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Well, for those that are interested, I thought I'd stick my story down here.
I guess my first recollection of having the symptoms must've been in the early nineties. Thinking back, it coincided with my first serious attempt at quitting smoking. As with most quitters, the weight started to increase, not by vast amounts, but the scrawny 5'6" guy soon padded out from about 12 to 14 stone (now 16 since subsequent failed and successful attmepts at stopping smoking. I have now not smoked in over 4 years). I can't pinpoint any exact time when the tiredness started to get worse, or the headaches got more severe in the morning but it came to a point when I felt that it was worth checking out. I went to see my GP who basically told me to improve my diet, lose a bit of weight and get more exercise. I felt like a chastised schoolboy and went away feeling a bit foolish.
The tiredness got worse, as did the headaches and the aching limbs and the frequent need to urinate in the night. I have always suffered from a dodgy back and subsequent visits to the doctor and my osteopath resulted in them putting most of these symptoms down to that. The headaches got to a point where I felt nauseous, giddy and that my head was about to explode. I awoke every morning feeling like I had just run a marathon, and the snoring was as bad as it ever had been.
No amount of osteopathy relieved the headaches or aching limbs and by now, the fatigue was at a point where I would come home from work and be asleep in the armchair some 30 minutes later.
Again, GP's told me to exercise more and change my diet. By this time, the strain on my marriage was such that my wife (now ex-wife) felt neglected and that I wasn't pulling my weight in the marriage. I would often fall asleep when family and guests were visiting, and would do the same when visiting them. I never did household chores and either sat around dozing or sleeping during most of my spare time. By 1998, my marriage reached new depths when my wife decided that her response to my lacklustre efforts in the marriage warranted an affair with a work colleague. The marriage took 3 more years to eventually break down and by 2001, we had divorced, I had lost my job and things were at a very low ebb. By the following year, I had moved house and changed GP's. I made a visit about an unrelated matter and thought I'd mention the physical problems I had been having these past 8 years or so. I fully expected the usual retort, but this doctor was a young chap who listened intently and quite quickly suggested the possibility of OSA. I had never heard of this, but he said he would refer me to the RSSC at Papworth.
A few months later, I got an appointment and went in for 3 nights. After the first, the consultant diagnosed OSA and mild Restless Leg Syndrome. Apparantly I had been having up to 150 apnoea's a night. The CPAP was prescribed and the following 2 nights were spent getting all the settings right. The effects were almost immediate !! I started to feel much more alert and awake and the headaches literally stopped overnight ! I was also told I potentially had nasal polyps too and that my GP should check it out and refer me to an ENT specialist. The RLS was decided to be mild enough not to require any immediate treatment but it is still under observation.
The first few months were a period of adjustment. As users of CPAP will know, having a mask on in bed is a little strange to start with but I soon accepted the fact and even found that it had a subconscious effect of helping me get to sleep more quickly. However, there was one problem that worried me for a short time. I was warned of the fact that the cool air could cause a nasal irritation and if it did, I should get a nasal spray from the hospital. I got the spray, but very soon after, I started to get uncontrollable nose bleeds. It's very disconcerting to be sat in a meeting and have your nose spew out blood everywhere without warning !!
Anyway, another visit to the RSSC and I was given a heated humidifier and again, the problems were literally solved overnight.
Sadly though, GP's attitudes are still very poor regarding OSA. I went to see my GP about the nasal polyps and he just flashed a light up my nostrils and told me I had no such thing. Every time I went back to the RSSC they said I did but were unable to make any referral because I lived in another area to the hospital and was therefore the responsibility of another PCT. 2006 saw my nasal condition worsen with severe bouts of acute rhinitis and major congestion, seriously hampering my usage of CPAP. I was finally referred in November 2006 and saw an ENT specialist in February 2007. He immediately diagnosed a deviated septum and unusually large inferior turbinates. He immediately put me on the list for an operation, which I then had done privately 6 weeks later, under my company's private health plan. The difference is amazing and it was as a result of this that I discovered Jala Neti, an ancient yogic technique of nasal cleansing using a warm saline solution. This sped up the healing and continues to keep my passages clear and the internals of my nose comfortable after 7 hours of CPAP a night
I have my annual check every October/November and all is well. 2006 saw a downturn in my condition due to work related stress, but I have since changed jobs and things are back to normal.
As for my experiences with the DVLA, they have been very quick and simple. As I was diagnosed and prescribed my CPAP on the same day (very lucky, I know), I could continue to drive and all I had to do was inform the DVLA and they got back to me within a couple of weeks confirming my ability to continue to drive legally. I am often horrified by the stories I hear of huge amounts of time elapsing between diagnosis and prescription of treatment meaning that sufferers are either forced to change jobs or risk continuing to drive illegally. This issue needs addressing as a matter of high importance. If diagnosis affects your ability to function on a day to day basis, it must be considered a handicap and those of you who are unable to work until prescription, should be entitled to disability benefit until you can return to work. Otherwise we risk the potential of having thousands of ticking time bombs on our roads.
All in all, it's been a long and painful journey, but things are much improved and I would stress that anyone who believes they are suffering in a similar fashion should force their GP to make the referral to a sleep lab. It is far cheaper for the NHS to diagnose OSA and provide CPAP or whatever treatment is necessary than to ignore it and deal with the subsequent health conditions brought on by untreated OSA.
OSA is real. It exists. It is not a figment of people's imagination, even if many GP's don't recognise it. But on the upside, even if there is no cure, it is treatable, it can be combated and when this is done, the quality of the sufferers life is improved considerably.
I don't know if this story mirrors anyone else's experiences, but if it motivates someone to get their symptoms properly diagnosed and suitably treated, then that's the main thing.
Thanks for reading and good luck
All the best,
Rob.
I guess my first recollection of having the symptoms must've been in the early nineties. Thinking back, it coincided with my first serious attempt at quitting smoking. As with most quitters, the weight started to increase, not by vast amounts, but the scrawny 5'6" guy soon padded out from about 12 to 14 stone (now 16 since subsequent failed and successful attmepts at stopping smoking. I have now not smoked in over 4 years). I can't pinpoint any exact time when the tiredness started to get worse, or the headaches got more severe in the morning but it came to a point when I felt that it was worth checking out. I went to see my GP who basically told me to improve my diet, lose a bit of weight and get more exercise. I felt like a chastised schoolboy and went away feeling a bit foolish.
The tiredness got worse, as did the headaches and the aching limbs and the frequent need to urinate in the night. I have always suffered from a dodgy back and subsequent visits to the doctor and my osteopath resulted in them putting most of these symptoms down to that. The headaches got to a point where I felt nauseous, giddy and that my head was about to explode. I awoke every morning feeling like I had just run a marathon, and the snoring was as bad as it ever had been.
No amount of osteopathy relieved the headaches or aching limbs and by now, the fatigue was at a point where I would come home from work and be asleep in the armchair some 30 minutes later.
Again, GP's told me to exercise more and change my diet. By this time, the strain on my marriage was such that my wife (now ex-wife) felt neglected and that I wasn't pulling my weight in the marriage. I would often fall asleep when family and guests were visiting, and would do the same when visiting them. I never did household chores and either sat around dozing or sleeping during most of my spare time. By 1998, my marriage reached new depths when my wife decided that her response to my lacklustre efforts in the marriage warranted an affair with a work colleague. The marriage took 3 more years to eventually break down and by 2001, we had divorced, I had lost my job and things were at a very low ebb. By the following year, I had moved house and changed GP's. I made a visit about an unrelated matter and thought I'd mention the physical problems I had been having these past 8 years or so. I fully expected the usual retort, but this doctor was a young chap who listened intently and quite quickly suggested the possibility of OSA. I had never heard of this, but he said he would refer me to the RSSC at Papworth.
A few months later, I got an appointment and went in for 3 nights. After the first, the consultant diagnosed OSA and mild Restless Leg Syndrome. Apparantly I had been having up to 150 apnoea's a night. The CPAP was prescribed and the following 2 nights were spent getting all the settings right. The effects were almost immediate !! I started to feel much more alert and awake and the headaches literally stopped overnight ! I was also told I potentially had nasal polyps too and that my GP should check it out and refer me to an ENT specialist. The RLS was decided to be mild enough not to require any immediate treatment but it is still under observation.
The first few months were a period of adjustment. As users of CPAP will know, having a mask on in bed is a little strange to start with but I soon accepted the fact and even found that it had a subconscious effect of helping me get to sleep more quickly. However, there was one problem that worried me for a short time. I was warned of the fact that the cool air could cause a nasal irritation and if it did, I should get a nasal spray from the hospital. I got the spray, but very soon after, I started to get uncontrollable nose bleeds. It's very disconcerting to be sat in a meeting and have your nose spew out blood everywhere without warning !!
Anyway, another visit to the RSSC and I was given a heated humidifier and again, the problems were literally solved overnight.
Sadly though, GP's attitudes are still very poor regarding OSA. I went to see my GP about the nasal polyps and he just flashed a light up my nostrils and told me I had no such thing. Every time I went back to the RSSC they said I did but were unable to make any referral because I lived in another area to the hospital and was therefore the responsibility of another PCT. 2006 saw my nasal condition worsen with severe bouts of acute rhinitis and major congestion, seriously hampering my usage of CPAP. I was finally referred in November 2006 and saw an ENT specialist in February 2007. He immediately diagnosed a deviated septum and unusually large inferior turbinates. He immediately put me on the list for an operation, which I then had done privately 6 weeks later, under my company's private health plan. The difference is amazing and it was as a result of this that I discovered Jala Neti, an ancient yogic technique of nasal cleansing using a warm saline solution. This sped up the healing and continues to keep my passages clear and the internals of my nose comfortable after 7 hours of CPAP a night
I have my annual check every October/November and all is well. 2006 saw a downturn in my condition due to work related stress, but I have since changed jobs and things are back to normal.
As for my experiences with the DVLA, they have been very quick and simple. As I was diagnosed and prescribed my CPAP on the same day (very lucky, I know), I could continue to drive and all I had to do was inform the DVLA and they got back to me within a couple of weeks confirming my ability to continue to drive legally. I am often horrified by the stories I hear of huge amounts of time elapsing between diagnosis and prescription of treatment meaning that sufferers are either forced to change jobs or risk continuing to drive illegally. This issue needs addressing as a matter of high importance. If diagnosis affects your ability to function on a day to day basis, it must be considered a handicap and those of you who are unable to work until prescription, should be entitled to disability benefit until you can return to work. Otherwise we risk the potential of having thousands of ticking time bombs on our roads.
All in all, it's been a long and painful journey, but things are much improved and I would stress that anyone who believes they are suffering in a similar fashion should force their GP to make the referral to a sleep lab. It is far cheaper for the NHS to diagnose OSA and provide CPAP or whatever treatment is necessary than to ignore it and deal with the subsequent health conditions brought on by untreated OSA.
OSA is real. It exists. It is not a figment of people's imagination, even if many GP's don't recognise it. But on the upside, even if there is no cure, it is treatable, it can be combated and when this is done, the quality of the sufferers life is improved considerably.
I don't know if this story mirrors anyone else's experiences, but if it motivates someone to get their symptoms properly diagnosed and suitably treated, then that's the main thing.
Thanks for reading and good luck
All the best,
Rob.
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