Fatigue & Constant headaches

[Becky9185]

This is about my boyfriend...I'm concerned there's something wrong. For the past month he's had headaches every day, very bad headaches..but not migraines. I'm not sure if it's got to do with the fact that he's ALWAYS tired, despite getting at least 8 or 9 hours of sleep a night; maybe it's because his bed and pillows are no good. He's overweight, and is a smoker. Why is he having these bad headaches, fatigue, and why does it seem to keep getting worse? Is it something serious and can it be fixed?

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How is your husband? Sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, as mentioned by the earlier post is worth looking into. This condition presents with pauses in breathing during sleep. Diagnostic tests such as home oximetry or polysomnography in a sleep clinic may be indicated. The most common treatment for sleep apnea is the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device, which helps the airway open during sleep by means of a flow of pressurized air into the throat. Lifestyle changes, such as avoiding alcohol or muscle relaxants, losing weight, and quitting smoking ,ay also help. Take care and best regards..

[ErinBBC]

Hi,
My husband has sleep apnea and had these symptoms.  He's not overweight or a smoker but the brochure the doc gave us said that both of those are risk factors, and since your boyfriend has them it might be worth getting checked out.  Sleep apnea can put people at an increased risk for heart attacks and strokes, besides which it just ***** to be sleepy all the time and have daily headaches.  

Symptoms are: daytime sleepiness no matter how many hours spent sleeping, headaches (usually in the morning and at night), snoring, acid reflux/heartburn, tossing and turning all night, jerking yourself awake or waking yourself up by snoring too deeply, stopping breathing during sleep, gasping during sleep, sour taste in your mouth, leg swelling, getting up at night a lot to pee, and sweating excessively during sleep.  

Not everybody will have all of these symptoms but if he has a few I think you should get a sleep study done.  If he has sleep apnea they will prescribe a CPAP mask for him, it's a face mask you wear during sleep that keeps you from having sleep apnea and the associated symptoms.