Sleep Apnea Support Group

I am so sorry for your loss. My neighbor had her hubby die from sleep apnea. He was 38. He was overweight by 35lbs. approx. Again Im sorry.

I too am sorry for your loss.

Did he have a large neck? I have heard that is more indicative of a potential apnea problem than merely being overweight.

Vince did have a fairly large neck. He did gain weight in his face, neck and stomach. He never gained weight in his legs which as a female, I envied him for that trait. I am learning that sleep apnea is caused when your throat collapses. I believe that is correct. Could someone help me out in that assumption?

Hi Rachel, I am SO sorry for your loss. My husband is 24 and has had sleep apnea since he was about 16. It is caused by blockage in the throat, of I believe either excess skin or tongue blockage. I am very afraid of losing him too. He is currently on a CPAP and has been trying to use it for years.. very difficult for some. But, we will not give up. Again, I am sorry for your loss. Take care...

My dad snored so loud, for so many years, and I could literally HEAR him stop breathing for seconds at a time. I woke him up constantly. he scared the sh!t out of me. I definitely believe his apnea had a role in his death. He had heart disease also.

I am so very sorry for your loss.
Being overweight can cause sleep apnea. It has with me but even slim people have this. Babies can have it too.

They think my aunt died of sleep apnea. My uncle almost died two different times. I think of him when I lay down and put my mask on.

I use the full face mask. I had the nose one only for about 2 years and hada constant anxiety attacks. I didn't even know they made the full face ones until I had my second sleep study.

I have sinus problems so I use a Neti Pot nasal cup using a package of saline nasal rinse that is included. I bought mine at Walmart. It has helped so much. I use it two times a day.

A person can't get the full benefit of the cpap with sinus problems blocking breathing.
Ann in Nashville

I am so....sorry for your loss. How empty those words sound. They do not begin to express the sympathy that I wish for you. I am shocked that wsomeone so young, and who was basically physically fit, could die of this awful illness. god bless you. I wish you well! JoAnn

26 years old???????? That's horrible! Very sorry to hear that. I literally believe that I probably would have suffered a heart attack if they didn't finally figure out my problem. I felt like I was dying as I had no energy during the day to do anything. I was having heart palpitations constantly. I had blurry vision all the time from being overly tired. I been to the ER a couple of times from my heart beating so fast. I almost was in several car accidents as I would by accident start swerving into the other car lane.

My doctor misdiagnosed me a million times until I finally changed doctors. My doctor told me that my symptoms were not consistent with sleep apnea even though my brother was diagnosed with it. I used to have to go to the bathroom every hour of the night so my doctor assumed that I was drinking too much before bed and his no drinks 2 hours before bed did nothing for me. Frequent urination can be a symptom of sleep apnea as it was for me. I told my doctor that I would wake up suddenly in the night and feel like I been holding my breath type of feeling that I get when swimming under water a lot. He tried diagnosing me with depression since he felt that my sudden arousal from sleep was a sign that I was depressed and put me on Xanax and that didn't work. He then told me that I had allergies and put me on Astelin and Rhinocort and that didn't work. He tried something else that caused drowsiness and made me feel even worse. He even tried Ambien to help me sleep and that put me in the ER as my heart was pounding out of my chest at 2am and he wanted me to take Ambien again and I said "Hell no!" He then tried saying I suffered panic disorder because of that ER visit since my heart was beating out of control.......dumb ass he was.

It was thanks to my wife and new doctor for putting me through the test. My new doctor questioned my old doctor and why he wouldn't simply have the test done since it runs in my family. Thanks to my wife that saw a program on sleep apnea and told me that I sound just like that person on TV sleeping. The test revealed that in 90 minutes that I stopped breathing nearly 70 times. Most of them were considered shallow breaths that they counted too.

I finally was hooked up to a machine the day of my dad's funeral and after getting the right pressure and getting used to something attached to my face then I was sleeping good again. The only thing I fear now is a power failure in the middle of the night as that is a scary feeling to wake up too.