Sleep Apnea Misdiagnosis

Depression can result from the tiredness and general feeling of not coping, and it can be mistaken for the primary condition which needs treatment.

However you will usually feel much better when you have a good night's sleep on a regular basis anyway.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (like heartburn) interrupts sleep, with of course similar consequences.

In other words you will feel like an apnea sufferer because you aren't sleeping properly but the problem here is the stomach pushing its contents back up the throat, disturbing your sleep, and not your breathing.

Sleep apnea misdiagnosis can include hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) as it also leads to lower energy levels and fatigue, but this is easily checked with a routine blood test, and usually easily treated as well.

Congestive heart failure has symptoms in common with apnea such as fatigue, shortness of breath and sleeplessness particularly when lying down.

Frequent urination at night may then be due to the swelling of legs etc. A thorough physical examination should identify this problem, ruling out a sleep disorder.

Asthma or nighttime asthma: There are many reasons why people with asthma may experience asthma symptoms at night.

The body's natural rhythm certainly plays a role, with certain hormones being at their highest (or lowest) in the early morning.

Some of these, such as melatonin, increase inflammation in the airways. Exposure to asthma triggers in bed, such as dust mites or pet dander, and sinus problems and post-nasal drip (mucus dripping into the airways when lying down) can set off this problem.

Narcolepsy (condition of constant sleepiness) is a sleep disorder but does not involve your breathing, as apnea does.

This goes for chronic fatigue syndrome as well, a disorder that causes symptoms like depression, weakness, headaches, muscle pain, having no energy and being excessively tired.

I had one mistaken diagnosis myself, it was assumed to be narcolepsy, but in narcolepsy there is no breathing problem like my sister described to me.

In babies and children sleep problems are commonly misdiagnosed as ADD or ADHD. These children have short attention spans, and are forgetful and irritable simply because they are tired.

A sleep monitor can alert the parents to breathing problems during sleep even for older children.

A pad with sensors embedded under the bottom sheet notifies you if the child stops breathing for any length of time. This will be solid grounds for the doctor to order a sleep study, and follow treatment options from there.

This is obviously a great improvement on the commonly prescribed drugs such as Ritalin etc for ADD or ADHD.

Sleep deprivation can obviously present as a consequence of most of these conditions, and sleep apnea misdiagnosis can easily happen.

Return to Sleep Apnea Symptoms from Sleep Apnea Misdiagnosis

Return from Sleep Apnea Misdiagnosis to Sleep Apnea Help Home page