I also have extreme memory and cognitive problems. I ran through every diagnosis humanly possible, including Alzheimer's. I even tracked my blood sugar for awhile thinking it might be diabetes. I was sure I had ADD, which is how I finally decided to go for a sleep test. I was reading a book on ADD, ...

This is very interesting. For years, as I said, I exhibited hypomanic behaviors, as I've already described. They didn't go away immediately with treatment; the changes were subtle, and I would suddenly become aware of them in unusual ways. But over the course of the year I've been on the Bipap, they...

mstevens, looking forward to your brilliant, incisive, and insightful response to this. SLeepingUgly, thanks for your self-described less stellar effort, which was much appreciated by me!

NotSleepingBeauty, I am also sorry for your loss.

I am extremely grateful for these comments, and I really needed support and solidarity around this. I have had EDS and other symptoms for 27 years, and memory and concentration problems going back to first grade. I was the classic supposedly "gifted" child who was continually punished for non-perfor...

How long did it take from the time of getting the proper treatment to feel healed?

I think I am trying to construct a narrative about my life post-apnea that makes sense. I did engage in a lot of compulsive behaviors like those mentioned by The Choker. I got my Bipap and the right pressure settings about a year ago, and since then those strange compulsive behaviors have just slowl...

So mstevens, I have a few more questions. How do you think sleep apnea (or sleep deprivation) affects compulsive behavior, like shopping or gambling or substance abuse? How does sleep apnea (or sleep deprivation) affect judgment? What is the difference between epinephrine and norepinephrine? Why did...

It seems very plausible to me that sleep apnea could be a "traumatic stress." With each apnea, the sufferer is essentially suffocating, drowning. A near drowning would certainly qualify as a "traumatic stress." And our bodies certainly go into fight-or-flight mode. From what I understand, apneas are...

You are right--OSA is the cause, not the consequence, of a variety of very serious medical conditions. Take obesity. There is evidence that the direction of causality is the opposite of what most people would guess. Sleep apnea causes obesity; obesity does not cause sleep apnea. It does this through...

Also consider listening to self-hypnosis tapes or relaxation tapes as you fall asleep. They really can help. Do a search on hypnosis, self-hypnosis, hypnotherapy or relaxation and CPAP to find tapes or therapists. Good luck.

I've never had an AHI of 0. I've been a hosehead since last August, got on Bipap in January. I feel pretty good after a few days of AHI < 5. But I've had a week of AHI > 5 and I wake up in the morning agitated and depressed. I have no idea how to get to AHI = 0. What gives?

http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20050301/sleep-apnea-treatment-may-improve-diabetes http://news.softpedia.com/news/Diabetes-and-Sleep-Loss-Closely-Connected-35963.shtml http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/dec/08/diabetes-sleeping-disorders http://www.steamboattoday.com/news/2010/nov/15/monday-medi...

You can buy one of those diabetes glucose monitors pretty cheaply at any box box store or pharmacy. Start checking your blood glucose. New research suggests that the usual blood glucose ranges defined as "normal" by the medical establishment are way too high. I find that I get brain fog when my gluc...

I took Ambien for three months to help me get on a regular sleep schedule when I started the BiPap. My sleep schedule was incredibly fragmented. The Ambien really helped. Then I started having extreme depressions. I got ridiculously weepy and my thinking was extremely distorted. I stopped taking Amb...

Thanks Laura/Rested Gal! I love your Lab Rat Award! When I first got my diagnosis in August I came across it, and loved it. I was even inspired to make my own hose holder out of pvc pipe fittings and a piece of white melamine covered particle board. I'll have to post a photo sometime. It is 7 degree...