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Be Thankful If They Just Snore
The NYT is running has a lengthy piece in their weekend supplement about sleep disorders. Besides a certain amount of humor value, the article covers sleep terrors and sleepwalking and even weirder disorders.
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If you can't sleep well, you may be snoring and not know it...waking yourself before you enter REM sleep, restful sleep, etc.
Try one of those over-the-counter throat sprays [Breathe Right - Snore Relief] that claim to reduce snoring. You might find yourself getting more sleep than you've had in years.
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I have sleep apnea. The fix for it saved my career, my marraige, and maybe my life. For years, I woke up 2-3 times a night. My wife told me of my snoring, my stopping breathing & gasping for air while asleep, etc. I was always dog-tired, taking naps every opportunity, etc. Went to the doc. He sent me to a sleep study clinic. :)
Turns out a flap in my throat closes off and prevents breathing while I am sleeping. I thought something like that happened, but I thought it happened like one or twice an hour. Turns out, if untreated, it happens about every 15 seconds while I am asleep. The "cure" is a CPAP machine (controlled pressurized air pump, I think) that keeps a very small steady air flow (about 1/10th normal) down my throat while sleeping, to keep the flap, that closes off my breathing, open.
Since using the CPAP, I now sleep normally. 8 hrs and then I am truly awake and alert, for the first time in maybe 15 years. This is a new thing for me. My medical insurance covered every penny of the clinic visits and all the CPAP stuff. (Since using this, I have gotten 3 doctorates, made $30B, and sired 47 children.;P) I do think that the life of my family has improved by finally having a husband and father who is "there" all the time. Well, as "there" as a geek gets.
If you don't feel alert all the time, go to the doctor. Find out why. And if the doctor does not help you, dump him or her and go find one who will help you. Keep looking until you do. It really is worth it to see life without a haze of sleepiness.
1. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Deer is a play on The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks.
2. I can't believe that this article doesn't mention William C. Dement. He's basically the father of modern sleep research.
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There are a LOT of people that have a problem with snoring. Apart from disturbing your partner (which is really bad for your relation in the long run), you don't get the sleep you need, which will make you tired.
For many people, just loosing a few pounds will help.
What helped me was snorban. (I'm not in any way related to the company.) My problem is that when I sleep, my jaw falls back, which reduces airflow and makes me snore. The snorban thing makes sure my jaw is in a forward position during sleep.
I have OSA as well. In my sleep study I stopped breathing well over 100 times per hour. I didn't have any episodes of wierd behaviour like you, and I don't think that is very common for OSA either.
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Anyway, you should have been given a prescription for a CPAP. It's a machine like an oxygen mask except it just blows air from the room into your airway so it has a higher air pressure to keep it open. You sleep study should have determined what pressure you need to prevent blockage.
CPAP is considered the 'gold standard' treatment and although it's kind of a pain in the neck to use, it give you a good night sleep and is worth the hassle. I never realized how run down I was from OSA untill I started using it.
Surgury is not very effective at all as a cure and the worse your OSA is, the less benifit surgury will give. If you doctor is pushing surgury over CPAP, get a second opinion.
Check out these links for more info:
http://www.sleepapnea.org/dearfriends.html
http://www.apneanet.org/
http://www.cpapman.com
My wife has told me that I've screamed at the wall, talked with her about problems with my code, and have actually punched her in the face twice. I have absolutely no memory of any of this.
Years ago I used to run a sleep lab and this behavior is not sleep apnea. You also sound like you have a primary diagnosis of sleep apnea, but this behavior is a sleep parasomnia, possibly a REM related dissasociation that might result from severe sleep fragmentation. From your other symptoms, yes you do sound like you have sleep apnea and I should say that surgery is only effective in about 50% of patients. More effective is something called NCPAP (nasal continuously popitive airway pressure) or BiPAP (Bilevel positive airway pressure) depending upon the application. It is a small mask you wear connected to an air pump to provide positive air pressure to your airway maintaining a patent pathway for while you sleep. It is cumbersome, but very effective. Ask your physician about it.
Most of my patients also found weight loss to be dramatically helpful along with an exercise regimen combined with use of the NCPAP to maintain good sleep architecture. Also, posture during sleep can be important and I would suggest mechanisms to help you sleep on your side and avoid sleeping on your back.
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The term for this is Restless Leg Syndrome and is treatable. It's similar to spasms in the legs. This can not only cause your partner annoyances, but can keep waking you up many times a night, keeping you from getting a proper night's sleep. (sleep that follows a restful pattern through all the stages of sleep).
I am treated for this with medication and it has done wonders for my energy level. If this seems like a serious problem, find a sleep disorders specialist in your area. More information is available at Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation.
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It's called Sleep Apnea. I have it too. Lots of people do and most don't even know it. Mine started when I was a teen. It sux! You get to have a new best friend though - a CPAP machine that forces air into your throat to keep your windpipe open when you sleep. Oh, did I mention the mask and head straps you have to wear? How about the air pipe that connects you to the machine so when you try to roll over at night you get caught in the tubing and choke anyway?
Seriously, it can be a life threatening condition if not diagnosed and treated.
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