I haven’t been here in a while but I think about you all a lot. Holly, I hope you are doing better today:)
I was wondering how many of you may also suffer from sleep apnea? I am starting to wonder if that’s why I am waking up so many times during the night with a feeling of panic. I wonder also if it’s related to my jaw being misaligned. Any of you have a similar story?
Thank you and may God bless you all!!!
I wake a lot in the night, I feel nervous for no good reason, I have wondered just lately if I had lockjaw as sometimes I can hardly open my mouth. My pain is always worse at night before I go to bed. Wish I could relax think that might help me. Don’t think I have been much help to you. Sorry Margaret
Hi Jamie,
I used to have sleep apnea, but was basically cured through surgery, due to the particular cause of obstruction that I had.
I did not know that I had it until my husband (then boyfriend) pointed it out, and I had a sleep study done. I was an atypical patient, being a skinny young woman.
Waking at night with your heart racing and with a feeling of fear is pretty typical for apnea in my book. It happened to me alot.
What happens is this - when you stop breathing, the body starts to become starved for oxygen. As this happens, the heart begins to beat faster to try to compensate for this loss. Finally, in a last ditch effort to stop this cycle, your body wakes you, and you sense this as fear, due to the racing heart, the rapid breathing, and the body’s innate instinct to keep you alive.
If it were me, I would talk to my doctor and have a sleep study done ASAP. Apnea is a direct and indirect killer of seemingly young people. Either by stopping your heart during sleep, or by making you so darned sleep deprived that you fall asleep while driving. In addition, the wear and tear on your heart can cost you days to years of your normal life span.
I am only telling you all this so that you will get yourself in to the doctor and get it checked. The profile of the common apnea patient is “middle aged, overweight men”, although I saw many different types on the apnea forum.
Good luck, follow your intuition and get this checked out.
I also have Sleep Apnea and sometimes experience a similiar feeling. I quit using my CPAP because it was aggravating the ATN. I now have a great mask that doesn’t bother the TN so I am much better now. Good luck!
Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences with this. I made an appointment to talk with my doctor about it. Annamarie, what is the CPAP and what is the difference between it and your mask you now have?
Lily, I am only 46 and I’m fairly thin also. It’s kind of scary. I would LOVE to be able to sleep and not feel so exhausted during the afternoon/evening hours. Thanks for your honesty.
A CPAP is a continuous flow of pressure to keep your airway open while you sleep. My pulmonary sleep specialist got me this amazing soft flex mask the covers the nose and didn’t come across the face and hit my TN hot spots. It made such a difference. I quit using my machine because of the TN and when he refitted me, I felt amazing afterwards. The mask I have now comes down the bridge of my nose and across my eyebrows before my old mask was almost like a hockey mask with all the straps.
I also have sleep apnea and have trouble with my mask. What type do you have now? Thanks!
Annamarie Del Bane said:
I also have Sleep Apnea and sometimes experience a similiar feeling. I quit using my CPAP because it was aggravating the ATN. I now have a great mask that doesn’t bother the TN so I am much better now. Good luck!
Hi All . It seems now that I can add Sleep Apnea to my ATN-related symptoms ... sinus surgery damage leading to TN and earpain ... and now , apparently , to sleep apnea . I tried my CPAP mask last night , for the first time ... O What Fun !!!!!
P.S. I'm 67 , and 3 stone overweight ... but still willing to learn . LOL
Debbie, I just spent a lot of time with my Sleep Dr and his assistant trying to get a mask that would not hurt my TN and they now have a couple of models that work with TN. Hope this helps!