Tips for Getting the Right Sleep Apnea Diagnosis

If you suspect that you have sleep apnea, it’s imperative that you get the right sleep apnea diagnosis.  Some of the complications that can result from sleep apnea is blood poisoning, and in most severe cases a person can die from it. Just these two potential medical conditions, and there are more, show the severity of sleep apnea, and that it is more than just a ‘minor annoyance’.  People who suffer from sleep disorders will often find that their sleep is interrupted.  Not having a good nights sleep can often make one tired and sometimes even nauseated during the day. So how can you go about getting the right sleep apnea diagnosis?

One common symptom that many sleep apnea sufferers have is a certain type of snoring.  You might have sleep apnea if you make sounds like grasping, choking, or wheezing while you’re sleeping.  This is because these sounds aren’t technically snoring but are the sounds of the body trying to catch a breath. Choking and gasping are typical sounds a person makes during an apnea episode as they are waking up slightly in order to start breathing again. To find out for yourself if you snore, tape yourself sleeping. In order to help you with your sleep apnea diagnosis the doctor may listen to the sounds.

Morning headaches are also common with a sleep apnea diagnosis. When the body is deprived of oxygen even for a few moments this irritates the nerves that surround the head and the face so that the patient feels pain when they wake up. Bad posture while sleeping can be the cause of morning headaches.  But typically severe morning headaches are tied in with a sleep apnea diagnosis. There are some that keep headache journals, this way they have a record of their headaches. You should do this with those headaches you have in the morning as well.

Of course only a doctor can give you an accurate sleep apnea diagnosis. They will let you know what you want to know and may recommend that you do a sleep study. While sleep apnea is a very serious condition, it’s not recommended that you come to a sleep apnea diagnosis on your own. You need to consult your doctor and get their recommendation prior to starting any treatments.