Hi I have sleep apnea I'm sure of. I was in the hospital for bp and not sleeping and the night staff came to the conclusion that a lot of my problems were the sleep apnea.

It's gonna be a month or so before the sleep study. I'm so tired all the time. I'm nodding off when awake and spilling coffee, ashtrays sunflower seeds etc.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with it until I get the proper treatment. I'm on lots of meds for sleeping but I'm only getting 4 hrs or so of good restful sleep. And I feel really drugged up for about 4 hrs or so in the morning. I'm Sooooo tired...

Thanks.

[Travelinglady]

Sunshine, alas, the problem, of course, is that you are waking up a bit often since your air is being cut off. I can't think of anything to suggest. But maybe someone else can. Would sitting up a bit in bed while sleeping help at all?

[vonmoxie]

I agree with Traveling Lady, sleeping position can make a big difference. I believe it's sleeping on your back that tends to be the very worst position for good breathing in your sleep, and there is an old wives tale type solution in which they used to sew a walnut into the backs of each of their husband's pajama tops to keep them rolling back over on their backs and snoring ... (seems so cruel.. mightn't a hazelnut have done the trick? )

A more humane way that works for me, for keeping myself sleeping on my side is just by putting a pillow between my legs -- which is good for your knees too -- it seems to keep me from rolling on my back for the most part. If you do this, you might want to switch off between sides, but between the two the most restful sleep is said to be to your left, because of the way your stomach and esophagus are lined up, it's gentler on that system. Since you're trying to get the best sleep possible for now, I thought it worth mentioning.

Another thing you could also consider adjusting for right now, depending what the weather's like right now where you are, is climate control. Like, if it's dry in your house and you have a humidifier around you might want to run it at night, to circumvent getting a dry throat.

That's great you're going to do the sleep study -- it's the only way to find out what's really going on, during those 8 hours we're unconscious. Good luck!

[ECHOES]

If you smoke, you will be advised to quit because that will help so much. If the ashtrays you mentioned are someone else's, they need to begin smoking outside now.

Would it be possible for your sleep study date to be moved up? It can't hurt to ask. They might get a cancellation. Or, could you have it done someplace else?

What helped me was to sleep on my side while 'hugging' a pillow. The pillow helped keep my arm/shoulder from shifting toward my neck and adding weight and pressure to my airway.

The fatigue is really awful, but the good news is that it goes away soon once you begin using the CPAP.

[Yoda]

I agree that sleeping on your side might likely help.

[kiwi33]

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices can often help with sleep apnea.

Essentially a CPAP machine increases air pressure in your throat so that your airway doesn't collapse when you breathe in.

The CPAP machines that I am most familiar with are those made by ResMed though other companies may make similar products.

Disclosure: I own shares in ResMed.

Thanks everyone for responding. Well I already lay on my stomach when I sleep. I don't think I lay on my back. My roommates in the hospital said it didn't matter what position I was in I'd still be snoring, lol.

But interestingly I got really cold last night bc I had the window open so I closed it and turned the heat on, and slept a solid 2 hrs, yay!, I know it's not much but better than waking up every hour.

[gloamingone]

I have my sleep study in a month as well. When my boyfriend (a paramedic) told me I have sleep apnea, I bought a memory foam pillow designed to keep you sleeping on your side. It works great! He hasn't noticed any episodes, but we suspect I got so used to waking up every hour or so that my body is trained to do so. Bummer....

Good luck with your sleep study!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ManOfConstantSorrow]

In the UK your driving licence can be suspended if you have sleep apnea. When this happened to a mate of mine it was imperative that he regained the use of his car so he subscribed to service that monitored his sleep. provided him with a breathing device and notified the DVLA as soon as he was cured so he could drive again. There may be similar facilities in your region.

Originally Posted by ManOfConstantSorrow

In the UK your driving licence can be suspended if you have sleep apnea. When this happened to a mate of mine it was imperative that he regained the use of his car so he subscribed to service that monitored his sleep. provided him with a breathing device and notified the DVLA as soon as he was cured so he could drive again. There may be similar facilities in your region.

Well I don't drive. But I did find out my I meet with the Dr for it on November 19th, then I have the study 2 weeks from that day.

Last night I slept sitting up, it helped I was able to get 2 hrs of sleep a couple times. I woke up every hour the rest of the night. I'm gonna just sleep sitting up on the couch from now on....

Man that sleeping up helped for awhile but not anymore. I just don't know what to do. Every time I try and sleep I wake up. This is awful. If I wasn't on all these sleep meds I don't think it would be that bad. But I'm so drugged up and I'm spilling stuff, smoking, and eating half asleep. Last night I fell hard on a stereo speaker in my room. It's already starting to bruise. This Saucks!!! Any suggestions. Oh I'm going get those nose strips.