any advice about snoring? please help!?

Question

My fiance and I are set to be married in one month. We live together and sleep together in the same bed. The problem is he snores and makes all kinds of noises at night ( flatulance, coughing, even choking). By the time the sun rises, I feel sick from not getting sleep. I try to talk to him about it, and he gets offended and says he is fat and that is why he snores. I stay at home with our new baby (who also is up at night) and this lack of sleep is starting to affect my breastmilk volume as well. What should I do? (He is against us sleeping in separate beds.) Any advice? Am I destined to have my own bedroom when we get married? (By the way, I cant wear earplugs, they are too uncomfortable). Thanks for you help!

He snores whether he is on his side or his back, so lying on his side doesnt help.

Answer 1

Wake up! Wake up! Quit snoring and take a breath"

Sometimes it can be frightening and sometimes, it can be annoying. The fact of the matter is this: he may have Obstructive Sleep Apnea, he is already waking up many, many times a night because his body is telling him that it needs some air. He just don't realize that it is happening. However, when he wakes up the next day, he is not rested, he may fall asleep when he is not intending to, it is all very frustrating.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea happens when the airway closes with an obstruction and the person can no longer take a breath in. They will make the effort to breathe yet they will not be able to get any air in. The heart rate slows, the oxygen level in the body drops and the body fights to breathe. It is something like drowning or suffocation. Because the oxygen level in the body drops, there are serious consequences to not dealing with ones Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The following are things that can possible happen with someone who ignores their OSA:

1. Never Rested, irritable, stress increases
2. Right sided heart failure (cor pulmonale)
3. Pulmonary Hypertension
4. Death

When you go and see your Pulmonologist, he/she will recommend a sleep study. At the sleep study, they will hook him up to all kinds of different devices to see how he is sleeping. If indeed he does have OSA, the most common form of treatment is CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure).


This device will help keep the airways open.
If you have ever watched anyone sleep who has obstructive sleep apnea, it might seem strange for a while, then, it gets familiar, and then it turns into, "well, that is just how he sleeps." It is dangerous not to get Obstructive Sleep Apnea treated. A lot of people refuse to wear CPAP because, "it looks funny", "it feels uncomfortable", "it blows in my eyes". Whatever the reason, it is better to go ahead and wear the CPAP then to make excuses not to wear it.

There is surgery to remove the excess tissue of the throat. I have only seen this done twice. Once was a friend of mine. She said her throat was sore for months. It is a more drastic, invasive measure, but it is also used to correct this problem.

I say which ever way you use to help him keep breathing at night is good. Just don't ignore the problem. It will not go away and will eventually lead to him being hooked up to more invasive devices than the CPAP machine.

Breathe each and every Breath!

Answer 2

It could be a combination of all of the above, don't you think? Instead of trying to blame each other, how about sticking it out and working on the solution? Sounds like you guys are already doing that - and that's great. You definitely need more room with such a big family, and trying to fight with each other about it and blame each other for it is fruitless. Go out on the street and ask anyone if it's a good arrangement to have two adults and four kids in a 2-bedroom apartment; I think most people will say "you need more room". It's not his fault or your fault or the baby's fault - it's just that your living conditions don't meet your needs. And THIS is the main problem. That said, it's still not good that he snores. Has he seen a doctor about it? Is he overweight? He could have sleep apnea, which is a potentially serious condition. Regardless of your sleeping arrangements, he really should get evaluated. Perhaps he needs one of those CPAP machines that keep your airways open during sleeping; or maybe he has some physical problem (like a deviated septum) that is causing him to breathe abnormally. You *could* also be a light sleeper - but if you are, you probably would have recognized this problem before you even got married or had kids. I've had sleeping issues my whole life, and it's been a real problem for me. (It's been better since I've started taking sleep medication - but the downside is, of course, being teetered to a medication to help me sleep.) My husband snores horribly too; his doctor said it was because he was overweight (he's probably 50 lbs overweight). Whatever the reason is, I can't sleep with him in the same room, so for most of our life together we've slept in separate rooms. Thankfully, we have room to do that. I would go absolutely bonkers if I had to sleep in the same room with him - I probably couldn't even be married to him. Good luck, I hope you will have your living arrangements figured out soon, and that you can encourage your husband to address the snoring problem. P.S. I agree with the others that he should help out with the child, but this is between the two of you guys.

Answer 3

Sounds like sleep apnea. That's a potentially dangerous problem, but it's very treatable. Although annoying at first, an oxygen mask worn at night really makes a huge differerence with this problem.

If that's not available, there is an adenoid-removal surgery that can help with snoring as well.

Regardless, get him to a physician. He/she will know the best suggestions for your fiancee.

Answer 4

The snorring could be caused by several situations:
1. He has what doctors call chronic adenoidittis, basically some benign tumors that keep the air from flowing normally. It's easy to fix in a otorhinolaringology clinic.
2. Is your boyfriend overweight? somethimes this causes the snoring.

One best way to try and sleep without snorring is to use a small pillow that you place under his neck in the way that his vertex(the upper point of the head) is situated as down as possible(basically the position is a hyperextension of the head). This will clear the airways allowing your boyfriend to have an easy air flow.
There are specialists in sleep apneea. They also handle the cases of chronic snorring.
If those methods don't work, try some earplugs;)

Answer 5

i read this a few years ago in a magazine.
Q. why do men snore when they sleep on their back?
and this was the answer given for it...

A . men snore on their backs because the balls fall over their assholes which causes a vapour lock, my only advice is to pin them back or place a small stick under them to keep them propped up!
hahaha... that'll give u sum thing to think about next time hahaha!! anyway i thought it funny. good luck with his snoring tho!

Answer 6

People who snore do so when they lie on their backs. It is said that if something lumpy (e.g. a piece of cork) is tied to the snorer's back, the discomfort will make him turn on his side and so stop snoring.

Might be worth a try!

Answer 7

If he wont seek help from a doctor or lose the weight to help himself there is not much you can do. I feel your pain and have the same problem but I found some comfortable ear plugs made out of silicone and maybe you just need the right ones. good luck

Answer 8

I don't think if docs have come up with any drugs for controling oneself from snoring? I seriously don't...Yes we have therapies like try keep your lips stick together while you sleeep but not drugs as such.

Answer 9

nasal stripes work, buy them and set them out for him to see
u might consider seeing a Dr. regarding sleep apnea a serious problem associated with heavy snoring

Answer 10

Try and have him wear nasal strips. They open the nostrils and they may help him breath better when sleeping and reduce his snoring.