Question about my sleep apnea symptoms
by Marc
I'm not over weight, actually I'm very fit. My mom is healthy underweight and very severe and she uses CPAP. CPAP is NOT an option for me. And my doc said I'm an excellent candidate for the oral appliance so the specialist made one for me and said that it should start taking effect in 1-2 months and viola! I felt like a million bucks! We were very convinced it was working but i had another sleep study and unfortunately the oral appliance apparently had no effect. The dentist who was the specialist for my oral appliance agreed with me afterwards that the oral appliance still had an effect but my doc said it was probably just a mental thing. I never liked the apnea doctor from the start. The dentist also adjusted the OP once more time. I've been living in Nicaragua for over 2 months now and probably another 5 months. The new bed i sleep on kinda sucks and my kitten always wakes me up throughout the night. Despite that, I still feel pretty good. I haven't worn my OP in 4 days because I'm testing myself to see how i feel without it. I do feel worse but it could be my kitten and my bed, I dont know. I'm gonna start wearing it again though It's possible that I'll eventually go back to feeling like !@#! In the future if I still have apnea. I cannot ever get it off my mind. There's nothing I can do while I'm here and I'm having no problems which is good. Should I go to a new doctor???? Get another sleep study??? If i still have apnea, would combining surgery be a really good idea? I'm definitely willing to try it, nevertheless. What other options would somebody recommend? Lastly, I've been sleeping on my stomach which seems to be good but I don't use a pillow because it's really uncomfortable. That ok? Sorry it's so long but any help would be appreciated. Thanks! AnswerThank you Marc, for your writing. First of all, I think that you are at the borderline from mild to moderate sleep apnea. Mild apnea is approximately 5-10 AHI, moderate is around 10-20 or 25, and over 20 or 25 AHI is severe (although there are no hard and fast rules on what qualifies as what). Whether apnea is mild/moderate or severe it does require treatment, otherwise it will deteriorate and as it deteriorates it will cause damage to some of the main organs in the body. And just a thought of mine...I'd get a new doctor if it were me. Over the years i have discovered that getting along with your doctor is part of getting good treatment. As soon as you find a new sleep doctor, tell them about everything that has happened, listen to him/her and try to move forward. Let them advise you on the best way forward.......surgery etc are best discussed with someone who is in possession of all the facts. There are sleep pillows on the market that can help you sleep on your side. Some of them are designed especially for snorers or patients with sleep apnea. You can learn more about treatments for sleep apnea here. I hope it helps. Remy
|
