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Doesn't anyone else FEEL apnea in their SLEEP? - Broomstick - 09-22-2018
My story. (Quick background)
Undiagnosed (as of today)
Don't snore
Low energy
NOT someone who can fall asleep easily
Couldn't sleep during sleep study (actually slept for 1 hour)
Feel like I have tired IN me (if that makes sense)
Brain very slow. Hard to think. Could just be low intelligence.
Can't make decisions.
Lay in bed for hours. No energy to get up. Not quite tired enough to sleep.
Never had a dream about suffocating, but do feel hard to breath while dreaming about other things.
I dream all the time. And often I can feel myself struggling to breath in my dream (its horrible). I don't feel like I ever stop breathing but just that my airway becomes extremely narrow. Often I wake up and STILL struggle to breathe laying down until I sit up. Problem returns immediately as I lay back down.
Lately that last part hasn't been a problem. But when I wake up, I sure do feel like I've been suffocating for the past xxx hour/minutes. I feel an incredible relief in my chest when I wake up that lasts for 15-30 minutes. Its similar to the relief one feels after holding in their urine all night, releasing it, then hoping back into bed (I get that all the time too).
The other night I slept in a very "sloppy" position and think I felt a proper full apnea in my dream. Like, it was a horrible feeling in my lungs that came and went and I would think "Here it comes again".
I think my sloppy position in addition to my normal airway narrowing (Hypopnea) caused my breathing to stop completely.
Summary: But yeah. I definitely FEEL myself struggling to breathe in my dreams, and I certainly FEEL like someone whos been suffocating for the past xxx hours/minutes. Not sure how anyone can have this happen and not feel like they've been smothers all night and wake up completely oblivious to whats been going on.
Thoughts?
RE: Doesn't anyone else FEEL apnea in their SLEEP? - PaulaO2 - 09-22-2018
I used to have dreams of drowning but not be in water. Never thought it to be connected to sleep apnea.
If you could not sleep during the test, there's still something you and your doc can do. They can lease/loan you an APAP to use for several weeks. Then the data from that can be used to determine what type of sleep apnea you have and how to treat it.
RE: Doesn't anyone else FEEL apnea in their SLEEP? - ardenum - 09-22-2018
I started getting apnea when falling asleep before my consciousness were away, waking me up, i felt my throat closing in and i heard a stridor.
RE: Doesn't anyone else FEEL apnea in their SLEEP? - Broomstick - 09-22-2018
I've been like this quite a while so I can hold off a bit more. I got a message that they have the results of my (1 hour) sleep study. But I will have to wait until Tuesday to find out. I don't know if I have to do it again or if that was enough info.
I told the Dr that I have problems breathing just laying down, not just sleeping. I certainly experienced it during the study while I was awake.
I also plan to see an ENT because I often can't breath through my nose. I also experienced that during the study.
RE: Doesn't anyone else FEEL apnea in their SLEEP? - Melman - 09-22-2018
I used to dream I had multiple thermocouple wires crammed down my throat (related to my work) and would wake up gasping for breath. It appears your headed for CPAP therapy. I strongly recommend you read the article at the attached link.
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php?title=New_to_Apnea%3F_Helpful_tips_to_ensure_success
I didn't know much and got started with a very limited machine and inadequate therapy. Don't trust your sleep doctor and equipment supplier to provide what's best for you.
RE: Doesn't anyone else FEEL apnea in their SLEEP? - TheDuke - 09-22-2018
Before I was formally diagnosed and got my first CPAP (31 or so Years ago) I frequently had dreams (Nightmares) of drowning, just sinking like a rock into deeper and deeper water. And another nightmare of being physically choked by hands tightened around my throat. BUT never a single recurrence of those sensations after I began CPAP usage. I remain perpetually grateful to that first doctor who was so rigorously insistent that I force myself to acclimate to wearing my mask every night.
TheDuke
RE: Doesn't anyone else FEEL apnea in their SLEEP? - chill - 09-23-2018
I also had dreams of choking, being unable to breathe or having something stuck in my throat. I would often wake gasping and trying to cough something out so I could breathe again. That is all a distant memory since I got my CPAP. It is not something that I am nostalgic about!
Some of your other symptoms could be related to depression which may in turn have a root in lack of sleep. Keep an open mind to there being more than one thing going one, more than one cause to what you are feeling.
Hope you get some relief and are feeling better soon.
RE: Doesn't anyone else FEEL apnea in their SLEEP? - OpalRose - 09-23-2018
(09-22-2018, 02:56 AM)Broomstick Wrote: I've been like this quite a while so I can hold off a bit more. I got a message that they have the results of my (1 hour) sleep study. But I will have to wait until Tuesday to find out. I don't know if I have to do it again or if that was enough info.
I told the Dr that I have problems breathing just laying down, not just sleeping. I certainly experienced it during the study while I was awake.
I also plan to see an ENT because I often can't breath through my nose. I also experienced that during the study.
Broomstick,
I believe I suffered from Sleep Apnea for years before being diagnosed. I just didn’t know it.
Like you, I had trouble just breathing normally when laying down, not even sleeping. When I did manage to sleep, I would experience the same dream. Someone or something was pushing me down, I couldn’t move or wake up. I felt like something heavy was sitting on me. Strange thing, I was always “aware” of this feeling. Once I managed to wake up, I found myself choking and trying to catch my breath. I know now that I was experiencing Apnea events.
Once I started on Cpap therapy, those dreams and breathing issues went away.
Don’t wait too long to get treated. Untreated Apnea takes a toll on your body and long term health.
RE: Doesn't anyone else FEEL apnea in their SLEEP? - Broomstick - 09-23-2018
(09-23-2018, 09:42 AM)OpalRose Wrote:(09-22-2018, 02:56 AM)Broomstick Wrote: I've been like this quite a while so I can hold off a bit more. I got a message that they have the results of my (1 hour) sleep study. But I will have to wait until Tuesday to find out. I don't know if I have to do it again or if that was enough info.
I told the Dr that I have problems breathing just laying down, not just sleeping. I certainly experienced it during the study while I was awake.
I also plan to see an ENT because I often can't breath through my nose. I also experienced that during the study.
Broomstick,
I believe I suffered from Sleep Apnea for years before being diagnosed. I just didn’t know it.
Like you, I had trouble just breathing normally when laying down, not even sleeping. When I did manage to sleep, I would experience the same dream. Someone or something was pushing me down, I couldn’t move or wake up. I felt like something heavy was sitting on me. Strange thing, I was always “aware” of this feeling. Once I managed to wake up, I found myself choking and trying to catch my breath. I know now that I was experiencing Apnea events.
Once I started on Cpap therapy, those dreams and breathing issues went away.
Don’t wait too long to get treated. Untreated Apnea takes a toll on your body and long term health.
Don't worry, I'm about to find out the results from a lab sleep study tomorrow or the day after.
An at home study said I had an AHI of 5.4. But I don't believe my problem is a series of obstructions. I believe it's ONE long continuous airway narrowing. I believe the results from the home test were rubbish. A doctor even told me the home tests aren't always really effective.
Nevertheless, they scheduled me for a tritation which I aborted because I didn't feel I was in the right place. I was feeling mild breathing difficulty laying down and the cpap, on its lowest setting didn't do anything. It only made me more uncomfortable by making it harder to breathe out.
Does your laying down difficulty get relieved immediately with the cpap? Do you have to put it on a higher setting in order for it to make a difference? These are the questions I need to know.
RE: Doesn't anyone else FEEL apnea in their SLEEP? - OpalRose - 09-23-2018
(09-23-2018, 12:22 PM)Broomstick Wrote: Does your laying down difficulty get relieved immediately with the cpap? Do you have to put it on a higher setting in order for it to make a difference? These are the questions I need to know.
Everyone is different, I was lucky to get the correct advice here on pressure settings based on my titration study. I experiened relief almost immediately from breathing problems, but still had to tweak my pressures for a month or so to get it where I felt the best.
I don’t believe an in lab study or home study are 100% accurate, but you have to start somewhere. Remember that these studies are only one day in time and don’t necessarily represent what you may feel every night.
Pressure settings are based on what type of Apnea events you experience, whether they are Obstructives, Hypopneas, or Clear Airways. This also dictates what type of machine your doctor would recommend.
Did you get a copy of your home study? You can post it here.
Also, arm yourself with some knowledge before accepting a machine.
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php?title=New_to_Apnea%3F_Helpful_tips_to_ensure_success