Recently diagnosed with sleep apnea

[LakeGuy85]

I recently was diagnosed with sleep apnea. However, the path to this was a long one. It all started with depression, anxiety, lack of attention & focus, fatique, never feeling like I get a good nights sleep and stomach/GI issues. I have seen multiple general physicians, psychiatrists and gastroenterologists. All had put me on various medications and nothing ever really helped without sacrificing something else. Finally, I used healthgrades to find a good gastro dr. He said I should get a sleep study done and see a psychiatrist as he saw my issues more mental. The last few gastro dr's just put me on expensive new acid reducers and never even told me to watch what I eat. So, I researched a good psychiatrist and he immediately recommended a sleep study. He did put me on medication, which has helped, but I still am not where I need to be and he does not want to change medication too much until I get the results of my sleep study. I finally got my sleep study done and they told me I had 49 apneas per hour. Which, I guess is over "severe" threshold. The dr said I would benefit from cpap treatment and I am going in a couple weeks for the 2nd study where they fit and find the right pressures for a cpap machine.

My question is has anyone else suffered from some of the things I mentioned? And if so, how much of a difference did it make when you started treating sleep apnea with a cpap machine?

Josh81, if 1981 is your birth year then we are close to the same age and both males. I have also suffered with some of your symptoms the past 5-6 years of my life, and I know it isn't easy brother, but hang in there. It looks like you're being proactive and fighting this, which is awesome. Couple other things:

1) I agree 100% with the other poster to have your testosterone & hormones checked, my T was only 250 which is very low. I haven't started TRT yet like the other poster yet, but I'm not ruling it out.
2) Make sure you check your thyroid numbers (full panel) when/if they check your hormones. My thyroid panel showed high thyroid antibodies, which means I have Hashimotos disease and need to watch my #'s carefully.
3) You may also want to try and cut out gluten, or get tested for gluten sensitivity, as gluten can cause digestive + autoimmune symptoms and more. I haven't been gluten tested, but I'm trying to eliminate it because they recommend it for Hashimotos.

Good luck, keep pushing and don't give up!

[surf_rower]

Josh, the anxiety in particular went down for me, thanks to CPAP. I had a 30 score on OSA. I think my edginess was partly being sleep-deprived, kind of trying to keep myself awake all day. (I didn't have to take naps, but rarely felt totally calm either.) It was about a year after starting CPAP before I noticed a ton of improvement. I also drink beer/wine regularly, and the less I drink the less anxiety the next day. But regardless, the CPAP made a big difference. So, try not to get discouraged if it doesn't improve right away. And, keep trying masks until you find one you like. This forum was a huge help to me!