I would think a lot of people are born with Sleep Apnea,because people won't admit even they snore.I believe if a person can jump out of bed and say boy I feel good..more than likely they don't have it.My parents really snored when I was a kid they kept me awake I probably had it then and blamed it on them the reason I felt so bad when I woke up!I know my brother has it,I've seen him stop breathing in his sleep,but he won't admit it.Cheers! Bobby

not me BUT SOMETIMES i wonder

I have been on CPAP for over 14 years. A few years ago I found out that in some cases children with SA have their adenoids removed. When I told my mother this she told me that when I was a baby they twice took me to the doctor and asked to have my adenoids removed because I seemed to have trouble breathing. I now suspect I went in and out of SA (depending on my weight) throughout my childhood and early adult years.

I was told its a genetic issue and that sometimes it doesnt develop from birth. I think I actually started to notice something was wrong about 7 years ago and I was at a very healthy weight at that time. I didnt get diagnosed until this year.

My whole family snores so I guess I was basically born with it. When I was skinny I snored and now that I am very overweight I snore. My sis is skinnier than a rail and her hubby says she snores like a train. I had my tonsils and adnoids removed when I was 7. Guess it's heredity.

Weilong, I got to thinking about your question and decide to do alittle research. I suspect those people who have Central Sleep Apnea or a combination of Obstructive and Central Sleep Apnea, probably have a greater likelyhood of having the condition since birth. Since it is in Central Sleep Apnea that the brain does not signal the muscles to breathe. Unless, of course you were born with extra large tonsils, or some other phsical obstruction. It does make one think, doesn't it? Anyway, I hope this helps. I have included the web address in case you would like to explore it more in depth. There are a ton of web sites with info on SA.


Sleep Disorders: Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when a persons breathing is interrupted during sleep. People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times.

There are two types of sleep apnea:



DOCTOR recommended reading
Sleep Apnea Death Risks
Sleep Apnea Linked to Car Wrecks, Diabetes, Heart Attack, Pregnancy Woes
By Salynn Boyles

WebMD Medical News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Bad enough by itself, sleep apnea can lead to worse things -- such as serious car wrecks, heart disease, diabetes, and pregnancy complications. The findings point to a growing awareness that sleep apnea contributes to a wide range of public health problems. All of the studies were reported at this week's annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society in San Francisco.

Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a narrowing or collapse of throat tissues during sleep. Blood-oxygen levels plummet, and the body responds by sending out a flood of hormonal emergency signals. The sufferer wakes, sometimes 30 or more times an hour, his or her body in full "flight or fight" mode.

Read more about sleep apnea death risks

Related Sleep Apnea Terms
Symptoms, Obstructive, Surgery, Treatment, Central, cpap mask, cause, snoring, children


Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The more common of the two forms of apnea, it is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses during sleep.
Central sleep apnea. Unlike OSA, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe due to instability in the respiratory control center.
Am I at Risk for Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea can affect anyone at any age, even children. However, risk factors include:

Male gender
Being overweight
Being over the age of forty
Having a large neck size (17 inches or greater in men and 16 inches or greater in women)
Having larger tonsils
Having a family history of sleep apnea
What Are the Effects of Sleep Apnea?
If left untreated, sleep apnea can result in a growing number of health problems including:

Hypertension
Stroke
Heart failure, irregular heart beats and heart attacks
In addition, untreated sleep apnea may be responsible for poor performance in everyday activities, such as at work and school, motor vehicle crashes as well as academic underachievement in children and adolescents.

Reviewed by The Sleep Medicine Center at The Cleveland Clinic.

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-apnea/sleep-apnea

Thank you everyone for your comments and insights. My parents noticed it when I was born. They had to shake my crib to get me awake. They even took me to the doctor and told them about it but nothing was done, they said I would grow out of it. I have had my tonsils and adnoids out, etc. But that didn't help either. Found out later that I had extra skin in my throat and all that other lovely stuff. I tried the cpap, but couldn't handle it. So now I have a trach done, to the doctor's recommendation. I'm glad that I have received it. I find that I can go more places with it then I could a machine.