Apneas just as falling asleep?

[Nancy S]

Thank you, Sleep2Snore. It doesn't add to the confusion at all - information and ideas are very helpful

[Hydrangea]

I was experiencing this too. Either my throat was closing pretty strongly; or my throat slowly was closing and I could feel a yank, yank, yank (like the jaws of life) opening up my breathing tube.

(Side note: I realized I also experienced this before I ever got my CPAP. I would choke myself awake just as I was falling asleep. Sleeping on my side helped alleviate this.)

I have eliminated this by upping my min pressure (and stopped using the ramp). Now that I've raised my min pressure to a tad bit higher, my throat is not closing on me as I fall asleep.

[OpalRose]

Hello, I was just wondering if anyone knows what it means when you get the apneas literally the minute you fall asleep,
every single time without exception.

This has been happening to me for about 10 days, and I have a sleep study arranged, but need ideas for how to cope in
the meantime, or any ideas about what on earth could be going on.

It's like, when I sleep closer to horizontally, the minute I fall asleep I am awoken by a sound in my throat, plus the
feeling that something in the throat is becoming unstuck, plus a whoosh of air intake. This goes on the entire night,
until I sleep from exhaustion sometime after 6am. If I sleep propped up on an incline, I still have the same sudden
whoosh of air just as falling asleep, but the throat disturbance is less or even absent.

I know these are signs of apneas, but why would they happen every single time without exception, and only start last 10 days?

Some background: I am female in my late forties, with a bmi of 27 and no history of snoring. Also, no medications, smoking, etc.,
but definitely lots of anxiety in the past, along with pretty bad sleep habits (sleeping very late and not consistent times).

Thank you in advance to anyone who reads this... Any ideas at all would be more than welcome!!!

Hi Nancy S,
I was trying to think back what I experienced before I started using an APAP machine.  I never heard any noises as you describe, but would be jolted awake gasping for air, heart pounding.  I would get out of bed and walk around a bit to try and calm down.  This occurred a few times a week and caused me great anxiety.

What I'm trying to say is that everyone experiences something different.  Once you start to use a cpap, and have the proper settings...you shouldn't have these types of symptoms.  

We can help you, but in the meantime or until you actually have your sleep test, try to maintain a routine.  Go to bed about the same time every night, and if you can, try to sleep slightly elevated.  Also sleep on your side.

I also used "white noise"  before and even now.  This way I can't hear my own breathing.  

Nancy, once you have your sleep test done, be sure to ask for a copy. If you want to share with us the findings, that would also help us to help you.  Of course, we are not doctors, but can only advise from our own experiences.

[alsang]

Hi,
I'm new here and it's been 9 days on the cpap and I'm going through the "getting used to" that most have posted. I have had onset apneas for years and since starting the cpap they are getting severe. Sometimes they go on for hours and the longer they go on the more frustrating it gets. When I read your post I couldn't believe what I was reading, it was like I typed it. Waking up a few seconds after falling asleep, one after another is extremely frustrating.
I'm guessing after I go through the cpap procedure the bipap might do the trick. I'll see what the doc has to say on my first checkup.

Your not alone on this one,
Al

My current 9 day AHI is showing 13.9 with SleepyHead.
Plilips DreamStation

[Nancy S]

Thanks for all your replies, sorry I haven't checked the forum in a few days. Thanks Hydrangea and OpalRose for your tips and reassurance that the Cpap can help. Alsang, I can sympathize with what you are going through... It's almost as if I would mind the actual apneas WHILE asleep less, it's the GETTING to sleep that's the difficult part (of course I know that's not right - apneas while asleep need to be treated, too!). I'm also looking into allergies as a possible cause or a factor that may make things worse - mainly because it all started so suddenly. This forum is so helpful and it's nice to know that people are supporting each other!

[Mogy]

Nancy S,
Sleep Onset Apnea is considered normal unless it keeps you up for too long.
If you Google it there is lots of information about it. They explain why it is happening, although I don't understand all of their explanation.