Can CPAP cause depression/anxiety?

[Wulfman...]

Too many forum members missed the "Snoredog" era with his form of wisdom and tough love.


Den

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I didn't. His way with words may have worked for some people; they didn't work for me no matter how well intentioned.

What user name were you using back then? He passed away on Dec. 4, 2008.


Den

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[Lucyhere]

Too many forum members missed the "Snoredog" era with his form of wisdom and tough love.


Den

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I didn't. His way with words may have worked for some people; they didn't work for me no matter how well intentioned.

What user name were you using back then? He passed away on Dec. 4, 2008.


Den

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Sent you a PM.

[Wulfman...]

Sent you a PM.

Thanks.
Got it and replied.

Den

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[CM25]

Hi everyone,
Thanks so much for this discussion.
I am new here, and struggling with adjusting to sleeping with a CPAP, experiencing a significant increase in depressive symptoms. It is the polar opposite of the experience I was expecting! I am going to hang in there, of course, as it has only been a week - I'm not even sleeping through the night yet.
Anyhow, thanks again for sharing your experiences, thoughts and encouragement.
Laura

While I can't say I have been experience depression per se, I do feel there is substance to what you are saying since using a CPAP can affect different people differently. I was chastised by another poster here for still having negative experiences with using the machine. I honestly don't like doing it but do so since the resulting snoring is a problem for my husband, but I still do not feel like I have endless energy as the conventional wisdom says you should. Nothing is wrong with the mask, machine or anything else.

I do find it interesting that more and more people are coming up with having sleep apnea more than in the past. I would say hang in there and hopefully eventually your experience would be a good one.

[CM25]

You misunderstood - people have been diagnosed with depression when in fact they had undiagnosed apnea, because they were always tired and half in a fog, NOT because they have to be on Cpap! We love our machines because they've returned us to the land of the living.

And you certainly don't need special water to wash the mask and can use tap water instead of distilled in the machine when you travel, plus very many places carry distilled in any case.

Many of us travel all over the world with Cpaps and if you prepare properly, should have no trouble at all.

I think I'd get bummed if I or a relative died from sleep apnea, not because using Cpap was a hassle.

While I do appreciate and understand your points, I can only say that the adjustment to using the machine has been significant for me. No one truthfully wants to be tethered to a machine for the rest of their life though some may not admit it. I have been a healthy person all of my like making this the first significant health issue I have had. I follow the recommendations about cleaning the mask and the humidifier because my husband works for a CPAP maker and services incoming machines. He sees what can happen if the right care is not done so I comply despite the hassle. The tap water where we live is quite awful.

Sometimes I would like to just go to bed and curl up and not have to be aware of the hose, etc. during the night.

Maybe calling it depression is not correct but there is frustration and/or anxiety for me. Thanks for your input.

I did not experience the large increase of energy when I began using the machine. While I can say my sleep patterns have improved, my quality of life and energy has not really changed.

[CM25]

I have been using a CPAP for three years and I do believe it is very possible to become depressed or at least bummed out that you have to be tethered to a machine while sleeping for the rest of your life. Of course you berate yourself for whatever is going on in your body that caused this in the first place be that facial shape or advancing age--anything is possible. I also wonder how it impacts romance. If you ask the CPAP companies they tell you things that seem to be glossing over the issues. One major thing to me that bothers me is traveling. I have not yet tried to fly with the machine but even auto trips are a problem as you have to haul distilled water to use in the humidifier and then you need special water to clean the mask parts. I have contact the maker but get the same thing that all of this is part of the process. So, why wouldn't you get bummed about about the whole situation? Makes sense to me.

Garbage!

You POOOOOOR thing........ Suck it up! You ain't got nothing to complain about.

Here's a quote (attributed to Helen Keller where I found it) for you to ponder........

“I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet” ― Helen Keller


Den

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I'm sorry you feel the need to lash out at my post but as you can tell from this bulletin board, everyone responds differently to the same situation. It's not helpful. Thank you.

[Lucyhere]

CM25 -- may have missed it, but what machine/mask are you using?

[chunkyfrog]

I suffered from depression for YEARS before I realized one day that my ATTITUDE was a major contributing factor.
It was a long struggle to identify and correct my own negative self-talk; but it worked.
Cpap actually helped me eliminate the last part of my depression; therefore the idea that USING cpap causes it
----is completely ludicrous. Air pressure helped heal my brain.

[Julie]

Hi, ok I certainly will agree that suddenly changing your life to using Cpap every night can be a downer, of course it can... but I tend to be quite literal at times and when I saw "Can Cpap cause depression?" I was thinking in medical terms rather than psych ones... and I am sorry if you've had a bad time adjusting... plenty of us have, but I hope your experience gets better fast.

[Wulfman...]

I have been using a CPAP for three years and I do believe it is very possible to become depressed or at least bummed out that you have to be tethered to a machine while sleeping for the rest of your life. Of course you berate yourself for whatever is going on in your body that caused this in the first place be that facial shape or advancing age--anything is possible. I also wonder how it impacts romance. If you ask the CPAP companies they tell you things that seem to be glossing over the issues. One major thing to me that bothers me is traveling. I have not yet tried to fly with the machine but even auto trips are a problem as you have to haul distilled water to use in the humidifier and then you need special water to clean the mask parts. I have contact the maker but get the same thing that all of this is part of the process. So, why wouldn't you get bummed about about the whole situation? Makes sense to me.

Garbage!

You POOOOOOR thing........ Suck it up! You ain't got nothing to complain about.

Here's a quote (attributed to Helen Keller where I found it) for you to ponder........

“I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet” ― Helen Keller


Den

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I'm sorry you feel the need to lash out at my post but as you can tell from this bulletin board, everyone responds differently to the same situation. It's not helpful. Thank you.

I could make a whole list of things I believe to be worse than "being tethered to a machine while sleeping". I was TRYING to get you to put things into perspective. It's a machine and therapy that helps you live your life better.......and you only have to use it at night when you sleep to help you breathe.

Here are a few more things that many of us have faced or dealt with.
I'll let you decide how they compare to CPAP therapy:

Eye glasses
Hearing aids
Oxygen - 24/7/365
Crutches
Leg braces
Walkers
Wheel chairs
Prosthetics
Insulin and other Diabetes medications
Blood pressure medications
Cholesterol medications
Thyroid disease
Crohn's disease
Heart disease
Kidney diseases
And.......CANCER!

This list could go on and on, but hopefully you'll get the idea.

And another thing, I had highlighted some of the things you had stated incorrectly about the water use with this therapy regarding cleaning and traveling.


Den

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[Roman Hokie]

ANY transition where life won't be the same tomorrow as it was yesterday is grief-worthy. The DSM-5 doesn't offer dispensation in the Dx criteria for Major Depressive Disorder for grief (which, in the DSM-IV-TR, was a 2 month period of time following significant loss of a loved one). However, there may well be Depressive traits, even if not meeting enough criteria for MDD.

Any transition. CPAP therapy? Being Rxed Metformin or Insulin? Being placed on GF diet... you name it. The therapy shouldn't cause depression or anxiety. But the transition might.

Blessings.

[SleepyEyes21]

ANY transition where life won't be the same tomorrow as it was yesterday is grief-worthy. The DSM-5 doesn't offer dispensation in the Dx criteria for Major Depressive Disorder for grief (which, in the DSM-IV-TR, was a 2 month period of time following significant loss of a loved one). However, there may well be Depressive traits, even if not meeting enough criteria for MDD.

Any transition. CPAP therapy? Being Rxed Metformin or Insulin? Being placed on GF diet... you name it. The therapy shouldn't cause depression or anxiety. But the transition might.

Blessings.

+1

[49er]

I have been using a CPAP for three years and I do believe it is very possible to become depressed or at least bummed out that you have to be tethered to a machine while sleeping for the rest of your life. Of course you berate yourself for whatever is going on in your body that caused this in the first place be that facial shape or advancing age--anything is possible. I also wonder how it impacts romance. If you ask the CPAP companies they tell you things that seem to be glossing over the issues. One major thing to me that bothers me is traveling. I have not yet tried to fly with the machine but even auto trips are a problem as you have to haul distilled water to use in the humidifier and then you need special water to clean the mask parts. I have contact the maker but get the same thing that all of this is part of the process. So, why wouldn't you get bummed about about the whole situation? Makes sense to me.

Garbage!

You POOOOOOR thing........ Suck it up! You ain't got nothing to complain about.

Here's a quote (attributed to Helen Keller where I found it) for you to ponder........

“I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet” ― Helen Keller


Den

.

I'm sorry you feel the need to lash out at my post but as you can tell from this bulletin board, everyone responds differently to the same situation. It's not helpful. Thank you.

I could make a whole list of things I believe to be worse than "being tethered to a machine while sleeping". I was TRYING to get you to put things into perspective. It's a machine and therapy that helps you live your life better.......and you only have to use it at night when you sleep to help you breathe.

Here are a few more things that many of us have faced or dealt with.
I'll let you decide how they compare to CPAP therapy:

Eye glasses
Hearing aids
Oxygen - 24/7/365
Crutches
Leg braces
Walkers
Wheel chairs
Prosthetics
Insulin and other Diabetes medications
Blood pressure medications
Cholesterol medications
Thyroid disease
Crohn's disease
Heart disease
Kidney diseases
And.......CANCER!

This list could go on and on, but hopefully you'll get the idea.

And another thing, I had highlighted some of the things you had stated incorrectly about the water use with this therapy regarding cleaning and traveling.


Den

.

Den,

As one who has alot of respect for you, I am not sure I understand why someone as smart as you seems to have a hard time understanding that everyone perceives things differently. As someone who recently started wearing hearing aids, once the audiologist found me a pair that was easy to maintain, I didn't see these as a big deal. Well ok, I am a little self conscious when the low battery warning goes off in public but that doesn't last too long.

I think if I had adapted to pap therapy initially, I would definitely have positive feelings. And during the rare times it worked, I absolutely loved it. But now I hate it because no matter what I do, my shelf life on the machine is 3 hours and not one minute more.

Last night, a bleeping breathing event seemed to have preceded my wake up even though my AHI was zero. This has happened frequently in the past. And I woke up with a completely dry and stuffed up nose that doesn't respond to any remedy or various humidity levels. So I am going to try one more thing tonight by wearing the Simplus mask and raise the pressure to accomodate the huge increase in the AHI it causes. Unfortunately, when I put it on to go back to sleep due to the elan being completely intolerable last night, another breathing event seemed to have proceeded a wakeup.

I wish to god I could throw the machine out the window as I hate it. Sorry to offend you as I didn't start off feeling that way. But when I feel everything I have tried keeps resulting in failure, it is hard not to be very frustrated.

Unfortunately, until I come up with an alternative, not using the machine is not an option as I discovered when my HR and BP go up.

49er

[Wulfman...]

Den,

As one who has alot of respect for you, I am not sure I understand why someone as smart as you seems to have a hard time understanding that everyone perceives things differently. As someone who recently started wearing hearing aids, once the audiologist found me a pair that was easy to maintain, I didn't see these as a big deal. Well ok, I am a little self conscious when the low battery warning goes off in public but that doesn't last too long.

I think if I had adapted to pap therapy initially, I would definitely have positive feelings. And during the rare times it worked, I absolutely loved it. But now I hate it because no matter what I do, my shelf life on the machine is 3 hours and not one minute more.

Last night, a bleeping breathing event seemed to have preceded my wake up even though my AHI was zero. This has happened frequently in the past. And I woke up with a completely dry and stuffed up nose that doesn't respond to any remedy or various humidity levels. So I am going to try one more thing tonight by wearing the Simplus mask and raise the pressure to accomodate the huge increase in the AHI it causes. Unfortunately, when I put it on to go back to sleep due to the elan being completely intolerable last night, another breathing event seemed to have proceeded a wakeup.

I wish to god I could throw the machine out the window as I hate it. Sorry to offend you as I didn't start off feeling that way. But when I feel everything I have tried keeps resulting in failure, it is hard not to be very frustrated.

Unfortunately, until I come up with an alternative, not using the machine is not an option as I discovered when my HR and BP go up.

49er

Not at all! When I first got my diagnosis, I sort of had a little panicky feeling. I researched things like the pillar procedure and others. But, the more I read about this therapy, I realized how simple it COULD be. SO, I put my mind in a mode that embraced the therapy instead of fighting it. You know........"it's mind over matter". I'm a "glass half full" sort of person.
I'm just trying to get people to put things into perspective and realize this therapy isn't as bad as they try to make it out to be. Get off your "pity-pot".
I've known people with most if not all of the situations I listed. Some I didn't list to keep it shorter.
I'm not in a wheelchair (I worked with a person who was paralyzed from the waist down, due to a car wreck that was someone else's fault).
I don't have to use oxygen 24/7/365, but I've know a number of people who do or have (I saw a little old man in the Walmart pharmacy the other day who was carrying his little portable oxygen pack around).
My wife had breast cancer surgery (lumpectomy) in 2010 and I was very supportive with her situation......then, due to some medications they put her on, she got a blood clot in her left thigh. Now she has to wear compression stockings......forever.
I could go on and on with examples from that list, but I hate to write posts that are too lengthy.

I feel grateful that my therapy is fairly simple (no Centrals or bi-level needs). I'm lucky to have a wife who understands that I need to use this therapy and has been supportive as I acquired more equipment. I was spiraling downward for a few years into a "mess". I didn't know what was wrong and after I found out, I was thrilled that I found out what it was and how simple the therapy was. I also think the "difficult" relationship I had with my sleep doctor helped me become more determined to make it work despite the prescription I was given for a much higher pressure.

The bottom line is........don't assume that I don't understand or can't relate. I definitely can and do. It's just that people need to put things into perspective. It COULD be alot worse.......because some people have "worse".

< Stepping off soapbox >

Den

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[urn357]

I could make a whole list of things I believe to be worse than "being tethered to a machine while sleeping". I was TRYING to get you to put things into perspective. It's a machine and therapy that helps you live your life better.......and you only have to use it at night when you sleep to help you breathe.

Here are a few more things that many of us have faced or dealt with.
I'll let you decide how they compare to CPAP therapy:

Eye glasses
Hearing aids
Oxygen - 24/7/365
Crutches
Leg braces
Walkers
Wheel chairs
Prosthetics
Insulin and other Diabetes medications
Blood pressure medications
Cholesterol medications
Thyroid disease
Crohn's disease
Heart disease
Kidney diseases
And.......CANCER!

This list could go on and on, but hopefully you'll get the idea.

And another thing, I had highlighted some of the things you had stated incorrectly about the water use with this therapy regarding cleaning and traveling.


Den

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Being fairly new to all this. and probably even more prone to being a debbie downer because of that, this is exactly what I'm saying. It could always be WORSE!