I recently went to my Dentist who is concerned I may have sleep apnea since I have pretty much all of the mouth defects that are associated with it.  No one has ever mentioned this before and people do not say they have noticed me stopping breathing but I do not snore only loud breathing I guess.  My doctor seems to think I have apnea since I do not have any other medical problems and I am constantly tired, regardless of whether I sleep 6 hours or 14-16 (which is quite easy for me).  

I was wondering if I could record my breathing patterns at night and listen to them to see if I can hear any breathing issues before I go to a sleep center.  I think my doctor might just be a hypochondriac and I tend to be too so he's scaring me!!!

Any thoughts on this???  Please help.  

qtMSUgirl,

Are you a Michiganian?  Just wondered with the MSU in there.  

Ok to break one misconception, just because you don't snore doesn't mean you don't have sleep apnea.  That's just one of the symptoms.  There are many symptoms and those with OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) have a mixture of them.  Now being tired is one of the symptoms.  Memory problems is another, along with getting up multiple times at night to use the restroom. Acid reflux can also occur with untreated sleep apnea, as well as, diabetes, high blood pressure, morning headaches, etc.  If you do have sleep apnea, it's important to know your tiredness will only get worse.  Quite a few of us who have had excessive tiredness were not safe driving.

I think it's a great idea for you to record your breathing patterns.  One thing to remember is that a diagnosis of sleep apnea isn't the end of the world.  IF it is the cause of your tiredness, then treatment will open doors to a new life.  My life has opened up now...no longer am I giving up things in order to make it to another day.

I now have more energy, though that I'm still working on.  I'm no longer a danger while driving.  I rarely need a nap during the day.  I actually have energy to go shopping after working all day.  I can concentrate now, whereas before my short term memory was getting bad.  I no longer have acid reflux and don't snore.

You may want to look at the whole list of symptoms and see how many you have.  From there and after recording yourself, you'll be able to decide if you should talk to your physician about any concerns.

Melinda

qtMSUgirl wrote:

I recently went to my Dentist who is concerned I may have sleep apnea since I have pretty much all of the mouth defects that are associated with it.  No one has ever mentioned this before and people do not say they have noticed me stopping breathing but I do not snore only loud breathing I guess.  My doctor seems to think I have apnea since I do not have any other medical problems and I am constantly tired, regardless of whether I sleep 6 hours or 14-16 (which is quite easy for me).  

I was wondering if I could record my breathing patterns at night and listen to them to see if I can hear any breathing issues before I go to a sleep center.  I think my doctor might just be a hypochondriac and I tend to be too so he's scaring me!!!

Any thoughts on this???  Please help.  

A good spot by your dentist. A well trained dentist would certainly have the ability to spot some of the obvious characteristics of a sleep apnoea sufferer. My own dentist once commented (a number of years after my UPPP) 'I see someone's been at your uvula and soft palate'

It's not a bad idea (in fact a good one) to record yourself (but be prepared for a shock   ) and I think any sleep doctor, worth his salt, would applaud you for your efforts.

Best of luck.

Daniel.


_________________
The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)