Do You Know the The Symptoms? - Sleep Apnea

Growing up as a child with sleep apnea the only symptom I can remeber is having chest pains in the middle of the night. My parents would take me to the emergency room. The doctors would perform the routine EKG and would conclude that nothing was wrong. That was the deceptive part of the illness. It wasn't until about the age of 30 that a doctor finally made the correct diagnosis.  For years and years the struggle with not knowing what was making me exhaused pained me. There are signs that show that one might have Sleep Apnea. Remember most people think that there is nothing wrong with you or they think that it's just a sleep problem. Don't be fooled watch out for the signs!

WebMD has a list of symptoms that you can check if you have. It is a great website and resource that will help you to discover if you need to schedule an appointment with the doctor for a sleep test.

The symptoms that I have experienced were as follows:

• Waking up exhausted
• Dehydration
• Waking up to urinate at night
• insomnia
• Choking while I was asleep or gasping for air
• Lack of energy during the day
• Sleepiness while driving or walking
• mood swings and crankiness

As the condition worsened I developed more severe symptoms that include:

• Severe anxiety
• Depression
• Thoughts racing through my mind
• Anger
• Severe exhaustion

The symptoms that became more severe only happened because treatment was not yet available or was given the wrong treatment. It's important to know that if you suspect having sleep apnea schedule a sleep study with your doctor.

Symptoms my child has experienced:

• Choking or gasping for air
• severe coughing
• Becomes easily exhausted when playing with other kids
• when exhausted after playing with others begins to cough and choke
• beahvior problems
• anxiety
• easily angered and discouraged when he can't perform a specific task

Note: If you suspect your child has sleep apnea schedule a sleep study with a doctor. When my son was a baby we had to take him to the emergency room many times. We would argue with doctors. Doctors have said and I quote "I'm the one with the medical degree and I say nothing is wrong with him." Keep on pressuring your docor to schedule a sleep study!