muscle necrosis due to apnea?

[nedi]

Hi, all.
Slow but sure, my abdominal muscles have been turning to swiss cheese. The muscles seem to be necrosing and thoughts of my complex sleep apnea make me wonder if I'm hypoxic enough to cause this while I sleep. I have an appointment with a Dr. in a about a week, so I'm not here for self diagnosis, but I am wondering if anyone here has experienced this or heard of this before. I only experience about 10 events a night lasting for about 10 - 20 seconds each so I'm skeptical that the necrosis is a result of the apnea. Any thoughts?

[chunkyfrog]

Have you self-diagnosed this condition? You would have an open, wound with rotting flesh, sloughing off and smelling horrible.
Dimpling under your skin is an entirely different matter--dehydration is a possibility.
If this is actually necrosis, I'm surprised you are not in the HOSPITAL!
--And your doctor's appointment isn't for a few days? Has your doctor actually seen this?

[johnthomasmacdonald]

muscle necrosis is an extremely rare diagnosis - usually snake bites, toxins or severe trauma - why do you think you have that? and I can't see that happening from sleep apnea, no matter how severe - i'd think you'd have severe brain damage if you were oxygen deprived enough to suffer abdominal muscle cell death

[chunkyfrog]

My hubby got a touch of that from the bite of a brown recluse. It was VERY painful!
Massive doses of antibiotics cleared it up; but it still took several months to heal fully

[nedi]

Well, I guess I don't know what else it could be. I have bilateral, symmetrical quarter-sized "holes" (I could put a finger through them if the skin wasn't there) underneath the skin. I suppose they could be classified as large dimples. They are often painful and always very tender. I have noticed other spots in my chest and shoulders. In between and around these holes the muscle has turned ropey and fibrous. I am very fatigued all of the time and my concentration and levels of focus are next to nothing and feel I've been experiencing other changes in mental status. In my mind I just kind of linked the symmetry of the "holes" to a vascular problem. Hypoxia and apnea kind of worked in. I suppose it's not related to the apnea since I haven't seen anyone jump on to relate.
I have to wait for a week to see the doc, as I live on an island and won't be stateside til then.
I stay very well hydrated
I started to pursue this a year ago, and after the ultrasound, the doc just said, "yep, your pain is real". But 3 dr.s didn't have a clue, but I had to get back to the islands, so the time wasn't taken for blood work, etc. It seems this is outside the realm of apnea, but I'd still like to see if anyone has a similar experience who has apnea.

[kteague]

Your description is so very interesting. I knew someone who quite a few years ago was experiencing a breakdown of her muscle tissue (not necrosis though) but it turned out to be a side effect of her medication. Wish I had a better memory of the specifics. But, whatever you find out, sure hope you share it with us. While your question may be unfamiliar with this crowd thusfar, it doesn't sound far fetched that oxygen deprivation could affect people differently just based on genetic vunerabilities and propensities. Wishing you well.

[johnthomasmacdonald]

how about an inflammatory myopathy? http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/infl ... athies.htm