[Info] Sleep Clinics in Ireland/Sleep disorders

A relation have mine has sleep apnea and he has to use a device to help him out. Very scary indeed.

Note to mods, I believe this is relevant to the sleep forum not the medical ones. It is something I think is very worthwhile to be included here. Judge it for yourself.


I have sleep apoena, read this story, its quite scary!

I used to feel the heat all the time. I am a big lad. Only 5' 8", 18 stone, 18 1/2 inch neck and very tired all the time. If there was a prize for snoring, I would win it. In a b&b in Limerick, the people in the room next door, asked for a move. I used to think it was funny that I would be on top of the bed, bollock naked, under an open window, while the wife was in the bed in pj's, under two duvets, complaining of the cold.
I used to open the curtains and allow the cold air wash over me to cool me down at night. I used to wake in the middle of the night covered in sweat, breathing like I had just run the 100 meters.

I used to wake up in the morning with a throat that felt like I had eaten a cactus. Sometimes my throat would be swollen and it felt like I had something stuck in it. I could be in bed for ten hours and wake up wrecked. I would need a nap about half ten and if in a meeting, would doze off.

Continuous diabetes tests came back negative. This is a regular cause of tiredness. Then one day, the wife was with me at the doctor when she mentioned my snoring. The doctor just clicked. He referred me to the sleep clinic at Tallaght Hospital. They put a probe on my finger while I slept for three nights. It was conclusive - I had sleep apoena.

When someone goes to sleep, the throat narrows. This can cause snoring, the flesh in the throat vibrates. MY THROAT collapses completely. It is like someone is throttling me, my body tries to breath "while being throttled", the waking in the middle of the night was my oxygen level dropping to dangerously low levels, the brain raises the alarm and wakes me up. This happens hundreds of times a night. Because I go back "to sleep", I have no recollection of this. This causes the body to not reach deep REM sleep. This is the sleep where we get real rest, where we dream.


Now I have a machine called a CPAP. This is like a pilots mask connected to a small machine that monitors my breathing. If it senses I stop, it gently pressurises air into my throat which splints open my airway and allows me to sleep.

I had a dream last night ! Its unreal what a good nights sleep does for you until you dont have one.

The consequences of sleep apoena are wide reaching. Untreated - you are ten times more likely to have a car crash (you can fall asleep at the wheel), the constant cycle of waking, sleeping, choking, waking, sleeping, etc etc can cause high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks. If these symptoms sound familiar, get it checked.

I drive and the question - "Do you have any conditions that may affect your driving" is relevant. I went unregged to post this as I dont want any insurance company to get any ideas that I am dangerous.....

nonametoday wrote: »

Note to mods, I believe this is relevant to the sleep forum not the medical ones. It is something I think is very worthwhile to be included here. Judge it for yourself.


I have sleep apoena, read this story, its quite scary!

I used to feel the heat all the time. I am a big lad. Only 5' 8", 18 stone, 18 1/2 inch neck and very tired all the time. If there was a prize for snoring, I would win it. In a b&b in Limerick, the people in the room next door, asked for a move. I used to think it was funny that I would be on top of the bed, bollock naked, under an open window, while the wife was in the bed in pj's, under two duvets, complaining of the cold.
I used to open the curtains and allow the cold air wash over me to cool me down at night. I used to wake in the middle of the night covered in sweat, breathing like I had just run the 100 meters.

I used to wake up in the morning with a throat that felt like I had eaten a cactus. Sometimes my throat would be swollen and it felt like I had something stuck in it. I could be in bed for ten hours and wake up wrecked. I would need a nap about half ten and if in a meeting, would doze off.

Continuous diabetes tests came back negative. This is a regular cause of tiredness. Then one day, the wife was with me at the doctor when she mentioned my snoring. The doctor just clicked. He referred me to the sleep clinic at Tallaght Hospital. They put a probe on my finger while I slept for three nights. It was conclusive - I had sleep apoena.

When someone goes to sleep, the throat narrows. This can cause snoring, the flesh in the throat vibrates. MY THROAT collapses completely. It is like someone is throttling me, my body tries to breath "while being throttled", the waking in the middle of the night was my oxygen level dropping to dangerously low levels, the brain raises the alarm and wakes me up. This happens hundreds of times a night. Because I go back "to sleep", I have no recollection of this. This causes the body to not reach deep REM sleep. This is the sleep where we get real rest, where we dream.


Now I have a machine called a CPAP. This is like a pilots mask connected to a small machine that monitors my breathing. If it senses I stop, it gently pressurises air into my throat which splints open my airway and allows me to sleep.

I had a dream last night ! Its unreal what a good nights sleep does for you until you dont have one.

The consequences of sleep apoena are wide reaching. Untreated - you are ten times more likely to have a car crash (you can fall asleep at the wheel), the constant cycle of waking, sleeping, choking, waking, sleeping, etc etc can cause high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks. If these symptoms sound familiar, get it checked.

I drive and the question - "Do you have any conditions that may affect your driving" is relevant. I went unregged to post this as I dont want any insurance company to get any ideas that I am dangerous.....

By this stage I'm convinced I have apoena. Since about 14 (21 now) I've been completely exhausted everyday, virtually no short term memory, extremely poor concentration and of course, waking up almost every night gasping for air. I had relief in April of this year when I woke up gasping but suddenly felt my airway open up. I woke up the next morning feeling the best I had in years, my thoughts were clear, I could remember what I did this day last week and I could manage conversations without forgetting the topic. It continued up until June but now I'm back in the same situation.
I've booked an appointment with my GP for Friday anyway, but I dont have health insurance so I'm hoping I'll just be able to skip straight ahead to treatment as I've heard the costs of sleep studies are astronomical.

Does anyone have any info on Night Terrors/ Sleep Walking?

I suffer from a combination of both- where I wake from the night terror, but it is superimposed on reality, meaning I sleep walk (or run!).

I know that I suffer from it when stressed out of upset and have done since a child, but it has become so frequent now that I hate going asleep for fear of what my poor brain will torment me with next... Tips?

nonametoday wrote: »

Note to mods, I believe this is relevant to the sleep forum not the medical ones. It is something I think is very worthwhile to be included here. Judge it for yourself.


I have sleep apoena, read this story, its quite scary!

I used to feel the heat all the time. I am a big lad. Only 5' 8", 18 stone, 18 1/2 inch neck and very tired all the time. If there was a prize for snoring, I would win it. In a b&b in Limerick, the people in the room next door, asked for a move. I used to think it was funny that I would be on top of the bed, bollock naked, under an open window, while the wife was in the bed in pj's, under two duvets, complaining of the cold.
I used to open the curtains and allow the cold air wash over me to cool me down at night. I used to wake in the middle of the night covered in sweat, breathing like I had just run the 100 meters.

I used to wake up in the morning with a throat that felt like I had eaten a cactus. Sometimes my throat would be swollen and it felt like I had something stuck in it. I could be in bed for ten hours and wake up wrecked. I would need a nap about half ten and if in a meeting, would doze off.

Continuous diabetes tests came back negative. This is a regular cause of tiredness. Then one day, the wife was with me at the doctor when she mentioned my snoring. The doctor just clicked. He referred me to the sleep clinic at Tallaght Hospital. They put a probe on my finger while I slept for three nights. It was conclusive - I had sleep apoena.

When someone goes to sleep, the throat narrows. This can cause snoring, the flesh in the throat vibrates. MY THROAT collapses completely. It is like someone is throttling me, my body tries to breath "while being throttled", the waking in the middle of the night was my oxygen level dropping to dangerously low levels, the brain raises the alarm and wakes me up. This happens hundreds of times a night. Because I go back "to sleep", I have no recollection of this. This causes the body to not reach deep REM sleep. This is the sleep where we get real rest, where we dream.


Now I have a machine called a CPAP. This is like a pilots mask connected to a small machine that monitors my breathing. If it senses I stop, it gently pressurises air into my throat which splints open my airway and allows me to sleep.

I had a dream last night ! Its unreal what a good nights sleep does for you until you dont have one.

The consequences of sleep apoena are wide reaching. Untreated - you are ten times more likely to have a car crash (you can fall asleep at the wheel), the constant cycle of waking, sleeping, choking, waking, sleeping, etc etc can cause high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks. If these symptoms sound familiar, get it checked.

I drive and the question - "Do you have any conditions that may affect your driving" is relevant. I went unregged to post this as I dont want any insurance company to get any ideas that I am dangerous.....

FYI - I declared it to my car insurance company and there was no increase in the premium, however I do now need to provide a medical cert to them each year (have not tried to move company either).

I have not yet had my driving licence renewed since diagnosis, I will likely declare here also on renewal. I have read that in the UK your licence is withdrawn until you can demonstrate that you are receiving therapy for SA.

Now that I have gone public on the system I need to consider the consequences if I rent a car abroad without it declared on the licence....

Ialso have sleep apnia i have been using a cpap (continuous positive airway pressure ) machine for the past three years . i was diagnosed with the condition in the sleep lab at st. vincents in dublin .one other side effect that i had was sexsomnia wich i have to say i miss this is when i was asleep i would try to perform sexual acts with my wife (nothing too rude) i would be woken up by her normally with a slap in the ear to be told i was at it again .i would only find out the next morning that i was at it again when she reminded me because i would have forgotten all about it by then. this became a real problem after a while not only was i having broken sleep but now my wife was too .thankfully it has all stoped now has anyone else had sexsomnia or is it just me ?

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1242521/sexsomnia_interesting_facts_about_sleep.html

Ask your OH'S doctor to refare him to a sleep clinic it's well worth it for his health alone what part of the world are you from ?

Good day!

Sorry for bumping this, but I'd really like some more information regarding these sleep clinics (preferably in the Dublin area), more specifically the financial parts of it.

I've had sleeping problems for ~10 years or so, seen doctors many many times but they either tell me to seek therapy (because they assume I'm depressed, despite me telling them that's not it...) or prescribe sleeping pills, which may or may not work, it's a bit random. I've finally taken the time to do some research myself and found that everything about "delayed sleep-phase syndrome" matches, so thought I'd see a specialist to get it confirmed.

I am however not wealthy I guess you could say So I'm just wondering, did everyone who went to a clinic get a machine to take home and had almost no additional charges? (I currently do not have an insurance.)

Thankful for any response!

Here, we examine the literature to determine whether rhinitis, chronic overbreathing and sleeping with the mouth open is a causal factor for snoring and sleep apnoea.
“Open-mouth breathing during sleep is a risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and is associated with increased disease severity and upper airway collapsibility.” The study which involved 52 patients found that “the more elongated and narrow upper airway during open-mouth breathing may aggravate the collapsibility of the upper airway and, thus, negatively affect OSA severity.”1
In another study, 385 patients with obstructive sleep apnoea were examined through a questionnaire. Results showed that upper airway symptoms were common, with 61% of patients reporting mouth dryness, 52% with nasal stuffiness, 51% with dryness of the nose, 30% with sneezing, 24% with mucus in the throat, and 17% with a runny nose.2
Ohki et al. performed a study to determine the relationship between oral breathing and nasal obstruction in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. The study involved 30 normal subjects and 20 patients with snoring or sleep apnoea. Researchers found that chronic nasal obstruction and resultant mouth breathing may induce obstructive sleep apnea.3
In a paper entitled, “How does open-mouth breathing influence upper airway anatomy?”4, Lee et al. tested the hypothesis that open-mouth breathing during sleep may increase the severity of obstructive sleep apnea. After an analysis of 28 patients, researchers concluded that “open-mouth breathing is associated with reduction of the retropalatal and retroglossal areas, lengthening of the pharynx and shortening of the MP-H in the upper airway.”4
After reviewing texts and articles on Medline, the centre for research disorders in Cincinnati, Ohio concluded that obstructive sleep apnoea, sleep fragmentation, and disturbed sleep often result from nasal obstruction.5 The authors of the paper observed that “since breathing through the nose appears to be the preferred route during sleep, nasal obstruction frequently leads to nocturnal mouth breathing, snoring, and ultimately to OSA.”5 The paper advised that allergic rhinitis and other upper respiratory disorders should be treated more aggressively.5
Mouth breathing, snoring, and sleep apnoea in children
A Polish study noted that children with sleep respiratory disorders wake up tired, with blocked noses, were breathing through their mouth, tire easily, have concentration problems, are irritated, and demonstrate hyperactivity that may resemble ADHD symptoms. The paper further states that “long-term disease leads to exacerbation of all-systemic symptoms, results in cardiovascular complications, induces developmental inhibition and cognitive dysfunction, and is responsible for school/social failures and reduced life quality.”6
In a paper entitled, “The nose and sleep disordered breathing: what we know and what we don’t know,” performed an analysis of medical literature on the subject.7 The analysis confirmed that “SDB (sleep disordered breathing) can both result from and be worsened by nasal obstruction.” It was stated that “nasal congestion typically results in a switch to oronasal breathing that compromises the airway.” Furthermore, “oral (mouth) breathing in children may lead to the development of facial structural abnormalities associated with SDB.” The paper concluded that the change to mouth breathing that occurs with chronic nasal obstruction is a common pathway for sleep-disordered breathing.7
Mouth breathing was also recognised to be a factor in a study to determine the prevalence and association of sleep disorders and school performance. Based on a total of 1,164 completed questionnaires on children aged between 7 and 13 years, it was found that the overall prevalence of snoring was 38.9% with 3.5% habitually snoring. “Allergic symptoms, daytime mouth breathing, shaking the child for apnea, restless sleep and hyperactivity were significant and independent risk factors and sleep-related symptoms for HS.”9
A study was conducted to determine the risk factors of habitual snoring and symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing. Based on a study of 1030 children aged from 12 to 17 years, it was found that “habitual snorers had significantly more night time symptoms including observed apneas, difficulty breathing, restless sleep and mouth breathing during sleep compared to occasional and non-snorers.”10
And finally, data from 248 medical charts of mouth-breathing children were analysed to determine the prevalence of obstructive sleep disorders in such children. It was found that 58% of children were primary snorers and 42% had obstructive sleep apnoea. The paper concluded that, “primary snoring and OSAS are frequent findings in mouth breathing children.”11
There is no doubt that mouth breathing is a significant causal factor for snoring and sleep apnea in both adults and children.
References:

• Kim EJ, Choi JH, Kim KW, Kim TH, Lee SH, Lee HM, Shin C, Lee KY, Lee SH.
  The impacts of open-mouth breathing on upper airway space in obstructive sleep apnea: 3-D MDCT analysis.Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2010 Oct 19.
• Kreivi HR, Virkkula P, Lehto J, Brander P.Frequency of upper airway symptoms before and during continuous positive airway pressure treatment in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Respiration. 2010;80(6):488-94.
• Ohki M, Usui N, Kanazawa H, Hara I, Kawano K. Relationship between oral breathing and nasal obstruction in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.Acta Otolaryngol Suppl. 1996;523:228-30.
• Lee SH, Choi JH, Shin C, Lee HM, Kwon SY, Lee SH.How does open-mouth breathing influence upper airway anatomy? Laryngoscope. 2007 Jun;117(6):1102-6.
• Scharf MB, Cohen AP Diagnostic and treatment implications of nasal obstruction in snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 1998 Oct;81(4):279-87; quiz 287-90.
• Wasilewska J, Kaczmarski M Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome in children [Article in Polish] Wiad Lek. 2010;63(3):201-12.
• Rappai M, Collop N, Kemp S, deShazo R. The nose and sleep-disordered breathing: what we know and what we do not know. Chest. 2003 Dec;124(6):2309-23.
• Izu SC, Itamoto CH, Pradella-Hallinan M, Pizarro GU, Tufik S, Pignatari S, Fujita RR. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in mouth breathing children. [Article in English, Portuguese] Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2010 Oct;76(5):552-6.
• Sahin U, Ozturk O, Ozturk M, Songur N, Bircan A, Akkaya A. Habitual snoring in primary school children: prevalence and association with sleep-related disorders and school performance. Med Princ Pract. 2009;18(6):458-65. Epub 2009 Sep 30.
• Sogut A, Yilmaz O, Dinc G, Yuksel H, Prevalence of habitual snoring and symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing in adolescents. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2009 Dec;73(12):1769-73. Epub 2009 Oct 20.
• Izu SC, Itamoto CH, Pradella-Hallinan M, Pizarro GU, Tufik S, Pignatari S, Fujita RR. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in mouth breathing children.[Article in English, Portuguese] Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2010 Oct;76(5):552-6.

The-Rigger wrote: »

fml. When are they going to start helping people who aren't having problems that would be resolved by losing excess weight?

ffs

Sleep apnoea affects all size, not just overweight. The first question I would ask anyone with sleep apnoea is

Do you have nasal obstruction?
Do you sleep on your back?
Do you sleep with your mouth open?

If so, you need to address these first!