Sleep Disorders and Anxiety/Depression - Anyone???

Since my hospital stay, there were several things I needed to follow up on, one of them being a sleep study. My pdoc thinks a lot of my issues (anxiety, depression, fatigue, eating disorder) can be linked to sleep apnea and other sleep disorders....does anyone else have experience with sleep apnea? What are the treatments? Is there a positive effect on anxiety/depression and fatigue?

Anyway...my sleep study was last night....it went well........the amount of electrodes and monitors are amazing! I can't believe I actually fell asleep. I woke up atleast 4 times to pee...but I am sure they are used to that! They were so friendly and explained everything so thoroughly, my anxiety was quelled rather quickly. Now I will anxiously await my appt. to review my test results on 11/25. What does Tom Petty say...."the waiting is the hardest part"?

I would appreciate any feedback or any stories about anyone else's personal experiences relative to sleep disorders and anxiety/depression and /or eating disorders, etc.

As usual, thanks for the support!

Hello and I am glad to hear your sleep study was not anxiety provoking for you. I also have seen posts by people that have had this study.

I hope there will see your post here and pop in.  Good for you for going through with the study.

Take care.

Kitt

Hi Casem,   about 2 years ago, I had 3 sleep studies done over a 5 month period.  The reason for this was that I fell asleep at the wheel twice while I was a school bus driver - thankfully no kids were on board.   I had several other tests done as well and one of them determined that there is seizure activity going on in my brain.  With that info, the 1st sleep study was scheduled and it was found that I actually stopped breathing 80-100 times per night.  Sleep Apnea - so I ended up having to use a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine - it's a pain in the butt and you look silly - lol but it does work, it keeps the airways open so you don't stop breathing.  With Sleep Apnea you also don't get into the deep sleep that your body requires to recoup from the day - that's because you body is constantly stops breathing and restarts again.  This makes it so you will wake up tired most every day.  Before the studies were done I would just fall asleep anywhere.   Any way, a 2nd study was done to test for Narcolepsy as the my regular Doc., the Neurologist, and the Sleep Specialist thought this was a probable diagnosis.  So I went through that study.  When I finally met to discuss the results, the sleep specialist said it's most likely that it is Narcolepsy, but there were a couple of criteria that I didn't meet in order to make that diagnosis.  From what I understand, most doctors take this diagnosis very seriously as it has lifelong ramifications.  Such as, the doc has to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles and most likely your license will be revoked for a period of time (whatever they determine).  During that period, you can't have any sleep seizures/narcolepsy attacks or you start over and hope that you can get through that time.  So I didn't get an official diagnosis of Narcolepsy, they are just saying probable Narcolepsy.  In my case it wouldn't have mattered any way because the Neurologist told me that he wouldn't treat me any because I take sleep medication every night (can't sleep without it) and he would have to put me on stimulant to keep me awake during the day.  This was very discouraging.   continued on 2nd post - was getting a little too long I think - LOL

Hi Wen
Thanks so much for the info....you can ignore my post on the bp forum asking for you story!

I do want to know; however, if you noticed a difference when you started using the CPAP machine? I don't fall asleep during the day, I am just SOOOOO tired. My body is physically fatigued....and I get so crabby.....I could sleep all day every day if you let me, but I never feel rested or relaxed...

I have never fallen asleep while driving or working....they definitely think it is sleep apnea....it is just a matter of how to treat it....

Like I was saying before, I loved the energy I had with the provigil....I felt like my old self and was able to get so much done...but my anxiety was so terrible..I couldn't live like that....so now I am back to being so tired and sore and crabby, and waking up in the middle of the night out of breath and gasping for air, waiting for Nov. 25th to come around...

Thanks for sharing your story....it feels so good to know we are not alone!

Hi Casem,   Using the CPAP machine has really changed my days.  I am able to get into the deep sleep that our bodies need and I wake up in the mornings feeling refreshed and feeling like I have actually slept.  Before the CPAP, I would get up in the morning and feel like I was awake all night.  Again, this was because I didn't get into that deep REM sleep.  That's what happens when you have sleep apnea - your body is waking itself up so many times each night to start breathing again that is just doesn't have the chance to get into that REM sleep.  I agree with you that it's most likely sleep apnea that you have and once you get set up and start using the CPAP you will notice a big difference.  But you have to use it every night, it's kind of hard to get used to it because you have a mask on with a hose attached to the machine.  But after I used it for a bit, it's not much of an issue any more.  I hope I have helped you with the info and please feel free to ask any other questions.  if I have the answer, I'm more than happy to give it to you.   As I said before, my other issues of "sleep attacks" are most likely Narcolepsy - the doctors won't give that diagnosis because I haven't met all of the criteria, but they have told me they do think that's what my problem is.  That's why I'm on the Ritalin, to keep me awake during the day - and what a Godsend it is - because I would just drop and fall asleep anywhere at any time.  I don't drive now because of the anxiety issues, but when I was driving, I still wouldn't drive anywhere that was more than 30 minutes from my house, because I just didn't trust myself to stay awake.   Please let us know what your results are and what your plan of action is to treat it.   Wen