Does this sound like sleep apnea?

[jdip]

Trish6hundred, that's a good idea for the sinus rinse. Will give that a shot.

Thanks for sharing your experience PaytonA. At the place I'm going to, they diagnose as well as sell equipment. Either way, I guess I am going to get the home test equipment from them tomorrow, since it's probably too late to cancel my appointment.

As weird as it sounds, I really want the diagnosis to come back (legitimately) positive. That way, I can finally have a reason for my fatigue the past so many years and finally find some relief with treatment. I'll let you guys know what happens with the test.

[Maggie]

Don't know where in Canada you are but in Ontario the government pays about $700 towards the cost of a CPAP machine under the Assistive Devices programme.

In my experience asking your own GP to make an appointment at a certified sleep clinic is advisable but do get him/her to insist on an overnight sleep test. I was told at the sleep clinic in 2003 I didn't have apnea (although I was certain I did) and 6 years later when I was almost dead on my feet from fatigue, I managed to get the overnight test done. It turned out that, in spite of the clipboard questionnaire on which the initial diagnosis had been based, I did have what in 2009 was said to be 'severe sleep apnea' when the machine recorded 498 instances of sleep disturbance in one 8-hour period . . . small wonder I woke up more tired every morning than when I went to bed. When I mentioned my 2003 visit at which time I was refused the overnight test, the response was "we all make mistakes" - no hint of apology although the doctor's refusal to do a full test had resulted in my husband spending the last 6 years of his life with a wife whose temper was becoming daily shorter through chronic sleep deprivation. I can forgive my own misery; I can't forgive what that poor man suffered as a result of yet another medical mistake.