It’s Barnaby again, and I’d like to follow up on my previous post about sleep apnea treatments. In order to know that you need a sleep apnea treatment, it is first required that you be able to recognize sleep apnea symptoms. Sleep apnea is a condition which entails the cessation of breathing multiple times during the course of the night. This leaves those who have sleep apnea waking up gasping for breath over and over — which obviously does not lend to a good night’s sleep. If you experience the following sleep apnea symptoms, then you should strongly consider getting a sleep apnea test in order to ascertain whether you are suffering from this condition:
- Excessive and loud snoring
- Waking up gasping for breath
- Daytime sleepiness and difficulty concentrating
- Night time dry or sore throat
- Frequent headaches upon awakening in the morning
It is quite possible that having only one — or two — of these sleep apnea symptoms does not mean that you have sleep apnea. Obviously, everyone who snores does not have sleep apnea, nor does experiencing morning headaches indicate the presence of sleep apnea. However, when several symptoms appear together, then the odds that sleep apnea is the culprit rise. A sleep apnea test can be administered either at your home or at a health care facility. In some scenarios, this test might take all night — but it is well worth it in order to determine if you have this condition. Left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to much more serious medical conditions. Addressing sleep apnea symptoms at their onset helps reduce the chances of anything more serious ensuing — so if you feel that some of these sleep apnea symptoms apply to you, then get a sleep apnea test sooner rather than later.
I just wanted to pop back over and clarify what seems to be a point of confusion. Many CantSleep readers appear to be in search of a singular “test” which definitely shows if you have insomnia, and if so, what the root cause of it is. Unfortunately, there is no such test. If there was, my own insomnia would have been assuaged months ago. However, there are tests which can identify — or rule out — some specific causes of insomnia. Most salient of these is a sleep apnea test. Sleep apnea can be definitively identified via a sleep apnea test. These tests are administered by professionals, and oftentimes you must spend the entire evening being monitored (I have gone through this myself). In my case, the sleep apnea test came back negative. However, there is no test to determine what truly is the cause of my particular sleep issues.
Insomnia can arise from a variety of causes. Some of these are physical, while others are mental. Stress can trigger bouts of insomnia, and depression has been identified as a main cause behind many cases of chronic insomnia. As indicated, physical conditions like sleep apnea can be the root cause of sleep problems. Unfortunately, there is no one easy test which can ascertain whether the cause of a particular case of insomnia is due to physical or mental issues. Many seem to confuse what they read about a sleep apnea test interpreting it as being a generic test for insomnia.
So, in terms of my own sleep problems — I have been continuing with my hypnotherapy with my great therapist, Sharon. I am beginning to notice improvements, and several of the past nights have been pretty much insomnia-free. Sleep is coming back into my life and it is a great feeling. Hopefully some of you reading this now can soon find the relief that I think I have come upon. I’ll provide further updates soon,
I wanted to post a quick follow up to my previous comment that I disqualified sleep apnea as the cause of my particular case of insomnia. In many instances, symptoms of sleep apnea can mirror those of typical generic insomnia. So what are the most prevalent symptoms of sleep apnea? They include:
– Excessive daytime fatigue
– Waking up tired
– Sudden heartburn in the middle of the night
– Swelling of the legs
– Frequently getting up to urinate during the course of the night
– Waking up in the middle of the night gasping for breath
Any of you experiencing these phenomenon may be displaying symptoms of sleep apnea. If so, it is imperative that you get a sleep apnea test in order to know for sure whether or not you are suffering from this condition. The good news is that if sleep apnea is the culprit behind your insomnia, then relatively easy cures are possible. However, failure to treat sleep apnea can lead to a long list of adverse health conditions — so if you are experiencing the above symptoms of sleep apnea, then you should seek help from a physician and a sleep apnea test. This sleep apnea test can be a bit inconvenient, however, it is absolutely painless. Unfortunately, I was unable to solve my insomnia problems with a sleep apnea diagnosis, but maybe this can prove to be the key to curing your trouble sleeping.
It’s Barnaby, and unfortunately I have returned. Not that I didn’t miss all the wonderful feedback from the readers of CantSleep.com — but I had thought I had put my trouble sleeping to bed once and for all (no pun intended). For around two weeks, Valerian was working perfectly — but, to my dismay, last weekend I once again had trouble sleeping. I at first chalked it up to a temporary relapse into insomnia, but after tossing and turning the entirety of last night I realized my trouble sleeping has returned with a vengeance. I’ve previously enumerated here at CantSleep my search for the root cause of my insomnia — to no avail. My sleep apnea test came back negative, I don’t suffer from depression and I’ve severely limited my consumption of caffeine and alcohol since my trouble sleeping began several months ago.
I thought I had found the magic bullet to cure my trouble sleeping with Valerian — but alas, that was too good to be true. Well, I’m going to have to delve back into my insomnia research and unfortunately start again appointments with specialists in my seemingly never-ending quest for a good night’s sleep. I shall keep everyone updated on my sleep (or lack thereof).
Hi everyone — Barnaby here again. It’s been a few days since I’ve shared my ongoing insomnia saga with you, my apologies for that. Suffice to say, things have not gotten any better. The other day when I lasted posted I was about to try sleeping pills one more time. As feared, that was a disaster. No nightmares this time, but after getting a few hour’s worth of sleep I was completely dysfunctional. I even had to stay home from work and miss and important staff meeting which didn’t go over well with my boss whatsoever. This prompted my wife to insist that I see yet another doctor, and this one wants me to have a sleep apnea test. My previous research led me to believe that sleep apnea was not the cause of my insomnia, but this doctor wants to rule it out for sure.
Sleep apnea is a condition where you stop breathing for short (or sometimes longer up to 30 seconds) periods. This causes you to awaken while gasping for breath — obviously not conducive to a good night’s sleep. Last night I got around 3 hours of sleep in total — which is around average over the past several weeks since my insomnia first started. I am almost hoping that the sleep apnea test comes back positive — at least then I’ll know what the issue is. The doctor told me that the official name for this test is polysomnography. It involves monitoring my breathing and vital statistics while (if) I sleep. I have to spend tonight at the clinic where they’ll hook me up to this machine and record all of my movements.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to sleep at all while hooked up to all those wires. The doctor assured me that a sleep apnea test is completely painless, so I’m not worried. Suz offered to spend the night at the clinic, but they advised against it. She has been really supportive during my insomnia crisis, I really don’t know what I’d do without her. Well, I’m not sure whether to ask you to root for me to pass or fail the test. Sleep apnea sounds scary, but at least there are cures and I can solve my sleep issues once and for all. I’ll update everyone once I get the test results.
Hello fellow insomniacs,
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