Does long term Sleep Apnea cause blue lips & pale fingernail

[archangle]

Remember, it's SLEEP apnea, not wake apnea. I guess you might get blue fingertips at night due to apnea, once you wake up, your "sleep" apnea would go away and your blood O2 will come up to normal in less than a minute.

Be careful not to obsess over CPAP once you get it. With a good data capable machine, you could spend half your life obsessing over your results and scaring yourself to death even if it's working well. 90% of the battle is wearing the machine all night every night and getting the number of apneas down to a low level. You don't need to get everything perfect.

Read the links in my signature line about how to not get screwed by the CPAP salesman.

[JonBoyOhBoy]

My blood OX levels were below 90. My fingernails looked blue underneath. Now I am on ocxigen. in thev day when I can & linked into my machine at night. They seem to grow out then start over BLUE again.

Why are you on oxygen during the day?

[ChicagoGranny]

I just had a colonoscopy in the last month. I guess if I truly had blue lips it would be very noticeable.

I don't think they stick the endoscope in that far!

[ChicagoGranny]

But seriously, get that sleep study, get a data-capable CPAP and use the resources here to get a good CPAP therapy and I bet you will see moderation if not total decline in many of your symptoms like,

snore, grunt and snort like a pig, out of breath walking up stairs, anxiety disorder and depression, obesity

Good luck!

[JonBoyOhBoy]

I just had a colonoscopy in the last month. I guess if I truly had blue lips it would be very noticeable.

I don't think they stick the endoscope in that far!

LOL!!!

[Tino2You]

I just had a colonoscopy in the last month. I guess if I truly had blue lips it would be very noticeable.

I don't think they stick the endoscope in that far!

LOL!!!

Feels like it!

[Suddenly Worn Out]

Sleep apnea and the hypoxia that goes with it can contribute to anxiety disorders. The hypoxia during your sleep can release all of the bad neurotransmitters associated with the "fight or flight" mode. You know where your heart races, your pulse goes up, you sweat, you get super nervous or scared, etc. Treating the sleep apnea with CPAP can mostly stop the hypoxia and you will probably feel less anxious or scared during the daytime.

You may find that once on CPAP for a while, if you also exercise a lot and lose weight to the point you get to a normal weight, your "anxiety" may mostly go away. And you may stop looking for whats wrong with you...because the CPAP will solve many of the problems with what is wrong with you.

I went from kinda, sorta similar to you before CPAP to being pretty calm and laid back after CPAP. Like I was when I was a young man. Unfortunately, I was by that time already on klonopin for many, many years and found that klonopin interfered with me getting really deep feeling sleep despite being on CPAP. But just shutting down that hypoxia and the apnea allowed me to get much better, despite being on klonpin.

In other words, I went from being a klopopin "lover" before CPAP, to being a klonopin "hater" after I had been on CPAP a few months. Now the only way I could probably get off the stuff totally would be to go to formal detox. Which I am avoiding because I dont want it on my medical records and dont want a "dual diagnosis" diagnosis on my formal record. Also, if you think any psychiatrist prescribing you klonopin or other benzo is going to ADMIT they got you hooked on the stuff over time, you are crazy. They aint gonna admit to squat. I figure to get off klonopin, I'd have to 1) change psychiatrists, 2) go to detox. Thats a lot of stuff.


Eric

[Guest]

So yesterday I decide to go to the doctor because I have this sinus infection. I notice my lips and nails "appear" blue to me. So im thinking they are going to check my O2 and see i'm hypoxic and im a nervous wreck. She put the thing on my finger (and this is a mini hospital so it looks like a big machine not a cheap portable one) and my O2 is 99%. They also did a chest X-ray and the doctor basically said that my lungs looked great in his opinion. I then made the mistake of asking him if there was any hyper-inflation because I read that can be a sign of COPD or pulmonary fibrosis and he looks again at the side views and says "well, I suppose some might argue that this side is slightly large, but your a big guy. I wouldnt loose any sleep over it"......LOL but i'm a hypochondriac and I WILL certainly worry now that he said its a little hyper-inflated. I should have just taken his first all clear to the bank instead of asking more questions. He said in his opinion my lungs were normal.

But thats sonly half the story. They check my BP and its 198/147 with a pulse of 125!
They then recheck it again in 20 minutes and it was 160/89 with a pulse of 97.

So the doc there says I probably need to be on medication. He thinks that my blood pressure is so used to spiking up high that it easily climbs up there, whereas people who are always in the normal range would never spike to 198/147, only people with chronic high blood pressure issues.

My pressure doesnt always spike like this, but lately when I check it its around 135/90. My pulse is usually around 60 and sometimes 55 when I first wake up.

I have extreme anxiety and was recently put on Klonopin. I dont think the Klonopin would cause these spikes. I was also using Nasonex the last few days for allergies.

So the doc yesterday put my on Vasotec 10 Mg a day. Today I took the second dose. I stand up from the chair and feel a little light headed. I go to CVS to check my BP and its 120/70 with a pulse of 57! I call the doc and he says 120/70 is beautiful pressure but for someone like me who probably is always a little high, it may make me dizzy. He tells me to cut the Vasotec in half and take 5mg.

As a matter of reference, in the last 6 months I had an echocardiogram, Stress Test, EKG, Chest X-ray, extensive blood tests, colonoscopy, Upper endoscopy, abdominal ultrasound. All relatively normal.

Could sleep apnea be the culprit ? Its weired how my blood pressure goes from low to high and so does my heartrate. And apparently this has been a lifelog problem. Could it just be anxiety spiking my BP? Could the Klonopin cause it? Should I stop the Klonopin? Is the Vasotec the right med? A betablocker would probably make my heart even slower.



I really need some opinions here.

[Suddenly Worn Out]

If you have been formally, definitively diagnosed with sleep apnea, I suggest you follow your doctor's orders to get on CPAP pronto. And become compliant. If you are not formally, definitively diagnosed with sleep apnea and merely "think" you have OSA because of your own admitted severe anxiety disorder that manifests itself as hypochondria, then perhaps more aggressive psychopharmacology is in order? Perhaps you need higher doses of klonopin, perhaps you need an SSRI to combat the intense anxiety you describe or perhaps the hypochondria has even reached a level where it could be described as psychosis? And it needs to be dealt with somehow?

Either way, I doubt anybody here can give you good guidance. This is a sleep apnea forum, not a mental disorders forum. I take klonopin myself but I dont ask questions about anxiety and hypochondria here. For that you should be asking about to a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist who specializes in anxiety disorders.

Eric

So yesterday I decide to go to the doctor because I have this sinus infection. I notice my lips and nails "appear" blue to me. So im thinking they are going to check my O2 and see i'm hypoxic and im a nervous wreck. She put the thing on my finger (and this is a mini hospital so it looks like a big machine not a cheap portable one) and my O2 is 99%. They also did a chest X-ray and the doctor basically said that my lungs looked great in his opinion. I then made the mistake of asking him if there was any hyper-inflation because I read that can be a sign of COPD or pulmonary fibrosis and he looks again at the side views and says "well, I suppose some might argue that this side is slightly large, but your a big guy. I wouldnt loose any sleep over it"......LOL but i'm a hypochondriac and I WILL certainly worry now that he said its a little hyper-inflated. I should have just taken his first all clear to the bank instead of asking more questions. He said in his opinion my lungs were normal.

But thats sonly half the story. They check my BP and its 198/147 with a pulse of 125!
They then recheck it again in 20 minutes and it was 160/89 with a pulse of 97.

So the doc there says I probably need to be on medication. He thinks that my blood pressure is so used to spiking up high that it easily climbs up there, whereas people who are always in the normal range would never spike to 198/147, only people with chronic high blood pressure issues.

My pressure doesnt always spike like this, but lately when I check it its around 135/90. My pulse is usually around 60 and sometimes 55 when I first wake up.

I have extreme anxiety and was recently put on Klonopin. I dont think the Klonopin would cause these spikes. I was also using Nasonex the last few days for allergies.

So the doc yesterday put my on Vasotec 10 Mg a day. Today I took the second dose. I stand up from the chair and feel a little light headed. I go to CVS to check my BP and its 120/70 with a pulse of 57! I call the doc and he says 120/70 is beautiful pressure but for someone like me who probably is always a little high, it may make me dizzy. He tells me to cut the Vasotec in half and take 5mg.

As a matter of reference, in the last 6 months I had an echocardiogram, Stress Test, EKG, Chest X-ray, extensive blood tests, colonoscopy, Upper endoscopy, abdominal ultrasound. All relatively normal.

Could sleep apnea be the culprit ? Its weired how my blood pressure goes from low to high and so does my heartrate. And apparently this has been a lifelog problem. Could it just be anxiety spiking my BP? Could the Klonopin cause it? Should I stop the Klonopin? Is the Vasotec the right med? A betablocker would probably make my heart even slower.



I really need some opinions here.

[Guest]

I hope Im not psychotic But I would say definitely Neurotic!
Im am seeing the Sleep doc this week so I will be evaluated.
Im just curious if anyone on here has had High Blood Pressure and racing heartbeats as a result of their sleep apnea

[Suddenly Worn Out]

Difficult to control hypertension is common with untreated sleep apnea. I had "treatment resistant" hypertension for several years prior to being put on CPAP. I was on max doses of lisinopril for years. It barely did squat for me. Once I got on CPAP, my hypertension got under pretty good control. So to answer your question, yes hypertension is well associated with untreated sleep apnea.

Eric

I hope Im not psychotic But I would say definitely Neurotic!
Im am seeing the Sleep doc this week so I will be evaluated.
Im just curious if anyone on here has had High Blood Pressure and racing heartbeats as a result of their sleep apnea

[Guest]

Difficult to control hypertension is common with untreated sleep apnea. I had "treatment resistant" hypertension for several years prior to being put on CPAP. I was on max doses of lisinopril for years. It barely did squat for me. Once I got on CPAP, my hypertension got under pretty good control. So to answer your question, yes hypertension is well associated with untreated sleep apnea.

Eric

I hope Im not psychotic But I would say definitely Neurotic!
Im am seeing the Sleep doc this week so I will be evaluated.
Im just curious if anyone on here has had High Blood Pressure and racing heartbeats as a result of their sleep apnea

That makes sense because over the last 25 years I have been on and off BP meds. My BP is normal sometimes and spikes very high other times. Im thinking that possibly the spikes in BP occur when the Sleep Apnea spikes. I believe that my sleep apnea comes and goes in degrees. Years ago when I was drinking and went to bed after I had a "few" I would wake up gasping for air. When I was in my 20s and drinking quite heavily, I had night terrors every night. So there is something going on.

[tattooyu]

Dude, we must be related. I'm still that way, although I have a lot of unresolved "symptoms" after three years on CPAP. I am MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better. I no longer take klonopin, but I do have the sporadic panic attack, usually the day after a bad night -- had some unexplained leaks -- like today!

You might want to read through my post. It's long but might give you some insight as to where you are headed.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=38502

Just keep going. Don't give up! You will almost certainly start feeling better once you are getting good CPAP therapy.

[archangle]

So yesterday I decide to go to the doctor because I have this sinus infection. I notice my lips and nails "appear" blue to me. So im thinking they are going to check my O2 and see i'm hypoxic and im a nervous wreck. She put the thing on my finger (and this is a mini hospital so it looks like a big machine not a cheap portable one) and my O2 is 99%. They also did a chest X-ray and the doctor basically said that my lungs looked great in his opinion. I then made the mistake of asking him if there was any hyper-inflation because I read that can be a sign of COPD or pulmonary fibrosis and he looks again at the side views and says "well, I suppose some might argue that this side is slightly large, but your a big guy. I wouldnt loose any sleep over it"......LOL but i'm a hypochondriac and I WILL certainly worry now that he said its a little hyper-inflated. I should have just taken his first all clear to the bank instead of asking more questions. He said in his opinion my lungs were normal.

Dude, chill out.

Get the CPAP. Use it.

Check results after a few weeks.

Get yourself a home blood pressure gauge if you don't already have one.

[palerider]

Apnea is not directly linked to oxygen deprivation but sooner it can affect. Due to apnea our body receives low oxygen and in result we can have dry and blue lips. Hypertension can be the reason behind this because it lowers down the blood flow and results in oxygen deprivation.

I'm having trouble deciphering the mangled english, but I think that, once again, the technical word here is "hogwash"...