Sleep Apnea?

self ^ | November 23, 2001 | Auggy

[auggy]

Does anyone have this problem? In my sleep, I bite my tongue. Hard. Bleeding hard. I have ruined many pillow cases with large areas of blood soaked pillow cases. My tongue looks like raw hamburger meat, at times. I tested positive for sleep apnea. I woke an average of 49 times per hour, from lack of oxygen, or unable to breath. I use a breathing machine with a chin strap to help my problem. It helps,but it isn't a 100%. I woke this morning at 3:30 AM and immediately took the pillow case off to soak the stain. I have been up ,since, then. Afraid to go back to sleep. I have been tested for epilepsy. This started in 1990. It has progressively gotten worse.

[FR_addict]

Thanks for the link. I haven't been diagnosed with it, but I sometimes have trouble breathing at night and wake up and my husband has told me that I stop breathing sometimes when I sleep.

[auggy]

Thanks, LadyDoc. I had a Lady Doc for my Cpap. She is in Indiana. I have had a few times when I awake and feel wonderful. The chin strap I use is not strong enough to withstand my jaw muscles, I guess. I made a much stronger one, which works, most of the time. I have a full mask. It surrounds the bottom and circles around the top of my nose. I think it is one that is used when there is alot of movement is expected. I had eeg's and other tests, that showed negative. Epilepsy is not in my family.

I went to a neurologist only once. I use my machine every night, but sometimes don't put it back on, when I go to the bathroom. It is somewhat bothersome, but so is a sore tongue. Thank you for your advice. I will check out another neurologist.

[auggy]

Thank you, BuffyT. My teeth are definitely not very straight. I bite my tongue in all areas. I even bite it on the side in the far back. I can't even hardly move my tongue to my teeth where I sometimes bite it.

[auggy]

Thanks for the link, Cagey

[auggy]

Wow! You really do have apnea. Have you ever been video'ed doing this? What a riot. According to my wife, I also quite breathing.

[auggy]

I wish I could lose weight and solve the problem. I am not overweight, though.

[auggy]

"Culture/Society or Opinions/Questions?"

It also says, "health".

[gogov]

I am not sure if I have sleep apnea or not. I kind find myself dozing off in the late hours of the night, then waking suddenly, hitting the refresh button, typing a few lines then doz off again.

I don't bite my tongue when I sleep but I find that I sometimes have to when I am awake. Not sure if this is realted to the tongue things, but I also keep having dreams about loose lips and some sinking ship.

Now, where is that POST REPLY button....Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[ozzie]

I'm a Family Practitioner and have a lot of patients with sleep apnea. While it's possible, I've never seen that bad of tongue biting from it. You've got bruxism bad.Bruxism is what also causes TMJ syndrome. You need to wear a bite plate every night to avoid tongue biting. See your dentist. Steve

[Grampa7030]

I woke up 159 times on the night of my sleep apnea test. The doctor had a five step program before getting to the BPAP equipment. He gave me a prescription for Nasacorte (sp?) and something amazing happened. I had a full night's sleep with an actual dream. I could not remember the last dream. My desire to fall asleep at all times has gone away. My wife says I still stop breathing occasionally, but this happens to people considered normal. Sleep clinics have popped up all over the place in the last three years and you may want to see a specialist at one. There is a long wait, though.

[RnMomof7]

Yea they tell me I stop breathing every 20 seconds or so.I have a Cpep machine..to be honest the cure seems worse than the problem.

This is a common disorder..since I got my machine I have met tons of folks with it...now if I could just get used to the thing!

[LoneGOPinCT]

I wish I could lose weight and solve the problem. I am not overweight, though.

I didn't mean to insinuate. Too bad it wasn't something as simple as that.

He said the post-op $ucked for about a week but he doesn't regret it and is very pleased with the results. No one likes the ideas of going under the knife, but if it can remedy the situation it's worth consideration. Are there any mouthpieces that you could wear to prevent you from biting your tongue? Seems almost too obvious so please excuse my ignorance.

[Charles Henrickson]

My name is Charlie, and I'm an apneatic.

I used to snore very loudly and get drowsy during the day. I had my dentist make me one of those mouthpieces that cover both the lower and upper teeth and pull the lower jaw forward a bit. That helped some. (Maybe it would help with auggy's tongue-biting). I also tried BreathRight strips. These things helped, but not enough. (My sleep apnea is not that severe, so when I travel, sometimes I just take the mouthpiece and BreathRight strip, instead of the whole CPAP breathing machine.)

What really helped:

1) Nasal surgery to increase my airway. My doctor cut back the too-large "turbinates" (sp? no "turban" jokes, please) at the area where the nostrils meet the sinus cavity. He also straightened out the deviated septum, the result of having broken my nose a couple of times. (Although the doctor had also suggested the palate/back-of-the-throat surgery as a possibility, I did not have that done--it sounded like it might cause more harm than good.)

2) CPAP machine. This is what did the trick. I don't like it--the annoyance of having to wear the darn thing, getting the mask just right so the air doesn't leak, having to lie in a certain position--I don't like it, but it works. I don't snore, I get better sleep, and I'm not as tired during the day. The mask I have is clear and lightweight, it's just a little larger than my nose, and the headstraps go above the ear and near the earlobe.

Losing weight helps, especially if you're very overweight. I'm only slightly (10%) overweight, though, and I snored heavily even when I was in great shape.

Sleep apnea especially affects men, especially as they enter middle age, especially if they are overweight. The symptoms often include snoring (ask your wife) and feeling tired/drowsy during the day. Sleep apnea can be dangerous, even fatal--you stop breathing! (That's what the Greek word a-pnea means: "not breathing".) So get thee to a sleep clinic. See an ENT doctor. It can get better!

[auggy]

Thank you, Charlie and everyone else that has volunteered info. I hate to think about surgery,but, I am sure it would be outpatient. I guess all surgery's are out-patient anymore, thanks to the insurance companies. I hate insurance companies and banks.

I have a cpap machine and use it. I also have to use a chin strap to hold my mouth closed,as long as, I have all of this crap on, I don't bite my tongue. If, I have a little congestion in my sinus' then I jerk everything off in my sleep. That doesn't sound nice. I live in an area where sinus is a problem year round.

[withteeth]

You and I might be a lot alike. What happens to me though, is that I have to yell. Or, I automatically yell because I'm paniced, convinced I'm suffocating. What is it like when you are up suddenly, trying to breath? Aren't you terrified? One odd thing for me, is that I seem to be getting used to being at deaths door. I sometimes wake up yelling 10 times a night. Don't know if it's apnea or stress.

[auggy]

I don't yell or panic. I just rip off the mask and go back to sleep. It seems alot of guys that have responded to this post are the same age, 52. C0-incidently that is my age, also.

[Charles Henrickson]

I'm 48. Started on the CPAP when I was 45.

[RaceBannon]

One thing that helped me is I learned to sleep on my side. You have to force yourself to do it, too. Take some natural sleep aides to force yourself into sleep while on your side, then time will make the rest available.

What I also had done last March, when I had my tonsils out, I also had a partial uvulectomy. That thing that hangs down on your throat? Mine's gone. So is some of the attaching skin. Hurts like you cannot imagine. Pain killers became my friend for 2 weeks, so did Popsicles. But, snoring stopped, and I sleep much better.

[breakem]

I am walking again and losing weight. When I walk I work on my breathing. Inhale and exhale deeply and slowly. On the days when I do this: no snoring. For what it's worth.

[RaceBannon]

I wish I could lose the weight, though, that's what caused it all I think!