Sleep apnea consultation.......?

Question

What usually happens at a cosulation for "sleep apnea". I have problems breathing at night, and I wake up sometimes gasping for air ! It doesn't happen every night. Also if the doctor does order a sleep test, what if my breathing is fine that night, is there any other way they can tell I might have a sleeping problem if it doesn't happen "Every Night" THANKS SO MUCH!

Answer 1

Apnea means no breathing. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by your upper airway being blocked when you sleep by your tongue and soft tissues. During a sleep study, they will monitor not only your respirations, but brain waves, eye movements, oxygen saturaton, muscle tone in your jaw muscles, and leg movements.
They can determine not only when and if you stop breathing, but what level of sleep you are achieving. If you do not progress through the normal stages of sleep, then you will not feel rested when you wake up. Sleep science involves a lot more than just watching to see if you stop breathing.
Many patients who have sleep apnea need a CPAP machine to provide airflow to keep their airway open during sleep.

Answer 2

If you do have sleep apnea, usually it happens every night. They should be able to see that if you have a sleep study. Sleep apnea is not just gasping for air, but bouts where you will completely stop breathing. You will breath in, but it might take you up to a minute to finally breath out. My husband has sleep apnea and I get scared sometimes. He doesn't even know he does most of the time.

Answer 3

I was diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea about twelve years ago, after suffering extreme fatigue, rapid weight gain for no apparent reason, and generally feeling crappy.

When I explain to people, what Sleep Apnea means, I like to equate it to drinking a milkshake. When you get to the bottom of the milkshake, and suck the straw, the straw flattens. When you let go of the straw, it resumes it's normal shape. This is what your airway does. You breathe in, it flattens. You breathe out, it returns to normal. After a few attempts at breathing in, your brain realizes it needs oxygen and panics, and wakes up just enough to make things work correctly. Most people don't fully wake up, and most don't remember having any distress. It's usually a bed partner who discovers that something is not quite right.

Many OSA people never reach the REM stage of sleep, so waking up just enough to rev up things doesn't actually wake us up. The REM stage of sleep is the stage where we get rejuvinated, and between not reaching that stage and constantly unconsciencely waking up, we feel tired.

Since you have the feeling that it doesn't happen every night, I will tell you that some things further aggravate apneic episodes. Drinking alcohol or caffeine, or smoking, close to bedtime, how tired you are, whether or not you have a cold or stuffy nose, how many pillows you use, and the position that you sleep in will all affect Sleep Apnea. Sleeping on your back allows all the airway muscles to relax backwards, (this is bad) whereas sleeping on your side or belly won't.

When you go for an overnight sleep study, they will tell you to stay on your back. It's not that they want you to be uncomfortable. They just want to see if it triggers apneic episodes.

During the sleep study, you'll be in a room that looks like a nice motel room with a TV and a fan, etc. You'll be hooked up to a bunch of wires and belts from your head to your calves. It sounds horrible. My first time I just knew I would be electrocuted! But as it turns out, no part of the test hurts in any way. It just feels weird to have all this stuff attached to you. All the data from all the stuff attached to you is fed into a computer, that will be monitored by a Polysomnography Technician in another room. After the test, the data will be given to the Doc who will assess the results, and you will come back another day, to find out those results. Depending on the sleep center and whether a postive reading is found, you may be awakened halfway through the night and be hooked up to a CPAP machine to finish the test. You may have a bit of gunk in your hair for a couple days. No big deal, really. I've done eight overnight sleep studies, and one Narcolepsy test. It's really not a big deal.

And, no, there is no other way to check for Sleep Apnea. If you are diagnosed with OSA, the Doc will tell you what rate you are...mild, moderate or severe, and tell you that you need a CPAP machine. The machine will be set at a pressure that is perfect for YOU, so that your airway will remain open while you sleep. You'll have some funky looking headgear, to wear while you sleep. I HIGHLY recommend "The Breeze" nasal pillows. The Doctor and staff will assist you in picking what is right for you. In case you need to know, medical insurance covers all aspects of Sleep Apnea.

I own a Yahoo club for people with Sleep Apnea. If you're interested, email me, and I'll send you an invite.

Hope this helps!