Blood sugar higher since starting cpap.

[Elyemaz]

From day o e, my BG has been 20 to 30 points higher than ever before. I'm sure my Dr won't believe me. Is there any research I can show her that this is not all in my head? I'm tempted to stop using the CPAP! Please let me know if you have experienced the same. I'm very worried. Thank you.

[Mark55]

I was under the belief that OSA was linked to elevated blood glucose levels, and that treatment helped some people.

[greatunclebill]

my wife is diabetic and her cpap does not affect her glucose levels. if your doctor won't help you or explain it to you, do not stop cpap. that will only make matters worse for your overall health. fire your doctor and find a board certified pulmonologist/sleep doctor that will help you.

[Tip10]

Any other changes?
Particularly med changes?
Many meds can, and do, affect BG measurements.

[Wulfman...]

From day o e, my BG has been 20 to 30 points higher than ever before. I'm sure my Dr won't believe me. Is there any research I can show her that this is not all in my head? I'm tempted to stop using the CPAP! Please let me know if you have experienced the same. I'm very worried. Thank you.

How long have you been using CPAP therapy?
Why are you "sure" your doctor won't believe you?
What meds are you on? Metformin? Insulin? Anything?

As has been stated, don't stop using your CPAP!!!


Den

.

[SewTired]

Higher blood sugar can be caused by cpap use. If you are sleeping more soundly, your body isn't working as hard to keep you alive. As a result, there may be less movement. This can result in a small increase in blood sugar. However, if the trend is 10% or more, then you may have to consider that you have another condition going on that just happens to coincide with starting cpap.

[ChicagoGranny]

From day o e, my BG has been 20 to 30 points higher than ever before. I'm sure my Dr won't believe me. Is there any research I can show her that this is not all in my head? I'm tempted to stop using the CPAP! Please let me know if you have experienced the same. I'm very worried. Thank you.

How long have you been using CPAP therapy?
Why are you "sure" your doctor won't believe you?
What meds are you on? Metformin? Insulin? Anything?

As has been stated, don't stop using your CPAP!!!


Den

.

--------------------------------------->

I haven't had any aerophagia to deal with, but did see my glucose levels rise from the "pre-D" levels in 2005 to "scary" in 2007, even though I had read that CPAP therapy was supposed to help normalize glucose.
As we've discussed many times, there's a definite link between OSA and Diabetes, but I've been mystified why the levels increased AFTER starting therapy. Diet, exercise and weight loss seem to be the best weapons to deal with it, though.

Den

[ChicagoGranny]

I'm tempted to stop using the CPAP!

That would be a big mistake.

What is your age and BMI?

[jnk...]

CPAP makes sure you can breathe during sleep so that your sleep can improve. That puts you in a much better position to make better diet choices, better activity choices, and other better lifestyle choices. There is no evidence that breathing and sleeping have overall long-term negative impacts on blood glucose. The choice not to breathe well and not to sleep well would never be a healthy choice. Therefore, get your CPAP use optimized to make sure you are getting the best sleep possible.

[chunkyfrog]

Before you fire your doctor, ask for a referral to an endocrinologist.
And DON'T STOP CPAP.

[Arlene1963]

Is there any research I can show her that this is not all in my head? Please let me know if you have experienced the same. I'm very worried. Thank you.

Seems you aren't alone in experiencing this based on a few previous threads posted here over the years. (Search the archives here and it will bring up some results)

However, research doesn't offer much to back this up or refute it; studies are all over the place, some reporting improvements in glucose control with CPAP, others not. The usual recommendation that "more research studies are necessary" seems to be the only thing studies agree on ...yeah, thanks for that.

In your case if nothing else has changed except for starting CPAP then obviously you need to figure out what is going on.

A few questions:

Is your CPAP treatment optimal? Are you using your machine all night when you sleep, or do you sleep without it for periods of time?
What is your treated AHI? Are you monitoring your data in Sleepyhead for example?
Are you sleeping better now than before using CPAP?
Do you feel stressed and anxious about using CPAP?
Have you gained weight since starting CPAP? (Some folks do initially)

There are so many variables at play here that can affect your glucose numbers.

Obviously you are monitoring your blood glucose readings closely, so you are either diabetic or pre-diabetic and naturally you want to keep tight control on your blood glucose levels.

You've come to the right place.

There are many folks here who are diabetic/pre diabetic and who can offer lots of advice, including dietary and lifestyle suggestions as well.

Most important, don't give up on CPAP is repeated over and over and this is incredibly important, but do make sure that your CPAP treatment is optimal.

[Elyemaz]

Thank you all for you're replies! I'm glad to hear other users having same problem. I'm not on metformin or any other big pharma meds as I've had bad reactions to them. I take Berberine supplement for years and BG has been 120-130 which was what it was with meds and no side effects.

Weight is a problem which I'm trying hard to lose. I've lost 3 lbs since on CPAP, so that's a plus!

Should I go off CPAP for a few days just to check if I'm on the right track? I will keep using it, just an experiment.

It's a little like a catch 22. No CPAP, stop breathing. Yes to CPAP, worse A1c!

Thanks again for your help.

[ChicagoGranny]

Should I go off CPAP for a few days just to check if I'm on the right track?

No.

Let's discuss the effectiveness of your CPAP therapy. Effectiveness is often not achieved in the beginning. It may take some time and tweaking of the CPAP process.

What is your AHI? What is your leak level? How many hours are you using the machine per night? Are you getting dry mouth? Please fill out your equipment profile - https://www.cpaptalk.com/ucp.php?i=prof ... pment_info

Yes to CPAP, worse A1c!

Do you know your A1c is worse? You would need about three months on CPAP to determine this.

Is it safe to assume you have been diagnosed with Type II diabetes?

Please read this post near the top of the index page - "Sticky: Newbies PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING".

[ChicagoGranny]

I take Berberine supplement for years

Berberine supplements are not FDA regulated. Studies have found that many supplements vary in strength from manufacturer to manufacturer and from batch to batch from one manufacturer. The variation ranged from more active ingredient than listed on the label to less ingredient and even none of the active ingredient.

The risk is somewhat reduced on supplements that carry the USP mark or NSF mark. But even with these marks, there is no guarantee of a consistent active ingredient measure.

The variation you have seen in your blood-glucose levels could have been caused by many factors including variations of active ingredients in the berberine supplement you are taking.

[Janknitz]

Are you sleeping worse with CPAP? Lack of sleep alone can raise your blood sugar significantly. If that's the case, you need to give it more time until you can sleep more soundly.

CPAP alone does not cause weight loss, so what else are you doing that brought about the 3lb weight loss (understanding that 3 lbs could simply be the normal fluctuation of body fluid)? Did you have any change in diet that might explain the change (i.e. standard diabetic diet advice to eat low fat and high carb will RAISE your blood sugar).