ANSWERS: 10
  • The most prevalent symptom is snoring that is interrupted by a deep gasp, after which snoring resumes. People with sleep apnea may wake up not feeling rested despite apparently getting a full night's sleep. High blood pressure is also another symptom, which is why people with sleep apnea are much more at risk of heart attack and stroke.
  • Snoring is one of the big ones. Waking yourself up by snoring is another big indicator, this is usually due to stoping breathing while sleeping (sleep apnea) and the body forcing a reaction to start breathing again. If you have it, or think you do, talk to a doctor as it can be serious. If you are diagnosed with light sleep apnea, sleeping on your right side will help (it takes awhile to train yourself, but it helps).
  • Snoring. When your partner hears you stop breathing, then snort and start again, that is a sign you have it. Fatigue during the day due to poor sleeping.
  • Snoring and waking up feeling unrested.
  • It is breaks in the breathing during sleep and then once again reverting to the normal pattern which is often very deep breathing and snoring.
  • The symptoms for recognizing sleep apnea in OTHERS is that they regularly nod off. You can actually be talking to them and watch then start to drift off.   As the Apnea gets worse they fall asleep at work, at the dinner table, behind the wheel.   This is a VERY serious condition and anyone who suspects that their partner or him/herself may be affected should seek immediate medical assistance.   The doctor will send the individual to a sleep clinic for diagnosis and the treatment is usually a CPAP or BiPAP machine that is used to force breathing during the night.   My father-in-law and a close friend both suffer from sleep apnea. It is nothing to fool around with. My father-in-law fell asleep on the highway and nearly had a high speed crash. My friend's BP was so high he was close to a stroke.   Worst of all, a young woman that I knew, only 25 years old, actually died from sleep apnea only this past year.
  • I have suffered from it since I was a baby. It was first diagnosed in 1994. I had become narcoleptic and was afraid to drive at that point. Having a CPAP machine probably saved my life. I had a friend who had a massive heart attack in 1992 at age 52, he never addressed his sleep apnea. I feel that contributed to it and his death. They are still finding out more about the problem and have only really scratched the surface. The first thing to look for is snoring, if you snore you have it. It gets worse as you grow older and if you are overweight. Get a sleep test as soon as possible and get a CPAP machine. It takes some time to get used to it but it may save your life someday. So many car/truck accidents are caused by the driver falling asleep due to this condition. It's chronic in the USA, yet it is not being addressed as it should.
  • I suffered from sleep apnea. My husband said that I often gasped very loudly/deeply for breath quite often every night. I was always exhausted. I snored a lot and loudly. Generally if you go to the doctor and mention these symptoms, you'll be sent to a sleep clinic and get to sleep with lots of wires stuck all over your body. That will tell if you actually stop breathing while you sleep and/or if you come close, and how many times. (It will also tell if you have restless leg syndrome) Then you can be given options for treatment. My mother uses a cpap machine. That's great for her as she sleeps in a separate room from my dad (her snoring kept him up) and the machine is quite loud. I had surgery to remove my tonsils, adnoids, the hangy thing in the back of my throat was trimmed, the roof of my mouth was trimmed back, and I had a deviated septum fixed. (We decided on surgery because I also had a big history of tonsilitis and strep throat.) EDIT: I've gone back and read other people's answers and noticed a couple of them said high blood pressure. That isn't necessarily a symptom. Even when I had sleep apnea, I have always had a low blood pressure.
  • The most common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that you may notice include: Excessive daytime sleepiness, which is falling asleep when you normally should not, such as while you are eating, talking, or driving. Waking with an unrefreshed feeling after sleep, having problems with memory and concentration, feeling tired, and experiencing personality changes. Morning or night headaches. About half of all people with sleep apnea report headaches.2 Heartburn or a sour taste in the mouth at night. Swelling of the legs if you are obese. Getting up during the night to urinate (nocturia). Sweating and chest pain while you are sleeping. Symptoms of sleep apnea that others may notice include: Episodes of not breathing (apnea), which may occur as few as 5 times an hour (mild apnea) to more than 50 times an hour (severe apnea). How many episodes you have determines how severe your sleep apnea is. Loud snoring. Almost all people who have sleep apnea snore, but not all people who snore have sleep apnea. Restless tossing and turning during sleep. Nighttime choking or gasping spells. Older adults may normally have periods when they stop breathing during sleep, making it hard to know whether they have sleep apnea. Short lapses in breathing during sleep usually do not cause a large drop in the blood oxygen level. Symptoms in children In children, symptoms of sleep apnea depend on how old the child is: In children younger than 5, symptoms include snoring, mouth breathing, sweating, restlessness, and waking up a lot. In children 5 years and older, symptoms include snoring, bed wetting, doing poorly in school, and not growing as quickly as they should for their age. These children may also have behavior problems and a short attention span. Children who have sleep apnea nearly always snore. But they may not appear to be excessively sleepy during the day (a key symptom in adults). The only symptom of sleep apnea in some children may be that they do not grow as quickly as they should for their age. Although rare, in children sleep apnea can cause developmental delays and can cause the right side of the heart to get bigger (cor pulmonale).
  • Sleep apnea symptoms may be divided into daytime and night-time symptoms. Day-time symptoms include: * Sleepiness * Fatigue * Morning headaches * Impaired concentration * Decreased libido * Impotency * Depression. Night-time symptoms are: * Snoring * Witnessed apnoeic spells * Choking * Laboured breathing * Restlessness * Sweating * Increased urination * Acidity * Dryness of mouth. To know more about sleep apnea, follow this link: http://completewellbeing.com/article/it-takes-your-breath-away/

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