Anyone using CPAP for non-Apnea or heart issues?

[Sir NoddinOff]

If I don't sleep well, I get many of the heart and adrenal symptoms you described. If I were you I'd try mineral supplements before I'd go with the clonopin, which one can become very dependent on, plus it's really easy to develop a tolerance to it and your dosage may have to be increased over and over... a nasty spiral effect.

For nervous system maintenance, I take generic OTC magnesium supplements in pill form... use them at the recommended daily dose on the package. (you'll know if you're taking too much if you get diarrhea). I also take phosphorus supplements called Seriphos at 500mg at bedtime (which is half a capsule a day, BTW it tastes fine). Google Seriphos. It's a bit expensive but it certainly helps stabilize my adrenal glands and nervous system, ie. fewer adrenaline surges at night plus less frequent impulses to urinate.

My final 'sleep aid' supplement (besides a daily multivitamin for seniors) is drug store potassium, a well known and respected mineral that is excellent for the entire nervous system and heart regulation. Rarely does anybody get enough of it from their food alone. Dr. Everett Koop, a former US Surgeon General, famously recommended cutting one's sodium in half and doubling their daily potassium, never a bad idea. Too much potassium is definitely not a good thing, as with most minerals, so take care. Do some research on the internet and you'll learn more about recommended minerals, doses and their uses. You could start with WebMD.com

[squid13]

My wife had heart palpitations and the cardiologist put her on 400MG of magnesium daily and that slowed them down to almost nothing, so magnesium does work.

[purple]

Three years ago I was speaking with the nurse of my Cardiologist, (he was both with other patients, and reading my test.) She said before she came to Cardiology, she knew of sleep apnea treatment, after working with the Cardologist, and seeing heart patients, nearly all of them either used xPAP or needed to. She said she was amazed at how effective xPAP was in helping with heart problems, of many kinds. She knew the doc would look for reasons to send all of patients to see the sleep doctor, and get the overnight pulse oximeter test, and usually going on to do an overnight sleep study.

My Bi Level machine ended my extreme "Aerophagia" Air in the stomach, but also ended much of my GERD symptoms, so I could get off of Prilosec, and also the drippy nose that I had so long thought of as allergies. The coughing I had when my windpipe closed off from mucus, and from acid fumes from the stomach seemed like my heart was stopping. WOW. I am so glad to be rid of all those symptoms.

Also Bi Level machine helped to end the numbness that occurred in my body. What we call a ____ gone to sleep. Like a foot gone to sleep. Alho, treatment of Diabetes with insulin also seems to have helped as well. Really hated that numbness.

[Tracy1968]

Thanks, guys.

I used to take Natural Calm awhile back and just stopped. I looked at what some of you said about magnesium and realized little or no magnesium in my daily diet, heart symptoms got a lot worse after several rounds of antibiotics in the fall, overhauling my diet to get cholesterol down, etc. It's like everything caved all at once. Ordered "The Magnesium Miracle" a few days ago and Natural Calm, etc. is on the way. THANK YOU for mentioning magnesium to me. Never once occurred to me.

And the cardiology-related responses were just what I needed to read. I was just looking for some hope so I don't give up on this before it's had a chance to work - if it will.

I'm still sleeping 10-11 hours a night and sleeping like a rock, which I haven't done in years (I'm usually a very light sleeper, wake up 4-6 times to use the bathroom, etc. Now I'm not waking up until morning). I'm still exhausted when I wake up and throughout the day. I got my sleep study results (on good advice from others here) and the tech's notes and the prescription matched the titration notes.

So, so far it seems like it's making me sleep longer but with no other benefit (that I can see YET, anyway).

THANK YOU so much again.

[Lazer1234]

heart symptoms got a lot worse after several rounds of antibiotics in the fall,

You had received antibiotics earlier in the fall, why?
Bacterial infections can cause heart problems.

[Tracy1968]

heart symptoms got a lot worse after several rounds of antibiotics in the fall,

You had received antibiotics earlier in the fall, why?
Bacterial infections can cause heart problems.

Doctor suspected Lyme based on symptoms. No bite mark or rash (which some people don't have). Lyme test showed negative which he said sometimes happens even if you have it, so he put me on three weeks of Doxycycline.

Flu-like symptoms greatly subsided in days but I ended up getting very very jittery (like Red Bull jittery) landed in the ER a week and a half later with a-fib. Doc said medicine was most likely not the cause of the jitters or the a-fib, but agreed when I asked to be taken off of it.

Not even two weeks later, flu-like symptoms returned and I was dumb enough for doc to talk me into going back on Doxycycline. He "assured me" this medication doesn't cause or trigger heart issues. I was back in a-fib within 48 hours and he finally (!!) believed me.

Then on to amoxicilin for three weeks.

Tons of heart tests, EKGs, holter monitor (during which my heart barely acted up), cardiologist visits, etc. and no heart damage or apparent issues. It was then "This is either all in your head or maybe you have a sleep disorder." My cardiologist is done with me and was taken aback when I asked about coming back for a follow up visit. I scheduled one anyway and the waiting list is so long he can't see me until mid-May. Same thing with the pulmonary doc (who merely said if CPAP doesn't help, they'll put me on medication to keep me more alert during the day).

After being reminded of magnesium the other day and reading more about it, apparently if you're already magnesium deficient, even slightly, antibiotics just make the problem worse. So ..who knows. I'm doing a lot of "self-doctoring" and "self-diagnosing" at this point. I live in a really small rural town and not a lot of doctor/specialist options here to say the least. I'm just hoping the CPAP will make some sort of a difference. Even if it's 5% improvement a week, I'll take it.

[Tracy1968]

Hi Tracy,
Do you have a GP who is monitoring/coordinating your progress? Sounds like the Pulmonologist and Cardiologist are doing a bit of finger pointing. Maybe you need a referee. How about blood tests? Have you had a complete work up? If not, maybe you should. And have those things that are normally not tested included, like magnesium, potassium, D3, B12, ferritin, thyroid panel, etc. I'm sure the folks here could come up with a few more. I think it makes sense to see if you are actually deficient is something before taking a bunch of supplements, though I know some would disagree.
Anyway, I wish you well with your treatment.
J

Thanks.

Yes @ GP but even he's done with me.

In the past several months, I've had every kind of blood panel (some of them twice including thyroid), some kind of test where I had to pee in a bottle for 24 hours (TMI - lol - sorry). Minerals were tested as well but I don't think magnesium was tested or how reliable the test is. I'm the one who asked for all of these specific tests, btw. The doctor wasn't going to order any of them. But he's always willing to give something a try if I suggest it and have a good reason. But I feel like I'm the doctor and I'm telling HIM what to do. I have zero medical training.

The pulmonary doc wrote me a prescription for a CPAP and the DME didn't want to fill it saying insurance wouldn't cover it due to my low AHI, I was pingponged back and forth for several weeks. I finally emailed my GP asking for help. He wrote back (and I quote), "What a saga! I'm not surprised. It didn't seem like you'd qualify for a CPAP. Hang in there!"

Um ... What a saga??! And hang in there??!? Not something you want to hear from your health care provider who knows this has been going on for months, is the reason you're unable to function or work and has no other course of action for your recovery. I contacted him again and said if my sleep study also noted possible REM disorder, could we try what is typically used for that (klonopin) and see if that helps at all to get me back to the land of the living? He wrote back that he called in the prescription and ended this particular email with, "Take care!"

Up until all this happened, I was eating mostly junk food, processed food and fried food. Weeks would go by without a fruit, vegetable or even a multi-vitamin. I cleaned up my diet a lot (gave up all animal products except fish) but still it's rare if a fruit or vegetable crosses my lips. I'd be stunned if I weren't deficient in something and I don't see how an extra glass of magnesium powder a day would hurt. But I know what you mean. I could end up doing more harm than good.

I could deal with the palpitations. I'm almost used to them by now. It's the never-ending exhaustion I'm sick of.

I've been off of work for almost 6 months and my return date is April 2. So yeah, now I'm just desperate.

[Jay Aitchsee]

Well I made the above post before reading your last reply, but after reading it, I assumed you had a GP and had taken all the tests, so I deleted it. But, you caught me

[grapeshly]

I take 500 mg of Calcium Citrate, which has helped me calm down and sleep better. You could also take a bath with some Epsom salts dissolved in the water -- Epsom salts has magnesium in it and magnesium is readily absorbed by the skin.

Check your vitamin D levels. That's not part of a typical blood panel, and your doc has to order it separately. Vitamin D deficiency is endemic in Northern climates. A lack of D can cause all sorts of problems in your body. If you have low D, Magnesium, and other minerals, then problems can be compounded.

Another thing to consider: if your diet has been especially poor, and/or if you've undergone a course of antibiotic treatment, your gut microbiome may be depleted or imbalanced. Your guts aren't doing their digestive job very well. And if that's the case then you may not absorb nutrients well, compounding any potential chemical depletion and preventing improvements due to supplements. This can be fixed but is beyond the scope of this forum.

[Tracy1968]

Check your vitamin D levels. That's not part of a typical blood panel, and your doc has to order it separately. Vitamin D deficiency is endemic in Northern climates. A lack of D can cause all sorts of problems in your body. If you have low D, Magnesium, and other minerals, then problems can be compounded.

Another thing to consider: if your diet has been especially poor, and/or if you've undergone a course of antibiotic treatment, your gut microbiome may be depleted or imbalanced. Your guts aren't doing their digestive job very well. And if that's the case then you may not absorb nutrients well, compounding any potential chemical depletion and preventing improvements due to supplements. This can be fixed but is beyond the scope of this forum.

Vitamin D has been checked. In the lower end of the spectrum but still in the normal range. I even went to an allergist and had everything under the sun checked. Even went to a gyne thinking maybe a hormonal thing because of my age. At this point, I think I've been tested for everything except erectile dysfunction (that was a joke, of course).

On paper I look perfectly healthy.

And yeah we got way off topic here. Not trying to seem like I'm looking for medical advice here (I know that's a slippery slope). Was just answering a few questions presented to me. And you know how sick people are. Ask them how they are and you'll get a novel. ha ha

[Lazer1234]

Ok, Continue reading about Lyme, may be what you have. You might not have Lyme disease, but maybe some of the other infections that can come from the same bite. Bartonella is one.

[wildboar]

One thing that needs to be mentioned is the nocturia will really screw up your mineral levels over the long run. Getting up 4-6 times per night and dumping that much fluid is not a good situation.

Before going down the road of believing you have something horrible like lyme disease, you should start fixing your magnesium and then start on the Vit D. Magnesium will take months and months to slowly fix. I'd eat a bunch of yogurt to get a good supply of potassium and calcium (I wouldn't take actual calcium supps) and fix up your gut after all the doxycycline.

The latest article on Vit D states that 7,000 iu per day is what the realistic adult RDA should be. That would only be 15 minutes in the sun if we all lived on a tropical island and dressed like tarzan and jane.

[palerider]

I don't see how an extra glass of magnesium powder a day would hurt.

magnesium isn't simple like most other supplements... and most people don't get enough of it, and many that try to supplement it, don't do a good job of it.

I first read about it here: http://www.costcoconnection.com/connect ... io=49#pg52

the problem is that there's a lot of different types of magnesium, and the most common (and cheapest), magnesium oxide, isn't absorbed well at all by the body, which is why it's used in laxitives.

as the article above says, there's many better ones, magnesium citrate is much better, and that's what costco sells now.

soaking in a bath of epsom salts is one of the best ways to get magnesium into the system, without upsetting your digestion

[palerider]

I'd eat a bunch of yogurt to get a good supply of potassium and calcium

interestingly, you can't absorb potassium adequately when you're deficient in magnesium.

learned this from the cardiac clinic my friend with heart failure goes to... they had to put him on supplements of both.

[49er]

Thanks for the information on the magnesium PR. Even though I suspect it would be very beneficial for various reasons, my body doesn't seem to like it. About 3 weeks ago, I tried taking a crumb of a good brand due to leg cramps and it caused my heart rate to greatly elevate. At some point, I will slowly try the Epson Salt bath to see if that helps.

Thanks again.

49er

PS - Trying to get as much from diet as I can but obviously, that is easier said than done.