Sleep Apnea

[JBAD1]

I need help to get me through the night before my sleep study, which is scheduled for two weeks.

I have had sleep problems for most of my adult life. It started with night terrors, but now I am consistently waking up with the following sequence of symptoms (a) Irritation of my upper respiratory muscles (b) cough that feels like choking (c) wake to nausea, chest pain and general awful feeling.

I awake from this painful syndrome and dread going back to sleep.

Is there anything I can do to lesson the awfulness of this syndrome until I go for my sleep study? What is the cause of the irritation that forces the cough?

Thanks for your help.

[cannondale]

Hello JBAD1;

I'm new to this forum, but NOT new to sleep apnea, (sleep studies)!
Back in 2001/2002, I was ALWAYS exhausted during the daytime, and when I went to sleep at night (or tried too go to sleep), I just tossed and turned and kept waking up (just could not go to sleep and stay asleep)!

I spoke to my primary physician, and she suggested that I go through a sleep study night.
I learned A LOT in just one night...
My Upper Respiratory Irritaton, and the cough were due to Acid Reflux!?! Not necessarily heart burn, but a real nausea, pain in my chest, and general awful feeling...(sound familar)!

I "tried" to sleep in the hospital,(while doing the sleep study program).I lasted about 6 hrs.! I had 621 'hits' in 6 hrs.! Yep, over 103 "waking moments" each hour...The treating physician told me that I was one of the highest "waking moments" (hits), patients that he has had in a LONG time! (Lucky me)!

I went home with a CPAP Machine. It took me another 1 year and 6 months to "get used to it"!

Now I have a BiPAP Machine, (I'll explain later what the difference is)! Sorry, I gotta go, an alarm is going off at work, and I'm on-call!

More/Later...Cannondale