Does Anyone Have Sleep Apnea?
 

So, I just found out a few days ago I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

I've struggled on and off for years and years (15+) w/ chronic insomnia...though it sometimes goes into what I call "remission". Then, since this January, I've had again it just horribly - especially since this summer. I finally started to get some help toward the end of summer, but none of the meds were working...which was weird bc a herd of horses should've been knocked out for a week w/ what they were giving me.

So, after all the lab tests came back fine - a sleep study was suggested even though my body type (underweight right now) didn't suggest apnea.

Well, I have it. I stopped breathing 3 times for > 10 secs. each time and then also had 42 episodes that were < 10 seconds. What le heck? And had like 40+ episodes of arousal from sleep!

Well no WONDER I'm so freakin' TIRED every dang day!

Needless to say, I'm kinda freaked out. A CPAP machine is outa the question, there is no way I'd be able to sleep w/ that contraption on my head and face. So, I guess it's surgery or a dental apparatus of some sort?

Has anyone else been through the surgery where they advance your entire jaw forward? Yikes. That surgery looks very major, but seems to be the most successful in terms of efficacy.

Sooo anyway...some folks have been wondering why I'm not posting as much...it's partly bc I'm just totally exhausted...and can hardly think at times I'm so tired...let alone find the energy to type. But I'm here! :D

If anyone has been thru the apnea thing...would love to hear how they dealt with it...

How awful for you Ann. I can't imagine anyone who has insomnia can actually
function at all. I need 8hrs or I'm like a zombie. You poor baby.
I'm confused tho, what does a dental apparatis have to do with it?
Do you grind your teeth at night? What will the surgery do for you?

The dental apparatus, if your problem (structures, that is) warrants it, either suppresses your tongue or it pulls/forces your lower jaw forward, which keeps your airway open...I guess these can be quite uncomfortable and can cause a lot of soreness later in the day too. I have a lot more to learn about these. They can work great for the right people. (I do grind my teeth, btw, occasionally)

There are several surgeries....the least invasive ones only have an efficacy of 23-70%, and are very unpredictable...often resulting in the patient either having multiple surgeries -or- ending up having the lower-jaw-advancement one in the end anyway. The most effective one (lower jaw advancement, in a nutshell) is 75-100% effective and corrects your anatomy so that your airway does not close off. Argh.

Well, I'm glad they were finally able to figure out what's been going on! I only know the little I've read about apnea, which I'm sure is much less than you know. I think I would want to try the dental appliance before having any surgery. Have they had any success with the dental apparatus? Is the surgery similar to what they do for TMJ?

It all sounds so confusing and scary. I wish you the best of luck
in your decision. You certainly have a lot to think about.
My 8yr old granddaughter has to wear an apparatis for her mouth and
teeth. Her mouth was not wide enough for her large adult teeth
and her mouth prodruded out due to pasifiers as a baby.
She's been wearing this, except to eat 24/7 for about 6 mos.
and it's amazing how
her mouth actually widened up to house those big teeth and pushed
her jaw line back in place. Maybe something like this would work for
you. It's not so drastic. Whatever you decide to do Ann I wish you
only the best.

I know, right! I mean, after the sleep study, they were all "nah! you don't have apnea!" - so I left there SO relieved! So I was totally shocked the other day, and kinda upset that they told me that....I guess I should have waited until the doctor poured over all of the details :rolleyes:.

For the *right* people, I think the dental apparatus thingy can be great...I think those only apply though IF your structure problem can be helped by the dental thing. I see an ENT apnea specialist the 19th, so he'll then be able to tell me *what* structure(s) back in my throat is causing this to happen, and then, what interventions would work (ie, dental vs. surgery). I think the dental things also rely on tolerability too...and then you have to have another sleep study to see if they work....man, those dang sleep studies stink, too, lemme tell ya. :(

The surgery (the bigger one) looks like they bust up your jaw in a few places, then place it further forward, holding it back together w/ plates and pins, as well as removing some soft tissues - very painful recovery, out of work for month, no chewing (!!!). Scares me.

I wish you the best in making your decision. That will be a hard one to make.

I clench/grind my teeth at night and I'm supposed to sleep in a mouth guard. I now have the smallest one my dentist can make for me and I still can't stand it. I put it in only on the really bad days. If there was the possibility it would keep me from a drastic surgery, I'd be a lot more positive about wearing it.

I'll be curious to see what they recommend when you go back!

wow, the surgery sounds major. i thought it was a smaller surgery than that!? i would definitely see if there are any other methods that would work before choosing the surgery because it does sound scary and you only have a minor case of it.

it would be great if the dental apparatus work for you, i think you should definitely try it out first and see if it helps you sleep. this way you can maybe finally get some sleep, and it will give you some time to think about possibly getting the surgery. because even though it sounds kind of scary, i think it's not an uncommon surgery, so it's not THAT scary.

i hope someone here who have had that problem can give you some advice. :)

My husband has severe sleep apnea. Surgery is not an option for him since he has so many medical issues along with a bad heart. He uses the c pap machine. There are alot different kinds of mask out there to try. He uses the one that only covers the nose. When he first started he had this big ol' mask that about covered his whole face:eek:and he didn't like it. My x brother in law had the surgery done and I don't want to scare you but it just ruined his face. His face looks so unreconizable from what he looked like before and he has said that he still has problems not with just sleep apnea now but also with the surgeries. So I just don't know. You may want to talk with others who have had the surgery to see what outcome they had. You said you wouldn't try the c pap machine but maybe you should consider it for now since it's not so invansive like the others and just see how you like it or not. My husband did not want to use the c pap either and now since he found the right mask he doesn't mind it. I wish you the best of luck and hope you find something that helps your sleep apnea.

I know, yikes huh?

From what I've been reading...most/many docs are now moving away from doing the minor surgeries bc of low efficacy/high morbidity rates - resulting in multiple surgeries for the patient -and- resulting in the patient needing the jaw-advancement surgery in the end anyway. So, many of them now seem to avoid the less effective surgeries.

The dental apparatus would be *great* if it turns out my structure problem could actually be helped by it (fingers crossed) and if I can tolerate it (these apparatus are quite nasty looking/large in the mouth)...and if it actually stops the apnea.

I know it'll all work out okay...I think the control freak in me right now is crapping her pants though....:rolleyes:

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for sharing this. I'm so sorry for what happened to your x Brother in law :(, that's really awful. So, your hubby got used to sleeping okay with those straps and the mask? Does he also have non-apnea insomnia though, like me?

This is a nasal mask....is this similar to your husband's? I can't imagine sleeping in this....:(

yes, very bad. At first he didn't like the c pap machine. He was all against it from the get go, but his doctor said he either uses it or die:eek:So that was a wake up call for him. There are so many mask out there to try but my husband likes the one he has now really well. It is very very soft, not sure what it is made of, I'll have to ask him, but it is really small and just covers his nose. He still has days that he doesn't want to use it, but he doesn't have a choice. Sleep apnea is a very serious and dangerous sleep disorder. So maybe if the dentist thing doesn't work for you, I would give the c pap a shot.

OH NO:eek:He did use that one in the beginning and he didn't like it at all:thumbdownWhat he uses now it is very small, like the size of your nose, it just goes right over the tip of your nose not your whole face. He likes it alot better since it doesn't cover your whole face. And the straps that comes with it, we get his strap personally made out of silk material so it's not irriatating his face.

Oh my gosh, that sounds soooooo much better than what I've found online! Everything I've found is GINORMOUS! And I'm only 5'4" and very petite. So, I'd need something tiny. I would so appreciate it if you could find out the name of the model your husband has :).

I'm lucky in that my apnea, right now, is called "mild" bc I only had 3 episodes (during the study, that is) where I stopped breathing more than 10 seconds; and had 42 that were < 10 seconds. But, I also have to take meds or don't sleep at all...so you know how those complicate/exacerbate the whole issue...so I need to get this taken care of, bc as you say, it's dangerous. :(

This is why I was asking if this surgery was similar to the TMJ surgery. A friend of mine had TMJ surgery about 5 years ago and she doesn't look like the same person. Plus the doctors accidentally broke her nose (major, mutliple breaks) and did some other damage that required several follow-up surgeries. She still has problems to this day.

OMG, seriously? Why did it go so wrong I wonder?

Well, I see a new "Sleep Doc" (to help me manage the medication side of it) tomorrow...so I guess I'll ask more in depth about this dang CPAP monstrosity. Poo.

I will try to look some up for you and email them to you.

Thank you so very much, I really appreciate the information :):):).

I have sleep apnea and have a cpap. Mine is just a small piece that is under the nose. My doctor gave me Lunesta until I got used to using the cpap at night. LOL i think actually the Lunesta worked better than the cpap. Oh and I have also found that putting a fan right in front of your face at night can help, it keeps air blowing which is what the cpap does

Do you know what model or what it is called? :)

Is it like this: http://www.cpap.com/viewImage.php?PN...ntlabWoman.jpg

yes its kind of like that, they have them in what they call petit sizes.

Ann, I am sorry you are having sleep apnea problems. I have started having a few problems with it myself but just when I lay on my back. I know mine is probably caused from me being over weight.

Here is a interesting website that has a few ideas, you probably already know all this but I just came across it and thought I would share. I do pray you start sleeping better soon.

Sleep, alternative and complementary treatments for sleep apnea, homeopathy, 5-HTP, behavioral therapies, flower/essence therapy, sleep disorders, sleep apnea

I think its called the Mirage swift II

Anne, I am so sorry you are going through this!! I have a brother-in-law and a co-worker who both have sleep apnea, and they wear the mask, although I am not sure which ones. One is overweight, the other one is not. All I know is that they both said it took a bit to get used to wearing it , but the the way they wake up feeling is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than before they wore the masks. Hope it all works out for you and that whatever route you choose helps you get some real sleep!!!

Huggles!!!

So sorry to hear about the sleep apnea, you are exactly the opposite of what I would call the typical sufferer. I was just wondering how much the sleep medication is contributing to this? I thought certain sleep medications could actually cause this. I mean do you think you had the problem before the sleep medications? Hopefully, you will get some good answers before you consider any surgery – that sounds pretty awful, and still won't help the insomnia. I wish they could treat that better. My prayers are with you, I had problem with insomnia, and it can make life miserable.

I know, that's what I thought too! Then, I just read that 50% of people who have sleep apnea are *not* overweight...so I think we're all (me included) kind of misinformed here. I always thought the most typical patient was at least a little overweight...but that is not the case at all. Who knew?

I too thought to ask about the med thing...and no, it doesn't contribute...in fact, it can actually help to uncover apnea, if you have it but it's sort of been hiding under there. So, when that happens...you have the sleep study where they hook you up to every possible wire and machine under the sun and record every biological function except perhaps your digestion - and then a sleep doc pours over it later and gives the results.

I'm pretty freaked out about the whole thing, but at least there are solutions...I'm just not that thrilled about the "solutions" that are available, to be honest :(. Then again, I feel like SUCH CRAP lately, my quality of life is horrible, I'm so exhausted and fatigued...that I'm also relieved to have an answer and to have possible help around the corner, so....

I have sleep apnea & first they thought it was my weight so I lost 60# but I still have it! It's not so bad...the noise the machine makes is like white noise & if I have a night that it bothers me I pu in ear plugs.
Below is a site that shows a headset that is like mine. It's actually pretty small.

Swift LT Nasal Pillows Mask with Headgear

I sleep on my side / side of my face....and I feel like that darn mask would bother me so much...does it bother you or did it just take some getting used to? Don't you get tangled up in all those tubes and stuff as you move around, lol :)? So that tube just hangs down there? I do like white noise, so that would be a plus!

I have severe sleep apnea. I started out with a mask similar to what you first pictured. I didn't like it but I felt soooo much better so I used it. My pressure was so high that I wasn't able to use the nasal pillows but it has since been lowered and this is the one I use now too.

Good luck with your decision!