6 ms·

I Got a Sleep Study in My 30s. It Probably Saved My Life

126 points by fortran77 2y ago

supdudesupdude 2y ago
What should i do if my SO is the snorer and i'm the light sleeper? Right now I just wake up after 3-5 hours every night and move to different bed for the remaning hours of sleep.
- uncivilized 2y ago
  Have you tried talking to them?
  - Cyberdog 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
- quest88 2y ago
  What actions will get you the most sleep? Some ideas: - Ask them to get a sleep study - Ask them to wear a breathe right strip - Start sleeping in a different room instead of switching halfway throughout the night.
- from-nibly 2y ago
  have them get a sleep study. If they have sleep apnea it's slowly killing them. It's really important to get that treated. Be patient with the machine, try various options, like sleep tape, and what not, but the machine is AMAZING if you can sleep with it on. First time I slept with it on I woke up at 4:00am after having the best sleep of my life and was ready to go. It's amazing what a real nights sleep can give you.
- dsr_ 2y ago
  Record your SO's snoring, sight and sound, for a few minutes, and then show it to them. It's hard to understand how bad it is when you're the one doing the snoring. It's easy once you have proof.
tombert 2y ago
I don't know if it saved my life, but my life certainly has improved after a sleep study about a year ago where I discovered that I have a moderate case of sleep apnea. Mine is mild enough to where I'm able to get away with just the oral appliance and a nasal strip at night (and avoiding alcohol and losing a bit of weight), but these alone have made me sleep considerably better, and I feel a lot more rested throughout the day. I'm generally nicer to people, I don't yell nearly as much, my thinking is a bit clearer, and of course there are other medical benefits to not drinking and not being overweight). PSA, if anyone here snores, or feels like they're not getting good rest at night, I very very very strongly recommend getting a sleep study.
- dangfads 2y ago
  [flagged]
account42 2y ago
> Waking myself up became an hours-long ritual of energy drinks and coffee. This doesn't really mean anything in of itself as your body will happily normalize to whatever caffeine tolerance you feed it at a regular schedule.
- nope1000 2y ago
  Yes, I was pretty surprised how quickly it works too. After not drinking coffee for 3 days, I felt awake in the morning no problem.
taylodl 2y ago
Fellas (and it's mainly guys, though women are affected too), if your SO is complaining about your snoring, or you're just "feeling old", get a sleep study. What this article is talking about - is stress, and that stress is slowly killing you. It was killing me. Making my blood pressure higher, making my cholesterol numbers slightly out of whack, affecting my A1C levels. Nothing terrible - but all "out of adjustment", but easily correctable with meds. Then my doctor suggested a sleep study (my dentist had already recommended one due to my teeth grinding). I did it. Ended up getting a CPAP - and that's been a life-changer! I instantly felt at least 10-15 years younger, was able to think more clearly, my wife has been able to get good sleep. In fact, I went from being able to wake up everyone in the house with my loud snoring to my wife checking on me through the night to make sure I'm still alive because I'm now so quiet! I absolutely love it! The machine itself is whisper quiet. I use nasal pillows instead of the face mask and it's very comfortable. Takes a couple of days to get used to, may have to adjust the settings on your unit to make it work for you, but boy is it worth it!
- keybored 2y ago
  I don’t have an SO to notice this but I should do this (or at least record myself sleeping). Brushing off things with “getting older” (…who above the age of twenty isn’t?[1]) when they can be dealt with is a shame. Dying too I guess. [1] Yes the age 25 seems to be the general peak, but people under that age can still complain about wrinkles.
  - dlivingston 2y ago
    As a quick smoke test to see how bad your snoring is, you may want to look into the smart alarm app 'Sleep Cycle', which records snoring events.
    - grugagag 2y ago
      Any voice recorder would do, even a digital one on any smartphone.
    - keybored 2y ago
oezi 2y ago
I used this app to figure out that snoring isn't my issue: https://snorefox.com/en/ https://snorefox.com/en/
- boppo1 2y ago
  Unavailable in the US. Bummer.
braden-lk 2y ago
Same; got a study after having a really bad bout of headaches and mood swings. I was suffocating in my sleep with 60AHI. Anything above 5 is apnea, above 30 is severe. From what I understand, apnea is insidious because it develops slowly and your body acclimates to your increasing CO2 levels, even though the lack of oxygen is causing brain damage. Getting ASV therapy has been a game-changer. I was turning into a cranky dumb brute and ASV started reversing it, once I acclimated to therapy. That took about 4 months though.
bryanlarsen 2y ago
Another important fact: you can have sleep apnea even if you don't snore.
colombiunpride2 2y ago
[dead]
zitterbewegung 2y ago
I have sleep apnea . I once went to Colorado without having a piece. Altitude changes the ability for your blood to absorb oxygen and you have ti hydrate often (I was buying one water bottle every time I went up a flight of stairs) even when I was doing that I had brain fog and headaches . It’s hard to bring your cpap to Confrences because you must find distilled water or deal with the fact that your cpap will collect impurities with the water. Regardless it gets my brain fog away and since I’m not hypoxic it enhances my ability to recall things , problem solving and how I feel . Sleep apnea is real and if you have brain fog or other symptoms get tested. It takes a day to do the study but it is worth it . It is literally like a second wind to yourself . Also, stay hydrated this is a big thing I have to work on personally.
- dsr_ 2y ago
  Bring an extra toothbrush. Scrub your humidifier tank with the toothbrush and toothpaste, once a day. Now you can ignore distilled water for a week or two.
  - zitterbewegung 2y ago
    I get new humidifier tanks often enough so I don’t have to do this to clean but I use distilled often so nothing builds up to the point that it could be a problem.
- mosdl 2y ago
  You can just disable the humidifier in those cases, I've found that I only really benefit from it when its really cold and dry.
  - TMWNN 2y ago
    For the AirSense 11, a replacement sidecap is available that automatically disables the water-warming function.
- Cthulhu_ 2y ago
  What kind of impurities? Consult your service manual first and foremost, but there should be information on cleaning it. If it wasn't a medical product I'd recommend straight vinegar to get the limescale buildup out.
patrickdavey 2y ago
I got a sleep study years ago, and again more recently. An ahi of 7 or something. I tried the CPAP machine for 7 weeks and it made no noticeable difference. I've got a mouth guard (mandibula advancement splint) which reduces snoring but again no real difference in fatigue. I've also had nasal surgery but still no real difference. I'm a little overweight but nothing crazy. Slightly annoying really that I haven't found a magic bullet to fatigue, unsure what to try next (other than just lose some weight & exercise more).
- Chihuahua0633 2y ago
  > I tried the CPAP machine for 7 weeks and it made no noticeable difference. Did you look at the actual data from your CPAP to see if it was working? Oscar (https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php/OSCAR_-_The_Guide https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php/OSCAR_-_The_Guide) provides you with way more information than the basic app on your phone (or display of your CPAP) will provide you; maybe it just needed some adjustments or a different mask.
- meroes 2y ago
  Weight loss, exercise, and diet sound like the next trials. Idk if it’s an as I get older thing, but I do much better energy wise when I replace grain-based carbs with fruits or beans, slightly more protein+fat, etc, within reason. I keep the calories the same roughly but find other fuels sources I enjoy, trying to limit major grain intake to one meal a day.
- collinvandyck76 2y ago
  I've been surprised at how much light cardio helps many things. My career has been put on hold recently due to sudden onset of intense, never-ending headaches. So far, the most effective ways to stop it have been NSAIDs like ibuprofen, and cardio. In the initial part of my journey I probably consumed more advil than i would in three years, and this of course created additional problems. The cardio part was surprising because if I did a 30m elliptical workout, getting my heart rate up to ~150 for 20 or so minutes, that granted me 1-2 hours of pain free existence. So, in addition to other things like supplements and cutting back on the caffeine, I'm just about at a place where I can manage it, and I think that the cardio is having a cumulative effect, as the windows where my pain level is manageable are widening. Hope that helps you too if you go that route. Feeling tired all the time is no joke.
rrgok 2y ago
I know it is a bad idea and I honestly don't know if I have sleep apnea. Always wake up not rested enough. I don't want go through the whole sleep study cycle because my insurance wouldn't not pay for it. Can I just get a sleep apnea machine and try it for, let's say, a week? Is it dangerous?
- renewiltord 2y ago
  I was thinking the same and apparently it has to be tuned (though I don’t know how real that claim is from the ENT). One thing to check quickly is to use an Apple Watch or similar device with continuous monitoring and see if you have any low blood ox levels. Pulse ox devices are pretty simple but the ones they give you for testing are the only ones that have passed the FDA regs.
- relativeadv 2y ago
  you could, but i would not recommend it. Sleep apnea comes in many forms. CSA, OSA, maybe you need a bipap and not a cpap. Sleep apnea machines tell you how many events youve had during the night but you could be given a false positive if you try to self diagnose with one of these. I should also add that for most people it takes months to acclimate to even keeping the damn thing on overnight. Do you wake up with headaches? source: i have sleep apnea and wear a cpap
  - rrgok 2y ago
    No, I don't wakeup with headaches. But, I easily need at least 10h of sleep a day to feel normal. If I ever sleep less than 10h, my whole day is ruined. I don't know if this a good enough reason to doubt that I have sleep apnea.
    - relativeadv 2y ago
      I would get a sleep study performed then. I know its expensive but fortunately once you have the prescription you're set to get a calibrated machine for you.
- Cthulhu_ 2y ago
sssilver 2y ago
How were you guys able to get a sleep study?? I tried getting one twice and they gave me this stuff that I took home and inserted into my nostrils wrapping around my head and attached to my chest and finger and that alone completely destroyed my sleep. I struggled until like 6am every night and then once I fell asleep all of it got promptly detached from my body because I roll around a lot in my sleep. Long story short they couldn’t collect any data about my sleep.
- kva 2y ago
  Check out the WatchPAT One - its a new at-home sleep test that is really simple and very non-invasive.
quanto 2y ago
My sleep issue costed me jobs, romantic relationships, and the finest years of my life. If you are severely sleep deprived, everything seems like shit, and it goes downhill from there. I fixed my sleep issue in my mid-30s and life has been slowly getting better. Better physical health, emotional stability, and social life. People repeatedly comment that I am a completely different person (in a good way!). As noted here, sleep apnea is a huge issue indeed, but I would like to suggest more mundane solutions first. Try different mattresses, pillows, and sleeping temperatures to see what fits you. Reduce caffeine intake for a month. Sleep an hour earlier than your usual for two weeks. Try light exercise everyday. They all add up. I wish I could get my lost years (and jobs, relationships) back, but that's life.
tyleo 2y ago
I had a bad experience with a sleep study. I snore and stop breathing in my sleep as per my wife. I went to a dr. to rectify the situation. Was told after the sleep study that I snore and stop breathing “within reasonable limits” but I fell asleep in < 1 min and slept 99% of the time. They said I was “a tired person” and that I need more sleep… I am not a tired person and adding an extra hour of sleep the next 2 weeks didn’t improve anything. The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth and I’m hesitant now to follow up. I’ve had a few experiences like this at drs for other issues. IDK if it’s something about me but it’s impacted my trust in the medical community and makes me a bit sad even thinking about it and sharing here.
- llamaimperative 2y ago
  You should continue shopping around for doctors until you solve the problem. The difference between a good MD and an average one is absolutely astounding, and you are ultimately the only person responsible for your health. You should view the medical community like all communities: there are good members, bad members, and a whole lot of people in between.
  - tyleo 2y ago
    Agreed, in the sleep case I took matters into my own hands by experimenting with nose strips, temperature, stacking pillows, etc. The main issue for me is that I like my general doctor but I’ve felt like specialists are the real crapshoot. I’m in a city where I feel like the specialists are hard to access and have generally been lower quality than when I lived in suburbs. I’ve wondered if it’s a sort of “pets vs cattle” issue like people talk about servers with. In other words, are there just too many people to give individuals the care they need?
    - llamaimperative 2y ago
      Yes, that's part of it. Demands on doctors (in the US at least) are absolutely insane. Keeping up to date on the relevant literature for a single specialty would require something like 27 hours per day of reading, most doctors cannot afford to see a patient for more than 15 minutes at a time because they need to get through so many consultations per day, and then they have to argue with insurance companies much the same way (but at dramatically higher frequency) that patients do.
htk 2y ago
Sorry to be the guy talking about a tangential subject, but in the middle of the article a unrelated video autoplays. Why do websites do this? It breaks the concentration in the article, and personally just pisses me off that it's strong-arming me into watching something that I didn't ask for.
- EricE 2y ago
  One of my favorite features of Safari is the ability, per website (and as a global default) to turn reader mode on by default where stuff like that is hidden.
groos 2y ago
I sign of apnea is if you wake up from sleep with your heart racing for no apparent reason. It's become common to equate snoring to apnea but with the latter you start choking till your body is forced to wake you up, increasing stress, preventing restorative deep sleep and subsequently creating tiredness.
codr7 2y ago
These kinds of issues seem VERY common from my experience. I wonder what happened here, it doesn't look like the kind of traits that would be naturally selected.
- ragingroosevelt 2y ago
  Sedentary lifestyles seems pretty likely. A lot of people in this thread are talking about how exercise is something that seemed to help or that their doc suggested.
mabbo 2y ago
I got a sleep study at the age of 24 because my then-girlfriend (now wife) said "I got used to the snoring, but that thing where you stop breathing really freaks me out". The what now? In hindsight, I'd had signs of sleep apnea since I was in my teens despite being a healthy weight. I was diagnosed with 'mild to moderate' sleep apnea and told to not drink, and to exercise more. No CPAP needed. And they were right- if I do those things, I don't have many problems. But then again, I can't always do those things. What really helped though, and I'm loathe to even say it, was taking high absorption magnesium. I hate it because there are very limited studies that say it should work, and it's mostly promoted by absolute quacks. And yet, when I take it, I sleep really well without snoring or having apnea issues and if I stop, I sleep terribly.
- EricE 2y ago
  If it works then why were they "absolute quacks"? There's a ton of misinformation from the "legitimate" medical community. The most blatant and recent was the FUD around Ivermectin.
  - sshine 2y ago
    > loathe to even say it, was taking high absorption magnesium The reason to loathe an advice that seems to work, but isn't backed by scientific study is: The Placebo effect is real and strong. There's no harm in subscribing to Placebo, if there's no downside, but promoting gets a little... meh. We like to be scientific when possible.
ip26 2y ago
One unconventional datapoint for reference - docs couldn't make sense of my apneas, have none of the normal risk factors. Eventually discovered it was a subtle oral food allergy.
ashconnor 2y ago
I recently had a sleep study after approaching my family doctor concerning my class II occlusion lower-jaw. It came back conclusive for moderate sleep apnea with recommendations to use a CPAP device. I'm opting for surgery instead.
blackeyeblitzar 2y ago
I don’t get why sleep studies are necessary to get CPAP / APAP machines. These should be over the counter. No you don’t need a study or a doctor to tell you what pressure to use - you can figure that out based on the quality of sleep the machine detects or your own tolerance for discomfort or just by using the automatic settings. What a racket.
choxi 2y ago
I developed sleep apnea from poor posture and was able to fix it by correcting my posture. Developing a hunch or anterior pelvic tilt is especially a risk for desk workers and makes breathing harder, a little bit of yoga or posture correction exercises can save you a lot of trouble.
- EForEndeavour 2y ago
  How did you monitor your apnea before and after your posture correction? And how does one's standing posture affect breathing when lying horizontally -- is it a matter of breathing muscle strength?
- oarfish 2y ago
  This sounds implausible, since "good posture" doesn't really have a definition. Is there any data on this beyond anecdote? How do you know your posture was the only possibile explanation for onset and resolution of symptoms?
stuffuru 2y ago
I learned abt sleep apnea from HN a couple of years ago. Treatment has made a noticeable improvement to my quality of life. I went the surgical route (EASE, MMA, pharyngoplasty) and while it's not made me 100% (one of the surgeons was a butcher), I was able to work and drive again.
voisin 2y ago
Anyone try mouth taping while sleeping?

126 points by fortran77 2y ago

What should i do if my SO is the snorer and i'm the light sleeper? Right now I just wake up after 3-5 hours every night and move to different bed for the remaning hours of sleep.

uncivilized 2y ago
Have you tried talking to them?
- Cyberdog 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
quest88 2y ago
What actions will get you the most sleep? Some ideas: - Ask them to get a sleep study - Ask them to wear a breathe right strip - Start sleeping in a different room instead of switching halfway throughout the night.
from-nibly 2y ago
have them get a sleep study. If they have sleep apnea it's slowly killing them. It's really important to get that treated. Be patient with the machine, try various options, like sleep tape, and what not, but the machine is AMAZING if you can sleep with it on. First time I slept with it on I woke up at 4:00am after having the best sleep of my life and was ready to go. It's amazing what a real nights sleep can give you.
dsr_ 2y ago
Record your SO's snoring, sight and sound, for a few minutes, and then show it to them. It's hard to understand how bad it is when you're the one doing the snoring. It's easy once you have proof.

tombert 2y ago

I don't know if it saved my life, but my life certainly has improved after a sleep study about a year ago where I discovered that I have a moderate case of sleep apnea. Mine is mild enough to where I'm able to get away with just the oral appliance and a nasal strip at night (and avoiding alcohol and losing a bit of weight), but these alone have made me sleep considerably better, and I feel a lot more rested throughout the day. I'm generally nicer to people, I don't yell nearly as much, my thinking is a bit clearer, and of course there are other medical benefits to not drinking and not being overweight). PSA, if anyone here snores, or feels like they're not getting good rest at night, I very very very strongly recommend getting a sleep study.

dangfads 2y ago
[flagged]

account42 2y ago

> Waking myself up became an hours-long ritual of energy drinks and coffee. This doesn't really mean anything in of itself as your body will happily normalize to whatever caffeine tolerance you feed it at a regular schedule.

nope1000 2y ago
Yes, I was pretty surprised how quickly it works too. After not drinking coffee for 3 days, I felt awake in the morning no problem.

taylodl 2y ago

Fellas (and it's mainly guys, though women are affected too), if your SO is complaining about your snoring, or you're just "feeling old", get a sleep study. What this article is talking about - is stress, and that stress is slowly killing you. It was killing me. Making my blood pressure higher, making my cholesterol numbers slightly out of whack, affecting my A1C levels. Nothing terrible - but all "out of adjustment", but easily correctable with meds. Then my doctor suggested a sleep study (my dentist had already recommended one due to my teeth grinding). I did it. Ended up getting a CPAP - and that's been a life-changer! I instantly felt at least 10-15 years younger, was able to think more clearly, my wife has been able to get good sleep. In fact, I went from being able to wake up everyone in the house with my loud snoring to my wife checking on me through the night to make sure I'm still alive because I'm now so quiet! I absolutely love it! The machine itself is whisper quiet. I use nasal pillows instead of the face mask and it's very comfortable. Takes a couple of days to get used to, may have to adjust the settings on your unit to make it work for you, but boy is it worth it!

keybored 2y ago
I don’t have an SO to notice this but I should do this (or at least record myself sleeping). Brushing off things with “getting older” (…who above the age of twenty isn’t?[1]) when they can be dealt with is a shame. Dying too I guess. [1] Yes the age 25 seems to be the general peak, but people under that age can still complain about wrinkles.
- dlivingston 2y ago
  As a quick smoke test to see how bad your snoring is, you may want to look into the smart alarm app 'Sleep Cycle', which records snoring events.
  - grugagag 2y ago
    Any voice recorder would do, even a digital one on any smartphone.
  - keybored 2y ago

oezi 2y ago

I used this app to figure out that snoring isn't my issue: https://snorefox.com/en/ https://snorefox.com/en/

boppo1 2y ago
Unavailable in the US. Bummer.

braden-lk 2y ago

Same; got a study after having a really bad bout of headaches and mood swings. I was suffocating in my sleep with 60AHI. Anything above 5 is apnea, above 30 is severe. From what I understand, apnea is insidious because it develops slowly and your body acclimates to your increasing CO2 levels, even though the lack of oxygen is causing brain damage. Getting ASV therapy has been a game-changer. I was turning into a cranky dumb brute and ASV started reversing it, once I acclimated to therapy. That took about 4 months though.

bryanlarsen 2y ago

Another important fact: you can have sleep apnea even if you don't snore.

colombiunpride2 2y ago

[dead]

zitterbewegung 2y ago

I have sleep apnea . I once went to Colorado without having a piece. Altitude changes the ability for your blood to absorb oxygen and you have ti hydrate often (I was buying one water bottle every time I went up a flight of stairs) even when I was doing that I had brain fog and headaches . It’s hard to bring your cpap to Confrences because you must find distilled water or deal with the fact that your cpap will collect impurities with the water. Regardless it gets my brain fog away and since I’m not hypoxic it enhances my ability to recall things , problem solving and how I feel . Sleep apnea is real and if you have brain fog or other symptoms get tested. It takes a day to do the study but it is worth it . It is literally like a second wind to yourself . Also, stay hydrated this is a big thing I have to work on personally.

dsr_ 2y ago
Bring an extra toothbrush. Scrub your humidifier tank with the toothbrush and toothpaste, once a day. Now you can ignore distilled water for a week or two.
- zitterbewegung 2y ago
  I get new humidifier tanks often enough so I don’t have to do this to clean but I use distilled often so nothing builds up to the point that it could be a problem.
mosdl 2y ago
You can just disable the humidifier in those cases, I've found that I only really benefit from it when its really cold and dry.
- TMWNN 2y ago
  For the AirSense 11, a replacement sidecap is available that automatically disables the water-warming function.
Cthulhu_ 2y ago
What kind of impurities? Consult your service manual first and foremost, but there should be information on cleaning it. If it wasn't a medical product I'd recommend straight vinegar to get the limescale buildup out.

patrickdavey 2y ago

I got a sleep study years ago, and again more recently. An ahi of 7 or something. I tried the CPAP machine for 7 weeks and it made no noticeable difference. I've got a mouth guard (mandibula advancement splint) which reduces snoring but again no real difference in fatigue. I've also had nasal surgery but still no real difference. I'm a little overweight but nothing crazy. Slightly annoying really that I haven't found a magic bullet to fatigue, unsure what to try next (other than just lose some weight & exercise more).

Chihuahua0633 2y ago
> I tried the CPAP machine for 7 weeks and it made no noticeable difference. Did you look at the actual data from your CPAP to see if it was working? Oscar (https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php/OSCAR_-_The_Guide https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php/OSCAR_-_The_Guide) provides you with way more information than the basic app on your phone (or display of your CPAP) will provide you; maybe it just needed some adjustments or a different mask.
meroes 2y ago
Weight loss, exercise, and diet sound like the next trials. Idk if it’s an as I get older thing, but I do much better energy wise when I replace grain-based carbs with fruits or beans, slightly more protein+fat, etc, within reason. I keep the calories the same roughly but find other fuels sources I enjoy, trying to limit major grain intake to one meal a day.
collinvandyck76 2y ago
I've been surprised at how much light cardio helps many things. My career has been put on hold recently due to sudden onset of intense, never-ending headaches. So far, the most effective ways to stop it have been NSAIDs like ibuprofen, and cardio. In the initial part of my journey I probably consumed more advil than i would in three years, and this of course created additional problems. The cardio part was surprising because if I did a 30m elliptical workout, getting my heart rate up to ~150 for 20 or so minutes, that granted me 1-2 hours of pain free existence. So, in addition to other things like supplements and cutting back on the caffeine, I'm just about at a place where I can manage it, and I think that the cardio is having a cumulative effect, as the windows where my pain level is manageable are widening. Hope that helps you too if you go that route. Feeling tired all the time is no joke.

rrgok 2y ago

I know it is a bad idea and I honestly don't know if I have sleep apnea. Always wake up not rested enough. I don't want go through the whole sleep study cycle because my insurance wouldn't not pay for it. Can I just get a sleep apnea machine and try it for, let's say, a week? Is it dangerous?

renewiltord 2y ago
I was thinking the same and apparently it has to be tuned (though I don’t know how real that claim is from the ENT). One thing to check quickly is to use an Apple Watch or similar device with continuous monitoring and see if you have any low blood ox levels. Pulse ox devices are pretty simple but the ones they give you for testing are the only ones that have passed the FDA regs.
relativeadv 2y ago
you could, but i would not recommend it. Sleep apnea comes in many forms. CSA, OSA, maybe you need a bipap and not a cpap. Sleep apnea machines tell you how many events youve had during the night but you could be given a false positive if you try to self diagnose with one of these. I should also add that for most people it takes months to acclimate to even keeping the damn thing on overnight. Do you wake up with headaches? source: i have sleep apnea and wear a cpap
- rrgok 2y ago
  No, I don't wakeup with headaches. But, I easily need at least 10h of sleep a day to feel normal. If I ever sleep less than 10h, my whole day is ruined. I don't know if this a good enough reason to doubt that I have sleep apnea.
  - relativeadv 2y ago
    I would get a sleep study performed then. I know its expensive but fortunately once you have the prescription you're set to get a calibrated machine for you.
Cthulhu_ 2y ago

sssilver 2y ago

How were you guys able to get a sleep study?? I tried getting one twice and they gave me this stuff that I took home and inserted into my nostrils wrapping around my head and attached to my chest and finger and that alone completely destroyed my sleep. I struggled until like 6am every night and then once I fell asleep all of it got promptly detached from my body because I roll around a lot in my sleep. Long story short they couldn’t collect any data about my sleep.

kva 2y ago
Check out the WatchPAT One - its a new at-home sleep test that is really simple and very non-invasive.

quanto 2y ago

My sleep issue costed me jobs, romantic relationships, and the finest years of my life. If you are severely sleep deprived, everything seems like shit, and it goes downhill from there. I fixed my sleep issue in my mid-30s and life has been slowly getting better. Better physical health, emotional stability, and social life. People repeatedly comment that I am a completely different person (in a good way!). As noted here, sleep apnea is a huge issue indeed, but I would like to suggest more mundane solutions first. Try different mattresses, pillows, and sleeping temperatures to see what fits you. Reduce caffeine intake for a month. Sleep an hour earlier than your usual for two weeks. Try light exercise everyday. They all add up. I wish I could get my lost years (and jobs, relationships) back, but that's life.

tyleo 2y ago

I had a bad experience with a sleep study. I snore and stop breathing in my sleep as per my wife. I went to a dr. to rectify the situation. Was told after the sleep study that I snore and stop breathing “within reasonable limits” but I fell asleep in < 1 min and slept 99% of the time. They said I was “a tired person” and that I need more sleep… I am not a tired person and adding an extra hour of sleep the next 2 weeks didn’t improve anything. The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth and I’m hesitant now to follow up. I’ve had a few experiences like this at drs for other issues. IDK if it’s something about me but it’s impacted my trust in the medical community and makes me a bit sad even thinking about it and sharing here.

llamaimperative 2y ago
You should continue shopping around for doctors until you solve the problem. The difference between a good MD and an average one is absolutely astounding, and you are ultimately the only person responsible for your health. You should view the medical community like all communities: there are good members, bad members, and a whole lot of people in between.
- tyleo 2y ago
  Agreed, in the sleep case I took matters into my own hands by experimenting with nose strips, temperature, stacking pillows, etc. The main issue for me is that I like my general doctor but I’ve felt like specialists are the real crapshoot. I’m in a city where I feel like the specialists are hard to access and have generally been lower quality than when I lived in suburbs. I’ve wondered if it’s a sort of “pets vs cattle” issue like people talk about servers with. In other words, are there just too many people to give individuals the care they need?
  - llamaimperative 2y ago
    Yes, that's part of it. Demands on doctors (in the US at least) are absolutely insane. Keeping up to date on the relevant literature for a single specialty would require something like 27 hours per day of reading, most doctors cannot afford to see a patient for more than 15 minutes at a time because they need to get through so many consultations per day, and then they have to argue with insurance companies much the same way (but at dramatically higher frequency) that patients do.

htk 2y ago

Sorry to be the guy talking about a tangential subject, but in the middle of the article a unrelated video autoplays. Why do websites do this? It breaks the concentration in the article, and personally just pisses me off that it's strong-arming me into watching something that I didn't ask for.

EricE 2y ago
One of my favorite features of Safari is the ability, per website (and as a global default) to turn reader mode on by default where stuff like that is hidden.

groos 2y ago

I sign of apnea is if you wake up from sleep with your heart racing for no apparent reason. It's become common to equate snoring to apnea but with the latter you start choking till your body is forced to wake you up, increasing stress, preventing restorative deep sleep and subsequently creating tiredness.

codr7 2y ago

These kinds of issues seem VERY common from my experience. I wonder what happened here, it doesn't look like the kind of traits that would be naturally selected.

ragingroosevelt 2y ago
Sedentary lifestyles seems pretty likely. A lot of people in this thread are talking about how exercise is something that seemed to help or that their doc suggested.

mabbo 2y ago

I got a sleep study at the age of 24 because my then-girlfriend (now wife) said "I got used to the snoring, but that thing where you stop breathing really freaks me out". The what now? In hindsight, I'd had signs of sleep apnea since I was in my teens despite being a healthy weight. I was diagnosed with 'mild to moderate' sleep apnea and told to not drink, and to exercise more. No CPAP needed. And they were right- if I do those things, I don't have many problems. But then again, I can't always do those things. What really helped though, and I'm loathe to even say it, was taking high absorption magnesium. I hate it because there are very limited studies that say it should work, and it's mostly promoted by absolute quacks. And yet, when I take it, I sleep really well without snoring or having apnea issues and if I stop, I sleep terribly.

EricE 2y ago
If it works then why were they "absolute quacks"? There's a ton of misinformation from the "legitimate" medical community. The most blatant and recent was the FUD around Ivermectin.
- sshine 2y ago
  > loathe to even say it, was taking high absorption magnesium The reason to loathe an advice that seems to work, but isn't backed by scientific study is: The Placebo effect is real and strong. There's no harm in subscribing to Placebo, if there's no downside, but promoting gets a little... meh. We like to be scientific when possible.

ip26 2y ago

One unconventional datapoint for reference - docs couldn't make sense of my apneas, have none of the normal risk factors. Eventually discovered it was a subtle oral food allergy.

ashconnor 2y ago

I recently had a sleep study after approaching my family doctor concerning my class II occlusion lower-jaw. It came back conclusive for moderate sleep apnea with recommendations to use a CPAP device. I'm opting for surgery instead.

blackeyeblitzar 2y ago

I don’t get why sleep studies are necessary to get CPAP / APAP machines. These should be over the counter. No you don’t need a study or a doctor to tell you what pressure to use - you can figure that out based on the quality of sleep the machine detects or your own tolerance for discomfort or just by using the automatic settings. What a racket.

choxi 2y ago

I developed sleep apnea from poor posture and was able to fix it by correcting my posture. Developing a hunch or anterior pelvic tilt is especially a risk for desk workers and makes breathing harder, a little bit of yoga or posture correction exercises can save you a lot of trouble.

EForEndeavour 2y ago
How did you monitor your apnea before and after your posture correction? And how does one's standing posture affect breathing when lying horizontally -- is it a matter of breathing muscle strength?
oarfish 2y ago
This sounds implausible, since "good posture" doesn't really have a definition. Is there any data on this beyond anecdote? How do you know your posture was the only possibile explanation for onset and resolution of symptoms?

stuffuru 2y ago

I learned abt sleep apnea from HN a couple of years ago. Treatment has made a noticeable improvement to my quality of life. I went the surgical route (EASE, MMA, pharyngoplasty) and while it's not made me 100% (one of the surgeons was a butcher), I was able to work and drive again.

voisin 2y ago

Anyone try mouth taping while sleeping?