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Hello, I have been feeling unwell for almost 8 years now and things have gotten progressively worse over that time period to the point where I feel like I am dying with some mystery illness. I have had all kinds of tests done and everything keeps coming back okay.
I recently began to wonder if I could possibly have sleep apnea or other sleep disorder.
Over the past 8 years I have had problems with insomnia and have taken sleeping medications off and on during this time.
I currently sleep for 6 or 7 hours a night
I wake up extremely tired and unrefreshed and it seems to get worse all the time. There are the odd days where I feel a bit better but this is usually rare.
I yawn constantly all day long... have been like this for years, but it's getting munch worse.
I have no energy at all and feel burnt out all the time
Over this same time period I have had chronic sinus problems. My sinuses are always stuffy, I am always clearing my throat and blowing my nose and I usually get 5 or 6 sinus infections a year.
I usually wake up in the night 2, sometimes 3 times and go to the bathroom... even through I don't drink much after diner time.
I find myself waking up early in the morning and having a hard time getting back to sleep
My wife tells me that I snore most of the time when I'm sleeping
I don't notice waking up in the night chocking or gasping
My quality of life has been severely impacted. I don't even know how I get through the day anymore my whole body feels so run down
I'm 29 years old and weigh 130lbs
I would really appreciate any thoughts and comments.
How tall are you? A man weighing 130 pounds...healthily? Would be very short-statured - around 5'4" give or take an inch. If you're closer to 5'9" or taller, you may be suffering from poor nutrition.
Also for your snoring, I very highly recommend breathe-right strips, or the "store version" of them, which are shaped a little differently but do the same thing. They force open your nasal passages to allow more air to pass through them. Obviously if they're completely clogged up, it won't help much.
But you can go online to the main breathe-right website to get a free sample sent to your home, and try them out and see if that doesn't help.
Regardless, I'd recommend a full-body checkup, including nutritional assessment. If you're sleeping deeply at night, and waking up fatigued, there might be something else going on. Yawning constantly isn't only a sign of tiredness. It -can- signify that you need more oxygen. This isn't necessarily a problem, but it can explain the yawning.
thanks for your reply, I am 5 foot 6. I appear healthy on paper but I feel very unhealthy. A lot of other things going on at the moment with muscle weakness, weight loss, neurological changes in vision. The yawning and fatigue has been something that has progressed over the years. All this other stuff thats going on now has just been within the last year or so.
Do you dream that you are falling or stumbling? Do you twitch in your sleep? Classic signs of sleep apnea. Babies can be born with it. Skinny people can have it. According to the sleep specialists at the hospital where I used to work, all snoring is abnormal unless you have a cold or sinus condition, which you have. Does you wife say you snore even when you don't feel stuffy?
I had it for close to 30 yrs before being diagnosed b/c I didn't know about it.
There is a simple test your doctor can order, called overnight oximetry. You go pick up a small gadget with a finger probe you clamp on your finger while you sleep. The mini-computer gadget measures your oxygen level while you sleep. You take it back the next day and they give your doctor the report. If you have low levels, you really need to see a pulmnologist, who will order a sleep study in a lab. Better have insurance b/c it's quite expensive. If you do need a CPAP machine, they are life-savers! Literally - sleep apnea can cause strokes and heart problems. I never knew people woke up feeling refreshed.
You are not the typical sleep apnea patient but it's not impossible. The only way to know is to get an overnight sleep study. Your general doctor can give you a referral for this. Tell them you snore at night and are very tired during the day. Many people do not realize they are waking up at night or stop breathing even though they do. Do you have morning headaches?
You need to get a sleep study done. This will determine whether or not you have sleep apnea.
Have you had your thyroid tested? There could be a problem wiht an over active thyroid causing your weight loss.
Hello, I have been feeling unwell for almost 8 years now and things have gotten progressively worse over that time period to the point where I feel like I am dying with some mystery illness. I have had all kinds of tests done and everything keeps coming back okay.
I recently began to wonder if I could possibly have sleep apnea or other sleep disorder.
Over the past 8 years I have had problems with insomnia and have taken sleeping medications off and on during this time.
I currently sleep for 6 or 7 hours a night
I wake up extremely tired and unrefreshed and it seems to get worse all the time. There are the odd days where I feel a bit better but this is usually rare.
I yawn constantly all day long... have been like this for years, but it's getting munch worse.
I have no energy at all and feel burnt out all the time
Over this same time period I have had chronic sinus problems. My sinuses are always stuffy, I am always clearing my throat and blowing my nose and I usually get 5 or 6 sinus infections a year.
I usually wake up in the night 2, sometimes 3 times and go to the bathroom... even through I don't drink much after diner time.
I find myself waking up early in the morning and having a hard time getting back to sleep
My wife tells me that I snore most of the time when I'm sleeping
I don't notice waking up in the night chocking or gasping
My quality of life has been severely impacted. I don't even know how I get through the day anymore my whole body feels so run down
I'm 29 years old and weigh 130lbs
I would really appreciate any thoughts and comments.
Thank-you.
You should check with your doctor. but your wife would be able to hear you when you are sleeping. You would be gasping for air several times an hour.
Have you discussed this with your primary care physician? If not, you should do so immediately. There are several different forms of sleep apnea. While most people think of middle aged/obese people with obstructive sleep apnea as the structures of their upper airway relax as they sleep and obstruct the airway, there is another form known as central apnea, where there is a lack of ventilatory effort, which can be attributed to chemoreceptors in the brain malfunctioning for any number of reasons. There's even a combination form of sleep apnea called mixed apnea which is both obstructive and central apnea, and is primarily only found in COPD/CHF patients. (Just for your info, doesn't really sound like you fit this latter category)
As for obstructive sleep apnea, you do not need to be overweight to have it. Sometimes it's just a function of your upper airway anatomy, that just simply gets too relaxed. A full overnight sleep study where your brain activity is monitored would give a far more definitive answer. Treatment for sleep apnea starts with CPAP. There are all sorts of masks/nasal prong/nasal pillows that can be used.
Where I'm getting all of this information, is from the fact that I'm finishing up my 4th semester of a 5 semester Respiratory Care program, have had a sleep lab rotation, and just took a test today that included a question on the differences between the differing forms of apnea.
The fact that you are yawning frequently, feeling constantly tired, and are impacted in your life by this means that you should go see your doctor on this, and request a sleep study.
Interestingly, during the sleep lab rotation many of the participants had sinus problems and the lab gave them Neo-synephrine to clear their noses for the monitoring purposes.
Last edited by Easybreezy; 05-05-2011 at 06:40 PM..
This sounds like my husband exactly. He just went through a sleep study a week ago and we are anxiously awaiting the results. He keeps me awake too, so 2 adults in the house are affected and we also have 3 kids. He doesn't fit as the classic apnea patient either and wouldn't evrn give him a referral for the study because of this. We finally got a referral after he went to an ENT. WE are still waiting and I would highly suggest that you talk over this with your doctor. If he won't give you one than hopefully an ENT will.
You should check with your doctor. but your wife would be able to hear you when you are sleeping. You would be gasping for air several times an hour.
This is not really a good way to judge. Wife is probably sleeping and won't hear him wake.
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