night sweats and sleep apnea

eekerbeeker · Post by **eekerbeeker** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 10:24 am

I have been on cpap for about 2 months. I have mostly good nights now but some that are not so good. I can usually tell a good night by the the amount of dreams that I have. Anyway, my question is that I noticed some people talking about night sweats being caused by sleep apnea. I've had night sweats for several years. They seem to be less now that I'm on cpap. I had not idea that they could be caused by sleep apnea. My doctors always told me they were just a part of menopause. I'm 53 and just thought that was normal. Is that true is sleep apnea is the main cause of night sweats? I have less faith in doctors as time goes by. It seems to me that most of the time they just give you the easiest answer (which I think most of the time is just a guess anyway) to get rid of you. I have a straight cpap set on 12. I think I"m doing pretty good because I do feel better than I did before. I'll have to stick with it for a couple of months because my husband changed jobs and we won't have insurance for a couple of months and money is too short for me to pay cash for stuff.. I'll be armed next time and won't let them just stick me with something without giving me a choice. I had no idea you even had choices before I found this site. It has given me more help than the dme's (Mine was worthless. He charged the insurance company $920 for a machine that I could have purchased online for about $400. What a rip off!) and doctors ever have been. Thanks for the advice and support!!

eekerbeeker · Post by **eekerbeeker** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 1:32 pm

I know what you mean about men not getting the menopause thing. I think if I went to my doctor with a broken leg, the would say it is a menopause thing. Nobody in my family ever went through menopause (all hysterectomies in early 40's) so I don't know if the apnea causes it or not. I see that some men have night sweats so it can't all be a female thing.

I'm doing pretty well. The only other thing I have is high blood pressure. It runs in the family also. The cpap treatment hasn't done much for it but maybe it will help more later. When I first went on cpap, I would wake up every 2 hours but last week, I strated sleeping 3 or 4 hours without waking so I guess I'm progressing o.k. I have a straight cpap with a pressure of 12. I didn't know anything about autopaps when I got mine. The DME didn't tell me and I didin't find out about it until after my insurance company had already paid for my machine so I guess I'm stuck with it for a while. It seem that the autpap machines give you much more information and adjust pressure as you need to. I use Breeze nasal pillows (medium size) and like it a lot. I started out with a nasal mask that leaked llike a sieve and hated it. I know there are better nasal masks out there than I had but I didn't like a mask anyway. I have to tape my mouth shut to keep air leaks down while I'm learning to keep my tongue in place. I guess I'm doing o.k. My doctor saw me three weeks after I started and said I was doing so well that I didn't need to see him again for 6 months. My machine only tells how many hours I've slept under it a night. I am feeling much better than before cpap treatment. I still get tired sometimes but I'm improving. Nice to hear from you.

Waverly · Post by **Waverly** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 2:05 pm

Sorry Ladies, Menopause isnt just a girl thing. Guys get it too. When we get hot flashes or cold flashes we're told that we're just getting older. Its not till we get osteoporosis that the docs start to think differently . In men they call it hypoganadism. Testosterone injections every week. Oh yea . Testosterone can complicate sleep apnea. Try to find a doc that understands all this. The endocrinologist says one thing. The pulmonary doc says something else. Neurologist is on planet X. Thank god for the internet. They kinda nod sheepishly when you show them on paper a article from their own professional group. They dont have time to read all that ..

Waverly

eekerbeeker · Post by **eekerbeeker** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 6:43 pm

That's great that you had no more episodes. On my original sleep study, I had 82 apneas in 60 minutes and my oxygen levels went down to 87. On my second sleep study with the mask, I was down to 3 apneas in a minute with oxygen levels over 90. I guess that's good. I still wish that I had known that I could have gotten an autopap machine so I could know exactly how I was coming along. I just have to go by how I feel. If you have insurance, be sure to find out what they pay and don't let the DME's run you around or push something on you that you don't like. My husband just changed jobs so we're uninsured for 3 months. Next time I'll know better. I think it's odd that men go through something like menopause. At what age? My husband is 62 and has never had night sweats or hot flashes or anything like that. I guess some people are just lucky!!!! It's like a lot of people on this website have already said, you just have to stick with it and keep adjusting. It takes time. It's extremely rare for somebody to like the first thing they get and go to sleep and sleep the whole night through the first night. Hang in there.

chrisp · Post by **chrisp** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 7:55 pm

Gailzee, Check out http://www.sleepreviewmag.com for some excellent articles about sleep apnea , menopause, autotitrating units, home sleep studies and lots more. Your Dr. will have met his match after you read this and this board.

Cheers,

Chris

Lana · Post by **Lana** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 12:26 am

I was told in night study that night sweats are caused by muscle involvment, or rather struggle for a breath, during the night. Its like running a marathon every night and thus increased perspiration.