New, used to be depressed, feel better, have a question

[Sleeping Better in Texas]

Well my subject line says a lot. I am a newbie. According to my machine I have logged 199 hours and 22 days. I am 100% compliant. I feel better and I know that is the most important thing. I still have my days when I am a little moody and feel like I need a nap. I am 42 and have probably had severe appnea (100 events per hour) for several years. My titration is set at 10/14

Anyone with similar experiences? I have read that it's important to sleep 8+ hours. I have read that it takes a while to really feel the effects because I have been sleep deprived for so long.

Anyone have similar thoughts, experiences, etc. I guess I'm just looking for a little confirmation. I have my first follow-up visit with my sleep doctor, Dr. O, coming up this week.

[Oh 2 breathe]

I have been on CPAP for six weeks and can't believe the difference this has made in my overall functioning. I was severely fatigued and thought I was suffering from burnout at work. Now I have much more energy and the ability to keep track of details. I feel like I've come out of a dream-fog and back into my life.

You might want to do a search of this site on "depression." There have been many accounts of OSA being misdiagnosed as depression. I think I might even start a new thread on this because it is such an important issue

~ OTB

[Sleeping Better in Texas]

OTB...

Good thoughts... I am a former therapist and I read that you are a counselor... Depression is something that has plagued me for many, many years. I am already noticing some changes in my overall mood. I still have my ups and downs.

I am going to see my psychiatrist and talk about weaning me off my medication. He put me on Lexapro and Lamictal several years ago because I was complaining of fatique. I'm sure the OSA was a major contributor to the moodiness AND the feeling of always needing a nap and nevr feeling resated. He kept uping my dosage because I was still exhauseted all the time

I thinking setting up a depression thread would be a great idea! I'll do the research too, thanks,

Glad you are feeling better. Keep up the great work!

SBIT...

[rock and roll]

I wnet about six weeks and I could tell oh such a difference. And the depression I got while not completely gone, it made such a difference that my wife and family think I am like a different man. It really makes a difference. A lot of us have had your experience so go ahead and fell comfirmed.

[Oh 2 breathe]

I started a new thread with some links to articles on ASA & depression issues. I hope others will contribute so the thread does not get buried because I think that we could help a lot of people on the board.

I am glad that you are talking to your doctor about tapering off slowly. I hope people will heed my warning about stopping anti-depressants.


~ OTB

[Sleepless on LI]

SBIT,

From what I've read, anti-depressants take their toll on people with OSA and their ability to respond to therapy. That could have something to do with why you feel better, but not all the time. When you see your doctor, I would find out if what you're on could be affecting the efficiency of your therapy. Maybe now that you're on the CPAP therapy, you won't need the anti-depressants anymore as they say OSA can cause depression. And if you had 100 events per hour, I would imagine you opened yourself up (or the condition did) to a lot of the side effects that can go along with OSA, depression being one of them.

If you started to feel good all the time, it only stands to reason you wouldn't feel so depressed IF that was what was causing the depression in the first place. Good luck!!!

[Jere]

I hesitate ever to double post, but this is an important discussion (so don't shoot me ):

From my own long-time experience - depression is very insidious and its causes are many. Lack of good sleep tends to make depression worse, but I think it is dangerous to think that depression could be caused by apnea and sleep deprivation. I have worked for years with both my psychiatrist and my sleep doctor to deal with (what we all thought was) anxiety-caused insomnia and depression. Once medication was found to stabilize the insomnia and depression (including zoloft for several years), it was then thought a good idea (due to snoring) that I get a sleep study and the apnea was diagnosed and CPAP diagnosed.

From better sleep due to CPAP and other shifts in medication, I am certainly feeling better. But I have no illusions that CPAP will somehow 'cure' my depression: ABSOLUTELY NOT. I have deluded myself over the years that this or that had 'cured' my depression and I could get off my meds and be normal, only to have the depression come back with a vengeance as soon as I went off the meds.

So, get as much sleep as you can and feel as good as you can BUT don't expect to be 'cured' by CPAP. True depression has a way of hiding just beneath the surface, biding its time; it WILL return as soon as you think you have it licked. And that is depressing as h ll.

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP

[Sleepless on LI]

Jere,

I'm sorry if you took me to say that it is a guarantee that treatment for OSA will cure depression. I only meant that in some cases, you can develop depression from the OSA, not that it is always the case. I am sure depression can come from hundreds of other reasons, but they do say that OSA can cause depression. Maybe not the clinical definition (I don't know), but mood swings and sadness, feeling of unexplained loss all the time, as a result of feeling the effects of the sleep disorder. And I believe it is true that certain anti-depressants can intefere with the treatment for OSA.

I really hope you didn't think I was belittling the actual disorder of depression. I know it's a very serious matter and would never thnk to do such a thing. But with someone who has been suffering with severe OSA to the tune of a 100 AHI, it's not that far-fetched, or at least I didn't think, to consider the "depression" could come from that.

Jere, I know how hard you've worked to get yourself to the point you are today and I was blown away by your post and even wrote you so. I really don't want you to take what I wrote the wrong way.

[Sleepless on LI]

I just did a bit of research on this subject and the following better explains what I was trying to say. I will post the paragraph and then provide the URL to the site. Hope it says it better than I can (as a matter of fact, I'm sure it does).

• Category: Depression News
  Article Date: 14 Sep 2005
  
  
  Patients who experience symptoms, such as sleepiness, fatigue, poor motivation, irritability, and difficulty concentrating, are often diagnosed with depression and are treated with antidepressants.
  
  A new study suggests that many of these patients have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and their symptoms may be reduced with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medical ... &nfid=crss

[Jere]

Lori -

Absolutely no offense intended .

I was just trying to offer my experience as a warning that some forms of depression are life-time companions. Human nature is such that some people will often look for the magic 'cure' that will allow them to throw those god-awful/life-saving medications in the trash. If only it were true.

Acceptance is difficult, and sometime the best that can be expected is to learn coping mechanisms that will mitigate the disease. Getting good sleep is one of the best coping mechanisms for me. I just feel - that for me - CPAP is not the elusive magic cure.

This is an important discussion and I am fascinated to hear how people feel about the subject.

Jerry

[Sleepless on LI]

Jerry,

Thanks for relieving me. I would never want you to think what I was afraid you took my post to mean. It's just like the article I quoted after my first post to you. There is a form of depression that can accompany the OSA. I only wish it were that simple for you and you could have thrown away all your meds after getting on CPAP therapy. I know it's not that simple for others. I just see someone saying they had an AHI of 100, which we all know is severe, for an extended period before being diagnosed and that they suffer from depression. My simple mind goes first to the simplest of conclusions and tells me that perhaps that depression is coming from such a severe and prolonged case of OSA. I only hope it turns out to be that for SBIT.

Thanks for making me feel better. You know I think you are a living success story and an inspiration to others on this site.

[Jere]

Patients who experience symptoms, such as sleepiness, fatigue, poor motivation, irritability, and difficulty concentrating, are often diagnosed with depression and are treated with antidepressants.

That does not surprise me (just shocks me!). Ill-informed GP's will put patients on anti-depressents for all sorts of reasons (without informed consent regarding the side-effects and problems with withdrawal, which can be worse than the problem).

[Jere]

Jerry,

Thanks for relieving me. I would never want you to think what I was afraid you took my post to mean.

Shucks, I would never think such a thought. Have you ever been mean? If this board is any indication, I think NOT.

(Besides - you know your SODA from your pop)

[Sleeping Better in Texas]

Lori & Jere

Great dialogue...

SBIT here... As a psychotherapist for many years and a professor of communication, I can tell you from professional and personal experience, it ain't fun. You are absolutely correct Jere, I have sought out the magic elixer for years only to discover that depression is truly a bio-psycho-social disease.

I hope this thread and the one started by the gal from Ontario is a hit. I think that mental health is very misunderstood and only those who have truly experienced it know the emotional pain. 22 days and counting, I'm better. I still have my mood swings, but their seems to be some light at the tunnel. Absolutely, talk with a doctor/psychiatrist before going off any psychotherapeudic drugs of any kind.

Life is getting more clear and the rainbows are definately richer. As they say in the movies - you had me at "hello."

SBIT

[Jere]

Absolutely, talk with a doctor/psychiatrist before going off any psychotherapeudic drugs of any kind.

I was just writing exactly the same thing on the Ontario thread while you were posting this (but not so eloquently).