Has any one else been diagnosed with Sleep Apnea ?

[Captain Disorderly]

Ive been having night time sleeping problems for some years now , my symptoms are waking up through out the night with a feeling that I have swallowed some thing and its stuck in my throat. Once I wake up that feeling of having swallowed some thing and its stuck in my throat disappears and I can go back to sleep .
 

So I decided to seek medical advice. The hospital doctor sent me for an overnight hospital sleep test ( Bangkok Hospital in Korat ) . The sleep test results showed I had moderate / severe sleep apnea . 

 

During my consultation at the sleep test hospital about the sleep test results the doctor recommended that I purchase a ResMed Airsense 10 CPAP machine , which I did.

 

I have been adjusting the ResMed machine settings to try and find the best options and at the same time I have purchased two face masks to use with the ResMed machine.

 

I’m 73 years of age and I sleep alone , sleep on my side and the face mask I’m currently using is an AirFit P30i .
 

I have seen dedicated sleep apnea internet forums , but I thought as I live permanently in Thailand I would first inquire here to ask if any one else has been diagnosed with sleep apnea and if so how are you dealing with it and what have you learned along the way .

[bamboozled]

Hey there Capt. I don't have an answer to your inquiry but wondered if you could share what you paid for the sleep test? I've been wanting to get one for years but keep putting if off...one reason being I don't want to pay up. That is, Cheap Charlie coupled with my own diagnosis that I probably don't have apnea. But, of course, what do I know. I just know I am always tired and sleep poorly.

 

Thanks!

[Patong2]

I have severe sleep apnoea.

Have had CPAP machine for 20 odd years.

Have a ResMed 10 Airsense for the last 5 years with a 

BMC P2 Nasal Pillows Interface (available on Lazada for quarter the price of my country)

 

No real problems, after 5 years it is getting noisy so I will replace shortly.

 

Use it every night, all night and made a huge difference to my life.

 

[Captain Disorderly]

21 minutes ago, bamboozled said:

Hey there Capt. I don't have an answer to your inquiry but wondered if you could share what you paid for the sleep test? I've been wanting to get one for years but keep putting if off...one reason being I don't want to pay up. That is, Cheap Charlie coupled with my own diagnosis that I probably don't have apnea. But, of course, what do I know. I just know I am always tired and sleep poorly.

 

Thanks!

Hi and thanks for your comment . I have private medical insurance and that health insurance policy only covers me for any medical attention if I have to stay in hospital overnight so , sorry I can't tell you how much the cost of that sleep test was as my private health insurances paid for it . The sleep apnea report was very long and detailed . Being constantly tired and not sleeping very well , are also symptoms I am having .

[Captain Disorderly]

17 minutes ago, Patong2 said:

I have severe sleep apnoea.

Have had CPAP machine for 20 odd years.

Have a ResMed 10 Airsense for the last 5 years with a 

BMC P2 Nasal Pillows Interface (available on Lazada for quarter the price of my country)

 

No real problems, after 5 years it is getting noisy so I will replace shortly.

 

Use it every night, all night and made a huge difference to my life.

 

 Wow 20 years , and here's me thinking give it a few months and I will be putting my ResMed 10 Airsense machine back in its case . I would love to ask you a few questions if that's ok.

[jaideedave]

Many years ago in my 40,s I was diagnosed with SE you speak of with similar symptoms.I'd wake up abruptly completely out of air. Very frightening indeed. I underwent the sleep lab tests etc.

They ended up removing my "uvula" surgically.

It never really worked until decades later I quit drinking and lost a lot of weight.I never used a machine and always sleep on my side.Now my shoulders hurt at 72.lol

[Captain Disorderly]

43 minutes ago, jaideedave said:

Many years ago in my 40,s I was diagnosed with SE you speak of with similar symptoms.I'd wake up abruptly completely out of air. Very frightening indeed. I underwent the sleep lab tests etc.

They ended up removing my "uvula" surgically.

It never really worked until decades later I quit drinking and lost a lot of weight.I never used a machine and always sleep on my side.Now my shoulders hurt at 72.lol

Seeing the word ‘’ uvula ‘’ and I’m not sure why but I had a thought in my old mans mind that the word 
was some thing to do with a woman's sexual organ 

 

 So loosing weight and quit drinking alcohol made your past sleep apnea symptoms disappear and you never used a ResMed type machine , that's really a great result . As for your shoulder hurting I’m sorry to inform you , but at 72 years of age the dreaded getting old curse has struck . 
 

[moose7117]

9 hours ago, jaideedave said:

Many years ago in my 40,s I was diagnosed with SE you speak of with similar symptoms.I'd wake up abruptly completely out of air. Very frightening indeed. I underwent the sleep lab tests etc.

They ended up removing my "uvula" surgically.

It never really worked until decades later I quit drinking and lost a lot of weight.I never used a machine and always sleep on my side.Now my shoulders hurt at 72.lol

Basically the same for me, i also gave up smoking and had the roof of my mouth layered to tighten my palette, this has worked until recently as i have started snoring and stopping breathing again.

maybe the wife is sitting on my face whilst i am asleep ?

this will need further investigation.

[3NUMBAS]

my dad had it and another mate ,dad has passed and mate has a machine that senses it and feeds him oxygen quickly,,,free from NHS

[bamboozled]

In college I knew a girl with a forked uvula. No joke, no reading between the lines, no innuendo., She really had a forked uvula, split in the middle like a snakes tongue. No idea if she has sleep apnea.

[bamboozled]

10 hours ago, Captain Disorderly said:

Hi and thanks for your comment . I have private medical insurance and that health insurance policy only covers me for any medical attention if I have to stay in hospital overnight so , sorry I can't tell you how much the cost of that sleep test was as my private health insurances paid for it . The sleep apnea report was very long and detailed . Being constantly tired and not sleeping very well , are also symptoms I am having .

I think Bangkok Hospital has it on their website and last time I looked it was about 17k But that was a few years ago. I think someone told me 15k at the Geriatric hospital but again, that was a few years ago. I could of course give a call and know exactly in about 3 minutes.

[Patong2]

The biggest problem with Sleep Apnoea, as I understand it from my personal tests is not so much the breathing issue but what happens when you stop breathing or even worse, choking.

Looking at my heart monitoring in the hospital it showed what happens.

 

The body immediately reacts to lack of oxygen and goes into full recovery mode and pumps adrenalin right through your body. The effect on your heart is huge and a strain on your heart.

 

The problem with Sleep Apnoea, in my case, my oxygen was stopping several times in a matter of

minutes so it doesn't take a rocket science to realise that that strain on my heart meant I was not going to last as long as I possibly could and should.

 

The machine also means I don't go to sleep talking on the phone (even with the most boring of calls)

don't go to sleep at traffic lights ( not really a problem as the guy behind helps by honking and waking me up) but the real benefit is my wife is not lying there waiting for me to choke every night, and a wife with no sleep is not that great.

 

So I view a CPAP machine pretty positively.