[mxz583]

Hi Kmottus I snore very loud (my wife and son could tell you)but I stop breathing than start snoring again. Well I wake up sometimes when I stop breathing sit up in bed gasping for air or I will walk around trying to get air. The way I feel is like I have fallen and can't catch my breath. Then I have real bad heart burn. I believe I have Sleep Apnea. What type of Doctor deals with this problem? Tim

 

[Guest]

At the hospital I go to the Sleep Disorders Clinic is part of the Pulmonary (lung) section of the hospital. ------------------Ph.D. in BiologyAuthorized Expert for IBS Association - Ask the Specialist forum

 

[mxz583]

Kmottus I know I have talked about this before but I need to know the type of Doctor.(Podiatry Doctor-foot ankle) I live in Maine so the Hospitals are small and don't have a sleep clinic. I can't find a listing for sleep disorders so that is why I'm looking for the type. Reading your reply would a Pulmonary Doctor be the type? I don't know is that what their called Pulmonary Doctors? Tim[This message has been edited by mxz583 (edited 10-25-2001).]

 

[Guest]

It is in the department of pulmonary medicine and in the local phone book I can find a section for pulmonologist (It says Physicians & Surgeons-MD-Pulmonary Diseases). The UNC Hospital listing (big box in that section) says Pulmonary Diseases and list both the doctor I saw and Sleep relatd breathing disorders.What depart they may be in there I don't know.I did find this on the web: http://www.stjoseph-me.org/sleep.html St. Joseph Hospital's Sleep Studies Laboratory360 BroadwayBangor, Maine(207) 262-1632I also found these on this site: http://www.sleepfoundation.org/NSAW_99/site.html#ME EllsworthMaine Coast Memorial Hospital Labfor Sleep Related Breathing Disorders207-667-5311, x 329PortlandMaine Sleep Institute - Sleep Lab207-871-2770From http://www.aasmnet.org/statetemplate.asp?state=ME lists a place in LewistonLewistonSt. Mary's Sleep Disorders LaboratorySt. Mary's Regional Medical Center97 Campus AvenueLewiston, �ME �04240 Phone: 207-777-8959 Hopefully one of them can help you get started on the process.K.���------------------Ph.D. in BiologyAuthorized Expert for IBS Association - Ask the Specialist forum

 

[Mike NoLomotil]

MXLEASE do as KM suggests and get thee to a Board Certified Pulmonary Physician. Have no fear. With the simple CPAP systems they have nowadays this has become a problem for which you can get relief, usually quite easily once the differential is done. Go!!!

MNL, R.R.T.(Registered Respiratory Therapist)

 

[lisak64]

Mike,I too suffer the same symptoms of this sleep apnea but was told I didn't fit the criterea for having "sleep apnea" because I am a woman and weigh 115 pounds. They told me one usually is over weight and male. What excactly is a cpap and "differential" that you speak about? Thanks,Lisa

 

[Guest]

CPAP. A device that pumps air into the nose to keep the airway open. While the typical patient is a middle aged male and overweight I had a related breating disorder as a 20 somthing 120-130 pound woman. They had problems in my testing as they put a strap around your middle to measure breathing rate and the smallest "belt" they had went around me twice.You may need to push to get tested, particularly if your blood counts are always very high for a woman (that is an indication of how much oxygen you are not getting at night). I was always the "anti-anemic" with blood counts more typical of a man then a woman.

 

[lisak64]

Thanks. I've been living with this for years. I am afraid to ask...How does it affect me?

 

[Guest]

Main symptoms:Heavy snoring at night (both apnea and other breathing related disorders).Noticably stop breathing at night. Usually for long enough to scare bed mates. (Apnea but not Upper Airway Resistance syndrome)Excessive daytime sleepiness (you fall asleep during the day quite easily)What that effects in your lifeWaking up with headaches is common.Memory problems are common (usually breathing stops during REM sleep which is when memory is processed).High blood counts.May eventually cause heart problems May cause excessive number of car/heavy machinery accidents.And probably the weirdest symptom I had.Hallucinations. Your brain may get it's dreaming out while you are awake. Usually for me this was seeing someone standing on the side of the road that was, in fact, not there.My problem was mostly Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (the bouncing baby cousin of Sleep Apnea) and was resolved when they straightened and rotor-rootered my nose.For some people Breathe Right Strips may help keep the upper airway more open. That may be a stop gap until you get a doctor to take you seriously.Were you dismissed by a GP, or by a specialist. Most sleep doctors are pulmonary specialists (breathing doctors--treat asthma allergies breathing problems and sleep disorders).K.

 

[lisak64]

Dismissed by a GP 7 years ago and just never followed up. I'm so sick of going to the Dr.s for stuff it was on the bottom of my list. I really appreciate you replying back so fast. I will check into it. This whole board is just so great. Thanks again.Lisa

 

[Lefty]

I just wanted to add a little information on a personal experience that might help someone. My son was only 2 when I tried to persuaded my doctor (GP) that he wasn't sleeping right. Like Tim, he would wake up a night gasping and almost in a panic. HE snored something feirce for a little tyke. Doc kept saying "he'll outgrow it." After nearly 2 years of hearing this, I took him to a Pediatrician who THAT DAY recommended we go to a ENT specialist.To make a long story very short, a soft tissue x-ray showed that he had excessive lymph tissue at the back of his tongue and large tonsils and adenoids. We went for a sleep study and he quit breathing 102 times that night. We were told that we were lucky that his body recognized the drop in O2 in his blood and woke him up when the tissue collapsed over his airway as he relaxed into a deep sleep.Prior to this, my son was very hyper. It turns out he was sleep deprived - he never reached the deep stage of sleep to get the real rest a body needs. Instead of being sleepy all day and groggy, it affected him the opposite. The kid was bouncing off the walls. I thought I was a bad mom. AFter his surgery (tonsils and adenoids removed, the extra lymph tissue removed) he was a different kid. He gained weight, wan't hyper anymore and developed a much more laid back personality. Incredible what a change.Moral of the story - if you know sometings not right, keep searching until you find a doc to listen. My son is now 17, 6'2" and 230 pounds. He was a prime candidate for crib death, and we were lucky.Keep looking, someone will help you. Good luck.