 dmegivern says: Having recently learned that I have an atypical but severe case of sleep apnea, I am doing a little research. Basically, I learned that I was waking up 72 times an hour during sleep, in order to catch my breath. It is likely this has been happening for a long time, but it was difficult to diagnose because: 1) My snoring was mild enough that it was rarely mentioned by others. For example, my husband also has apnea, but he was a very loud snorer and he constantly gasped in his sleep. I, on the other hand, was not observed gasping and he barely noticed me snoring. 2) I had virtually no memory of being awakened throughout the night, and I rarely need to get up to go to the bathroom during sleep (1-2x a week). 3) The obvious symptoms like chronic fatigue/sleepiness, low mood, memory and concentration problems--well--they could be explained by major depression, a diagnosis I have carried for years. Its interesting reading your comments as it sounds like we may have a bit in common. I think my Sleep Apnea went undiagnosed for quite some time because many of the symptoms are similar to major depression, which is a diagnosis I, too, have been carrying for years. We didn't even think to check for Apnea until my husband commented that during the night it sounded like I was suffocating (which is exactly what was happening.) I finally had a sleep test and got the CPAP. I hope yours keeps giving you a lot of relief - mine's been pretty good to me for quite some time  You're right-we do have a lot in common. What I think is interesting is that there may be a connection between all of our ailments. This article on low oxygen suggests that we put a lot of stress on our bodies by nearly suffocating and then having to wake up to breathe (pre-CPAP). The researchers are saying that we end up experiencing "oxidative stress" which means that our bodies release a lot of stress hormones in response to sleep deprivation and low oxygen. These stress hormones, in turn, affect the rest of our hormones (we have thousands of hormones that keep our bodies in balance). Stress hormones lead to inflammation, a pre-condition for heart disease and stroke. Stress hormones also ... |
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