My doctor thinks I have sleep apnea and I am scheduled for a take-home study late in September.  I'm wondering...can you have sleep apnea symptoms one night and not the next?  I am desperately hoping for a solution to my symptoms and am afraid that, assuming I have sleep apnea, it maybe won't express itself on the night of my test, and I get a false-negative result.

I wake up nearly every morning with a headache, I have big bouts with drowsiness every afternoon, I have more difficulty concentrating than I used to, I've noticed problems with my short term memory, and I snore a lot.  Often, I wake myself up with a snort...maybe I wasn't breathing?  I am most desperate to end my headaches, they can be debilitating.

afraley wrote:

My doctor thinks I have sleep apnea and I am scheduled for a take-home study late in September.  I'm wondering...can you have sleep apnea symptoms one night and not the next?  I am desperately hoping for a solution to my symptoms and am afraid that, assuming I have sleep apnea, it maybe won't express itself on the night of my test, and I get a false-negative result.

I wake up nearly every morning with a headache, I have big bouts with drowsiness every afternoon, I have more difficulty concentrating than I used to, I've noticed problems with my short term memory, and I snore a lot.  Often, I wake myself up with a snort...maybe I wasn't breathing?  I am most desperate to end my headaches, they can be debilitating.

Hi,

It is normal to display symptoms every night. It sounds like you will be having a limited home study, which is exactly what it is.......not a PSG.

The symptoms you describe indicate sleep apnoea. Personally I would be concerned with the headaches and the excessive sleepiness. It might be no harm to contact your doctor and try and speed up the test. If possible have a full PSG (overnight sleep study) as you are suffering from memory problems.

Have you had these symptoms for long ?

Daniel


_________________
The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)

Hi Daniel,

It seems everyone's on a first name basis here, so I'm changing my username from afraley to Alan.  Thanks for responding to my question!

I've been getting headaches for 3 or 4 years.  I've had moderately high blood pressure for at least that long as well (135 over 90).  The drowsiness, concentration, and memory symptoms have been a problem for maybe 6 or 8 months.

I did call my physician to see if we could speed up the test schedule.  I'm with an HMO (Kaiser), and they don't do over-night sleep studies, and their take-home test is booked into late October.  I've checked other Kaiser facilities all over Northern California, and they're all booked up.  My wife thinks we should pay for an overnight study ourselves.  I'm inclined to wait and see what the take-home study is all about.

My PCP ordered bloodwork after his tentative diagnosis.  It came back that I have raised levels of red blood cells, Hemoglobin, and Hematocrit...all possible indicators of sleep apnea.  I'm pretty sure that I have OSA and am so anxious to get a comfirmed diagnosis!  It seems, though that headaches aren't a common symptom.  Has anybody else out there had headache problems as a result of sleep apnea?

I have one other question.  Just how dangerous is OSA in the short term?  That is, if I stop breathing in my sleep, is it possible that I wouldn't start breathing again?

Alan wrote:

Hi Daniel,

It seems everyone's on a first name basis here, so I'm changing my username from afraley to Alan.  Thanks for responding to my question!

I've been getting headaches for 3 or 4 years.  I've had moderately high blood pressure for at least that long as well (135 over 90).  The drowsiness, concentration, and memory symptoms have been a problem for maybe 6 or 8 months.

I did call my physician to see if we could speed up the test schedule.  I'm with an HMO (Kaiser), and they don't do over-night sleep studies, and their take-home test is booked into late October.  I've checked other Kaiser facilities all over Northern California, and they're all booked up.  My wife thinks we should pay for an overnight study ourselves.  I'm inclined to wait and see what the take-home study is all about.

My PCP ordered bloodwork after his tentative diagnosis.  It came back that I have raised levels of red blood cells, Hemoglobin, and Hematocrit...all possible indicators of sleep apnea.  I'm pretty sure that I have OSA and am so anxious to get a comfirmed diagnosis!  It seems, though that headaches aren't a common symptom.  Has anybody else out there had headache problems as a result of sleep apnea?

I have one other question.  Just how dangerous is OSA in the short term?  That is, if I stop breathing in my sleep, is it possible that I wouldn't start breathing again?

Hi Alan,

Firstly, I am not trying to scare you.
The reason I would be concerned about the headaches is that they point towards a lack of oxygen getting to the brain, also hypertension. You mentioned BP readings of 135/90, which is not that bad, but have you ever been on a 24 hour BP monitor ? What I'm trying to find out is, at what stage of the day or night are you at 135/90 ?

OSA sufferers are known to have higher BP readings while asleep and can be at a higher risk of a stroke during the hours of 12AM to 4.00AM. This is a result of the extra pressure on the heart to pump blood, dramatically increasing blood flow to the brain, because the brain realises that it is being deprived of oxygen. The first part of the brain to suffer from the loss of oxygen is the front right cortex and that is where the mechanism for the short term memory is stored......hence your symptom of memory problems. Unfortunately it's a vicious circle. Headaches do feature, as I can remember some pretty violent headaches during the early morning (thankfully no more).

It is unlikely that you will cease breathing during sleep, if you have OSA, as your brain will 'turn cartwheels' to keep you alive mainly by driving your heart faster to get more oxygen to it.

Because of your numerous symptoms I think your wife might be correct in going for the PSG. It gives a more definitive report, covers a lot of 'symptom' areas and will give you a great 'baseline' to work from. Before going down this road you should check exactly what the home study delivers.

I can't help you with US insurance companies.

Don't hesitate to ask more questions.

Daniel


_________________
The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)

Hi Alan!
Elevated H&H (polycythemia) and headaches are symptoms of other diseases as well, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  Polycythemia in OSA is quite unusual, more common in COPD, and headaches can also be caused by elevated CO2 levels (or polycythemia, for that matter) another hallmark of COPD.
Does anything in this look familiar?
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Copd/Copd_WhatIs.html
In your examination, did you have Pulmonary Function Tests (spirometry), arterial blood gases, pulse oximetry?  In your lab work was a value called serum bicarbonate or HCO3- elevated?
And of course, there's no law that says you can't have both, so by all means, continue all testing till you get your diagnosis.
sleepydave

Hi Alan.  I had one of the take home studies as well.  Now I really regret it because I just don't have all the information I want or need.  I am probably going to torment my insurance until I get a full PSG and if that doesn't work, pay for my own.  I think the take home tests have a place in the testing process, but from what I've read, nothing beats a full PSG, so you really might want to consider it.