i snore & here is wat i have tried. pls help - Sleep Disorders Message Board

cookie monster · 11-28-2006, 08:40 AM

Hello everyone,

I thought I had this conquered a long time ago but it has reared its ugly head again. it can be long & boring, pls do not get angry.

I m a female & I am embaressed to say that i SNORE & have terrible insomnia (very big eyebag/dark circles). How? pls read.

A few years ago, i went on a cruise holiday with some frens. Night came & we all went to sleep, me last to Zzzzz. Next morning, I was told tat i snored ...

Fastforward a few years: my good friend got married & i stayed over at her place the night before the wedding. on the wedding morning, i was told i SNORED, even though i slept on my side, with a bolster pillow to block me from sleeping on my back. bride slept at 12midnite & me at 1am.

Year 2006: there was a weekend company-sponsored teambuilding trip, when i shared room with another gal. this time, I DID NOT SNORE ... either tat or the gal uptil now, has not say i snored. could it be i took a OTC spray tat claims to help stop snoring?

Things I have tried: i never drink any alcohol, hardly take coffee, try excersizing, relaxing with light off during bedtime, ... u name it, i tried it.

Question: is it abnormal, especially for a gal? should i now go to a "sleep specialist doctor" & ask to go on a sleep study analysis, so i can find out why i snore AND have insomnia? it is bad enough to suffer from ONE but TWO???

i feel like a terrible person. no guy will want me! and now, me friends (the ones who went on the cruise & the married friend, seem scared of me as a travelling companion & do not want me as roommates. so sad!! wat else i can do to overcome?

mkgbrook · 11-28-2006, 11:32 AM

cookie monster,

If I were you I would go to an ENT and a sleep specialist. Many people snore due to enlarged tonsils or restricted airways, but may not have a severe sleep disorder. Others may not snore significantly but still have severe sleep disorders. With your insomnia and snoring it would be best to go for a consultation with a sleep doctor first and then see if they recommend seeing an ENT.

Best of Luck. MG

Snoring can be bad.. it is really bad when you wake your self up because you snore so loud. My mom and dad passed that on to me as well. There are plenty of snorers out there you are not alone.

littleln11 · 12-01-2006, 11:23 PM

It is not abnormal but definately more men than women have the problem. I am a 28 year old normal weight female and I have/had severe sleep apnea. I had no freakin clue I had it.

I went to the doctor complaining of fatigue. She asked me some questions and after I answered them, she said that she thought I might have sleep apnea and sent me to a sleep specialist who scheduled me for a sleep study. I thought it was all baloney. I was like " I'm a woman, women don't have sleep apnea" and "I'm not fat, only fat people have sleep apnea" Well guess waht, not true. I have severe sleep apnea.

If you think you have it get checked out.

mkgbrook · 12-04-2006, 07:55 AM

littleln11,

I concur. I am a 31 year old female... not severely overweight, and only have the mild gurgle rasping snore with ocasional bouts of choking. I would wake myself up with these snoring bouts. My husband used to sit up and watch me sleep, afraid I was going to choke to death... but he never mentioned it to me. It took my new GP to send me to a sleep doctor for testing. The sleep doctor determined that I had engorged tonsils, tonsil stones.. been there always, enlarged adnoids, and a very narrow throat. I was scheduled for observation and determined to suffer from severe sleep apnea.

I used a CPAP which helped tremendously, but I was still having complications.. chronic sinusittus, etc. Well a recent tonsillectomy, adnoidectomy, and full endoscopic surgery with full sinus window insertion has helped with the chronic infections... but I am still dependent on my CPAP. There is no gender distinction with sleep apnea, and I would hazard a guess that women.. especially mothers are more sleep deprived than men. Why? Because in addition to our sleep problems we have to deal with our children and their sleep problems.

Sincerely,
MG