extremely tired all the time. need advice.

[dorlow]

Post by Omne on Fri Jul 08, 2016 6:56 pm
Dorlow, you know what is hotter than snorting and choking sounds all night, and the anxiety filled counting of seconds between a partner's breath to next breath? Wondering if they are going to take that next breath?

.

I don't know if you read any of my previous posts... I don't snore. My wife says she never hears me snore and she never hears me gasping for air. I didn't ask my doc about sleep apnnea because anyone stated I snored. I said I was tired and they tested me and told me I had it. My wife thought it was odd because I never snore or make noises at night.

[dorlow]

That's also the problem too. I don't know how I would ever know if the surgery works. Before I had the CPAP, I was always dog tired. I wore the CPAP for a year straight with high compliance. Doc said everything with my apnea was wonderful. I was just the same dog tired all the time. Now I don't use it and I am the same tired all the time. I don't snore with or without it. So, how am I ever supposed to know if any solutions work seeing the bad and good have the same exact symptoms and outcome?

[Julie]

It's probably been mentioned here somewhere but I can't remember... have you recently had thyroid, hormone, vitamin and sugar levels checked? What are the chances you do have coincidental clinical depression to some extent, even with treated Cpap?

[dorlow]

I had all that checked a few months ago. my testosterone levels came back low. I think they've been low and no other doc checked it and all symptoms including the symptoms that brought me into a sleep study test could be answered by low T symptoms. I am on my third week of injections. I don't know why but my first injection, after about 2 days I was wide awake and way social and friendly (completely not me but for the better). (had insomnia for 3 days.) Since then, I haven't had that good of a result and I feel like I am searching for that same high.

I don't understand if showed my symptoms of low T and my doc misinterpreted it as sleep apnea and my sleep test incorrectly confirmed it when all along my hormones were off. But how could that have messed up my sleep study? Unless I was restless through the sleep study just because my hormones were off.

I guess I'm learning is I can't trust all advice from docs. I have to figure it out myself. But, I've changed my diet in the last few weeks, been taking vitamin and mineral supplement and still exercising. (Run a mile every morning.)

[Julie]

No way could anyone misinterpret a lab test result of hormone levels for apnea... not in a 1,000 yrs, and vice versa for sleep study results being attributed to lab/blood work. Your 1st injection might just have highlighted the diff. between how you'd felt and how you were after the shot, but the effects since then have levelled off (just like Cpap ones can after initial 'woo-hoo' of recognizing you can feel better). But how long are the shots supposed to take to 'take', in other words are you still on an upward climb to a certain fig, or are you supposedly 'there' already (however you feel)?

What about iron levels (are you vegan?)?

Again, can't remember, but are your Cpap pressures and AHI supposedly optimal?

And you didn't respond to the idea of possible low level depression regardless of physical status.

[zoocrewphoto]

Post by Omne on Fri Jul 08, 2016 6:56 pm
Dorlow, you know what is hotter than snorting and choking sounds all night, and the anxiety filled counting of seconds between a partner's breath to next breath? Wondering if they are going to take that next breath?

.

I don't know if you read any of my previous posts... I don't snore. My wife says she never hears me snore and she never hears me gasping for air. I didn't ask my doc about sleep apnnea because anyone stated I snored. I said I was tired and they tested me and told me I had it. My wife thought it was odd because I never snore or make noises at night.

My mom doesn't snore or gasp either. She still has obstructive sleep apnea. Back when she complained her treatment wasn't working, I let her borrow my full data machine for half a night and use it at her current setting. Even at a pressure of 10, she had clusters of events over 30 seconds long, one over a minute long. She got a new machine and a better setting, and feels much better now.

Did you ever pull out your machine and upload your data? That would help you know whether you need it. You don't even have to put it on your face. Just look at the data. See what your average ahi was each night. I bet you it is higher than 2, and probably much higher. Why? Because I think they had it set wide open, and it wasn't able to do the job at that setting. You will probably see lots of events and lots of wild pressure swings. You were set up to fail last time. Look at the data, and you will see that it wasn't set well enough to help you yet.

[SleepyFinger]

I had all that checked a few months ago. my testosterone levels came back low. I think they've been low and no other doc checked it and all symptoms including the symptoms that brought me into a sleep study test could be answered by low T symptoms. I am on my third week of injections. I don't know why but my first injection, after about 2 days I was wide awake and way social and friendly (completely not me but for the better). (had insomnia for 3 days.) Since then, I haven't had that good of a result and I feel like I am searching for that same high.

I don't understand if showed my symptoms of low T and my doc misinterpreted it as sleep apnea and my sleep test incorrectly confirmed it when all along my hormones were off. But how could that have messed up my sleep study? Unless I was restless through the sleep study just because my hormones were off.

I guess I'm learning is I can't trust all advice from docs. I have to figure it out myself. But, I've changed my diet in the last few weeks, been taking vitamin and mineral supplement and still exercising. (Run a mile every morning.)

I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea and starting using CPAP. I didn't have a noticeable change in my energy levels and, like you, was tired all the time. I had blood tests run and was also diagnosed with low T.

When I started the injections I had the same 'high' as you after the first one. I couldn't believe how great I felt. I looked forward to feeling like that every day. Unfortunately that was it. It lasted a day or two and then things went back to normal. If you check the low-t forums you will see that is a common experience.

I was on t-injections for two years before heart issues had my doctor pull me off of them. The crazy part was that my AHI during that time was in the 8-10 range. Changing masks, pressures, pillows didn't help get it down below 5. In addition, I was waking up 6 or 7 times a night making my sleep very fragmented. After stopping the injections my AHI is consistently under 5 and I don't wake up more than twice a night. So to your question about can low T cause sleep apnea...i think it is the other way around, the T-Injections actually make it worse.

In the end...i'm one of those where it feels like cpap doesn't have a great effect on increasing my energy levels, but I know it is helping me in other areas of my health. So how do I know it is working? Because I can easily monitor my nights with the awesome sleepyhead software!

[dorlow]

One other thing I should bring up to my doc is (he knows) I have hydrocephalus. I've had many operations on my head and stomache. During my hospital stays, I would be on oxygen. I remember thinking really clearly. they would always force me to get my oxygen up before taking me off of it. I would breath very shallow. but then I think after I was off of it, I would slowly fall back in my old ways of breathing shallow and not getting enough oxygen which makes me tired and no energy. all symptoms that could appear as apnea.

[palerider]

I wore the CPAP for a year straight with high compliance.

"compliance" means nothing if the machine isn't adjusted to be *effective* and there's no evidence that yours was.

[jaw]

Post by Omne on Fri Jul 08, 2016 6:56 pm
Dorlow, you know what is hotter than snorting and choking sounds all night, and the anxiety filled counting of seconds between a partner's breath to next breath? Wondering if they are going to take that next breath?

.

I don't know if you read any of my previous posts... I don't snore. My wife says she never hears me snore and she never hears me gasping for air. I didn't ask my doc about sleep apnnea because anyone stated I snored. I said I was tired and they tested me and told me I had it. My wife thought it was odd because I never snore or make noises at night.

Probably you only gasp for air after a deep sleep, when your wife is also in her deep sleep ?

[dorlow]

only would make sense if I snored or was gasping for air, she would wake up periodically from it. also my wife and I are on significantly different schedules. I go to bed around 8.30 pm because my alarm goes off at 4.30 am. my wife gets up around 8 am so quite often she comes to bed around 10-11 pm and I've already been sleeping for 2+ hours. So she would hear it periodically if I did.

[mummmz]

mummmz wrote:
Post by Omne on Fri Jul 08, 2016 6:56 pm
dorlow wrote:
problem I have still is all of this clinical stuff in the bedroom really doesn't make a bedroom too romantic.

So pick up a CPAP nightstand, nothing shows at all unless you're using it. I find it very convenient.

WHAT??? I thought I was going to invent one and mass market it. Darn!

Invent a more feminine one?

I repurposed a fish tank stand and put it behind my night table with a scarf on top (to make it more feminine). It's the same height and width as the night table and adds about 15" depth. Now I have plenty of room for the APAP and all my other junk...cell phone, house phone, tv remote, dish remote, water, kleenex, etc. I hate having the phone ring and having to get up to answer it.

[SleepyStar]

Sorry Dorlow. I am a non-snorer with Apnea myself. To be fair it was 3am my time when I wrote that. Lots of tired and cranky and pain. I try not to post in that state...

My mom has that worry every night for my dad though.

I am surprised you didn't get the point where the headaches lifted though...took me about 2 weeks once we found me a mask that fits properly.

Also. Give the other things in my last post a shot. Exposure therapy is a well known way to decrease phobia/anxiety-borne reactions to a lot of fears, not just cpap.

@Mummmz you should make a thread for that! I don't think we have a nightstand/cpap cave setup thread yet. ...I am using a free table meant for behind a living room couch...but...it is free and I needed a cpap table so it went in the bedroom corner instead. Haha.