Do these symptoms sound familiar to anyone?

Hello all,

I am here as a last resort of sorts. For the past month and a half I have woken up every day feeling like I haven’t slept. My sleep is not restorative whatsoever, and it is ruining my life. I went from working out 6 days a week to being lethargic, depressed, and feeling generally useless. I am awaiting a sleep study, but there is a two month wait. I have wasted hundreds of dollars on copays and doctors appointments thus far that all come back negative and I am given a clean bill of health. I’m 29 years old.

My wife has in the past stated that she thought I would stop breathing during sleep, and in the past I have woken up gasping for air, but neither of these have occurred in some time now, and my Symptoms have just popped up in the past month.

My issue is that in all the sleep apnea literature and diagnosis tests they are asking questions such as do I fall asleep in public or driving etc. and the answer is no to all of that. Therefore I am at my wits end . Those of you who were diagnosed , did any of you have symptoms such as I am describing ? Just a. General sense that you never got restful sleep and feeling lethargic 24/7? Obviously my sleep study should help, but it’s so far out that I am trying to hear from others to see if I’m even on the right track. I don’t know what else it could possibly be.

If any of you has had these symptoms, did the CPAP fix it?

Thanks for reading, and please let me know if anything I’ve said rang a bell for your prediagnosis symptoms .

Also, can sleep apnea symptoms appear suddenly as I have mentioned , and is it normal that caffeine and energy drinks have no affect on the fatigue ?

Assuming you’ve had all the usual suspects checked in blood? Iron, red cell count, vitamin levels? Anyway, sounds like my story. Masters athlete in his 40’s whose get up and go got up and went. My sleep study indicated an ahi of 8. Quite mild. I’m using an APAP and keeping the ahi below 2, often closer to 1, but haven’t any noticeable improvement after two weeks.

My doc suggested I sleep a bit less and try to compress my sleep a bit. Instead of 8 hours try 7 or 7.5. Force your body to use that sleep window more wisely I guess. One of my issues is frequent wakings. YMMV.

You might try positional therapy for now. Keep off of your back as this will often make obstructive sleep apnea worse.

Thank you for the reply .

Yes, blood, iron, vitamin levels, thyroid, heart, lungs, brain have all been scanned. All have come back totally normal. I even had an MRI on my brain and a chest X-ray , and echocardiogram . I’m running out of options, really.

That is very disheartening to hear that even with treatment you are not getting better. I have tried side sleeping without any improvement thus far.

I was sleeping quite well before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, so I can't say it has made a huge difference. I do sleep through the whole night without getting up much more often now.

Here is a link to a not for profit website that provides information to help people with sleep issues. The motivation of the project by a university professor was to help people find alternatives to sleeping pills. I have found many useful tips at the site.

Sleepwell It's no Dream

Hi Mondayz, I had no classic signs of apnea. No snoring, no weight issue (quite the opposite) and did not wake in the night. But I always needed at least 9 hours of sleep. Then the heart started acting up, and apnea was the culprit. Yes, after many tests, unrelated to sleep, a sleep test was the final resort. The apnea was mild/moderate 75% OSA, 25% central. The CPAP has my AHI down to less than 1, 8 hours or less of sleep each night is plenty and the heart problems completely disappeared. So we are all different in how the problem presents itself and it is worth it to be tested. Good luck.

HI MondayZ

I have no medical training so this is just general uninformed advice.

Most chronic illnesses lead to similar symptoms and I would be surprised if sleep studies failed to find some level of APNEA but I doubt that there is a direct connection.

I would suggest that your circumstances are reminiscent of many chronic illnesses triggered by various viruses.

Sometimes it helps to recall all events, places and circumstances in the weeks or even months prior to first being aware of your current symptoms.

I never once thought I had sleep apnea. I was tired during day and could nap in an instant but never fell asleep driving or anything more dire. I was aware of waking during the night but thought that was just my normal. I was sent for a sleep study because my dentist gave me a small oral appliance and I suddenly was waking up, gasping for air. It wasn't all the time, and mostly when I was on my back. I just thought the appliance was wrong for me, but she insisted I go. Lo and behold, I tested positive for sleep apnea. Overall mild score but severe when I was dreaming and on my back. So just because you don't see your symptoms as that significant doesn't mean you couldn't have apnea.

I started with the CPAP and started sleeping through the night. I didn't even do this as a child. Now I either sleep through the night or get up once to go to the bathroom. I love how I feel sleeping and waking. Yes, I'm still sometimes sleepy in the daytime. I have an active life, and a little 15-minute nap sometimes feels good. But I'm not falling to pieces by the end of the day. I can also tell how much better my breathing is at night.

Definitely get tested. The fact that you woke up gasping for air even some of the time may be significant.

I have had many patients with a similar experience to yours, and most of them did get good relief from CPAP.

YES! I felt like I had been run over by a train every morning! I still don't love mornings but it is better with C-PAP. Try something like MUTE Snoring Device that can purchased at the drug store until your sleep study. It may be helpful at least temporarily!