5 years of misery - can someone please advise ?

[pete72]

Hi there,

I'm a 37 year old male who has been getting the following morning symptoms for the last 5 or so years.

1. Exhaustion
2. Anxiety
3. Depressed / Miserable
4. De-realization (Fog like dream most severe on waking in mornings)
5. Nausea
6. Sensitivity to noise
7. 'Clicking' jaw when eating breakfast - I suspect grinding of teeth during night would cause this?

The above symptoms seem to be at their worst when I awake between the hours of 8-10am. Very early rising 4-6am produces little if any of the above symptoms.

I went to see the GP a few years back and he went down the Thyroid / Adrenal / Endocrine route. Blood tests were negative.

I have since only had maybe 4 mornings in 5 years when I have felt 'Normal' and so my research has led me to look at the possibility of Sleep Apnea as a possible cause of this malaise.

Just for the record im 5" 7' 12st 5lbs healthy eater and have recently started to take rigorous exercise in the evenings. This has not done anything to alleviated the symptoms.

Apparenly my girfriend has told me that I tend to sleep face down in the pillow and I have had issues with heavy snoring - Not sure whether the pillow thing is relevant or not - It certainly cant help..??

Can anyone help or suggest the next course of action to "Test" whether I am barking up the wrong tree ?

I'm thinking of setting up the camcorder next to the bed just to see my actual sleeping position and breathing. Would this be of any use to confirm a diagnosis ?

any help much appreciated!

[ElleCee]

Hi Pete,
From your symptoms the only one I remotely recognise is the exhaustion.
Has your girlfriend said that you stop breathing or seem to hold your breath when you are asleep?
Have you taken the Epworth sleep apnea test? (find it on the web). If the answers to these are yes then I would advise seeing a GP and ask to be refered on.

Good luck
Lorraine

[jackyk]

i agree with elle, take the tests, both can be found on cpap portal, and they will give you indicators to alert your gp. it was because of high score on tests i was referred to sleep clinic and diagnosed.
good luck with it

[pete72]

Epworth sleep apnea test

thanks for the getting back so fast.

I have seen the day time sleepiness thing mentioned but to be totally honest I don't really have an issue with feeling tired the rest of the day and I dont doze off in any of those scenarios in the test.

The symptoms in the morning last maybe a couple of hours after rising and by the evening seem to be gone completely.

Its hard to describe but its not just a feeling of being tired. The sickness, palpitations and anxiety / fog are more prominent.

I just wanted to get proof one way or the other and seeing a doctor in Canada talking about CPAP he mentions "Life changing relief within 24-48 hours and patients wondering why they have spent the last 3 years living in a fog..."

It was this line that seemed to ring very true...

I will visit the GP again and see if I can get referred

thanks again!

[snoreslikeatrain]

The speed of diagnosis can depend on how quickly you get to see someone qualified.

If you're going through the NHS, I believe this can vary quite a lot.

If you have the luxury of private cover, you may get a diagnosis within a week or so. One middle ground if that isn't available to you is that some companies will offer an Oximeter test by sending you the necessary items by post. I believe it can cost £100-200. However if it helps confirm or rule out Sleep Apnoea, you may feel this worth it.

[davejwhite]

From what i hear, symptoms of OSA are inconsistent

Hi Pete,
A s far as I can gather, not everyone gets all of the symptoms. Indeed, some people can have OSA for years without realising it because they don't actually exhibit any symptoms - even tiredness. So I would think it really is worth getting a sleep test done. Nothing to lose, is there?

WIsh you the greatest of luck in getting to the bottom of things. I felt lousy for two years without knowing why.

[Biggles]

I agree, do try and get the test done then if everything is OK re OSA at least you know and other conditions can be looked.

I was so used to not sleeping I didn't notice, I never fell asleep at work or during the day, sometimes I would nod off at the cinema, but put that down to the film being dull or whatever !! My main cause of concern was the loudness and consistency of my snoring, it made my sailing life difficult and when staying on holiday in apartments. My friends were very understanding but I still felt bad about it.

You may have to push a lot. It took me over 4 years of seeing the GP before I was referred to and ENT specialist who then referred me on to the sleep clinic. After the diagnosis the GP sort of apologised and explained most of the budget goes to cancer and heart attacks. Don't they realise how dangerous un-diagnosed OSA can be ?

Best wishes and I hope you discover the cause of your problems soon.

[Richard]

Hello Pete,

A quick calculation of your height and weight shows you have a Body Mass Index of 26.89, which puts you in the 'overweight' bracket. This factor alone, plus your snoring, would make you susceptible to OSA.

Print off a copy of the 'Epworth Sleepiness Scale', fill it in truthfully and take it with you on your next visit to the GP (i.e. as soon as possible). Also, go to www.britishsnoring.co.uk and read about snoring.

Having done that you will be confident enough of your diagnosis to say to your GP you want a referral to a sleep specialist because this has been driving you nuts for the past however many years.

Many GPs cannot recognise OSA, if you take some data to back up your hunch, you can save valuable time if he is persuaded to refer you on the first visit.

It is absolutely vital your OSA is diagnosed, and you start treatment just as early as possible.

Richard

[pete72]

thanks for the info and help guys and sorry for the delay in replying

I have invested in a pulse finger oximeter to see what results I get. Its a CMS-50E (Cheapest one I could find with data storage and software) so hopefully this will through up some 'events' during the night. I can then go back to the GP armed with some data..

thanks again!