Headaches and xPAP Therapy

[Nodzy]

Nodzy,

Glad to hear your headaches have lessened. Same happened for me too. I work almost daily with severe long-lasting headaches which nothing would take away. I'm glad to say that for the most part since starting CPAP they are few and less severe. YAY CPAP!!!

Deltaeeker,
Congrat's on finding some obvious relief in addition to the longterm benefits of therapy. I wish you all the best.

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP

[tangents]

Thought I'd add my 2 cents, being a lifelong migraine sufferer. In 1999, I was getting constant headaches and migraines on top of these, and I was taking so much Ibuprofin and Aleve that I was getting rebound headaches when they wore off. I stumbled upon a prescription-happy doctor, who ordered my first MRI which showed nothing. She prescribed a succession of pills, and the one that gave relief (to what I refer to as my "little headaches") was a tricyclic antidepressant. Right about here I found a wonderful doctor. From this point on, I would get migraines roughly once every 3 weeks. Tried Imitrex, but it disagreed with my heart. In 2003 I went through surgical menopause and thought - finally the migraines will stop - but no. Same as always. Had a few more MRI's - nothing showed up.

Enter CPAP on March 8, 2007. Since then, NO migraines! Two months ago I went off the tricyclics, too.

Thanks for listening, and I hope that all hoseheads have their headaches and migraines disappear like mine did!

Cathy

[kurtr]

Snoredog,

Thanks for the explaination and picture.
I had daily aura migraine connected to apnea. I still have migraine even 100% compliant on cpap. I think I am sensitive to rebreathing CO2 in my full face mask...
I am interested in reading more, do you have a link to the the site you found?

Thanks,
Kurt

[Nodzy]

Thought I'd add my 2 cents, being a lifelong migraine sufferer. In 1999, I was getting constant headaches and migraines on top of these, and I was taking so much Ibuprofin and Aleve that I was getting rebound headaches when they wore off. I stumbled upon a prescription-happy doctor, who ordered my first MRI which showed nothing. She prescribed a succession of pills, and the one that gave relief (to what I refer to as my "little headaches") was a tricyclic antidepressant. Right about here I found a wonderful doctor. From this point on, I would get migraines roughly once every 3 weeks. Tried Imitrex, but it disagreed with my heart. In 2003 I went through surgical menopause and thought - finally the migraines will stop - but no. Same as always. Had a few more MRI's - nothing showed up.

Enter CPAP on March 8, 2007. Since then, NO migraines! Two months ago I went off the tricyclics, too.

Thanks for listening, and I hope that all hoseheads have their headaches and migraines disappear like mine did!

Cathy,
I'm not at all surprised by your journey through headache dilemma. Though there can be many causes for them, many people suffer headaches as a result of sleep disorder with OSA being a primary culprit. Yes, tricyclic antidepressants are frequently used to treat persistent headaches, with some success. As you and I know, though that is helpful it is a band-aid treatment for one of many symptoms of the resulting damage of sleep disorders.

I am pleased to hear that you have success, and wish for you many healthy and happy years ahead.

[Nodzy]

Nodzy......

Thanks so much for your wonderfully written response.......You do such a good job expressing your ideas..... that we all learn.

I ran across something (an article of some sort) that mentioned the idea that shallow breathing might be partly caused by diaphragm muscles that aren't being used correctly.

When we go to sleep, most of our muscles are "paralyzed"....with the exception of essential muscles such as the heart and the diaphragm.

If one gets in the habit of using the upper chest muscles for breathing....and those muscles are "paralyzed" during sleeping....what's left are diaphragm muscles that have gotten out of the habit of working correctly.

I think this may be what has happened to me.

Add restrictions in the throat......plus a little over-active sinus drainage.....and I think my "M" series records the situation as "flow limitations".

Even though I'm doing way better than when I started CPAP nearly a year ago......I think I'm still not getting enough O2 during the night.

This is why I'm moving in the direction of purchasing a SPO 7500 with ProFox software......so that I can compare Profox software "events" with those shown on EncorePro readouts.....and come to a better understanding of what's happening to me during sleep.

Finally, I had a thought about the risk of damage to the finger probe wiring on the SPO 7500. What if one wore a lightweight cotton glove over the sensor and wire to protect it during sleep? I'm pretty sure I won't be using the oximeter more than a couple of times a week.....so, something like that might lessen the possibility of damage to the system during sleep.

Any thoughts you have on this is super appreciated....by me....and by others. What do you think?

Gerald,
Sorry I didn't reply sooner. Protecting the cable and thimble-style sensor of the SPO Medical Pulseox 7500 doesn't seem to be a problem when wearing it while sleeping. Well, not as I have run it through my mind. Though it could be damaged if you spill some liquid and it gets into the thimble. But, most people sit up to sip a beverage.

I'm just concerned that should the cable or sensor for that model become damaged in any manner that the unit is dead unless it can be factory repaired. But at what cost? Or, that the unit would need to be replaced entirely just because the cable or sensor became damaged.

With the Nonin Wristox 3100, the sensor with cable can be replaced or switched by the user at whim... if you don't mind having costly spare sensors laying around, or using the disposable wrap-type.

I was more concerned about times when I decided to wear it while doing things around the house, inside and outside, or walking, biking, hiking and such. Having COPD, I can foresee times when I could want O2 saturation data from time periods during such activities. For me, unless I can greatly reverse the COPD, I'm certain I would get more use from the oximeter than many people would.

It's possible that I occasionally spend too much time in the "what if" realm.

[Highnote]

I am curious....has anybody with normal overnight O2 sat gotten migraine relief from xPAP? Or heard of anyone in this circumstance?

[Nodzy]

I am amazed that in gaining better treatment compliance, more mask-on sleep hours per night and lower leak numbers that my daily headache battle is becoming less of a consuming burden.

The intensity of the headaches is notably lessened on days that I have them, and overall I am experienceing fewer days with any headache.

No celebration planning yet, but I praise the Pur-Sleep aroma therapy and the countless volumn of helpful ideas I been given on this board.

[tangents]

Wonderful, Nodzy. Hope the trend continues!

Cathy

[AdmiralCougar]

AdmiralCougar,
Many hoseheads I have spoken with claim, as I do, that xPAP therapy greatly helped with the headaches. Welcome to the board, and I wish you great success in your therapy.

Thanks for the greetings... After 3 nights of use I've yet to really see much of a difference but then again I got a call yesterday and they want to increase my pressure and still talking about adding O2.

[Nodzy]

As I mentioned in other posts, I have had headache problems for decades -- about 90% of the time I would wake with a massive throb that ranged from migraine down to "very disturbing."

As I took my therapy into my focus and power, with the help of the folks on this board who graciously offer their wisdom, experience and time, I have found slow but steady successes in my therapy.

Years of listening to doctors, RT's, pulmonologists, cardiologists, rheumatologists and the DME gave me virtually nothing with which I could benefit from the mis-prescribed hardware and medications they shoved at me.

Buying my own hardware, setting my own pressures and dealing with my own therapy problems first-hand have yielded more therapy benefit in several months than I had achieved in the previous five years.

Though, I did have minimal therapy success yielding some benefit, prior to joining this board, the substantial bulk of my still fledgling success was gained after joining.

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Some of the things that I consider to be rewards of successful therapy are:

Fewer mornings of waking with a severe headache – though I still have them on some days.

Headaches of lesser severity overall, and easier to deal with while trying to have a life.

Fewer occurrences and lessened severity of the bleary-eyed vision I woke with on almost every morning for decades.

Type-2 Diabetes that I now control only with foods and exercise.

Blood pressure that is more stable, lower overall, and requires less medication in lower dosages.

Body pain upon waking and throughout days and nights that is noticeably less severe. It is certainly still there -- the length of time I suffered from the sleep disorder caused severe neuropathy.

Mental sharpness that is starting to feel somewhat more like me on many days, and less like I can’t find me in the fog.

Somewhat more energy when first arising in the morning.

Increased energy levels, overall, and the ability to sustain some energy bursts each day, without feeling totally drained immediately after an energy burst.

Fewer unplanned naps as soon as I sit still for a few minutes -- and shorter naps when they do occur.

Less head-fog when waking from sleep, or a brief nap.

Unplanned weight loss, without any form of diet. It just occurred naturally, and I am almost returned to my best weight/frame pairing.

Diminished, or apparently normalizing, appetite.

Far less craving for carbohydrates and sweets.

Increased craving for vegetables, salads, legumes and healthier foods.

Greatly increased cravings for passionate encounters. Oh yeah...

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Yes, many of those will vary by day, week and month. There is no absolute recovery from such damage. But at least I now know what not living in near total misery can feel like.

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