My sleep problems were caused by bacteria.

[Jay Aitchsee]

If hypoglossal nerve stimulation can reduce apnea, then it seems within the realm of possibility that something that degrades the function of the hypoglossal nerve, e.g., a bacterial infection, could cause apnea.

http://sleepdisorders.about.com/od/slee ... -Apnea.htm

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=74551&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... al#p683796

[-tim]

Hi all, no I'm not schizophrenic or a troll. Nor desperate. I'm curious of me and would love to know how things work . Those of you who commented negatively on this thread does not need to follow the thread more because I will develop my argument more . But other curious can hang on and I will be happy if anybody has any ideas about this, it would be interesting .

I suspect that I was bitten by an insect on a holiday 23 years ago . I got facial paralysis, sudden deafness in one ear , fever, very sick , one hell of a headache , pain in back and neck. Heat and tingling of the face. All this within a few months , following years so come sleep disorders , heart problems, memory problems, altered voice , twitching eye tremor .
A bacterium that is spread by insects could be Lyme disease or Rickettsia helvetica . These fit well into these symptoms. Lyme disease is known to damage to cranial nerves 9 and 10.
It was only last year that I started thinking about and researching these lines.
I have gone on a course of antibiotics for 6 weeks that made my tremor disappeared , I can now drink coffee without holding the coffee cup with both hands.
I have a friend here in Sweden who is diagnosiserad with Borrelia + some other bacteria. Have also diagnosiserad with sleep disorder and has an AHI of 45. He has now gone on Antibiotic for 8 months and his raw AHI has gone down to 2.5
He has been very ill for many years, but now consider themselves to be healthy at 95%.
I myself will soon do another sleep study to see how my AHI looks. 2,5 year ago my AHI was 40

Why do I reply to that ? I'm curious , of course , but mainly it is because of the bacteria continues so I can end up with Alzheimer's or dementia. And I do not want , plus I want to pass on knowledge to my kids about this .
And I suspect also that my wife has the same thing.

So any ideas about this ?

Bacteria? very unlikely.
Schizophrenia? I wouldn't say no but that is common with complex illnesses and may simply be another symptom of something else.
A Virus? Very likely. Same is true with a fungus or bacteriophage but they are harder for modern medicine to diagnose.

If your friend has a lung or sinus infection, correcting that would result in a change of AHI.

[archangle]

It's entirely possible one person had some sort of nervous system problems caused by bacteria or virus. That could lead to OSA or CSA.

I doubt bacteria or viruses have anything to do with most cases of sleep apnea, but maybe it does.

Unless this idea leads to some way to treat or prevent sleep apnea, does it really matter that much? I haven't heard of anyone waking up cured after taking a course of antibiotics, so if there are apnea bacteria, apparently they're not easy to kill.

[Lazer1234]

http://www.news-medical.net/news/201401 ... h-OSA.aspx

This pacemaker against OSA, surgically inserted at kranialnerve 12. The bottom of the cranial nerves as I posted in the picture in the first post.
IF you can remove much of OSA by stimulating the nerve that controls the tongue, so I do not think that it is unlikely with my theory about the damage to the cranial nerves caused by bacteria. Many different bacteria cause damage to various organs in the body.
Tularemia (which I got last year) causes necrosis in a variety of organs such as the heart, spleen, liver, m, m,. Bacteria causes damage to the nerves in many places.
It makes sense.
And antibiotics could be a solution, BUT only if given in time. After the damage has been done, it's probably more difficult to repair.

[Julie]

Has it not occurred to you that very many of us have been on antibiotics very many times and to my knowledge no one has noted in all this time that their apnea has gone away afterward? Or that their MD's have noted that? Or that researchers haven't figured it out yet?

[Lazer1234]

I'm not saying this applies to everyone, but it's a possible explanation. And most have gone with untreated sleep apnea for many years before diagnosis is made. Probably too late with antibiotics when the diagnosis is made.

Time will tell who is right.

[chunkyfrog]

Bacterial or viral infection can indeed cause permanent damage that remains after the infection is gone.
Lyme disease is like this, and probably many others. (What causes MS?, for example)
My mother in law's pancreas was probably destroyed by a "minor" infection,
the type doctors do not treat, but allow to "run their course". (believing that no harm is being done)
Obviously, some infections need to be researched much more fully--
--or emphasis needs to be shifted from dedicated vaccine development to enhancing immunity in general.
As long as medicine involves profit, this will never happen.

[Lazer1234]

Bacterial or viral infection can indeed cause permanent damage that remains after the infection is gone.
Lyme disease is like this, and probably many others. (What causes MS?, for example)
My mother in law's pancreas was probably destroyed by a "minor" infection,
the type doctors do not treat, but allow to "run their course". (believing that no harm is being done)
Obviously, some infections need to be researched much more fully--
--or emphasis needs to be shifted from dedicated vaccine development to enhancing immunity in general.
As long as medicine involves profit, this will never happen.

Agree with everything.

[Sleeprider]

It's interesting to me. I had Lyme's meningitis last year. It began for me with low grade fever, fatigue and headache. I went to an urgent care doc that diagnosed a urinary tract infection and prescribed Ciprofoxicin. A couple days later, I had transient facial numbness and shooting pains in the head. I was referred to an emergency room where CT scans revealed no stroke, and so I was sent home.

After a brief recovery, probably from the antibiotics, symptoms returned with a vengeance. I awoke one morning with numbness in the extremities and double vision. A trip to a different ER where I was admitted for further testing. By the following morning I had Bell's Palsy and had spent a sleepless night with severe abdominal pain. Over the next three days, symptoms progress to bilateral facial palsy abdominal palsy, inability to chew, talk or see, and severe equilibrium problems. After multiple MRIs, CT scans Dopplar pulmonary evaluations, and visits from neurologists, cardiologists, pulmonologists, ophthalmologist, and infectious disease specialists, a lumbar puncture finally revealed Lymes in the spial fluid. This BACTERIAL infection had caused misleading and diverse symptoms all over.

In my case, the infection responded to a month-long IV antibiotic treatment. I returned to work after 8-weeks, however it took 9-months to fully recover from the neuro symptoms, and I lost my job. If you suspect Lymes or a similar infection, you need to discuss this concern with an infectious disease specialist. You should be able to get a referral. If you have had a long-term infection, there should be antibodies and other evidence that will show up in blood tests, or at worst in spinal fluid that will reveal the type and extent of infection. Your neurological symptoms and progression are remarkably similar to my experience, and I'm thankful to have been diagnosed and treated relatively quickly.

Editing this to note, Lyme's is fairly common in Sweden. Since you have had the infection for a number of years, it is likely you have adapted some, and symptoms may have come and gone, or moved. You really should pursue a diagnosis and appropriate medical treatment. The quality of your life will be immeasurably better if this is your problem. Also, I had OSA before being treated for Lyme's, and had the XPAP in the hospital. I suspect things would have been much worse if I had not had CPAP support.

[Todzo]

Bacterial or viral infection can indeed cause permanent damage that remains after the infection is gone.
Lyme disease is like this, and probably many others. (What causes MS?, for example)
My mother in law's pancreas was probably destroyed by a "minor" infection,
the type doctors do not treat, but allow to "run their course". (believing that no harm is being done)
Obviously, some infections need to be researched much more fully--
--or emphasis needs to be shifted from dedicated vaccine development to enhancing immunity in general.
As long as medicine involves profit, this will never happen.

Agree with everything.

So when I was a kid we went camping often, got ticks. Mom did the “hot pin on the butt” thing to remove the ticks.

“Hot pin on the butt” it turns out is not a good plan. The tics toss the contents of their stomach into their bite as they otherwise evacuate and the Lyme pathogen tends to reside in the tics stomach.

Did have additional exposure to tics in 1999 during an antenna construction and proof. OSA diagnosed 2003.

My brother and I have severe OSA. Me recently Bells Palsy. Him recently a brain operation to install a “remote control” to help him keep playing is musical instrument.

But perhaps Lyme pathogens have variants and more vectors than tics. And perhaps indeed these Lyme's like pathogens do play a part in bringing on and maintaining sleep apena in bodies everywhere.

[Julie]

That's interesting... some of Lazer's orig. symptoms sounded like Bell's... have either of you been diagnosed with diabetes (it can be a sign of diabetes)?

[Todzo]

Well perhaps in addition to attacking cranial nerve #7 attacks are made to parts of the chemoreflex systems. Fractured sleep from the resulting apneas would also cycle the stress hormones such that the related sugar release circuits also cycle resulting in insulin resistance and diabetes.

I have seen comments from those with Lyme that carbohydrates rapidly make symptoms much worse and tend to bring on symptoms fast and hard. Perhaps the Lyme pathogen (and perhaps Lyme like pathogens) are helped by what happens when the body processes carbohydrates.

Certainly the hormonal changes from sleep apnea tend to increase appetite, decrease satiation, and make one feel that getting out for movement is not a good idea. And I believe I have noticed that the foods that seem the most desirable after a many apnea night are carbohydrate rich. Any way you slice it OSA tends one toward diabetes.

If the Lyme pathogen is indeed a “carbohydrate loving bug” I think OSA amounts to a pretty much perfect complimentary disease.

I am also very glad that I am scared of sugar and carbs, move more than an average of three miles a day, and lack some 50lbs I once had some six years ago. Perhaps a healthy lifestyle is a good way to fight both diseases.

[SueHoeck]

Sounds like all the Symptoms of MS. You'll need an MRI of the brain and spinal chord. Good luck x