Is sleep apnea a real problem, or is the doctor trying to scam me?

[Steve]

My doctor, who's new because I moved, referred me to a "sleep specialist" because I told him I snored heavily, am often tired during the day, and am overweight. The sleep specialist, after having me sleep with a bunch of wires strapped to me for a night, diagnosed me with "obstructive sleep apnea", and is telling me I need a breathing machine for when I sleep at night as treatment. Also, he's told me all sorts of stuff about health risks from the apnea: I'll get to being fatigued to the point of narcolepsy, I'm at even more risk for an early heart attack, even though I've started going to the gym I won't be able to lose weight, etc.

Now, what I want to know is, are there really health risks from sleep apnea, and is it a real problem, or is it just some sort of medical fad or scam?

[primapeache]

Sleep apnea is very dangerous, no scam :(. If you're not careful you could suffocate on your own tongue from snoring too much, or narcolepsy could occur as well. So take your doctors advice, whatever it was, and be careful

[Liz]

Sleep apnea is a real problem and it can become fatal (i should know this because i did a research project on it for school plus my dad has it). If you don't use the machine then you could intensify your condition (stroke, heart attack... ect). Just continue going to the gym and don't drink (ultimate it if possible). Hope this helped!

[Dark Fairy]

Yes, sleep apnoea is very real and needs to be taken very seriously!

It is believed that Sleep Apnoea is responsible in a lot of cases of SADS (sudden adult death syndrome) so listen to your doctors - they don't make diagnoses for fun!!