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Posted 2/13/2017 7:45 PM (GMT 0)
Any Lymies diagnosed with Sleep Apnea?

I was told by my doc I am bordering Sleep Apnea based on sleep study results.
Just makes no sense. I am a 23 year old male with an athletic/slim build. I just can't fathom how I could have Sleep Apnea.
Posted 2/13/2017 7:55 PM (GMT 0)
An excellent article on this subject: lymemd.blogspot.com/2008/06/lyme-and-sleep.html

"Sleep apnea is more common in Lyme patients in my experience. It is classically associated with obesity, snoring and fatigue. But these signs may be absent. Many Lyme patients have neurologic dysfunction of the palate and uvula which may contribute to this disorder.

In addition, brain abnormalities of Lyme may be a contributing factor. Sleep apnea is mostly peripheral, due to floppiness of the soft tissues in the back of the throat; but it may also be central, due to brain dysfunction.

Patients with sleep apnea have severe fatigue, a symptom commonly reported in Lyme disease. These patients also have cognitive difficulties which may be similar to those seen in Lyme.

Patients with sleep apnea have been shown to have abnormal SPECT scans with decreased blood flow to the frontal lobes of the brain. This is associated with poor executive function. This creates a syndrome which mimics attention deficit disorder, a finding which is also common in Lyme patients.

Patients who are chronically deprived of deep sleep called stage 4 sleep, associated with delta waves on the EEG, electroencephalograph, have been shown to develop diffuse muscle pain which resembles fibromyalgia, another common Lyme syndrome. "


***I only broke up this part of this article for easier reading.
Posted 2/13/2017 8:27 PM (GMT 0)

Tick41 said...
Any Lymies diagnosed with Sleep Apnea?

I was told by my doc I am bordering Sleep Apnea based on sleep study results.
Just makes no sense. I am a 23 year old male with an athletic/slim build. I just can't fathom how I could have Sleep Apnea.

My doc thought I had it. I finally went to the hospital for a sleep study, and while I did wake up a couple of times, once to use the bathroom and another because of a bad nightmare, their conclusion was that I did not have it, but do have night time hypoxia. It was left at that with no effort to find out why.

I think something with my infection has interfered with my brain's signal to breathe, or some thing along that signal route. I have a whole lot of evidence of this going on with me for several years, and I've been infected all that time as well.

I just finished reading your link Traveler, and the comments below it. Too much of it sounds like me for them to say I do not have sleep apnea, and all I can deduce from that is medicaid decided they were not going to pay for a cpap, or the test or anything else, and so they just brushed me off.

Post Edited (julymorning) : 2/13/2017 1:33:17 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/13/2017 9:22 PM (GMT 0)
I've got it and use a cpap at home, and a night guard designed for sleep apnea when traveling. My doc said about 10% of people with obstructive sleep apnea aren't overweight. BTW, I have an athletic slim build as well. Well, I did before Lyme anyway. Now I'm just plain skinny and 20 lbs underweight.

Post Edited (Black Jack Davey) : 2/13/2017 2:28:14 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/13/2017 9:28 PM (GMT 0)
hi Davey,

Have you had success with the CPAP?
Posted 2/13/2017 11:50 PM (GMT 0)
I developed it after Lyme.

Timeline: April/13 first symptoms of lyme.

Jan/Feb, 2014 - started waking up in the night gasping for air...and felt like there was phlegm at the bottom of my throat. Husband noticed I was making noise when I was breathing while sleeping.

Dr. referred me to sleep 'people'. I got the monitor and wore it for 24 hours. Included was the clip for my finger to test oxygen.

Ding, ding,ding....you have mixed - both Obstructive and Central Sleep apnea...AND...you're not getting enough oxygen.

Over the phone, I asked the technician...how all of a sudden I could get this...and he said often when people gain weight they get it...interesting...I had lost 14 lbs and was skinny.

So, gave the CPAP a trial - for 30 days...didn't help...I was still waking up in a panic, gasping for air...

It resolved over time...my husband says I'm not 'noisy' anymore. I don't wake up gasping for air anymore...

I should find my results and see what they said...how many 'events' I had in the 24 hour period and what my oxygen was...as I can't remember.
Posted 2/13/2017 11:54 PM (GMT 0)

Tick41 said...
hi Davey,

Have you had success with the CPAP?


In a word: absolutely!

This was Pre-Lyme but back in 2013 I got the sleep study which found frequent "events" during my sleep. They put a cpap mask on me for the remainder of the night and voila, no more events.

I work with kids at school (speech Pathologist) and was dozing off numerous times each day while with students. Embarrassing to say the least! Once I started using the cpap that stopped.

Since getting sick with shingles and Lyme last year, I've had some stubborn insomnia. The cpap can be annoying when I have trouble sleeping. I now use ear plugs which helps drown out the white noise the machine makes. There are several different types of mask and you need to find the one that is the most comfortable. My insurance pays for a new mask every 6 months. I wanted to try a new type this time around and it didn't work out so well, so it's either keep using the old one, or pay out of pocket for another "old standby". Hopefully the insomnia will subside soon and I'll be able to better tolerate the new one.

I tried a "somno-dent" which is a 2 piece night guard that juts your lower jaw forward and opens the airway. I'm not crazy about it and the cpap is more effective. Maybe some day I'll have an ent take a look see if I might be a candidate for surgical procedure to remove the excess pharyngeal tissue. My sleep doc said though the cpap is 100%"effective and the night guard or surgery much less so.

Post Edited (Black Jack Davey) : 2/13/2017 4:57:09 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/13/2017 11:58 PM (GMT 0)
The ENT looked down my throat (via my nose ) and didn't see anything there.


Is the somno-dent inside the mouth?

There's also some other contraptions I see on the internet - a thing that straps to the lower jaw...but no mouth piece..not sure if that would work.
Posted 2/14/2017 1:21 AM (GMT 0)

Girlie said...

Is the somno-dent inside the mouth?.


Yes, it fits inside the mouth. It's custom made by a specialty dentist. One piece fits over the upper arch and the other fits over the lower arch. It adjusts to protrude the jaw forward which opens up the pharynx and prevents it from closing down when you relax during sleep.

I wanted one for travel because we rv a lot and don't usually stay where there's 110v electricity available. Fortunately I got it covered by insurance as it cost >$5k by the time it was all said and done. Otherwise I'd have probably bought a cheapo one online: find reviews here.
http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2014/01/oral-appliances-side-by-side-comparison-guide-december-2013/
Best Regards,
BJD
Posted 2/14/2017 1:36 AM (GMT 0)
BJD - doesn't that cause problems with the jaw...and tmj. since you are forcing your jaw into a position that's not natural? (I'm just curious what you know about this)
Posted 2/14/2017 4:25 AM (GMT 0)
when trying to find out why I was so tired I took a sleep test and had pretty bad apneas 79 a hour so now since may 2016 been on a cpap it took me awhile to get use to but now I like it plus when I was still tired all the time it ruled out I wasn't sleeping good because machine data can tell you number of apneas which led me to still find out what was wrong and now I am into 2nd month of lyme treatment and am finally feeling better not 100%but 60%which is a plus.
Posted 2/14/2017 4:39 AM (GMT 0)
That's remarkable bigcat. I actually, after having talked to a couple of friends that I didn't know where using cpap and done so well, was looking forward to it. One said she felt like 50# weights had been dropped from her legs. I almost cried with joy at that idea because Lyme or whatever has made me often feel like I was walking in molasses, walking had become such an effort. And I used to walk and hike, etc., all of the time before my last relapse

So I was quite disappointed to hear I wasn't going to be given one.
Posted 2/14/2017 2:34 PM (GMT 0)

Girlie said...
BJD - doesn't that cause problems with the jaw...and tmj. since you are forcing your jaw into a position that's not natural? (I'm just curious what you know about this)


The dentist took x-rays and ruled out tmj before proceeding. If you already have tmj, it's contraindicated. I will say my jaw feels a little strange first thing in the am, teeth feel a bit sore, but that goes away in 5 minutes. All that said, I think the cpap does a better job. I still snore with the appliance.
Posted 2/14/2017 4:19 PM (GMT 0)
I know you asked for those diagnosed with sleep apnea, which I have not been, but I realize over these past few months that I'm no longer waking up "choking" or with the feeling like I wasn't breathing. I do snore an pretty loudly. I am at least 60 lbs over weight. I've lost 30 lbs since June 6, by eating low carb much of the time and exercising 30 minutes per day every day, so I'm not sure if the no longer breathing/choking is due to weight loss or the antibiotics or a combo.
Posted 2/15/2017 5:27 AM (GMT 0)
Excess saliva/mucous drainage can also create apnea like episodes in some people. I seem to be less prone to that on this paleo diet. No milk. Mike products= mucous.

I tried the cpap anyway. No matter what mask I used , it leaked and hissed around my high bridge nose. There was no sleeping with that thing on me. Felt like an alien bug strapped on my face dropping an egg down my throat.

I sleep better now, post ABX, and even dream again. Didnt dream for about ten years before, maybe that was a part of my extreme muscle tightness.
Posted 2/15/2017 5:42 AM (GMT 0)
Astro - when I was diagnosed wth sleep apnea - it was when I also had the phlegm at the back of my throat.
That might explain the obstructive sleep apnea, but I als had the central...which could be from CNS damage (blaming Bart)
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