Husband Snoring

My father-in-law was like that and you could hear it through the whole house, and it's big. He finally went in and had a sleep apnea test done. He slept in the lab overnight and they monitored his sleep patterns. The results indicated that he had sleep apnea and he now uses a C-pap machine at night and he no longer snores. My mother-in-law says it is great. Good luck!

My husband used to snore so loud that I was doing the same as you-elbows and knees to the back! He was having some problems with his tonsils at the time and was getting strep and a few other throat related illnesses. The doc removed his tonsils (at 29 years old) and I don't have a problem with snoring anymore. :) When I do, it's usually not too loud.
I know that is really far to go to get rid of the snoring, but if he has the same problems as my husband, and hasn't had them removed, maybe he should. It might help him sleep better too. I would imagine that he doesn't feel well rested after a night of all the kicking and elbowing. And he probably wakes himself sometimes too.
Good luck. I hope you get a good nights sleep sometimes soon! Every mother deserves it!

Really, a sleep clinic will help so much. I'm surprised it's a few nights, anyone I know that's gone it's a one night thing. You go in, get all set up, go to sleep and spend the night. If there is a real problem they can find it after one night as long as you sleep. It could give you answers to why he is snoring and also give you guys solutions.

Hi A. -

My husband is a terrible snore-machine as well... but one thing that does seem to help is when he gets on a regular schedule of taking Claritin D - he has to have been on it for 2 or 3 days to get the effect - but i think it helps his abnormally swollen sinuses to stay a bit less inflamed and that seems to account for less drainage and better breathing through his nose through the night. We get the 24 hour version and he takes one before bed each night - and a bonus is that he doesn't have a "splitting-headache-sinus-congestion" feeling in the morning like he normally does ... so it helps him and me too! Oh - and he also uses the breath-right strips in combination with the meds... i'm hoping to get him to an ENT doc soon to see about those sinuses...

Hi A.,

Apparently different things work for different people. Here are a few things you might try:

1. Certain foods might aggravate his snoring more. My husband snores more when he eats potatoes, or dairy products.

2. Lavender oil sprinkled on my husband's pillow sometimes helps dramatically.

3. What really seems to help him is going through a "script" in the book "Feelings Buried Alive Never Die," by Karol Truman. (About page 92) It's a script for clearing out things in general, but in the back of the book there is a list of common conditions or ailments that could be helped by plugging them into the script. When my husband starts snoring again, he merely reads through the script, that he wrote out for snoring, once before going to bed. He will do that for a night or two and the snoring stops again. It's amazing how well it works. He used to wake me up several times a night, and it was awful.

4. AND here's a quote from the Essential Oils Desk Reference: "SNORING: Rub 4-6 drops thyme oil diluted 50-50 [with a vegetable oil] on the soles of both feet at bedtime." (Note: this has totally stopped some people from snoring.)

5. Last but not least--some people have had excellent results by using EFT (a quick, painless technique that involves tapping on a few acupressure points on the body). Sometimes those results have lasted for months or even years. I suggest going to www.emofree.com/ and do a search for snoring.

Hopefully some of these things will help. Good Luck!--K.

A.,
I can totally relate. Luckily for me, we did have a spare bedroom that he could sleep in so I could get some rest. Of course that didn't help the marriage much so my husband did the sleep test. It only took one night and they did not find sleep apnea but they found he could benefit from that laser surgery that removes the dangly thing in the back of the throat or if he didn't want surgery, they said he could stop drinking alcohol. His drinking was really the cause behind it all. So, he did stop drinking and miraculously, so did the snoring, almost immediately! Now even when he has a bad cold, I can barely hear him. I'm sure glad he didn't opt for the surgery.

In your case though, I personally would try the ear plugs. You will still be able to hear your daughter and she is old enough that she probably could come and get you especially if she knows you now sleep with earplugs and can't hear her crying. She will increase her crying at night for a short period as long as you do not go in there, even if you do hear her through the ear plugs and when she says, "Mommy, I cried last night." Just remind her that if it is really important to come and quietly and gently wake you up. Before you know it, she may very rarely wake up needing you unless she is really needing it.

Anyway, I wish you luck.

My husband snores too. It used to bother me all the time, until my grandmother said that she would give all she had to hear my Grandpa snore again...because that would mean she was no longer a widow. That put it in perspective a bit for me. Now I try not to let it make me an unreasonable nag and just make sure I go to sleep before he even goes to bed so I at least get a head start. I think the others are right, though. Persuade him to work it out for the sleep clinic.

Dear A.:

You are dealing with a health crisis here for both your husband and yourself. Believe me, I know.

My story: I was married to a man for almost 9 years whose snoring became worse and worse over time. And my sleep became shorter and shorter over time as a result. Though we didn't have a child to care for, we lived with his grandmother who might need our help at any time. Also, my ex-husband has Type 1 Diabetes, and he was vulnerable to insulin-reactions in the early morning hours. These reactions are life-threatening if not treated in time, and I learned that I could not rest completely in the early morning hours because of this. I asked our doctor for sleep tests for him, but he said that my ex should lose some weight first and see if that would help. My ex's snoring would eventually drive me to sleep on the couch.

Increased snoring could be a sign of sleep apnea - a condition marked by very frequently waking up for small periods of time during sleep because one cannot breathe. Some of the snoring is really due to trying to catch one's breath. The person who suffers this will not remember all the times that he or she had awoken during the night, nor will he or she remember not being able to breathe. The inability to breathe may be caused by a problem with the soft palate or other soft tissues in the throat. Being overweight makes this problem worse. Over time, sleep apnea can stress the body so much that a heart attack may occur. For your husband's sake, A., I hope that he can take 3 days off work to do the sleep tests - these tests can determine if his problem is sleep apnea or not. It is very important that he go through a sleep study as soon as possible!

In your case, A., lack of quality sleep can lower your immune system and decrease your ability to function during the day, at the very least. You can go into "mircro -sleep' where you fall asleep for a few momoents at a time during the day. This is dangerous when you drive; many accidents are caused by sleep-deprived people. In my case, the sleep I lost due to my ex's snoring caused both an increase in my clinical depression and the development of fibromyalgia which is based on a sleep disorder caused by a malfunction of the nervous system. One of the malfunctions is the premature firing of the sympathetic nervous system - our "fight or flight" response to danger. And I sensed danger in the early morning hours because of my diabetic ex's potential for an insulin reaction. Your health is at stake, too, A..

I'm sorry to sound so alarmist. It's just that you cannot underestimate the importance of sleep and the dangers of snoring and losing sleep. So, please, if at all possible, have your husband take a few vacation days to have the sleep study performed. For both your sakes, it will be worth it!

Sincerely, Anastacia

PLEASE encourage your husband to go to a sleep clinic. After much denial about his snoring, my husband finally went to a clinic and found out that he does in fact have sleep apnea and he stops breathing an average of 29 times an hour! He got put on a C-Pap and uses it faithfully. He actually requires less sleep now because the quality of his sleep is so much better, and for obvious reasons I sleep much better, too. Sleep apnea can be very scary if it's not treated.

Sounds like your husband needs to go get a sleep study done, however you don't sleep there multiple nighs in a row. You go in for you initial sleep study and then if he has sleep apnea, he would go back in for a titration to find out what the machine needs to be set at. So basically it would be a total of 2 nights, and I think it would be well worth if for both of you in the long run!

i feel your pain my hunny is the same way we have been together 3 years and its getting worse i used to be able to roll him over to his belly and it would stop. but that doesnt work anymore and so i found by tickling his chin sometimes he would move and that would help. but like you said its getting worse. if i were you i would make him sleep on the couch until he agreed to go to the sleep clinic..(its only one night not multiple, and sometimes its even done in a hotel room) good luck!

Hi,

I lived with this through six children! I always felt sleep deprived. Everything you are describing is what I went through.It was hard enough to be up with the children and babies nursing; but add the constant snoring and I had to survive on minimal sleep for years. I started feeling resentment to him because he would sleep through everything unless I forced him to wake up. He thought I was exagerating the issue; so he did do a sleep study away from home for a night. They also were able to monitor his sleeping with some device at home. He got some simple surgery which minimized the problem. It didn't take away the snoring totally though. So now that our children are grown, the youngest is l6, I sleep in another room. I feel so much better getting a full nights rest. I would try to see if your husband would be willing to sleep out in another room every third night, with a sleeping bag etc.. just so you can get some rest. Other wise eventually, you will end up in marriage counseling.It will drive you past your breaking point. I don't mean to sound negative, just honest.

A.,
My husband snores too. Luckily/Unluckily he works 3rd shift so it's only on the weekends that I hear it. One night I just couldn't stand it, so I gently rubbed his arm to try to wake him up. It didn't wake him up, but it did stop the snoring for awhile at least. I ended up just keeping my hand on his arm and as long as my hand was on his arm he stopped snoring. Finally I fell asleep.

You should try to get him to a dr., as snoring seems to have a medical problem if its that loud and all night.

Good luck.

Maybe he has sleap apnea.

I completely understand- I was in the same boat as you. I've had the same problem and was worried I wouldn't hear my son if I wore ear plugs when he was born.... but I put the monitor on loud next to me and anytime my son would cry at night, ear plugs in and all, I'd still wake up. This was true when he was an infant and still true now. I think you'll be okay if you wore them, assuming the monitor is loud enough. Good luck on whatever you decide!

This is a tough situation! I don't really have any good ideas, but I did want to let you know that they make watches with vibrating alarms. I use one since I wake up significantly earlier than my husband. This might at least allow you to sleep in your daughter's room. You can find several types of vibrating alarm watches on amazon.
Good luck!

Hi A.,

I went through the same thing with my husband a couple of years ago and it was horrible so I can understand where you are coming from.

I would really have your husband go for the sleep study. It is only for one night at a time and my husband only went twice. The problem for my husband was that he has sleep apnea. If this is not treated it can lead to heart attack and stroke.

He now wears a c-pap machine and does not snore at all. It has really made a difference with our sleeping habits. He used to fall asleep by 7:30 in the evening and sleep through the night on the couch and I would leave him there because I could not stand the snoring.

Now I feel we have more quality time together because he can stay up later and we both sleep better!

Hope this helps.

K.

I know all about your snoring problem! I work at a sleep clinic in Columbus & he really needs to go have it checked out! His snoring could be sleep apnea which can be very serious and only gets worse the older he gets. My husband and his father both have it. Your husband should really spend the night at the sleep clinic... typically it's 2 nights... 2 weeks apart from each other. I know at my work they do them Sun-Fri... so he should have one night he could spend at one. You really don't want to take this lightly. It should be covered by your insurance too... so you shouldn't have to worry too much about the cost. Anyway, feel free to contact me... like I said... I know all about this if you want to know anything else! Good luck!

Hi A.,
My husband had a hard time sleeping at night and would snore and have episodes where he would stop breathing for a few seconds and then gasp for air, which would wake him up all through the night (sleep apnea) He had a deviated septum from a previous sports injury. After having surgury on his nose he is sleeping much better. Less snoring and no gasping. Some other things to consider: Is your husband overweight? Extra pounds can cause snoring. How does he sleep at night? On his back will definitely cause louder snoring. Can you get some type of positioner where he will sleep on his side or his stomach? There may be some kind of special pillow or pad you can get him. Does he smoke? Smoking dries out, irritates and inflames the mucus membranes in your mouth and nose and will cause more snoring too. Not to mention all kinds of other health problems. Good luck, I hope you can get some good sleep soon...

There are sleep clinics everywhere these days, an some hospital had sleep clinics in them. You only have to say 1 night. And that isn't really all night. My hubby was home by 6am. AND he said he slept remarkably well. He didnt think he'd fall asleep at all! He didnt have time either until I put my foot down. Do some research on Sleep Apnea. I did and it scared me! People w/ SLeep Apnea never really get a good nights sleep. because of this, they have a much higher risk of accidents @ home, work, and on the road! Their attention to detail is lessened. They body never gets to really rest, so they have an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure...they are stressed more. so they have a tendence to over eat... they are tired, so they dont exercise as much...obesity causes Sleep Apnea to get worse, as does age, alcohol, cold medications, and med that 'can cause drowsiness'. I did see a new quick dissolve strip on TV the other day that is supposed to shink and lubricate the tissue in the back of the throat and lessen the problem, but havent tried it. My hubby now says it was the best thing he ever did! He never realized just how tired he was! he also wears a c-pap and loves it!

You don't say if he has gained a little weight or not.
My husband use to snore mildly but as our years together lengthened the snoring got so bad I di kick him out of the bedroom. Well actually he left on his own. We both were then working and needed our sleep. He couldn't sleep because I too ws elbowing him at night.
Well his weight has increased too. Almost doubled (35 years together). When he was first tested for apnea they said no problems. Well another 50lbs and yes he does have apnea. He now uses a C Pap machine and has retunrd to the bed. The machine does make noise but it is like white noise. It does not bother me.
Mention his snoring to your doctor. It sounds like he needs to be tested. Most insurances will pay all or part for it and the machine.
Good luck.

Hi A.
My husband is an unusual sleeper, too. He talks and walks and is starting to snore. His dad is a terrible snorer. On family vacations my husband used to sleep in the car because he couldn't sleep in the hotel room. Anyway, he has recently gone to a sleep clinic and it has really helped. I think my mil finally let him back into their room. I know it's hard to be away for a few nights, but if your husband could swing it, I'm sure it would be worth it. My fil has also lost about 20lbs, which has helped as well.

You may want to check with your Doctor; it could be a form of sleep apena. Good luck and Sweet dreams

It might not sound easy - but the rare times when my husband snores, I try to pretend it is a lullaby and it is lulling me to sleep and I Thank God that I have a husband alive and well enough to lay here next to me and snore. I feel for those of you who have this problem and constantly - my mom and dad had that problem and they never thought of the solution (they found) for a long time. They switched sides of the bed. You can also try a humidifier. I know that I snore rarely if I am stuffy. Not sure if these things will help you - everyone is different.

Bless your day!