Sleep Apnea Treatment

Question by Tracy J: Is this considered any kind of sleep disorder, or is there anything I can do?
I have always had this problem my entire life. When I was a little kid I always slept until at least 11am, when all other kids I know wake up at 6am. But, I’m 29 years old now. I have always had a hard time waking up in the mornings (it’s not just the typical teenager not wanting to get up thing). I can go to bed at 8pm or midnight, and still can’t get enough sleep. Currently the alarm goes off at 3am (I usually don’t get out of bed until 4:20, but that’s only because my husband pulls me out). But, even when I worked a lot later, I still had this same problem. Plus, if I wake up in the middle of the night and actually get out of bed for 2 minutes (thank god it doesn’t happen often), my body has to pretty much start the entire sleep cycle over again. So, that night I’ll need twice as much sleep. My husband has started to just leave me on the couch if I fall asleep. Does anyone else have this same exact problem? Please help, it’s the biggest pet peeve about myself and my husband is really starting to get angry that I can’t get up in the mornings, but I can’t even hear the alarm until an hour later.

Best answer:

Answer by swomedicineman
Ask your husband if you snore. You may need to be evaluated for sleep apnea. A good physical at your doctor is a pretty good idea as well. A good multivitamin especially B vitamins are good. Even at 29 you may have a decreased hormone level which can contribute to your need for lots of sleep. I had a low testosterone level and prior to finding this out I had similar sleep problems you have described. Go get a physical and request that your doctor draw labs that check your hormone levels. I had to suggest this to my endocrinologist and he was sure I didn’t have low testosterone until the results proved otherwise. With testosterone injections every 2 weeks I improved.

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Question by jå¢qüê: Do you know anything about apnea? Could this be it?
I ‘forget’ to breathe sometimes. Sounds weird, or ‘blonde’ (I heard a joke about this and blondes when I was a kid), but I’m not blonde. This is for real. I first noticed that I would periodically take unusually large breaths, then noticed that the large breaths directly followed a few moments of no breathing. It happens when I am awake. I doubt it happens when I sleep. I do wake up sometimes (0 to 4 times a night), but I dream a lot every night. My dad has sleep apnea and said some symptoms of sleep apnea are waking up often and not (remembering) dreaming. He also said it’s hereditary. I’m wondering if it’s taking a different form in me, but I can’t find much information about apnea. It’s all about sleep apnea. I did find that apnea can be caused by a neurological disorder or trauma. What kind of neurological disorder or trauma? Any links to good sites with info on apnea? Or any experience with this sort of issue?
You may not be a doctor, but I just need a direction to go in.
Thanks.

Best answer:

Answer by Lucie
It is psychological. No offense. Don’t pay attention to your breathing and relax. If you are still alive in 5 minutes, you are safe. Don’t worry about the dreams either. I have had bizarre and disturbing dreams almost every night for years and wake up sweating and shaky, and I’m still here.

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Question by applebaby: I have insomnia and i am so tired of taking pills to sleep at night. is there anything i can do to cure it?
i use to be able to sleep on my own years ago until i started taking seroquel now i cant sleep without it. its like its my sleeping brain pill to help me sleep and if i dont take it i cant sleep. i been to hospitals and nobody can help me because some doctors say that i dont have sleep apnea

Best answer:

Answer by Mnemosyne
I JUST went through the same problem you’re going through right now (and not being a doctor), I can only tell you what worked for me.

I stopped taking sleep-aid pills (over the counter and prescription). (BEFORE you do this, you should tell your doctor. It’s important.) Next, I drew up a sleep log. I wrote down (everyday for a couple weeks) exactly what I did/drank/ate/watched on television within four hours of bedtime. I know this sounds ridiculous, but it REALLY helped me understand things I was doing to sabotage my sleep. Next, I took the sleep log and took out things that were keeping me awake. For example, my log went from this:

8pm – have a few drinks
9pm – go for a jog
10pm – play video games and eat popcorn
11pm – go to bed

… to this:

6pm – go for a jog
7pm – dinner/drinks
8pm – play video games
9pm – take a bath
10pm – read a book
11pm – go to bed

I’ve spoken with about a half dozen doctors about my insomnia (which was very severe), and they all say the same things:
- Don’t eat or drink alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime. Also, cut way back on soda or anything that has caffeine. Try to not have anything like that after noon.
- Daily exercise HELPS make you sleepy (so definitely do it!), but do NOT do it within 4 hours of bedtime (otherwise, it will give you an energy BOOST).
- Do something that is calming starting two hours before bed. These activities could include reading, writing, watching a calming movie/show, knitting, taking a shower/bath…
- When you’re doing these pre-bedtime activities, turn the lights down a little.
- Drink tea with lavender and/or chamomile.
- Make sure your room is slightly cool, NOT HOT.
- Make sure your room is dark and quiet. Cover up windows and remove ticking clocks. Most important of all, turn your alarm clock away from you. Watching the time go by does NOT help sleep-seekers. Neither does the bright, neon light coming from the clock.
- Make sure your uncomfortable mattress isn’t the problem.
- Have the SAME routine EVERY DAY. Your body will get used to the routine so that every time you take a bath, for instance, it knows it’s time for bed.
- Don’t watch TV at bedtime. The light from the TV disrupts your sleeping.
- Have a partner? Orgasms help. Don’t have a partner? Orgasms still help.

If you do all these things and are not seeing results (give it a few weeks), take the sleep log to a doctor. Tell them what you’ve done. They might suggest more/different medication, or they might send you to someone who specializes in cognitive behavior therapy. (CBT is psychological in nature and will touch on these “sleep hygiene” techniques like I’ve mentioned along with many, many other things I haven’t delved into like unrealistic sleep expectations and misconceptions about insomnia.)

I’m sorry this turned into such a book of an answer, but I hope it helps! Best wishes for good dreams!

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Question by cgplybon: If I have sleep apnea, is there anything I can do on my own to fix it?
I have a lot of the common symptoms of sleep apnea: I snore, I wake up tired, I’m tired and/or groggy all day, I could honestly sleep for 12 hours straight if the alarm didn’t wake me up, and I usually wake up with a headache. The trouble is, I have no insurance and little money to spend on a doctor. I mean, truthfully, my income is very fixed and I couldn’t afford anything more than a few hundred dollars for this. It’s depressing. I’m always told I’m lazy, but the truth is, I’m always really tired. Is there anything I can do on my own to help this? At least for another year or two until I can get a job with insurance (I’m a college student ATM). Thanks in advance.
Please, read my question before posting an answer. If I had the thousand bucks to spend on a sleep study and CPAP machine, I WOULD. But I don’t. So I guess I’m just out of luck

Best answer:

Answer by BonesofaTeacher
if it is sleep apnea, losing weight often helps. if you are overweight.
which you don’t say. you want to consider your diet, since that could be a lot of the problem, too.

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Question by flip_flop2010: uncle forgot power cord to sleep apnea breathing machine. Anything we can do?
is there any like universal cord or something we can try- its a Respironics BiPap Auto M Series 12 volt 4 amp
Not too sure what that is- but I know we have 18,000 black cords here- if anyone has any suggestions or info- PLEASE HELP

Best answer:

Answer by somerandomdude
Try to remember what the cord looks like, whether it has the large square box or just a straight three-pronged cord, etc.

Look online for the exact make/model machine and try to download the instructions, to make certain you have the voltage information correct. Depending on the shape of the plug, another cord of the same power level may work, though I can’t say it’s exactly safe to do and is certainly not supported by the manufacturer.

On your cords, read the label on the converter box, to see the voltage setting. Don’t use anything that isn’t exactly the same. Does the machine have battery backup? Can you use that?

** edit **

Reading this over, it looks like there would have to be a special cord and power pack for DC power. If you don’t have that, you’re probably sunk. They definitely don’t want you using any cord but theirs, and looking at the pic, it doesn’t appear another household cord would fit.

http://global.respironics.com/UserGuides/BiPAPAutoMUserMan.pdf

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