Sleep Apnea and Low T for Men

[tlewis303]

Now my blood pressure has gone up. Use to be low, now at 125/93 as I checked it on a machine at pharmacy.
Androgel can make this happen. I'm def sleeping better don't toss and turn as much.

[Sleeprider]

An increase in BP can also indicate an elevated hematocrit and hemoglobin. The test (blood count) is very inexpensive. You should ask your doctor to request a CBC test and anything else he feels is appropriate.

[tlewis303]

I had the hematocrit checked it was normal, right in the middle of the range. I have picked up a little more weight as I had quite smoking last April. If I can get to the gym and diet some I might be able to bring BP down some. Sucks getting old...

[araris]

I heard the androgel doesn't work for every man?

I saw a story on the news today, that not only does i not work for some men, but it does more harm than good (heart attacks, etc), for some.

The study with heart attacks and test is flawed. when the did the study they got men that were in their late 50's and early 60's. Nearly half of these men were not in very good shape to begin with. they were overweight and inactive. Anytime you introduce a stimulate (and yes Testosterone is a stimulate in effect) to someone's system whose in bad shape to begin with, you're asking for trouble imo.


Also, I had low T as well and was put on injectables. I stopped after awhile not because I felt bad but more because I was sick of Drs. prescribing something and then having an unintentional side effect and then getting prescribed something else to counteract this.

I had high cholesterol 333. Dr. put me on Statins. Oddly my test drops and I my little soldier can't salute. I go in and they find out I have low T. They put me on injectables. I have stopped all meds except for an occasional modafinil when I need it.

After being on a cpap for a little over a year, ( Just recently started feeling better, but still have quite a few bad days. ) I have also recently had my T levels and cholesterol checked and both are in the decent range again. My test is 605. and My cholesterol is 211. Much better

I honestly believe that after having rotten sleep for so many years it caused my testosterone and cholesterol to raise. I still don't have perfect sleep, but it's better.

Oddly enough last night I slept for 7. 5 hours with AHI of .8. I didn't wake up once, which is odd because I typically wake up numerous times a night. Although the data says great sleep, I am exhausted.

[Malibu]

Low AHI doesn't always equate to feeling rested. The part that makes it restful or not is having the proper percentages of the various sleep stages. Never get to REM sleep and you are probably not going to feel rested.

[tlewis303]

That is so true about AHI. I've had a low AHI ever since going on cpap but was not going into the delta stages of sleep and therefore not well rested. Bringing my T levels back within normal range it allowing me to sleep much better for some reason. I think its important to look at your endocrine system to make sure all is well while on cpap.
Low T can cause a men's estrogen levels to be way to high. So all of it should be checked.

[araris]

Low AHI doesn't always equate to feeling rested. The part that makes it restful or not is having the proper percentages of the various sleep stages. Never get to REM sleep and you are probably not going to feel rested.

You and Tlewis are right, I know. I'm just find it ironic that I didn't wake up at all, slept for over seven hours, had a low AHI, but was really tired.

[tlewis303]

I kinda had same issue but found out I had low T, feeling tired and crappy most of the time. Started treatment for low T and feeling and sleeping better.

[bv1800]

.... I stopped after awhile not because I felt bad but more because I was sick of Drs. prescribing something and then having an unintentional side effect and then getting prescribed something else to counteract this.

I had high cholesterol 333. Dr. put me on Statins. Oddly my test drops and I my little soldier can't salute. I go in and they find out I have low T. They put me on injectables. I have stopped all meds except for an occasional modafinil when I need it.

After being on a cpap for a little over a year, ( Just recently started feeling better, but still have quite a few bad days. ) I have also recently had my T levels and cholesterol checked and both are in the decent range again. My test is 605. and My cholesterol is 211. Much better

I honestly believe that after having rotten sleep for so many years it caused my testosterone and cholesterol to raise. I still don't have perfect sleep, but it's better.

Add me to your list. My cholesterol wasn't as high as yours (231), but the Dr still put me on statins. When the bottom didn't drop out of the LDL, he upped the dosage and added Niacin (wonderful side effect call "flushing" that feels like a billion pin pricks, for an hour or longer). Next time, that I went in, he discovered that my Vitamin D level was too low (D is similar compound and produced by the liver a la cholesterol, so statins will lower your D level). The time after than, my fasting glucose was 103, so he entered into my chart that I was "pre-diabetic" and refused to lower my statin even though the are widely known to elevate blood sugar (his reasoning: "you're over weight, so you were going to be diabetic anyway). At that point, like you I decided that it was time to do something, because I was tired of adding a new med to handle the side effects of the other meds.

In all of that time, the Dr never suggested that I may have a sleep disorder. When that doc insisted that I stay on statins after getting my cholersterol below 200, through diet and exercise, I switched docs. First thing my new doc asked: How's your sleep? The rest as they say is history.

[tlewis303]

I've been on a statin for 7yrs now, and V d3. I did try to low the lipids with diet but it didnt' work. I take niacin as well but flush free supplement, seems to help with lowering trigs. What a pain all the meds.

[Paralel]

Anyone on Niacin treatment for lipids may want to talk to their doctors about discontinuing the treatment. The latest research shows that its minimally effective and actually raises all cause mortality considerably. Current guidelines indicate that niacin therapy is no longer recommended for treating lipid disorders and anyone on it should be stepped down and off of it, if it is reasonable to do so.

[Malibu]

Interesting thought on Niacin

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-cond ... t-20046208

A year ago my DR said if I wanted to lower my number from 195 to a shade lower, try Niacin....This years physical he changed his mind and said forget what he said a year ago about trying Niacin...

I guess they go with the information they have at the time.......

[Krelvin]

I've been on a statin for 7yrs now, and V d3. I did try to low the lipids with diet but it didnt' work. I take niacin as well but flush free supplement, seems to help with lowering trigs. What a pain all the meds.

Used statin's for more than 8 years... last June, ended up in the Hospital with Statin Induced Rhabdo Myolsis/Statin induced Myopathy. Almost killed me. Went from 100% strength to 70% in one week without having a clue what was going wrong before entering hospital, left a week later at close to 30% strength and took more than 2 months to get back to "normal". Note this all started 2 weeks after lab test and Cardiologist regular checkup which was supposed to check for something like this.

Note this has nothing to do with the OP.

[Paralel]

I've been on a statin for 7yrs now, and V d3. I did try to low the lipids with diet but it didnt' work. I take niacin as well but flush free supplement, seems to help with lowering trigs. What a pain all the meds.

Used statin's for more than 8 years... last June, ended up in the Hospital with Statin Induced Rhabdo Myolsis/Statin induced Myopathy. Almost killed me. Went from 100% strength to 70% in one week without having a clue what was going wrong before entering hospital, left a week later at close to 30% strength and took more than 2 months to get back to "normal". Note this all started 2 weeks after lab test and Cardiologist regular checkup which was supposed to check for something like this.

Note this has nothing to do with the OP.

That's quite rare. Do they have any idea what triggered it all of a sudden?

[Noctuary]

Low AHI doesn't always equate to feeling rested. The part that makes it restful or not is having the proper percentages of the various sleep stages. Never get to REM sleep and you are probably not going to feel rested.

You and Tlewis are right, I know. I'm just find it ironic that I didn't wake up at all, slept for over seven hours, had a low AHI, but was really tired.

That's me a lot of nights.