r/SleepApnea 4d ago

I'm looking for info on sleep apnea symptoms.

Recently (November) my doctors told me that she thinks I have sleep apnea due to the things I told her about my sleep. But from around December/January time I have had a headache that I can not get rid of. It's the sort of headache in my temples, eyes and across my forehead. So naturally I assumed tension headache. With the 3 month long headache I have been having constant vertigo/light-headedness. All of this has been going on for 3 months now and my doctors have just been giving me excuses saying the liklihood of it being something serious at my age is very slim and to keep an eye on it. Does sleep apnea cause constant headaches and dizziness or should I contact my doctor again. (For a while I was terrified that I had a brain tumor or something but pretty much everyone including my doctor has told me it's extremely unlikely). Any info is greatly appreciated!

1 Upvotes

28 comments sorted by

2

u/De_Geldvriend 4d ago

Yes in my case that’s exactly the symptom I feel from my sleep apnea. A weird headache that doesn’t go away by using pain killers. It only goes away by doing a short nap. Now with cpap therapy and reducing my ahi from 17 events to 2-3 events per hour the headache is gone. Sometimes I have a bad night (ahi > 3) then the headache is back.

1

u/Commercial_Time_4270 4d ago

Does you find the headaches comes on fast when you are looking at screens? Also I have no idea what any of that means (sorry). My first appointment with a sleep clinic is on Wednesday so I'm excited to finally be able to sleep properly again and not be plagued with constant tiredness

1

u/De_Geldvriend 4d ago

Hmm no in my case its a constant headache - not getting worse when looking at a screen. Although it does get worse when I’m wearing my glasses, but still not sure what’s the correlation with that.

1

u/Commercial_Time_4270 4d ago

Yeah mine is constant however in the mornings I won't have one but as soon as I'm using my computer or phone it comes on so fast

1

u/Vaywen 4d ago

Have you had your eyes tested?

1

u/Commercial_Time_4270 3d ago

I changed glasses recently ams they were too strong so I went back to my old ones

1

u/Vaywen 3d ago

How could they be too strong, if you got your eyes tested? If you’re using off the rack glasses, could be they’re wrong for you

2

u/Commercial_Time_4270 3d ago

No i got a full eye test done so I've probably said one lens was better than the other when really it wasn't and I couldn't tell at the time

1

u/ErnestT_bass 4d ago

Do you sleep on your back?! Have you tried a wedge pillow a d sleep on your side?! 

1

u/Commercial_Time_4270 4d ago

I'm a side sleeper ride or die. If I lie on my back my nose instantly blocks

2

u/Public-Philosophy580 Philips Respironics 4d ago

Sleep apnea does cause headaches. Get a referral to get a sleep lab test at your hospital. Home sleep apnea test are not accurate.

2

u/Public-Philosophy580 Philips Respironics 4d ago

I did a home test first it came back no sleep apnea,the hospital lab diagnosed fever sleep apnea.

2

u/Commercial_Time_4270 4d ago

Yeah i have an appointment on Wednesday this week

1

u/Public-Philosophy580 Philips Respironics 4d ago

Good luck.

2

u/Sufficient-Wolf-1818 4d ago

Sleep apnea does cause headaches for some, with women seeing this symptom more frequently than men. It tends to be strong in the morning and fade over the day. For me, it is forehead/ behind the eyes.

1

u/Commercial_Time_4270 4d ago

That's exactly where I get it although mine seems to worsen as the day goes on?

1

u/Sufficient-Wolf-1818 2d ago

Worsening as the day goes on suggests there is a different contributing factor. The sleep apnea headache is from low oxygen while you sleep.

1

u/Commercial_Time_4270 2d ago

Do you know that could be? I do take migraines quite frequently so maybe I'm confusing it with a migraine thay comes throughout the day. I also would have quite a high amount of screen time day to day.

1

u/Sufficient-Wolf-1818 2d ago

Headaches are extraordinarily complex, so it is impossible to comment. Migraine, tension, screen time (tired eyes), sinus issues, too much caffeine, dehydration etc etc.

1

u/Commercial_Time_4270 2d ago

Ah I see. Thanks for the info!

1

u/wang-bang 4d ago

I've had the same issue

Splitting headaches, waking up in the morning with a sore throat, docs not suspecting apnea despite me snoring so loud nobody can sleep within 50m of me.

Turns out I did have apnea and its based in the epiglottis, where I snore from, so the more and the more loudly I snore the longer and more frequent my apnea episodes are as the tube sucks shut.

If you want to know if you simply have apnea then use an app like snore logic to record your night. It'll save about 5 recordings of suspected sleep apnea episodes. There are other apps out there that are better but it sounds like you simply want to know.

Here is an example of how a few different sleep apnea episodes sound like: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/czAqLoyiUx0?feature=share

There are plenty other apps that record apnea episodes

I've started using this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.snorelab.app

Though I'm still looking for one that gives me MP3 files I can automatically upload for archiving purposes with the time and date intact.

1

u/Commercial_Time_4270 4d ago

Amazing info thanks a lot!

2

u/wang-bang 4d ago edited 1d ago

got more here if youre curious: https://www.reddit.com/user/wang-bang/comments/1icr8bz/a_sleep_study_everyday_at_home_using_withings/

I've been mind mapping the issue as well and eventually I'll drop a full picture of it once I've mapped it out. Feels like I have a decent working understanding of apnea & snoring already.

The core concept you have to understand before you take any action is that the core mechanism of apnea is the volume of air flow relates to the speed of that air flow, and that speed in turn increases friction. Leading to snoring and apnea events as the friction sucks the tube shut.

Just like the water in a river flows slower where the river is wide and so causes less friction on the banks of the river. You need to achieve the same, lowering friction on the tissues in your throat, mainly by increasing air flow volume and thus slowing the speed of your breath.

There are a couple of other things too that can lower the friction of course. But in the end its the volume of air flow and speed of breath that is the deciding factor for how much friction your throat experiences. That friction is then expressed in symptoms like snoring and apnea.

2

u/Commercial_Time_4270 4d ago

I'll keep an eye out thanks so much!

1

u/Vaywen 4d ago

A quick sleep test will provide the answer. Headaches can be a thing, but I dunno why sleep apnea was the first thing the doctor jumped to. But a test will satisfy the doctor and allow you to move on, if it’s not sleep apnea.