Exhaustion and Sleep Apnea

[hawkmoon]

These days I often find myself exhausted as if I did not get any good sleep, regardless of the hours I get the night before.

I frequently suspected that I might have mild sleep apnea and that it was disrupting my sleep, but was unable to confirm it. Now however, my girlfriend is with me enough to report if/when I snore and if I seem to struggle for air. Apparently I do snore sometimes and make gagging/choking sounds on occasion.

My immediate plan it to try to drop a little weight (about 228 @ 10% which is a little heavy for me), and back off on androgens. Lots of Test seems to make my neck grow significantly without any direct work (I don't even do shrugs these days but my neck is past 19" now).

Other sufferers out there?
Any other tips?

 

[Thor]

SAME HERE

These days I often find myself exhausted as if I did not get any good sleep, regardless of the hours I get the night before.

I frequently suspected that I might have mild sleep apnea and that it was disrupting my sleep, but was unable to confirm it. Now however, my girlfriend is with me enough to report if/when I snore and if I seem to struggle for air. Apparently I do snore sometimes and make gagging/choking sounds on occasion.

My immediate plan it to try to drop a little weight (about 228 @ 10% which is a little heavy for me), and back off on androgens. Lots of Test seems to make my neck grow significantly without any direct work (I don't even do shrugs these days but my neck is past 19" now).

Other sufferers out there?
Any other tips?

I have recently been told that I snore pretty loudly some nights, and I frequently feel like I haven't slept enough. But sorry I can't help Hawk, however there was a pretty big thread on this same topic last year. Maybe try a search on sleep apnea?

 

[hawkmoon]

I have recently been told that I snore pretty loudly some nights, and I frequently feel like I haven't slept enough. But sorry I can't help Hawk, however there was a pretty big thread on this same topic last year. Maybe try a search on sleep apnea?

Thanks. There is some good info on pillow work and positions to be found. I didn't notice anyone who had remedied it though - only compensated for it. I suppose I cannot remedy it without losing some size...

 

[T TOTAL]

Hawk, i got diagnosed with it last year. It didnt realy become evident until a post show rebound in 2008, obviously as my neck size grew.

I had been informed by my wife that i snored, but it was the fact that although i didnt tick all the boxes for being a sufferer, i did nod off in the late afternoon if i was to sit and relax or i would fall asleep infront of the tv early evening regardless what i was watching. Id also nodded off when one or two people were talking to me, but that couldve been just them being not interesting..

It was also noted that i stopped breathing and gagged occasionaly during my sleep.
Once i dieted down, these symptons mainly went. However i had a sleep study done during the off season period and it showed i had on average 57 aponeas per hour during the night......NOT good.

The sleep aponea isnt the real problem, its the associated risks that it can cause, ie strokes, heart issues, raised blood pressure etc.

I now use a cpap machine which causes me no problems whatsoever now that i use a mouth and nose style mask as opposed to just a nose style mask.
I didnt appreciate the benefits it gave me at first untill i went on a 2week holiday without it and by the 2nd week i started to notice i was dozing off again late afternoon...

Worth getting it checked out Hawk....

 

[Bigcheese]

Ditto here.....

.. I had sleep apnea diagnosed 2 years ago. After looking at my sleep study the doctor almost shit himself. My girlfriend told me one day "Do you know you stop breathing alot when your sleeping? I have to shake you to get you to breathe again". LOL I didnt sleep for shit after she told me that (scared of not wakin up! LOL) until I had my sleep study. I wear C Pap now and it sucks, cant turn over easy, wake up with bloated stomach. But, its better than not waking up.

BTW... I snored like a fuckin freight train too.

Go have a sleep study bro.

BC

 

[SIR-LOIN]

I had this too. First sleep study showed I had OSA, Obstructive Sleep Apnea. SO, at 39 years old, I had my tonsils removed, they were huge and caused my air passages to block such that I snored, and would gasp for air. I would physically wake up 3 or 4 times a night with a dry throat, get something to drink, go back to sleep. The sleep study showed I never got any REM sleep, and I existed on very short cat naps all night long, and in that study I actually woke up like 35 times, but only remember waking twice. Doc said that was very dangerous to continue.
Also, test usage will cause sleep disturbance. And if you compete or try to burn fat, taking a lot fat burners, that really messed with me too, no matter what part of the day I took them. when my base body temp went up, I'd wake up in sweats, miserable.
Another thing, I took a blood glucose test to see how my blood sugar did when deprived and then with a surge of sugars. Seems I was a little hypoglycemic, so as soon as my blood sugar dropped, I'd awaken with the urge to get something sweet, if nothing more than juice, then 2 hours later when that burned off, I'd awaken again. Doc said to try to avoid to many simple carbs before bed.
I tried a CPAP, but it didnt agree with me. Now I can usually get away with waking only once a night, if I dont eat stupid late at night, and not too much caffeine late in the day. But your best bet is start with a sleep study.

 

[big_paul_ski]

.. I had sleep apnea diagnosed 2 years ago. After looking at my sleep study the doctor almost shit himself. My girlfriend told me one day "Do you know you stop breathing alot when your sleeping? I have to shake you to get you to breathe again". LOL I didnt sleep for shit after she told me that (scared of not wakin up! LOL) until I had my sleep study. I wear C Pap now and it sucks, cant turn over easy, wake up with bloated stomach. But, its better than not waking up.

BTW... I snored like a fuckin freight train too.

Go have a sleep study bro.

BC

this is the EXACT sme thing as whats going on with me. every morning i have to burp all that bloat out. massive farts too lol. i had to get the full face big fawker and when i turn it leaks and is a pain in the ass. i have had this cpap for about a year now. my study showed my oxygen dropped to 80%. i think they put the old fols on oxygen at 87% or under so no wonder i was tired all the time. good luck with this issue OP.

 

[jalsmiley]

any of you guys try the band that holds your mouth shut forcing you to breath through nose? or the laser surgery to remove the thing(forget what its called)that hangs back by throat n cause most of the snoring...i gotta see a dr too

 

[big_paul_ski]

any of you guys try the band that holds your mouth shut forcing you to breath through nose? or the laser surgery to remove the thing(forget what its called)that hangs back by throat n cause most of the snoring...i gotta see a dr too

i tried that chin strap when i had the one that just went to your nose. it didnt work. i was told im a mouth breather. i had to get the full face one that make me look like im a airforce pilot. pretty ghey.

 

[hawkmoon]

So it seems like possible solutions to the issue (not the symptoms) are:
*Pillow manipulation
*Losing weight / neck size
*Tonsillectomy

I know a CPAP could help but I'd rather attack the condition than the symptoms in this case.

 

[swole79]

I sufer rom this too. For me some of the thins that have helped are sleeping on my side. I then use a second pillow underneath my top arm so that it doesn'st rest on top/ across my chest putting presure on it. Also the pillow that is under my arm i try to get it to stay up high against the bottom of my chin. This keeps my chin from collaspsing down agaisnt my chest which blocks my airwaiy. Finally, as much I I love it, whenI run my GH to high, it definatley makes me hold much more water than androgens seem to which irritates the situation more than it normally would.

 

[big_paul_ski]

So it seems like possible solutions to the issue (not the symptoms) are:
*Pillow manipulation
*Losing weight / neck size
*Tonsillectomy

I know a CPAP could help but I'd rather attack the condition than the symptoms in this case.

not always true. for alot of people this is actually hereditary.

 

[king1033]

This has been happening to me yesterday for instance I went to sleep at my normal time 8pm woke up 4am started my day how I normally would then by 8am i was out til 8pm just not wanting to get up etc. just feeling totally drained. I only train 2-3 times a week HIT, but still tired...

 

[e6er]

I have sleep apnea pretty bad as well with enlarged tonsils that need to be removed. I can never seem to sleep with my mouth closed.

 

[nickman1978]

I too think i have sleep apnea. My girl tells me that she has to hit me in the middle of the night so i will start breathing again or catch my breathe.

I've noticed this getting a lot worse the last month or two. I have gained some weight in the last two months or so.
So, i noticed that weight gain is a factor.

My girls dad wears 1 of those face masks. He say's that it really helps.

This is becoming a pain in the ass. I always feel more tired in the late afternoon.

 

[hawkmoon]

Thanks Alfresco, I hope I get it sorted too.
At least I have the alcohol thing taken care of - 40 years old and still have never had a drink!

 

[zman12]

I have a cpap and I wear a full face mask now because I was a mouth breather it has helped a lot now that I am wearing it more often. I wake more rested and I am not as tired during the day it has made a big difference

 

[jim2percent]

These days I often find myself exhausted as if I did not get any good sleep, regardless of the hours I get the night before.

I frequently suspected that I might have mild sleep apnea and that it was disrupting my sleep, but was unable to confirm it. Now however, my girlfriend is with me enough to report if/when I snore and if I seem to struggle for air. Apparently I do snore sometimes and make gagging/choking sounds on occasion.

My immediate plan it to try to drop a little weight (about 228 @ 10% which is a little heavy for me), and back off on androgens. Lots of Test seems to make my neck grow significantly without any direct work (I don't even do shrugs these days but my neck is past 19" now).

Other sufferers out there?
Any other tips?

sounds like me...But I only had this problem for about 10 years or so...
Sleeping pills and red wine before bed seems to work for me. fall asleep for about 6 hours wake up for a while then at noon I have to nap... I have learned to accept it..the more you fight it the worst it gets... oh well time to check out the ASS thread...lol

 

[liftalot79]

I have it too!!!!

My Gorlfriend always says I stop breathing then Gasp for air, I also snored and make sounds too. These Symptoms just happen when I sleep on my back. On my side my plugged nose opens I don't snore and I sleep great.

My dad said in the Army they Sewwed a Baseball or Softball in your underwear so you couldn't roll onto your back.

 

[jdchaffin]

So it seems like possible solutions to the issue (not the symptoms) are:
*Pillow manipulation
*Losing weight / neck size
*Tonsillectomy

I know a CPAP could help but I'd rather attack the condition than the symptoms in this case.

I'm a young guy here. (well under 30) and am sleeping with an A-PAP. I talked to the doc about the surgical options they have but was told that you can have to have them redone multiple times as they are not a perfect fix. weight loss can definitely help but in my case I was diagnosed in a sleep study when I was well on the light end of my weight. (and I'm not a big dude by this boards standards) I was told that while weight can make it worse that the real problem is the structure of your soft palate. That when you enter REM sleep and your body hits full paralysis that your neck muscles relax and the throat flattens out, in the case of those with sleep apnea it closes off the airway.
As for pillow manipulation they used to prescribe people (my dad) a big foam wedge so that they would sleep more upright to lessen the problem.
As for me, I will not sleep a night without my A-PAP at this point. the difference it makes for me is unbelievable. It travels everywhere I go. I choose to give it a try because it is currently the only way that guarantees a fix to the problem.

For those who wake up with a belly full of air. I asked the doc about that too. (my dad is on a C-PAP and has the same issue at times). I was told that you actually end up physically swallowing the air at night. Generally caused by your mouth trying to hang open. He recommended using a strap to hold your mouth shut to prevent the swallowing action. It sounds like a little more hassle but if you sleep like a rock and wake up with no issues it might be worth a try.