Hey there!! (Kinda' long, but it explains the process up until now - and can hopefully help others to recognize the signs of sleep apnea. There is a list at the end of possible symptoms.)

I mentioned to a few people on chat that I had gone for a sleep study this June - Father's Day actually.

When I was 12, I woke up one night because I wasn't breathing, but started breathing once I was awake... you can imagine I was afraid to go back to sleep! This didn't happen again (that I was aware of anyway) for a few years, and on average, I'd say I noticed it maybe once every year or two starting in high school.

I've always needed lots of sleep - my Mom had to flick my feet to keep me awake long enough to feed as a baby - and it isn't abnormal for me to sleep for 12+ hours and still be tired when I get up. Headaches are also something that are frequent with me upon awakening. It was getting to the point where I was missing work because I was so exhausted that I didn't have enough energy to do anything other than turn off my alarm and fall directly back to sleep. My Mother and Father both have sleep apnea and my Mom suggested that I get a sleep study after she got her diagnosis recently. She had mentioned my symptoms to her sleep doctor, and he said I needed to come in right away to be tested. He also told her to tell me to not try and have babies at the moment, because if I did have apnea, it could cause a miscarriage - which is a horrible though and freaked me right out.

So, I went for the sleep test this June. NOT fun trying to sleep with 20 electrodes on your head, face, some on your neck, shoulders and legs, plus 2 belts around your waist and 2 different nasal prongs! Any way, when I finally did manage to fall asleep, I felt like I had woken up maaaybe 3 times at the most.

My husband and I went to get the results yesterday and were absolutely stunned! The doctor said that in the 3 hours I slept, I had stopped breathing about 137 times - so roughly every 2 minutes or so - for at least 10 seconds. Which means, I woke up 137 times. He said that is enough to diagnose me with Severe Sleep Apnea. The reason I'm so tired, is I am not actually getting into a deep sleep at night. I'm waking up every few minutes because I'm not breathing. He wrote out a prescription and I go to get a CPAP machine tomorrow. It's a machine that has a mask (or nasal prongs) and blows a steady current of air into the nose so that the airway stays open and I won't stop breathing at night. The reason for the morning headaches is the lack of oxygen getting to my brain at night. Apparently, if treatment is not sought, it's not a question of "if" one will have a heart attack or stroke from sleep apnea, but "when" one will have one. Sleep Apnea can vary in degrees. For example, my Mom stopped breathing 200/300 times in the night, the shortest non-breathing time being 2 minutes and the longest being 4 minutes - keep in mind, the brain starts to die after 7 minutes of oxygen deprivation!

Thankfully, OHIP (the Government health system) pays for half the cost of the machine, and my husband's work medical insurance will pay the other half (or most of it anyway.)

We're just glad to have an answer as to why I've been so incredibly tired and it's just been getting worse. In essence, I've spent 27 (almost 28) years getting no sleep - and it's slowly killing me. The good news is, that using the machine is a 100% cure! I'm so excited to finally be able to get a proper sleep and have energy to do things now!

Sorry for the long post, but I'm just so excited to finally know what's wrong and to know that there is something to help me get better! I'm also hoping that if anyone out there has any of the symptoms that I'm going to list, that they will get in to have a sleep study done, as they are all signs of sleep apnea. (Not saying that's what it is for sure, just that they are possible indicators.)

Possible signs: Chronic fatigue in the morning, frequent headaches in the morning, snoring, gasping while sleeping, waking during the night, muscle twitching/jumping while sleeping, depression, high blood pressure, being over weight, overeating.

Thanks for reading and good luck to anyone out there who goes to get a sleep study done!

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20g and 36g Heavily Planted

You better be sleeping now, Holly.

Hope you feel better when you wake up. :3

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Thanks Pigeonfish! I got the machine today and am soooooooo excited to use it tonight! I went with 'nasal pillows' instead of the over the nose mask. Basically, it's soft nasal buds (kinda' like ear buds) which feel so much less confining than the mask! Here's to a good night's sleep tonight! :D

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20g and 36g Heavily Planted

Good luck! Feel better :D

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Good luck with your treatment!

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

hppe you feel better an sleep better !!!!!!!!!!!!

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if you loan some one money an never see them Again it was money well spent !!!!!

OMG ! Thats scary ! stop breathing every 2 minutes !?!

Thank you for sharing your story with us .

And hope you get some good sleep from now on,and lots of energy in a day

hope you had a good night and got some sleep with the new machine

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What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?

Thanks everyone! I slept great and named my machine Jenny, lol. She's my new best friend! Lol. The cat's aren't sure of it, hahahaha. The male was sitting on me but jerking every time the air would come out and the female was on me but backed up faster than anything I've ever seen when she saw the thing on my face, lol! Too funny!

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20g and 36g Heavily Planted

I like reading stories like yours

Lol, thanks Sondre, I try! :D

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20g and 36g Heavily Planted

Good to hear the cats are spazoids as always, and even better to hear you're finally not running the risk of a stroke or heart attack. Sweet dreams, Holly

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FW 10G, 5 neons, 1 fancy male guppy, BNP, pond snails, ~80 RCS. Camboba, java moss, java fern, willow hygro, ludwigia repens, dwarf sag, anubias nana. AC50, 50W heater, Current USA Nova Extreme 2x18W T5HO.

"Give me your penchant and I shall grant you deliverance." - Falcor

Thanks for posting this. I am going to a sleep study sometime next month. I have problems with being excessively tired, and irregular snoring. Doctors over the years have told me that I was tired all the time because of depression, but I dont think that's it. I'm thinking the sleep apnea. I sleep a lot. Last nite it was 11p-7a then returned to bed at 930a-130p. So hopefully I too get some answers soon.

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Tank: 29g:guppies, balloon mollies, swordtail, 2 mollies
Hex: opaline gourami
10g 1F. betta

^ No problem! Good luck with your sleep study! (Depression is also an indicator of Sleep Apnea.) I hope you get some answers soon!

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20g and 36g Heavily Planted

Glad to hear.

And keep sleeping great!

My father-in-law has the same problem and the machine works wonders for him.

Can we get a pic of you with your mask on?

My friend has the same issue only not as severe. His machine makes him feel 100x more rested.

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75 Gallon Planted