Question for those with sleep apnea

[lizerdbits]

A doctor ordered a sleep study for me based on feeling hung over every morning with a headache and my dad having sleep apnea (as well as a gene associated with narcolepsy). I'm also getting an MRI of my sinuses due to pressure in my right ear and behind my nose. Did anyone with sleep apnea have that kind of symptom?

I've had the pressure for a while and the worse I sleep the worse it is. I was given decongestants and antihistamines for allergies I don't have, and antibiotics for a possible ear infection which I didn't seem to have. An ear/nose/throat specialist said my ears looked fine and maybe I grind my teeth in my sleep. I go to the dentist, get a night guard not covered by insurance and after 2 months have no relief.

And did anyone have whirring sounds between their ears when waking up?

Thanks for any information.

[ThingsGottaChange]

1. I have some of what you have

I have apnea. Had one sleep study but, didn't "sleep" long enough for Medicare to pay for it and never went back for a second one. But, I also have the sleeping sinus problems. I would wake up with horrendous headaches from the apnea and sinus blockage. My solution is to sleep in a recliner so that my head stays somewhat elevated. That helped tremendously with the morning headaches and possibly with some of the apnea. And my whole body hurts less in the recliner.

If I lay down on a bed I can feel my sinuses starting to block up within minutes. No more beds for me!

Hope this helped a bit! :hi:

[lizerdbits]

2. I've also had better luck sleeping propped up

I just create a 'ramp' with extra pillows in my bed. Sleeping on my side helps too, but then I still have mornings like this morning where my ear feels like it's going to explode, my head is throbbing, and my nose is going to fall off. I don't seem to actually have sinus congestion though, at least that I'm aware of.

Thanks for the info! :)

[Warpy]

11. That sounds suspicious for sleep apnea

or other difficulty breathing during sleep. Only a sleep study will turn up exactly what is happening. The problems with your nose and ear could be symptomatic of your upper airway closing periodically during the night during apneic periods. The headache will always be there when you don't sleep well.

Get the sleep study. If you do have apnea, it can literally save your life. Sleep apnea can destroy your heart and it's hard on brain cells, too. You'll get used to the pig nose apparatus when you're fitted with a CPAP machine if that's the problem in record time, and it will solve all your problems at once.

BTW, it wouldn't hurt to get checked out by a dentist. An infection in an upper tooth can often present as nasal/sinus/ear pain.

[ThomCat]

3. I have a feeling (just a feeling)

that the explosion of sleep apnea is a warning of something bigger that hasn't been figured out yet.

Too many people are being diagnosed with sleep apnea very suddenly in recent years. It's a sudden epidemic. Either it's been a great undiagnosed issue forever, or it's a recently created problem.

If it's a recently created problem, then what created it, and what bigger issue is it a symptom of?

I hope you can resolve your sleeping problems. Mine result from pain, so controlling my pain allows me to get my rest. I know that lack of sleep is incredibly disabling, and I wish everyone who has trouble sleeping could have that complaint taken seriously regardless of the cause.

[lizerdbits]

4. I've wondered that

Is this something new or just not diagnosed before? A lot of people blame processed food and lack of exercise for increases in many diseases but neither of those apply to me so who knows. Going by numbers I'm overweight (though due to weight lifting I'm heavier than I look) so I do fit into one risk group for sleep apnea.

[mopinko]

5. it is the results of it that are exploding.

it was thought to be harmless, but as long term stress' impact on the body became understood, apnea was seen in a new light. also awareness of the importance of sleep, and the difference between good sleep and bad sleep were more understood, the damage done by apnea became apparent.

my hubby has it bad, frequency-wise, but pressure-wise, not so bad. so propping up the head of the bed, (we use a fluffy mattress pad, folded over like 3 time to make a wedge. you can buy foam wedges, tho.) and using a snorer's pillow really helped. one thing that helped him also that op might try is the nose strips. he has a deviated septum which he refuses to get fixed. he always had congestion. but the strips help with that. he mostly sleeps like a baby now. when he does have an episode of apnea, it is much shorter that before. he used to miss 6-10 breathes at a time. now it is 2 or 3. he also barely snores. and he has turned into a real sweety, instead of a grump.

[ThomCat]

7. That's awesome that he's got it so well managed.

I now have five friends (that I know of) who use face masks and breathing hoses to deal with sleep apnea. And for two of them it doesn't really seem to be helping. :(

[mopinko]

8. he refused to wear the mask.

when they did his test, he came home almost rigid with fear. they had really laid it on him. he flunked within minutes of falling asleep, and spent most of the night trying to get fitted. he was so upset. so, i am glad that he is doing well. but i sure wish he would get that nose fixed. it isn't the mechanics of breathing, just that he gets congested so easy. one measure i think i forgot is that he takes an antihistamine at bedtime, which helps that.

[hyphenate]

6. Whirring sounds, I don't have

but if you have any arthritis in your neck (cervical region), it can cause a sound called "crepitus" which can sound pretty nasty--it's sort of annoying--when I get it, after I've kept my neck too rigid for awhile, it sounds like bone "sawdust" moving around.

I went to a sleep study--twice. They said they didn't get enough data the first time, so put me on the cpap the second time. I couldn't wear it--I ended up with a sense of claustrophobia. And I was supposed to be seeing the results, but never did, and the damned doctor wasn't available until two months later, so the whole thing, for me, was a wash.

With the fibro, there is supposed to be a strange brainwave during sleep--part of the condition itself, and why our deepest sleep state is screwed up. I wanted to see that, but the doctor, in our first meeting, decided that I had apnea without any other consideration, and that's all she wanted to see. Considering I sleep on my side, do not have a lot of weight in my upper body around my neck or shoulders, and do not snore, I was amazed at that conclusion. If there is a glut of apnea being diagnosed, it could just be more prejudice toward those who are overweight and making broad assumptions. I made a recording of my sleeping for three nights in a row, and then another recording a few days later: I used a voice activated recorder and there was so little noise out of me that I thought the recorder wasn't on. But I do have occasions where I talk in my sleep, and I did get that on a recording, so I knew it was working right.

I've come to see that there are many, many doctors out there--far more than I had thought--that have a major bias about overweight and obese people, and it's something that's difficult to understand in someone who has entered medicine to "help" people.

[lizerdbits]

9. The weight issue is what I'm concerned about

My appointment is for Jan 2-3 and I was asked height and weight on the phone. When I say 5'6" and 170 it's assumed I'm a lazy fatso who eats junk all day. That's my experience with gynos and an endocrinologist. The endo was the worst in terms of judgmental. He literally laughed in my face when I told him my diet and exercise despite the PCOS and elevated testosterone levels. So I'm bracing for the eye rolling or laughter when I state I cook all my own meals (minus going out at work once a month or so) and limit refined carbs along with almost daily exercise, including quite a bit of weight lifting, hence being heavier than I look according to pretty much everyone. No sense in worrying since I can't do anything about it now, I'll just have to see what happens.

[lizerdbits]

10. Well my MRI says

Chronic left maxillary sinusitis which is strange since the ear pressure and the feeling of being poked in the corner of the eye from the inside is only on the right. I'll see the doctor again after my sleep study so he might have some more options since decongestants and antihistamines haven't helped. I was also given a nasal steroid spray to use before bed which seemed to help at first but this morning I feel like the front of my face is going to pop off even thought I used them last night. :(

[Fenris]

12. Well, I have apnea.

I'm 23 and just slightly overweight - not exactly a prime candidate for apnea. What I have is a very large, obtrusive tongue and a tight nasal passage. Apparently it's genetic - my grandfather snored, and my mother sounds like a chainsaw. The only way I ended up at a sleep doctor was because my beloved fiancee couldn't share the bed with me because my snoring was so loud. I used to get excruciating headaches and feel worn out and hung-over.

I can't imagine life without my CPAP machine. :)

Good luck to you.

[lizerdbits]

13. I do not have sleep apnea

However I do wake up not to full consciousness for unknown reasons since my breathing was normal. I think he called it idiopathic hyperarousal. He said this is what is causing the sleep apnea type symptoms since it's pretty much the same thing of waking up a lot, just without the breathing problem. When I told him I had felt great during my last period (I have PCOS so don't really have anything that could be defined as a cycle) he suspected it could be hormone related and I have prolonged PMS. So he prescribed 10mg paxil at bedtime since it's helped women with severe PMS. I would think BCPs and since I've quit smoking I don't have the stroke risk but I feel so worn out I will give just about anything a try. If the paxil doesn't help I can discuss with my gyn the BCPs because I was having some other issues that he said the BCPs would help. He also mentioned white noise machines which I can try to find as well. That will probably drown out my neighbors and I can go back to sleeping in my bedroom again (I now have my mattress on the floor of another room that doesn't border their unit).

And my daytime sleep was normal so I seem to have escaped my dad's narcolepsy gene. Hooray for meiosis!

[Digit]

14. I hate to sound like a commercial, but my sleep number bed allows me to sleep thru the nite

I have arthritis in my hips, and being a side sleeper, that caused me to wake up constantly during the night with pain, only to move to my other side and repeat the pattern. I was so exhausted all the time.

Not getting a good solid night's sleep was affecting my health.
Now sometimes I will dial in a nice, soft 35 for a hammock effect, or my normal 45 which provides the amount of support for my own body in the areas that need support.

Now I only wake up once per night, close to dawn, to go to the bathroom. If I could limit my intake of sodas before bed, I would bet I would sleep right up until the alarm clock went off.

[mopinko]

15. that is interesting.

how much are those suckers, anyway?

[Digit]

18. They are comparable to prices of other mattresses

The model I got was under 2K for the set.

[lizerdbits]

16. I'm not sure if that would help me since I don't have pain

But I can ask about it. I had a futon for years and I was fine with it. I didn't have problems until about a year or so on a "real" bed but that doesn't mean causation, it could just be age and a coincidence.

[Digit]

17. It will overall allow for a better sleep, possibly a deeper sleep

Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought I read that you were not sleeping well with the hyperarousal and other things.

They have some of these beds in some Radisson Hotels, but you need to request them.

I hope you find a solution to your problem, soon!

[lizerdbits]

19. It could actually help

You said it helped you because of pain which isn't an issue for me so I thought that's what it mainly helped with. It's possible it could help with my problem, if sleep specialists exist I should probably talk to one assuming my insurance covers it.

[flamingyouth]

20. Yeah, we have one too.

We bought it originally because of hip & back pain but it became a real godsend after I was diagnosed with cancer and had two bladder surgeries. Being able to set the mattress on a soft setting helped *so* much, I can't even underscore that point enough. Or like you said, I set it on a firmer setting for more normal times (I'm a 35/45 person too). I love that mattress and am *so* glad we got it.