Sleep & Memory issues with CPAP 4 years

[VeeBeeMee]

Hi everyone
I live in Geneva Switzerland and have three questions:

1. Since I got started on CPAP, i’vE had a precarious path
Year 1 to 3, i never got through the whole night with the mask on. I got 1-2 hours a night recorded. Still sleepy.
Year 3-4 I had the same problem but had about 6 months of over 4 hours with teh mask. However, it showed that i was getting up frequently throughout the night with little continues sleep.

I have trouble sleeping, much of it is stress I think. Any advice, experience to share?

2. I have had severe memory problems over the past 7-9 years. Scary. I got myself tested fro Alzheimer’s by a few doctors in teh US and SWITZERLAND. I don’t have Alzheimer’s. But something is very wrong especially with my short term memory. I was reading that sleep apnea can cause memory loss, damaging white neurons permanently. However, i recently read a study where they found regeneration of the damaged neurons if continued regular use of teh CPAP machine is practiced.

What are you’re experiences in relation to this? Any tips?

3. Is there anyone on this list who lives in Geneva to talk about resources available. I’m also interested in alternative medicine. Are there in-person groups that are English speaking? Thanks!

[Julie]

Hi - I can't answer your questions re anyone local for you, but personally I would not think about alternative meds etc. for apnea - it is a structural problem and needs something (Cpap) to address that... though I'm sure there are many homeopaths, naturopaths, grandmothers, etc. that have testimonial reports to back up their claims for 'other' cures.

[D.H.]

The good news for you is that Switzerland is an advanced country; I'm sure resources are available.

The altitude of Geneva is approx 375 meters (1250 feet), so you are well within the range for which altitude compensation on all current machines will operate.

[Mogy]

Hi VeeBeeMee,
I also have problems sleeping with my xPAP machine. It keeps me awake the last half of the night. I have been using weight management and exercise to reduce my dependence on xPAP.
Have you been investigating other possible reasons for your poor sleep, stress, and memory issues?
Vitamin D and magnesium deficiency come to mind.
Do you have other health issues?

[zonker]

Hi everyone
I live in Geneva Switzerland and have three questions:

hello, and welcome to the forum! you're problems related to your machine may be that you don't have the settings just right so that they help you rather than not.

if you could download sleepyhead software and post some graphs here for us to see, then the experts would be able to give you advice tailor made for you.

good luck!

[SDBud]

2. I have had severe memory problems over the past 7-9 years. Scary. I got myself tested fro Alzheimer’s by a few doctors in teh US and SWITZERLAND. I don’t have Alzheimer’s. But something is very wrong especially with my short term memory. I was reading that sleep apnea can cause memory loss, damaging white neurons permanently. However, i recently read a study where they found regeneration of the damaged neurons if continued regular use of teh CPAP machine is practiced.

Memory problems could be related to sleep problems, but also to other things.

Consider taking a B12 supplement, at least 100 micrograms, and as much as 1000.

B vitamins are water soluble, so don't build up to toxic levels in your system, so you can't overdose on them.

[ChicagoGranny]

i never got through the whole night with the mask on

You are destroying your brain and body by not using CPAP the whole night.

I’m also interested in alternative medicine.

Forget that nonsense and the nonsense that a couple of members posted about taking vitamins.

You have sleep apnea. You're not using your CPAP all night. That is the problem that must be addressed first.

Sleepyhead software is the way to start turning yourself around. See Pugsy's tutorial on Sleepyhead software near the top of the index page.

Keep your posts in this thread, so that people helping you can see your history.

[chunkyfrog]

What Granny said.
Maybe a mask liner would help you keep the mask on all night.
Look up Pad a Cheek.

[HoseCrusher]

#1 you need to do some soul searching and define the problem according to your own experiences and in your own terms. If stress is really the issue, define it, find a way to deal with it, and finally eliminate it. This is very difficult to do, but when you look back it will seem extremely obvious.

This isn't rocket science. You feel like crap today, why? If you didn't feel like crap what would change in your life tomorrow? Do you need help with the transition from crap to feeling good? Who will help you?

This is all about risk and reward. The risk is ill health and feeling like crap. What do you think the reward could be? Is the reward worth putting some effort into this?

#2 a lot of memory problems involve chemical imbalances within the body. Some of this is genetic but a greater influence is epigenetics. That is something you can control. The bottom line is that even if you have "bad genes" you frequently can turn them off through epigenetics.

#3 alternative medicine has some interesting perspectives and if you look hard enough you can find some that benefit from these perspectives. Functional medicine is more science based and offers many indications of controlled results that confound traditional medicine. For example, traditional medicine offers no hope for those with primary progressive MS. Yet Dr. Terry Wahls has shown a functional approach that greatly improves this condition and restores lost function. In addition she conducted some clinical trials to demonstrate that the functional approach not only applies to her, but also extends to others who are experiencing similar conditions.

Those that limit their view to what traditional medicine can offer also limit their ability to improve the quality of their lives. Keep in mind that traditional medicine is excellent as a first aid and trauma intervention, but it falls short in educating people on how to obtain optimum health.

[Julie]

Saw a documentary re people on Okinawa who live longer than anywhere else in the world and have less dementia as well. One thing they pointed to is how much sweet potato - the purple kind, not the orange - they all eat lots of... it's the antioxidant anthocyanin that's the secret, but we don't get much of the purple here, so they suggest at least eating lots of dark purple fruit, e.g. blue and blackberries.

[kteague]

While everyone's degree of recovery is different and not predictable, I can say that 10 years ago I could hardly finish a short sentence. Thoughts were so fleeting if I paused to take a breath I'd forget what I was saying. Getting my sleep straightened out turned that around to a great degree. Not 100% but I'd say I don't do too bad for my age and all I've been through, even with having several ischemic spots showing on my brain scans. Do not give up on getting at least some of your life back.

First, if you can tell us exactly what problems you had using CPAP, you may find that that success is closer than you think. It may be that your treatment just needs a bit of tweaking.

Are you on any meds that could be making your sleep be bad in spite of treating your sleep apnea? Is there any chance you have RLS or limb movements that disrupt your sleep? It's not unusual when someone has jumpy legs to still have restless sleep even when the CPAP is doing its job.

If I were you I'd first confirm that your CPAP settings are optimized. If there's any chance of your legs being an issue, we can talk more.

[babybear]

Hello

The reason I went to the doctor was because I started having cognitive and memory problems so bad I thought I had a stroke while I was sleeping. I work in an assisted living with most clients having dementia, so I was scared I was getting dementia. However, after 4 months of cpap therapy I noticed a big difference and after 10 months I am back to normal. The key is continuing cpap therapy to help repair the damage and prevent further damage in all areas of you're body. The most important thing is to stick with cpap therapy as this is a lifelong condition that must be treated. The sleepyhead softwear is a great tool to help figure out what works best for you as each person responds differently. I promise you it will get better as the body is amazing with its ability to repair and adapt.

[ChicagoGranny]

The quacks are active - telling a CPAP patient who uses CPAP less than half the night to eat sweet potatoes and berries, and take vitamins.

[nicholasjh1]

I'd say you definitely need to have cpap all night. It made a world of difference for me. I definitely had short term memory problems including just remember to do regular routine things and forgetting what I was about while trying to complete things. I went thorough 10 different masks and adjusted my pressure for about a year and a half to find the sweet spot to help sleep through the night. Initially I had many issues sleeping through the night. I think the body just gets used to be on alert and even with therapy I was a light sleeper for a long time. a full 8 hours of cpap eventually resolved that. experiments show that it takes a full year of 8 hr a night therapy for white and grey matter to fully recover. I did find that to be true. Choline, good fats and powerful antioxidants could help, but none of that will make a bit of difference if you're killing off brain cells every night by not having a full night of therapy between the oxygen deprevation and the sleep deprevation. much of the brain damage comes from oxygen deprevation, but the adrenaline bursts etc can also have a horrible effect on sleeping through the night. For myself when I was untreated I felt I slept through every night, only to find I had apnea. Turns out I was just blacking out from the oxygen deprevation. Think about that. without the mask I was blacking out... that's like getting black out drunk every night... of course there are going to be short term memory problems. I'd suggest posting your sleepyhead stats and allowing us to help you optimise your therapy. Many people get back to full sleep every night, but it takes time to get used to the mask AND for light sleeping and hormone issues to resolve.

[Muse-Inc]

Took me about 2 years of 8+ hours of restful sleep almost every night to 95% heal my short-term memory problems from when I became a hosehead in 2007. I do have some missing long-term memories that I realize when others are reminiscing about something whose details as they say here in the South are for me "gone with the wind"

That other 5% I blame on ageing in spite of exercise, adaptogens, antioxidants, fish oils, astaxathin, good multiple, D3 to ~70 on tested levels, real food, butter & coconut oil & no veggie oil, minimal grains & low carb