Warning to overweight people who feel worse after CPAP

G'day,

I finally got an answer to all my problems this morning - ie exacerbation of my mental illness (which was masking what really is happening).

As per my previous up and down posts I was feeling worse after CPAP treatment but was already on a downward slide from CHRONIC sleep apnea - probably the worst apnea on this whole forum.

Anyways I wasn't getting any answers from the public hospital and getting more and more stressed each day. So I called a private sleep clinic yesterday - went in THAT DAY for a CPAP data check and was referred to a doctor today. He took one look at me and said I have the look of someone with SEVERE sleep apnea - pale, tired with circles under my eyes. He said that the resmed is not the right machine and I may need to go on a VPAP as there is one possibility that this could be obesity hypo-ventilation syndrome, he is almost positive of it and I am getting an arterial blood C02 check on Thursday (apparently it isn't going to be very nice). He is %100 confident he can fix me and gave me a month of work. So there ya have it - go back to your doctor if you feel worse.

If I come through this - I will tell EVERYONE the dangers of sleep apnea. They are linking it to everything now - dementia, heart disease, schizophrenia even! It is scary to think some people may start to hallucinate due to sleep apnea and then they get thrown in a mental ward and temporarily chemically labotimised with anti-psychotics whilst they miss the real problem of sleep apnea.

scary stuff.

BTW, how much do VPAP cost?

I must be missing something here, but by it's very nature, sleep apnea has always been a chronic condition... one that is ongoing with or without therapy, so I'm not sure what either your doctor or you mean by using that term... the events may be 'acute' (for the minute or two they occur), but the condition is as chronic as it gets, and there is no separate category that I'm aware for 'chronic' SA, only complex or central, UARS, RERA, etc.

Matty332 wrote:BTW, how much do VPAP cost?

Depends on which one you need...
Some are over $5,000.. Others around $2,000 and up.
There is more than one model of VPAP...from a simple bilevel like I use all the way up to the bilevel machines that act as non invasive ventilators.

Hey Julie,

What I meant by saying CHRONIC is that I didn't think it was that bad when I was first diagnosed. Other people that have snoring troubles and that I have heard stop breathing several times during the night (like my wife) sort of have an "She'll be right mate there's nothing wrong with me" because the damage is so subtle over time. I am going to let people know the truth. "She won't be right mate" until you get treatment.

Hey Pugsy,

I better get my cash together then!

Hi Matty,
When you asked about acidosis on another thread...I figured you were having some hypo-ventilation issues. I sure hope the new machine helps. And understand that this is a condition that WILL improve with weight loss. To clarify, I'm referring to the obesity hypo-ventilation aspect of your condition.

My best wishes...hang in there.
Jamis

Hey Jamiswolf,

Thanks for the kind words. I am now hanging in because I know what the problem is - all the weird mental symptoms are starting to ease a bit because I know what is going on. I have (knock on wood) hope for the future now. When I didn't my depression became so bad I had thoughts of suicide, I should say they weren't plans for suicide but I was just generally thinking about the subject sometimes. Thank god I would never do that no matter how bad I got - I have a strong strong belief that suicide is always the wrong thing to do, and know that when a person is deeply depressed the chemical imbalance in their brain makes them think false thoughts like that.

I am convinced that it is obesity hypo-ventilation syndrome because now I think about it - when I wake on the CPAP I feel like you feel when you hypo - ventilate. Also am more prone to pins and needles in the arms and hands (see my post about the vagus nerve) - that is what happens when you hypo-ventilate! Also I know it is not just me because once I fell asleep without the machine and woke up not feeling drugged and tingly but the apnea was still there so I felt ****. Thanks again JamisWolf.

Matty,
It does help to know what's going on. And I'm happy you're feeling better. Apnea and depression often occur together and sometimes apnea symptoms are misdiagnosed as depression. I was in a bad car wreck in 1995. I had depression-like symptoms for years after that...and anti-depression meds only made it worse. Only many years later was it discovered that I have sleep apnea and now, with treatment, both the depression symptoms and some other apnea-related symptoms are fading.

If you do have to move to a more sophisticated machine, you'll still find people here who can help.
Cheers,
Jamis

Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome (A.K.A. Pickwickian Syndrome) is a separate and distinct condition from sleep apnea. It is a condition of extremely or morbidly obese people. They have so much weight pushing on their belly and chest, it is very hard to expand their lungs on inhalation. It can be chronic (always unable to breath in enough air) or may affect the person upon sitting or laying down (has nothing to do with whether the person is asleep or not). CPAP

A person with Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome is also very likely to suffer Obstructive Sleep Apnea with the weight around the neck and chin and narrowing of the airway.

CPAP may help both conditions but the BEST treatment for Obestiy Hypoventilation Syndrome is weight loss.

Obesity hypoventilation syndrome is defined as the combination of obesity (body mass index above 30 kg/m2), hypoxia (falling oxygen levels in blood) during sleep, and hypercapnia (increased blood carbon dioxide levels) during the day, resulting from hypoventilation (excessively slow or shallow breathing).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_hy ... n_syndrome

I am not overweight but I feel worse. I know my therapy isn't working although, I don't know how bad it is. My mask problems have yet to be rectified and I can't sleep with the noise. I tried ear plugs but then I can't hear my alarm or the leaks. I wake up 20 plus times a night cursing this stupid mask.
I was and still am very concerned with my cognitive and memory problems. For the last five years I thought I might have early onset alzheimers, Multiple Sclerosis or some other serious mental problem. The fact that I found out I had severe sleep apnea pissed me off. I went to a lot of doctors, had MRI, Cat scans, blood tests after blood tests and I had to ask for a sleep study. My wife can't work because of heart problems, so if I can't work were done. I just keep dwelling on the fact that the damage that happened to my brain would have been avoided if my doctor had a brain. I don't know if anybody here uses online programs to try to get their brain back but I have been using Luminocity Not trying to plug any company.
The program gives you stats and comparisons to other people your age. Not very accurate because most people without any problem probably wouldn't use it.
I can remember a list of twenty items but have a hard time with working memory. I go to my truck and forget why I went there. When I write things on a list I usually remember everything without looking at it, but if I don't write it down I will forget.
I know getting older has an effect on memory but it shouldn't. For a lot of people they get caught in auto mode and don't use their memory. Just like any muscle you need to exercise it. I try to challenge myself constantly. My wife gives me a list of words to memorize in 30 seconds. I skip two nights then try to recall them. last night I only remembered 15 out of 30.
I think my father had sleep apnea, he also had no neck and snored bad. He started having memory problems around 48 and they got progressively worse. He passed at 75 and had to have notes everywhere.
I have read a lot of stories on this site about people recovering some or most of their memory and cognitive functions. I hope that all of us are that lucky.
This condition has turned me into a hypochondriac, I am planning on getting additional help if things don't get better.

Hey Jamis,

It does help to know what this is, the racing thoughts have almost stopped completely due to me knowing 99% what has happened. There is hope for the future now - the CPAP is working is some ways though, my blood pressure has dropped from something like 150/100 to 120/80 and my pulse has lowered. But I still gotta deal with the OHS, I feel drugged in the morning like I have been hypo-ventilating in my sleep and my hands and fingers are numb and tingle.

VikingGnome,

It is funny you mention that the best way to treat OHS is to lose weight because I have now lost 15kg's in the last 3 weeks! That's what a panic state/ fearing for your life does to you - you lose your're appetite.

noSLEEPforYOU,

I have been going through the same thing as you. Have you been back to your sleep physician? If you're current doctor is crap, go and get another one like I did. I have complications that need another machine and I am waiting for the study. I have had the memory problems too and I am 33! I forget to take stuff and lose my keys just like you. Let me guess your concentration isn't what it used to be right? It is a sleep apnea symptoms. I have read anecdotal stories of other CPAP/VPAP users getting MOST of their memory back after successful treatment about 11ish months later. Contrary to popular belief the brain can generate new neurons if the damage isn't too severe - they also say jogging, even when older generates more brain cells (fact). The only way to turn you're memory around is to get the doctor to fix you're treatment properly - then you should sleep through the night and not get up till morning. There are new drugs being tested now that are neuro-regenerative so we all may have a better memory if they are approved and released. BTW I am not an expert - I am a newbie but I have read ALOT of posts on this brilliant forum and other members have taught me a lot. A forum is only as good as it's members and the members here are absolutely excellent and really nice and helpful. Hang in there! & I shall too!