New User, Strange Symptoms

[Jacy]

I am hypothyroid and diabetic from an autoimmune disease that affects my endocrine system. I was diagnosed with OSA and began CPAP therapy a month ago with a Reamed Airsense 10 set to 5-20, heated humidifier, full mask. I have been diligent and getting good scores, but everything else has gone haywire. My usually extremely well-regulated blood glucose has wild swings, I've had panic attacks, depression, headaches, dizziness, and ended up in the ER with what turned out to be dehydration. I know correlation is not causation, but I am struggling to understand why my health seems to be suddenly wonky and the only thing that had changed is the CPAP therapy. I can't find any info that makes any sense, save for isolated reports about problems with bipolar disease. (I am bipolar II and take Wellbutrin along with weekly cognitive behavioral therapy). Anyone have any ideas? I see my endocrinologist next week and I have been in contact with his office, and his only thought is better sleep is changing my endocrine response/brain chemistry.

[ILoveFlowers]

Are you sleeping well? Has getting used to the machine and mask disrupted your sleep? Do your settings feel comfortable to you?
I wonder if it may just take some time for your body to adjust. Changing your sleep habits can be a major change, even if it's a change for the better, it can require a period of adjustment.

[Jacy]

I feel like my sleep is sort of the same. I have always been a restless sleeper, and I am alert a couple times a night now. The big concern with my sleep study was that, while I don't have a lot of events, the few I do have are long-lasting and my Oxygen saturation falls below 70. My significant other reports that I no longer snore at all and that I don't move around as much. I feel a little more alert in the morning, but still run out of steam around 3 pm. I will be seeing my GP, my endocrinologist, my neurologist next week, and hopefully my ENT soon after, I want to be able to adequately explain to them what's happening. I guess I have a fear that I am doing some simple thing wrong and not using the machine correctly. The pressure seems a little intense at times, but not uncomfortable. Most nights I put it on, watch something on my phone or read, then go to sleep around 11 or 12. I usually remove it around 7ish (or whenever the cat decides I've slept enough, or earlier if one of the kids needs to be up). So I try for 6-8 hours. The scores report that I usually have less than 1 event per hour. Of course I don't know how severe the events are, just how frequent. Could that make a difference? And some nights there is higher air leakage, but I think that's because I move around a lot. It seems to fit well. I'm certainly willing to give it time, O'Hair obsess over whether I am missing something

[ILoveFlowers]

It seems like you are doing really well with incorporating cpap into your life, getting in 7 to 8 hours a night right at the beginning. If you are no longer snoring or moving around as much, that's a good sign. Have you downloaded Oscar so you can check your stats? There are people here who are good at interpreting those if you post screenshots and they can probably reassure you about your events or offer some good tips on settings.

People seem to have different experiences of getting used to cpap. When I first started, I felt super sleepy for a few weeks before I started to feel well rested and energetic. It's like my body could finally let go and sleep peacefully and I just wanted to sleep and sleep to catch up on all the sleep I had missed.

[Sheriff Buford]

Download Oscar from this site and lets see your numbers. It seems as you are headed in the right direction. Keep going!

I would hesitate getting castrated.

Sheriff

[Jacy]

Where can I download Oscar? I do have the Resmed myair app on my phone and check my report, it allows me to download a report.

[Pugsy]

OSCAR https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph ... stallation
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph ... rpretation

[Miss Emerita]

Where can I download Oscar? I do have the Resmed myair app on my phone and check my report, it allows me to download a report.

Oscar provides a much, much more detailed and useful report. Well worth the time to download to your laptop or desktop computer. Then just post a chart.

[kteague]

Hopefully seeing your detailed data will either help you optiimize your treatment or settle your mind about it. Many years ago there was a thread on here about people who had a psych diagnosis and their experiences with CPAP. One regular on here (at the time) told how she was diagnosed as bipolar and her symptoms significantly worsened after starting treatment. Her doc decreased her meds, and she ended up being able to wean off, not needing them any longer. Long term sleep deprivation can do some wild things to all our body systems. The levels of hormones and chemicals may change in ways that affect response to medications once the body is not in crisis mode all night every night. Talk to your prescribing doctor about if there's a possibility you may need to experiment with your dosing to see what works best with a well rested mind and body.