Sleep Apnea causing mental symptoms

[Matty332]

G'day,

I have been having trouble getting used to my new machine (as expected, apparently it takes two weeks to get used to it) but I am persevering.

The question I have is, did any other OSA patients start getting mental symptoms before treatment. I mean like, feeling strange and spaced out during the day in public. And having minor memory problems and other various subtle mental problems that can alarm?

[MaxDarkside]

...apparently it takes two weeks to get used to it) but I am persevering.

It is a process that takes time, how long depends on the person, their attitude, their condition, the machine, and other factors. Give it plenty of time.

The question I have is, did any other OSA patients start getting mental symptoms before treatment. I mean like, feeling strange and spaced out during the day in public. And having minor memory problems and other various subtle mental problems that can alarm?

Read the link in my signature, about in the middle of that first posting it talks about some of the mental "spacing out".

[kteague]

G'day... The question I have is, did any other OSA patients start getting mental symptoms before treatment. I mean like, feeling strange and spaced out during the day in public. And having minor memory problems and other various subtle mental problems that can alarm?

Don't be surprised if you hear that more did experience these symptoms to varying degrees than did not. My memory issues progressed over the years from subtle to severely compromised to the point of not being safe to even cook for myself. I couldn't sustain a conversation, and was spacing out to the point of having blanks in conversations that I was trying to fill in what made the most sense to have been said, thus was reaching some wrong conclusions. Dangerous when the job requires detailed and accurate communications.

The brain needs sleep and it needs oxygen for optimal function. Hopefully once your treatment stabilizes you'll see some resolution of the symptoms you noticed.

[MaxDarkside]

I think my mental abilities followed something like this curve. You are degrading over time (decades?) then you start accelerating downward. Where it approaches the bottom you start having episodes of not knowing who you are, where you are and why you are there. I think the brain starts shutting down from having no quality sleep. I was having increasing episodes until I got onto my APAP machine, took a bit of a jump and then steadily climbing. Something kinda like this.



Just before hitting bottom, my heart arrhythmias became more pronounced until I had the "Significant Arrhythmic Event" that put me down to the ground.

[Matty332]

@kteague, I feel like this at times.. sounds like it is an OSA thing..

@Maxdarkside, Wow, your story is amazing. I am really glad you were okay in the end from it all. It was interesting how when you had the heart event that you felt euphoria and the love of god! So your mental capacity is returning as well, that is great. I shall double my efforts to use my machine properly. Thanks again

[archangle]

Yes, lots of people have mental fog, memory problems, or even more serious problems before CPAP.

Some people feel they never fully recover from all the brain damage that apnea did to them. Most of us see a large improvement or think we get back to pre-apnea brain function.

[MaxDarkside]

Some people feel they never fully recover from all the brain damage that apnea did to them.

I'm still figuring out how much mental capacity I'm going to get back. After 2 months, it seems like just "some". It's a fuzzy thing, this "mental capacity", for which I don't have hard metrics from before treatment to compare to tests I could do now. and is now being contemplated by my fuzzy mind. I sense I have stopped the fast decline using APAP, I've had an improvement from when I started this treatment, but will I get back to my peak, or higher, in life? I don't think so. It's complicated by other factors, such as age. I'm not a vegetable nor dead in the parking lot, and that's a good start but I'd like to get better and if I'm getting better, I'm impatient and want to get better faster, but I know sleep apnea strangled me for years so it may take a long time. Some of my impairment is likely permanent.

[archangle]

Even once the body and brain recover, you may need to make the mind recover as well.

I was stuck in the "too tired to do anything" mindset and had to force myself to get up and do things I had gotten out of the habit of doing. I developed a lot of bad behavior patterns that it's really easy to stay in. I had gotten out of the habit of doing a lot of things.

[MaxDarkside]

Even once the body and brain recover, you may need to make the mind recover as well.

I was stuck in the "too tired to do anything" mindset and had to force myself to get up and do things I had gotten out of the habit of doing. I developed a lot of bad behavior patterns that it's really easy to stay in. I had gotten out of the habit of doing a lot of things.

Truth. I was just mentioning to a friend that now that the APAP has increased my lung capacity hugely, I need to get out and exercise more, starting with brisk walks and work upward from there. I'm at the keyboard too much. I need to break some habits and avoid the "poor me" mentality. I'm alive, have a beauty wife, cash in the bank, 3 great sons, it's a sunny day, so many things to be happy for and I should celebrate that. I will try to bust the pattern of "too tired" and push the limits.

[nanwilson]

Let me put it in real time . Prior to getting my cpap, my daily crossword took me over an hour to complete. Now after being on the hose for a year and a half I can get 'r done in 20 minutes . Before: poor brain function,....... After: not bad for a 69 year old lady .

[twokatmew]

I was still noticing improvement two years after I started CPAP, but having significant health problems other than OSA, my docs attributed all my symptoms to my existing diagnoses. As a result, I'd *really* hit bottom. They'd ruled everything new out, or so we thought. One day I felt so rotten I actually considered cancelling a scheduled appointment with my primary doc. But then I thought, "if I'm too sick to go to the doc, I'm really in trouble." So I dragged myself to my appointment. I felt and looked like hell, and when I had trouble carrying on a conversation, the light bulb went on for my doc, who sent me for a sleep study. That was a very lucky day for me!

Improvement was very slow, as I initially ended up with a brick and the wrong Rx. And once I got a better machine and the right pressure range, improvement was slow but steady. I haven't regained all my former mental capacity (~90%?), but looking back, I probably had OSA since I was a kid. ...And, I've had to take varying doses of Prednisone since 1975, and I do notice changes in my mental function depending on dosage.

It took years to hit bottom (and get properly diagnosed), so we can't reverse that damage overnight. Healing sure didn't happen as quickly as I would have liked, but looking back, my recovery has been remarkable. So hang in there. It's well worth it!