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Have Sleep Apnea. Hardly Breath At Night. Stop Breathing Un-intentionally. Worried?

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Posted on Mon, 30 Sep 2013
Question: I have a sleep apnea that is not affecting my life too much.. Sometimes i wake up trying to catch a breathe and sometimes its normal.. I think i had it since long time ago, but just now knew i had it because im newly married and wife tells me that sometimes i hardly breathe at night.. Can i just ignore it? Since im an athlete and it doesnt effect my daily life a lot.. Im not sure if its from the brain but a lot of the times in the day i just stop breathing un intentionallly then catch my breathe again, i dont know if its related..
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Answered by Dr. Chobufo Ditah (8 days later)
Brief Answer:
NO, don't ignore it. Get it addressed

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.

I am so sorry to hear about these recent observations made by your wife.
Though you have no major symptoms or limitation in your daily activities as a result of this observation and "possible condition", I would like you to get investigated appropriately.

My first guess is that this observation without symptoms and any major risk factors, makes the diagnosis of sleep apnea very less likely. I would suggest that you get a well conducted sleep study to find out if this is for real sleep apnea. A sleep specialist would be the best person to talk to in this case

Depending on the results, you may be offered reassurances if nothing turns up on the test or further investigations if they are so warranted.

I hope this addresses your query fully. Please, feel free to ask for clarifications if need be.

I wish you the best of possible outcomes with this process.
Dr. Ditah, MD
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Chobufo Ditah

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2009

Answered : 6323 Questions

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Have Sleep Apnea. Hardly Breath At Night. Stop Breathing Un-intentionally. Worried?

Brief Answer:
NO, don't ignore it. Get it addressed

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.

I am so sorry to hear about these recent observations made by your wife.
Though you have no major symptoms or limitation in your daily activities as a result of this observation and "possible condition", I would like you to get investigated appropriately.

My first guess is that this observation without symptoms and any major risk factors, makes the diagnosis of sleep apnea very less likely. I would suggest that you get a well conducted sleep study to find out if this is for real sleep apnea. A sleep specialist would be the best person to talk to in this case

Depending on the results, you may be offered reassurances if nothing turns up on the test or further investigations if they are so warranted.

I hope this addresses your query fully. Please, feel free to ask for clarifications if need be.

I wish you the best of possible outcomes with this process.
Dr. Ditah, MD