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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
have you/your DH seen a sleep specialist?
i'm at my wit's end. if i'm ever going to get a full night's rest, i need my husband to STOP SNORING.
he used to only snore on his back but now, he's snoring even on his side AND he's using his allergy meds before bed AND wearing a [off brand] nasal strip.
of course, when i mentioned going to a sleep specialist he said, "why do i need to go? i sleep fine. [grin]". brat.
have you been? what does it entail? what are possible remedies?
i have no idea if this is solely because of his allergies to the cats or if it's some larger issue. i just want to sleep thorough the night without having to shove him 5 times because he's snoring so much.
between him and the dog (who sometimes snores even louder than lars does), i'm ready for separate bedrooms!
Re: have you/your DH seen a sleep specialist?
Sounds like us a few years ago - and I did sleep in a different room for a couple months. DH got a referral from his primary doctor for a sleep test at Fairview (I think Southdale). He had to spend the night there hooked up to monitors and was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Now he has a CPAP and we're happy again.
Just a tip....if he has to get a CPAP, avoid using Lincare for the machine and supplies. They are a PITA to deal with.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
is the cpap machine something they have to wear every night?
did the person with sleep apnea go in because it was keeping THEM from resting or because it was bothering their spouse?
i just can't imagine lars wearing a mask every night (uncomfortable for him) to make MY sleep better.
We know several people that have the c-pap machine. Most have gone in because the wife cannot sleep due to the snoring. The person snoring is usually oblivious to it. I have asked the wearers of the c-pap machine if they are bugged by it and they have all said it doesn't bother them and you don't notice it after a couple sleeps.
You can usually get a referral from your doctor and then have a sleep test done. They will observe you sleeping and count how many times you stop breathing during the night to determine the extent of the sleep apnea.
Our dentist offers a take home sleep apnea test. It was an oxygen tube that DH wore in his nose (like you would have at the hospital) over night that recorded his breathing pattern. He brought it back in to the dentist the following day for analysis. That might be an option if your dentist offers that. Good Luck!
Sleep apnea can be dangerous so a person should wear the cpap every night for their own health. You can find all sorts of info on the health risks if you google it.
In our case, as the saying goes, a happy wife is a happy life.
DH went because I was pissed that I had to sleep in a different room and that pretty much killed our sex life. He got used to wearing the mask, he's more energetic and awake, I'm not pissed off all the time and we have a sex life.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
DH is having a LapBand placed sometime in late Feb/early March. In order to qualify for the program he had to have a sleep study. He didn't snore loud or all the time, but has increased his snoring with weight that he's gained.
They had him fill out a large packet of paperwork that included a section that I had to fill out as his 'bed partner'. It included things like whether or not his snoring was keeping me up, did he snore loudly/long periods, did he seem reseted, did he stop breathing... Then he went in for the study one night from 8pm to 8am. The test was hooking him up to many machines. He slept part of the night with the machines only and then part of the night with a c-pap machine on. They did various tests on his breathing & heart during the night. Then they send all the data to the doctor. His appointment with the doctor is in a week.
I will say, that they are expensive! $3000-$8000. Our insruance (Health Partners) will not cover one simply for snoring alone. They had criteria on the website that DH had to meet in order for the insurance to pay. And it was H E L L getting the doctor to indicate that she was sending him for one of the criteria, because she phrased it a different way. No matter how many times I'd as, the billing specialist kept saying she'd make it work and the insurance kept saying they wouldn't pay unless it met the criteria.
The criteria were things like waking up lots of times in the night, sleepiness to interfering with life during the day, narcolepsy, diminished physical strength...
*****
My guess is that the doctor will not refer him for a cpap or medications/proceedures. I'm guessing that when he loses weight he will stop the little snoring that he does.
On the other hand, I am like your husband. I have allergies and asthma and I snore. I've been seen for it by my doctor, an ENT and had CT scans done of my sinus'. They all say that they're fine. And like I mentioned above, our insurance will not pay for a sleept study for me. So DH wears earplugs during the nights that I am loud and wake him up.
Use the Breath Right strips - they are MUCH better than "off brand" nasal strips.
Has his snoring changed over time?
it seems like he used to only snore on his back but now snores on his sides as well.
i'll by some "real" breathe right strips for comparisons sake.
Yes, if he has sleep apnea he'll have to wear the mask every night. My dad got used to wearing it after a week or so. It's hard to know the difference between snoring and sleep apnea, but if he stops breathing in the night that can be dangerous. Would he be willing to try a sleep study to find out?
Two of my brothers have CPAP machines. My one brother would be snoring, stop breathing, and start snoring again. It was driving my SIL nuts because my brother would say he slept great. After using the machine he said what he thought was "great sleep" really wasn't.
Good luck!
I have had a sleep study done and I did have sleep apena. That was before my surgery and after I lost the first, oh, I don't know... I say the first 25 - 30 lbs, I didn't need it anymore. I haven't used it in years now.
The study isn't bad. They hook you up to a bunch of wires. Then you go to sleep without the C-PAP. Half way through the night, they come in and you put the C-PAP on. They compare your sleeping patterns. It's pretty painless, except for the bill. Insurance paid for most of mine, but because of how they coded it when they billed it, I got charged for my deductible rather than just a co-pay. Whatever. It was worth it considering how much the quailty of my sleep changed and how much better I felt. Things I didn't even consider could be due to my sleeping changed. Fewer headaches. More energy. Less grogy in the am. Easier to get up in the am. Lars probably doesn't realize how much his snoring is affecting him (not just you).
As for wearing the C-PAP. It wasn't a big deal. You get used to it pretty quickly and you notice such a difference in how you feel that you don't mind it. I will say, it did kill our sex life for a while, but we worked it out.
HTH. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
EXACTLY! That is what I was trying to say! LOL.
Boy/girl twins born at 37w1d and 37w2d
My Dad also uses a CPAP machine - he doesn't use a mask but has what I fondly refer to as a "nose snorkel" and the tube just sits between his nose and upper lip. As PP mentioned - he was chronically fatigued but didn't really know it. He was having vivid dreams because he wasn't hitting the right sleep cycles and was thrashing around whenever he'd stop breathing. He clocked my mom a couple times enough to bruise her - try explaining that one to people who look at you and think you're being abused. Honestly, it has made a world of difference for him.
My mom uses the mouthguard contraption PP mentioned. That one isn't for apnea - just for snoring.
sometimes, but usually only if he's had too much to drunk and is on his back. usually it's just with his inhale/exhale that he snores, no pause.
maybe he just needs the mouth guard.