SLEEP APNEA

i want to start a new thread on sleep apnea because I've come across scattered posts when searching and can't find the recent post I saw a few days ago.  I have severe sleep apnea and am currently tapering diazepam(valium).  I was on clonazepam for sleep for 7 years before being properly diagnosed with sleep apnea.  God knows what damage benzos did to undiagnosed sleep apnea.  I've been using cpap/apap for 5 years but have never gotten used to it.  On the other hand I feel like I have to have it on to fall asleep now.  During this taper my apneas are all over the place as my machine records the number every night, anywhere from 3 to 20 but mostly just under the 10 range which is still not good.  I don't know if this is affecting my severe depression/anxiety.  Anyone else?? 

I also have problems, and my withdrawal will be much worse. I try to think of breathing, and for example breathe in square. It goes well with meditation and mindfulness, but otherwise I'll forget all the time.

When I wake up in the morning it's very crowded in my throat and over the chest. Feel that the body gets very excited when I stop breathing.

 

I would also need to get to a sleep lab but it's far away, and still hard to go out. Do you have any tips? Thanks in advance!

How do you know you have sleep apnea?  You need to go to a sleep lab.  I don't think there is any other way to help this

Drummerboy, I would have to go to a sleep lab, but as I wrote, it's completely unthinkable because I feel so bad.

I suspect I have sleep apnea because my family has woken me several times during sleep. They get worried because I stop breathing for too long. Also wakes up because I take a very deep breath, much like when you have been underwater. Then gets a feeling of stiffening. Although it may not be a sleep apnea, I breathe completely wrong, especially at night. It`s the same thing in the days.

I went a course in conscious breathing, and then I was told that I was most likely to be bothered by sleep apnea.

Translator....I have OSA too....there have been times when I did not have my machine or feel asleep out of the house. When I'm w/o my stuff, I always make the effort to sleep on my side. Back sleeping is a no-no. Get a body pillow to prop yourself and if you are overweight...lose as much as you can. Skinny people get sleep apnea too but any excess weight in the throats and neck will worsen OSA. If you can, raise your bed at the top if you have to sleep,on your back.

 

There isn't much else you can do unless you can find someone with an old machine they don't need and get a mask of your own. Then you have to experiment to find your pressure level....

 

If you can somehow get to a sleep center make sure they do the process in one night. They are set up for accommodating all sorts of situations. Don't give up. It's worth the fight.

Tukabirdy, thanks for your reply! I have normal weight, but think that much depends on stress. I'm very excited in my muscles when I sleep, and I'm sure I'll hold my breath.

Can you, when you wake up, feel a pressure on your throat, chest and stomach? I don`t  know if it depends on the tension, or if it is withdrawal.

I'm not sure on that one...I'll tell you what I do feel and maybe it's relatable. When you have it bad, you don't dream, you just feel like you are falling and get jerked awake or someone snatched away your covers and scared the shit out of you. Very panicky and scared feeling....it's because you stop breathing and the brain sez....wake up and breath...now now now! And now, thinking about it...there is a pressure at first and I gasp for air. I also hate covering my head and feel claustrophobic without my mask.

 

I love my cpap and mask. I would still be very sick, mean, miserable, dead without it. I was starting to have heart arrhythmia. So glad I could go.

Tukabirdy, I sleep very well, 8-12 hours / night. I dream a lot, and they are very lively and real. During the month of 20-22 it could be 15-18 hours / night. I also get to sleep all night without waking up.

I'm very excited when I sleep, even in my hands because I span so hard. Wake up every morning with headache, and sometimes have a pain in the tongue after shaking teeth. (uses bite rack). So I think there are tensions in my body.

Have you ever thought about the possibility of allergies or intolerances being the cause of your sleep apnea?

 

I suffered from sleep apnea-like episodes for years!

3 months ago i found out for me it's triggered by dairy products and some food allergies. Since having identified the allergies and cutting out all dairy i have not had one sleep apnea-like episode! Docs wanted to put me on CPAP, longterm steroids, inhalers and whatever not.

Docs can only see so far as their guidelines allow them to. I truly hate them all.