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Sleep Apnea anyone?

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Posted 9/16/2011 7:43 PM (GMT 0)
I was wondering if anyone has been dx with sleep apnea?  I have a friend that called and said she was talking to her professor because he had stated to the class that he had fibromyalgia. He also stated that he had a sleep study and discovered that he had sleep apnea. Also that since using his breathing machine that almost all his symptoms have been relieved. I know that allot of the symptoms of fibro are related to lack of sleep so was wondering if anyone else had tried this or any info at all would be greatly appreciated..it seems I'm always reaching for a relief of any kind so I'm always searching. A friend of mine that I've met through this site tells me that she too has tried everything to try to figure this out and get relief and tells me that nothing that she has tried has relieved her symptoms.  I am never going to stop trying!! nono

Again thanks in advance for any info,

Hope that you all are having pain free days!!

FibroNana/Jerrie

Posted 9/16/2011 8:03 PM (GMT 0)
Jerrie,

I have sleep apnea and have probably had it since I was a small child. I was diagnosed at 23. The sleep deprivation of sleep apena basically produces fibromyalgia-like symptoms, but is not the same as fibromyalgia. If you happen to have both disorders (like me!) treating the sleep apnea can produce a big improvement in symptoms. So if you have symptoms of apnea (snoring, gasping for air at night, daytime sleepiness, high blood pressure, morning headaches) you should definitely have a sleep study.

For me the biggest thing treating the apnea affected was my depression. Before I was treated for apnea, I had severe treatment-resistant depression, and within a month of getting the CPAP I was much improved, and had stabilized completely within six months. Apnea treatment can be a true miracle for people who have it.
Posted 9/17/2011 12:13 PM (GMT 0)
I agree that the professor probably had Fibromyalgia-LIKE symptoms, but not true Fibro. I had a sleep study that shoed 'mild sleep apnea' & was told if I lose weight, I won't need a CPAP. But wouldn't the machine help me sleep better so I'd hsve more energy? Hmmm Where is their logic, who knows lol. So I am cutting myself off from caffeine completely & shunning all forms of sugar as much as I can. I have lost a bit of weight, but I need to lose 20 lbs.
Posted 9/17/2011 12:23 PM (GMT 0)
I had a sleep study and while I had a mild version (something like 8 respitory events per hour - which is actually close to normal), I also was found to have woken up 31 times in a period of 340 mins. I spent a lot of time in the lighter stages of sleep, but did reach REM.

Always a good thing to rule in/rule out, but do be prepared for a lot of pain after sleeping poorly in a hospital bed!!
Posted 9/17/2011 6:07 PM (GMT 0)
can you take you regulare meds for sleeping??? I have started to take Trazadone and it helps me sleep. Before I started taking the Trazadone I would wake up all night and gasp for air..I don't know if I still gasp but as I said, it knocks me out.

Jerrie/FibroNana
Posted 9/17/2011 10:57 PM (GMT 0)
Dear Fibronana-

I was just dx'd with sleep apnea and PLMD (severe). I use a full mask for apnea and take klonopin for PLMD.

I started with nasal pillow mask(you'll learn the lingo) which felt less claustrophophic but would shift at night and leak etc. Now I am full mask whichcan be claustrophobic and leaks out the sides which sounds very much like loud pooting-LOL!! Wakes me up

Alot of folks I have talkted to said it changed their lives and cannot sleep w/o it. My doc said it took him 2 months to get it and he's a sleep doc!! I'm not gibving up but, I am still lethargic, exhausted and sore. I'll give it another 30 days;

I hope your sre the answer to your drreams!!!Let u sknow

Maggie-

Posted 9/17/2011 11:37 PM (GMT 0)
I have sleep apnea. I've been on a CPAP for over 4 years. I don't feel any better during the day and I still have all my fibro symptoms. I've had fibro for 27 years. I've also lost 55 pounds in the last year, but I still use my CPAP. Those of you who have been diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, PLEASE do not stop trying to use a CPAP, because sleep apnea greatly increases your chance of a heart attack or stroke. This is because when you have the apneas your oxygen is cut off and this is damaging to your heart and brain. The machine keeps you breathing enough to get all the oxygen you need. I haven't been to my sleep dr. for a while and I may be able to stop using a CPAP since I've lost weight. But not all sleep apnea is caused by being overweight--my dad was underweight and he had sleep apnea. He died in his sleep of a heart attack, and I've always thought that his sleep apnea (which he refused to treat with a CPAP) helped to cause the heart attack. This can be a very dangerous condition. Diane
Posted 9/18/2011 1:26 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone for all your thoughtful input,

I plan on making an appt next week. My Pcp is retiring (don't ya just hate that, especially when it's someone you really like and trust) so, I'll first have to make an appt with a new pcp. I do have an appt with a new neurologist week after next so I will also ask her is she can refer me for a sleep study.

It's cloudy here in SE Texas, praying for rain!! The Hill country here in Texas has suffered the worse drought I've seen in my lifetime.

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

Jerrie/FibroNana
Posted 9/19/2011 7:15 AM (GMT 0)
Diagnosed with severe sleep apnea (79.9 ahi) in 2006.  Love my sleep machine.  I am set on a 13 to 20 pressure.  I did not have fibro then.  My complaint was being so sleepy all of the time and getting up 8 or 9 times a night to go potty.  I thought I was waking up because I had to go to the bathroom but I have since found out that the not breathing was what was waking me up (it does that to ya!) and if I wake up, I have to go to the bathroom.  I NEVER reached REM sleep in my study.  There are 4 stages to sleep and I never made it to stage 2.  I had to get a home generator system too because our power goes off so much in spring, (tornadoes) and winter (ice).  I can not sleep without my machine at all anymore and it helps my COPD.  So going for days without sleep when there wasn't any power was not a good thing.  Anyhow, it does not make my pain any better but it sure does help my sleeping and makes me a happier person.  Good luck on your tests.
Posted 9/19/2011 6:31 PM (GMT 0)
Jerrie - please do talk to your doc about this! The gasping for air is a classic symptom of sleep apnea, and as another poster said apnea is dangerous if not treated.

I'm surprised to hear of people with mild apnea not being treated - my original apnea/hypopnea index was 7, which is mild apnea, but I was still put on CPAP.
Posted 9/20/2011 9:13 AM (GMT 0)
that is too funny, I just read up on this because I was litterly diagnosed last week with Upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) but I'm not supposed to know this yet, I go in next week to get the results. I can access my health record online and was updating my medical alert bracelet (walgreens 20 bucks, for computers its a thumb drive with medical alert logo on it) and by chance looked to see if anything changed in my dx page... and I saw that they diagnosed me with uars, but I dont know what the treatment is yet. But UARS goes in hand with fibromyalgia from what I read and can often be mistaken for each other.
Posted 9/20/2011 6:50 PM (GMT 0)
I was also dx with upper airway restrictive syndrome (a mild/moderate form of sleep apnea).  I use a oral appliance since I could not handle the cpap machine.  It helped me to a degree, I was able to drive to and from work without falling asleep at the wheel, and I was able to work, but that was it.  I had no life outside of work because I was still exhausted.  Now my doc has me on (with the oral appliance) some herbs, suppliments and a rx at night to help me sleep better.  NOW I finally notice a difference and I have a bit of a life outside of work. 

I think combo therapy type approaches are the best.  I don't think from my experience any one thing is going to solve the fibro problems.

Best of luck everyone,

Susan

Posted 9/20/2011 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Susan and everyone,

I agree with ya that there isn't going to be any one thing to help with the fibro but I'm hopeful that the right combo or cocktail of meds will come along. I wish I could work. I miss that so much. I've applied for SS but awaiting their decision. The bad thing is I'm recieving more from my long term disability than I will for SS disability. about a 900.00 difference...

Hang in there everyone!

We go through valleys but then the mountains come!! I'm thankful that I've been through these flares enough now to know, this too shall pass!!!

Have a great day,

Jerrie/FibroNana
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