Anyone been tested for sleep apnea? I'm not sleeping well for a long time.

[jack71]

I have been waking up at 4 or 5 am daily for ages and cant get back to sleep. I often wake up in hot sweat with irregular heart palpitations. I sleep with the air con on 26 'cool mode'. Sometimes waking up with dry throat. I have to pee at that time. I wonder if its just that I have to pee?

 

A few days ago I remember being in deep sleep and woke up not feeling well at all. I felt so tired and didnt want to get up to pee. 

 

I have a deviated septum. I think when I sleep I only breath through my mouth not nose. 

 

Should I get tested for sleep apnea? Whats involved with this testing?

thanks

[KannikaP]

Are you taking any medications or alcohol?

[jack71]

37 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Are you taking any medications or alcohol?

no. Sometimes have a beer at night but found it doesn't help me at 4am having to pee

[Nickelbeer]

I have sleep apnea and it should never be taken lightly. I brought an expensive CPAP machine with me to Thailand and I use it frequently. It is NOT convenient, but it is potentially life-saving. Please take sleep apnea seriously, it could save your life.

[Speedo1968]

Yes, I did have sleep apneaas part of my Parkinsons symptoms ( which I chased away and am fine now ) - don't go down the easy way out and slippery slope of a sleeping pill every night.

 

Why should you wake up later than 5am, it's a good time and allows for a easy drift in to the new day.

Waking up at 4 or 5am is normal this time of year with light at 5am.   Not sure where you live but early morning bird calls can often be heard sub-consciously.

I don't watch any tv series ( laptop ) after 9am.
How long have you been in Thailand, do you come from a long / short daylight country, meaning Summers and Winters.

Depends what time you go to bed, if you have late meals or drinking.
No problem with having to pee at 4 or 5am your body IS waking up.

( Have a look online for a picture of a "Body clock" it shows what organs of your body are doing what throughout the day, may give you some ideas.
Try eating no later than 6pm, drink water rather than sugary drinks.

You may have an aircon on but is there any FRESH AIR ( oxygen ) coming in ?    Will depend on your bedroom layout, mine I have the aircon on ( if necessary ), a window open but curtained and a fan on low so that all the air circulates.

In my situation I eat a small breakfast around 7 - 8am then aim for a big lunch around 1 - 2pm ( not later ), then nothing else until the next day.     I am vegan for 50 years but that is beside the point.

Guess I am saying look around you i.e. your lifestye first before going to a doctors.
Good luck

[TacoKhun]

You can put a camera over night and see if you stop breathing during sleep, also you could try the machine i think it will be way cheaper to buy than get tested if you pay for yourself,  machines being sold in pharmacies.

Edited May 31, 2021 by TacoKhun

[madmen]

Sorry to b direct but are you fat especially around the neck eg double or triple chins?

 

I was and used cpap for 10 <deleted>ty years and dropped 30 kg and it was all over. 

[jack71]

3 minutes ago, madmen said:

Sorry to b direct but are you fat especially around the neck eg double or triple chins?

 

I was and used cpap for 10 <deleted>ty years and dropped 30 kg and it was all over. 

No, Im thin in general. a tiny fat gut develops slowly on me but trying to fight that with exercise and sit ups. Thin neck

[phetphet]

Firstly. It could be the air con that is the cause of your dry throat as it dehumidifies the air.

 

Secondly. Do you eat late? Salty foods or takeaway food? Often contains a lot of salt. These can also make you thirsty, dehydrated. Also make you pee as your body want to get rid of the excess salt. Eating late can cause difficulty sleeping as your digestion is working hard. 

 

 

 

[madmen]

47 minutes ago, jack71 said:

No, Im thin in general. a tiny fat gut develops slowly on me but trying to fight that with exercise and sit ups. Thin neck

Well you need a hospital study where they wire you up overnight. Don't panic you may not have it but if you have a partner that can watch you and note down if you snore and especially if you stop breathing. That's as good as any study. 

[abrahamzvi]

1 hour ago, TacoKhun said:

You can put a camera over night and see if you stop breathing during sleep, also you could try the machine i think it will be way cheaper to buy than get tested if you pay for yourself,  machines being sold in pharmacies.

Which machine are you referring to, which is sold in pharmacies? What is it called?? I would be rather interested in buying one.

[kamalabob2]

I paid 8000 baht last year to be tested overnight at the Bangkok Korat hospital in a room set up for this sort of test. Frankly I did it twice. The first test the staff had made a mistake and they invited me to return at no charge. The 3rd trip was to see a Doctor and then 5 minutes later the two sales people came in with the "machine". Free trial on the machine. I received a 2nd opinion on my test results. My wife is correct I sure do snore often at night. It was all very professional at Bangkok Hospital, but I suggest you obtain a 2nd opinion once you receive the written test results. The results will NOT be the following morning unless you time your visit to when the specific Doctor will be there. Breakfast was included. 

[kamalabob2]

Jack71:  "Should I get tested for sleep apnea? Whats involved with this testing?"   They hook a dozen or more devices on all parts of your body and head, yet none hurt in any way. You care "wired up" but there is an easy way to go to the restroom, when the nurse is summoned. It looks goofy, but seems a fair way to test things. There are at least one camera pointed to the bed, in the "hotel setting" room. It is not a typical hospital bed. It is very professional at Bangkok Hospital in Korat. My body hair played a role in why I had to return a 2nd time. The 2nd nurse was more aggressive in how she attached the suction cups on my body. Nothing hurt. 

[geisha]

Well, I’ve been tested twice as I do have sleep apnea . Not too bad really.

My cardiologist put a small device on me ( twice size of cigarette packet, sent me home. You keep it 24 hrs. Then I went back, and they read the findings, quite extraordinary really. A bit awkward with the wires but ok for one day. This is in France. I had like a cardio gram showing my sleep patterns. 

[Gudge]

If you are waking up during the evening and have to pee and have a dry mouth get checked for diabetes. I have diabetes and wake up during the night and have to pee and have a dry mouth as well.

[Parsve]

1 hour ago, kamalabob2 said:

sleep apnea is almost always because you sleep on your back and then your tongue fall back and block your  airways. I had sleep apnea for many years I was tested and so on and after that my doc give me a tip. He said, take one of your wifes bra, or by you a own. Then, before you go to sleep, put a tennis ball in each cup, then put it on, but were it the other way, so you have the cups on your backside. That  will make you not try to sleep on your back. And it worked. After some month I could skip the bra. 

 

The thing that you wake up early have nothing with sleep apnea to do, it is age related. If you have sleep apnea one symtom is that you are very sleepy all day and fell a sleep what ever you are doing.

 

[Gold Star]

Do you sleep on your back? As your tongue and facial muscles relax they fall back in your throat and cause snoring and increased sleep apnea. Side sleeping is perhaps better in that case, and sewing a pocket on the back side of a T-shirt to fit in a tennis ball keeps you off your back and on your side as you move around at night. Worked for me and my sleep apnea.

 

In my case, for testing, I did not need to stay in a hospital overnight, but I was able to take a monitor kit home with me for a week. It showed my sleep apnea was mild, but I might benefit from a CPAP machine, which I tried out for a month. I never got used to it and it did not make me feel more rested. However, the tennis ball method did, and now I sleep on my sides and feel much better. 

 

[Sterling]

All the recommendations above on getting tested for sleep apnea are good.

You may want to try putting a Breathe Right nasal strip on the bridge of your nose before you go to bed to see if that may help with your breathing through your nose while you sleep.

[mrmicbkktxl]

Did you ever check for Diabetes 2?

[Ireland32]

Upgrade your copper content pumpkin seeds etc 3 weeks after eating you will lose the desire to pee at night Hangul a day 

[xtrnuno41]

I was tested with a tiny recorder with some plastic tubes to, into your nose.

Thats how i was tested, already now 8 years ago. Had more then 40 stops in a night.

At that time i woke up with a dry mouth every morning, never had that.

I tried sleeping in another position, i was always sleeping flat on my belly, so turned 90 degrees. Didnt work.

Once i was told by  a woman in 2000 i was breathing strange. Long out and starting late with breathing again 

I ignored then till 2013 when i woke up with dry mouth. I cant say what impact it had on my body, as maybe it already lasted 13 years.

I know i felt tired on work, but blamed it on going to sleep late.

Also ignored when i was told i was snoring. 

Now i cant sleep without the breathing device. And after all those years already sometimes have a fight with that machine and the mask.

I guess feeling tired got less, however you have to reverse a long time proces of the apneu to normal again and maybe not all gets right ever again. So dont underestimated apneu, it seems to work badly on you. 

i also wonder if it had negative effect on my weight, as with 44 my weight got up and up. Always been 82kg and it went up.

No matter what i did in trying to get it down, as i skipped the cookies, desert, changed sugar to sweeteners then. 

And in later years you already know you will gain weight, so now it started earlier?

 

I also wonder if all isnt because of operation on nose. Long time back, due to another problem, the doc said you have deviated nose.

I was operated and after that had more problems then before. Back to doc, pics, said we can do it again, it is still slightly out of line.

Did it again but again i had the same problem. I wished i never had the operations and would have lived with the minor problem i had first. 

[pacovl46]

It’s a misperception that one should sleep through the night. It’s perfectly fine to wake up to have a pee. What you could try to get around the waking up issue is to drink most of your fluid intake during the day and next to nothing after 8pm. 
 

In regards to your sleep apnea, as others have pointed out already, it’s not a joke and it can actually kill you via heart attack. Go have it checked out ASAP and if you do have it take appropriate counter measures. 
 

 

[mell]

I have a CPAP dreamstation with dehumidifier and all accessories if anyone is interested pm me please. I opted for oral device

[watboy]

Regarding deviated septum, I had a severe case but resisted corrective surgery for years. Eventually got it fixed and am so happy I did. After a very uncomfortable 48hour recovery period w gauze up my sinuses and then being yanked out, I couldn’t believe how clear I could breath. It was a night and day difference. So many problems (allergies, post nasal drip induced coughs etc) went away immediately. Made me regret waiting to do the procedure.

[covidiot]

do you exercise? sometimes exercising during the day may help with sleep.

sometimes i wake up really early and then nap during the day.

sleep with window open and fresh air circulating in the room is better, i find.

 

[nglodnig]

8 hours ago, jack71 said:

Should I get tested for sleep apnea? Whats involved with this testing?

I was tested several years ago - my wife said I used to stop breathing while I was asleep - classic symptom. I was putting on enormous amounts of weight which was creating a vicouse circle, the more weight, the less sleep, the more I ate.

 

I got wired up for a night and I was told the results said I was stopping breathing something 90 times an HOUR - chronic condition.

 

Since then I slap a mask to face and use the good old CPAP - my weight went down 30%, I had more energy - saved my life I believe.

 

The CPAP is a pain - but then your're asleep - you don't notice it.

Edited May 31, 2021 by nglodnig

[The Theory]

You get up for pee, but keep in mind that your problem could be caused by "dehydration". Number 2 enemy is sodium (your nose could get stuck by high sodium while you are asleep). Especially at night. If this is your case, you need to drink water a lot and low sodium food (no MSG as well). 
 

Edited May 31, 2021 by The Theory

[placnx]

9 hours ago, jack71 said:

I have a deviated septum. I think when I sleep I only breath through my mouth not nose. 

I had apnea. One symptom when I was young is that I dreamed I was falling/diving into a void. Then I woke up. Snoring is another possible symptom. In the US, there are sleep clinics where you spend a night with electrodes attached to your skull.

 

I had the full treatment in 2001, which was correction of the deviated septum and cutting off the uvula. Still I have to have my head in a certain orientation to avoid snoring and waking myself up, but rarely have this problem. It could also be a sign of apnea, as snoring is a sign of obstruction. At the time, the surgeon said that the surgery was around 60% successful.

 

I'm not overweight, but that is known to aggravate the situation.

Edited May 31, 2021 by placnx
more detail

[jonnit]

My wife was tested for sleep apnea about 8 months ago.. She was told to be at the hospital at 8 PM. They did the normal check in routine of checking weight, blood pressure, oxygen levels, questioning pain levels, etc. She was then taken to her private room where she was placed on a very comfortable bed (sleep number) and wired up for the test which was probably 20, or more leads. The test monitored her heart, lung activity, brain activity, breathing patterns, arm and leg movements, and blood oxygen levels. About 10 PM the monitor was turned on and the lights were turned off. She was disconnected at about 6 AM and was told she would be notified by her doctor after the results were examined. The results were examined by a specialist and then forwarded to her doctor. Later she saw her doctor and was told she did not have sleep apnea. She was also given a print out of all events recorded during the night. Her problem turned out to be Afib and Aflutter. She has had surgery for those since that time and no longer has either. She wore a heart monitor for 7 days on 2 occasions with no irregularities noted and had many EKG's during that time. Fortunately, the Afib was detected during one of the EKG's prior to the test and the AFlutter was detected a couple of months afterwards.

Edited May 31, 2021 by jonnit

[Thomas J]

11 hours ago, jack71 said:

Should I get tested for sleep apnea? Whats involved with this testing?

I got tested years ago.  It amounted to going to a sleep center where I was hooked up to multiple electronic monitoring wires kind of like this picture. 

They found that I had apnea particularly when laying on my back.   The tell tale sign for sleep apnea is if you snore and you are observed suddenly jerking yourself awake.  You probably would not remember doing so but if you have a partner they will see you do so either on the couch or in bed. 

They fitted me with a a CPAP device which I have used since.  I no longer snore. when using it.