Will Sleep Apnea hinder a soldier from taking on a special assignment?

I like to think I get enough sleep. Just I have to sleep in another room most of the time because I keep my wife up with my skillful chainsawing, lol. Main reason I think I should get checked, but I do wake up very groggy most days.

SFC (Join to see) - Just get checked to be safe imo. It used to be a long (and painful, because they scraped your skull to attach diodes) process, but now they just send you a thing to stick on your finger to sleep, and it uploads to your doctor. Fast, easy, simple. Definitely worth doing if you have any doubt. There's no downside.

As a former Drill Sergeant, and sleep apnea sufferer, I never saw it as a hindrance. As SFC Good states, you won't be sleeping very much anyway. Even was able to do
two combat deployments, never stopped me. Quitting smoking, and even more running have stopped almost all of the symptoms for me. I haven't even used my CPAP machine in over a year and a half. Only time I really feel it is if I get a little soused before I go to bed.

I’ve been retired since 1995 after 20 years and I still only get 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night, sometimes I might get 6 hours if I’m lucky.

There's 3 kinds of sleep apnea. 1. The kind fat people get, 2. the kind caused by a person's air tube being too small (no weight requirement there), which can be fixed surgically, 3. and the kind caused by a defective brain stem. #1 can be resolved by losing weight, #2 by surgery #3...can't be at all. You need the machine.

0SN Greg Wright You were close, but not really accurate medically. There are just two kinds of sleep apnea: (1) obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and (2) central sleep apnea (CSA). Technically there is complex sleep apnea, which is when you have both OSA and CSA, but it's not really a different kind.

OSA is when the back of your tongue muscle and other elements of the back of your throat conspire to block your breathing channel throat, a comparison picture of it is seen below - what your air passageway looks like if you don't have OSA and what it looks like if you do. Being overweight is one risk factor for OSA, but skinny people get OSA, too. Alcohol, certain medicines, your anatomy, a nasal blockage or obstruction, being male, menopause, having a neck size larger than 17" for men or 15" for women, and the usual suspect, smoking.

Some of the signs or symptoms you may have untreated OSA include heavy snoring, waking up at night gasping for air, a partner who is concerned that you seem to stop breathing at night for more than a minute up to two minutes, waking up in the morning and feeling just as tired as when you went to bed, feeling sleepy during the daytime. If you often have one or more of these symptoms or signs, you should immediately see your Primary Care Physician and try to get an appointment with a sleep specialist. They can do special testing your PCP won't normally have access to, like a polysomnography lab.

There is no "cure" for CSA as you mentioned. Some people might be able to make their OSA better by losing weight, changing their diet, stopping the use of alcohol or medicines their taking, or doing other things, but they can't change the fact that their body is shutting off their airflow at night when they sleep, other than using a CPAP.

I've had OSA for over 20 yrs! It wasn't until that time that I had it checked. I had UPPP
surgery, had deviated septum repaired. The first sleep study showed I stopped breathing as long as 1 minute! I had 830 apnea events in a 8 hour period. There were many "Central apneas" which you have no control over. I've used CAPA for 20yrs and I can tell you it has helped. The last study showed a significant reduction of events. The surgery has helped with snoring, but I have gained weight so if I don't use the CPAP I know it during the day. I'm nearly 70 now. As to the original question that will have to be determined by your Drs. Every case is different. I can't see a problem if its just snoring as that can be fixed. Good luck!!

You rock, brother! I'll check this out for sure.

SFC (Join to see) - Glad I could be of assistance. Since I can't be one, might as well help those that can.