/snoring etc which appears to be the case with you. I had an apnea whilst under general anaesthetic for a colonoscopy.

Therefore I strongly suggest you take this up with your doctor to be investigated. At least then you will know rather than strangling yourself with "what ifs". Whilst your worst case scenario is just that; the risk of major long-term damage to vital systems (cardiovascular, pulmonary, organs such as liver) cannot be underestimated.

Here is some information

http://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/files/pdfs/Obstructive%20Sleep%20Apnoea.pdf [url]

Your doctor and/or sleep physician should be able to answer your concerns.

Post Edited (the wombat) : 4/22/2014 6:37:29 AM (GMT-6)