Is your snoring dangerous?

18/05/2009

I was interested to read Philip Whiteland's article on snoring (http://www.maturetimes.co.uk/node/8130)

 

Has he discovered that he has sleep apnoea? It's usually overweight old men that get it. Apparently I have had it since a child, and I am female, and not overweight!  My mother used to say I stopped breathing in the night. When I married my husband said the same thing, and said I kept him awake all night, and he wondered just when I was going to start breathing again! He said it was frightening. I would make occasional loud snorts when trying to get my breath back.

 

In 1997 I was actually diagnosed with sleep apnoea and spent a night in the sleep clinic at a hospital. I had loads of studs glued to my scalp, 3 belts around my waist to monitor whatever, a microphone on my mouth, another contraption by my nose, and 44 wires attached to different parts of my body, in the way they do ECG's. I had all this wired to a piece of equipment, so that if I wanted to 'get out in the night' I would have to buzz for the nurse to carry the equipment  to the loo with me, as it couldn't be unplugged.

 

I was asked if I wanted a photo taken but I declined. They monitored my breathing through the night on  graphs. The graphs looked like someone had made a frenzied pattern on them! I was told that I had stopped breathing several times during the night and that I snored very loudly - one of the symptoms. In the morning I was given a good breakfast, and supplied with a CPAP machine to use at night to keep my airways clear, so that I would not suffocate. This has to be serviced every year. It is quite heavy to take for servicing.

 

I have had various replacement filters, and updated masks etc. I find though that some of the masks press on my nose, and my mouth gets very dry. The use of the mask does allow one's partner to sleep in peace. So if anyone out there snores loudly or snorts in the night, it might be a good idea to get yourself checked out. This complaint can be life threatening and is also related to strokes.

 

 

Pat Hursey