Central or obstructive sleep apnea?
November 8th, 2012
Recently, I’ve noticed that I cannot breathe at night. I was just wondering if someone would be able to distinguish if it was central or obstructive. First off, I do regularly experience sleep paralysis, however this newer sensation of not breathing is unlike that of having slight difficulty breathing with sleep paralysis. There is usually some sort of a weird sensation in my stomach area and my guess is that my diaphragm stops functioning normally. The first time I noticed this, I may have been in the midst of a sleep paralysis episode so there was a tingly sensation traveling up my spine and then pain at the base of my neck. Normally I do not experience pain with my sleep paralysis episodes, so I found this a bit odd. Also, this may seem ridiculous, but I would like to mention that my sleep paralysis is usually accompanied by hallucinations, sometimes of limbs flailing around (kind of like having a seizure) so this "not breathing" may also just be my imagination.
I am 19 years old and weigh ~120lbs (I am 5’4”), but I’ve been steadily gaining weight for the past 5 years, so weight may or may not be a problem. I try not to sleep on my back to minimize the frequency of sleep paralysis episodes (the last two times I experienced what I suspect is sleep apnea, I was on my side, so I am led to believe that sleep paralysis is irrelevant). The softness/hardness of mattresses do not seem to affect whether or not I stop breathing (as a college student, I regularly switch between sleeping at home and on campus). Also, I am very out of touch with myself so I cannot say whether I am stressed or not and therefore how stress may be affecting me (some people find this odd, but this is how I’ve been all my life). My dad has been diagnosed with sleep apnea, but we do not talk very much so I do not know a lot about it.
Lastly, I may consider discussing this with a doctor, but spontaneous death while sleeping due to sleep apnea is somewhat infrequent. I am already becoming accustomed to this so I doubt that I will mention it to anyone who will recommend that I use a CAPA machine or take medication for my sleep paralysis.
You will not be able to find out if you have CSA or OSA without either a sleep Sudy or have someone actually watch your breathing. If you do not have a neurological disorder, I doubt you have Central Sleep Apnea.
You can start a journal to get back in touch withyourselfl and personal observations. Include the following 1.snoringg, 2. apnea events that awaken you, 3. morning headaches, 4. frequent nighttime urination, 4. excessive daytime sleepiness, 6. falling sleep at inappropriate places (cars, class, social setting), and 5. if you have family history of sleep disorders.
At some time this may be valuable to take to your doctor forassessmentt.
November 7th, 2012 at 10:11 pm
You will not be able to find out if you have CSA or OSA without either a sleep Sudy or have someone actually watch your breathing. If you do not have a neurological disorder, I doubt you have Central Sleep Apnea.
You can start a journal to get back in touch withyourselfl and personal observations. Include the following 1.snoringg, 2. apnea events that awaken you, 3. morning headaches, 4. frequent nighttime urination, 4. excessive daytime sleepiness, 6. falling sleep at inappropriate places (cars, class, social setting), and 5. if you have family history of sleep disorders.
At some time this may be valuable to take to your doctor forassessmentt.
References :
sleep tech