Anyone trying to treat OSA with comorbid mental illness

[Matty332]

Hey guys,

Thankyou so much everyone for the responses. Sorry about the unclear nature of the question, but you have got the meaning of it. I should of made it clearer to avoid confusion. I meant to say - For patients with obstructive sleep apnea with a co morbid mental illness like anxiety/OCD or schitzophrenia, can there mental illness symptoms get worse before they get better upon commencing CPAP therapy?

Dr Bucky and jnk, thanks for those article links. They are very interesting. It shows there is a link between OSA and mental illness.

I know that my brain chemicals are VERY sensitive. I think untreated OSA stuffed them up, my body/brain got used to the bad sleeping (I kept finding myself sitting upright on the bed and on the toilet before CPAP to which I would of been sleeping for hours) pattern and my brain chemicals adjusted accordingly. Now with the CPAP (I do not wake up and find myself sitting up on the bed or toilet everynight) I feel weird and groggy every morning but it is easier to fall asleep now. Perhaps my brain chemicals are getting used to normal oxygen levels etc. I shall keep persisting with this treatment - if I get worse after a few more days I shall go back to a private sleep study clinic (the public SS clinic is booked out for months at the moment). Thanks again for the support. OSA with OCD spectrum disorder aint easy!

[archangle]

I think you have a good point.

Consider this analogy. Suppose you are a heavy drinker. If you stop drinking, there are a lot of bad side effects for a while. Some people even die from alcohol withdrawal if they stop cold turkey.

In some ways, apnea is like the side effects of alcohol consumption. Your body attempts to compensate through various feedback mechanisms. If you stop the apnea, the things your body is doing to cope with apnea may overshoot things in the other direction. Maybe you have "apnea withdrawal."

I wonder if "apnea withdrawal" might not be a better explanation for the problems some new CPAPers have?

[chunkyfrog]

Some time after I started CPAP, I 'crashed' (excessive tiredness and apathy)
to which I attribute a 'withdrawal' of my own adrenaline--which was no longer in abundance, since I was no longer suffocating every night.
A purely physical cause, but very mental-feeling symptoms.
Yes, it can make you feel worse for a while. It got a lot better.
I had nearly forgotten how that felt--I hope you get over the hump soon.

[esangston]

Hubby says I've been running on a shorter fuse since starting cpap but the snaps here and there are better than being snappy all day long. For example, prior to cpap, if my kids were tossing around a stuffed animal in the house, I would just take it away and tell them they know better. The other day they were tossing the same stuffed animal around the house, and I was already cranky from something else so snapped bad, I grabbed it, scolded them and then I uh, ripped off one of the arms and tossed it in the trash... Granted it was a cheap fair stuffed toy, but still... Prior to OSA I would have been a lot more calm about it and did the good mom routine where I explain why somethings wrong in a fairly normal tone.

Prior to having untreated OSA or prior to beginning CPAP you would have been calmer? You seem to be saying both. Lots of people have a shorter fuse when they are tired. Have you started decreasing your Dexedrine or are you on the same amount as before?

Same dosage as before. The dex wasn't prescribed for tiredness, but for ADHD. I'm on the same dosage I was in high school. Before OSA diagnosis, it barely kept me awake. I know the nights I've had the best sleep with my cpap because after I take it I can complete a full task... So I'm not so worried about the dex

Prior to OSA... I was my version of supermom lol, kept my temper in check, rarely ever went off even when the situation probably warranted it
With untreated OSA, I was always snappy, and in my opinion not the greatest mom I could be, but I did the best I could
With cpap, I'm not me yet, but I'm not that snappy... But randomly I'll go off and it's worse than how I was without the cpap.

[SleepingUgly]

Prior to OSA... I was my version of supermom lol, kept my temper in check, rarely ever went off even when the situation probably warranted it
With untreated OSA, I was always snappy, and in my opinion not the greatest mom I could be, but I did the best I could
With cpap, I'm not me yet, but I'm not that snappy... But randomly I'll go off and it's worse than how I was without the cpap.

Try to figure out why that is. CPAP itself should not cause irritability, but if you're sleep deprived due to CPAP issues, folks here can try to help troubleshoot the CPAP issues.

[newyorknative]

Hey guys,

Thankyou so much everyone for the responses. Sorry about the unclear nature of the question, but you have got the meaning of it. I should of made it clearer to avoid confusion. I meant to say - For patients with obstructive sleep apnea with a co morbid mental illness like anxiety/OCD or schitzophrenia, can there mental illness symptoms get worse before they get better upon commencing CPAP therapy?

Dr Bucky and jnk, thanks for those article links. They are very interesting. It shows there is a link between OSA and mental illness.

I know that my brain chemicals are VERY sensitive. I think untreated OSA stuffed them up, my body/brain got used to the bad sleeping (I kept finding myself sitting upright on the bed and on the toilet before CPAP to which I would of been sleeping for hours) pattern and my brain chemicals adjusted accordingly. Now with the CPAP (I do not wake up and find myself sitting up on the bed or toilet everynight) I feel weird and groggy every morning but it is easier to fall asleep now. Perhaps my brain chemicals are getting used to normal oxygen levels etc. I shall keep persisting with this treatment - if I get worse after a few more days I shall go back to a private sleep study clinic (the public SS clinic is booked out for months at the moment). Thanks again for the support. OSA with OCD spectrum disorder aint easy!

Matty,

I have OCD, and after 6 years of CPAP use I still have it.


Gary

[swtsassy65]

Hello,

I can tell you that I suffer from bipolar and depression. I have been on cpap since 2005 and I have noticed a big difference.
I have noticed since I have been on cpap my conditions have improved a lot. I still have my off days but so does anyone else.
I am no longer taking as many meds as I did back then. My mind is also clearer then pre-cpap so this helps me monitor my symptoms and also
then I am able to mange them better.

Hopes this helps