Are these possible side effects of the C Pap?

[WildChild_Love]

I been using the C Pap for almost 3 weeks. The first week I was like the energizer bunny, all that energy I was doing everything much faster. But this Wednesday while I was doing some Yoga I had the worst scare I thought I was about to have a stroke. Ever since I been getting dizzy spells, nausea, headaches and ringing of the ears, abdominal aches.

[beckah]

I can only speak from my own experience. I've been on XPap therapy for six years and never had any of those symptoms. You should make an appointment with your doctor ASAP and discuss it with him/her.

Hope you feel better soon.

[MeghanRF]

I'm going to second the recommendation to visit the doctor. Definitely see a doctor, I don't think any of us could figure out what is going on!

I can share my experience with 1) yoga and 2) side effects of the machine.

1) yoga. When I take heated yoga classes and have not had enough water or food that day I get dizzy and get ringing in my ears. Not sure if you are taking Bikram or any other heated class, but especially in these classes you REALLY have to hydrate before and after. And, they burn lots of calories, so you need to eat more food than if you weren't taking class. Is that possible? You're doing more yoga because you have more energy and not hydrating/eating enough?

2) CPAP side effects. I have had abdominal pain. I actually just confirmed with the doctor this is in fact related to the CPAP. When I wake up in the morning some times I'll have stabbing pains in my stomach. The pressure (14-16) is pushing some air into my stomach and it causes pain (and gas!). I suppose this might make one nauseous as well.

Hope you feel better soon. Do take care of yourself!

[Mary Z]

I hope you're calling your doc this morning. I have never had any side effects from CPAP, except some gas. Your symptoms deserve at least a call to the doc or nurse. It may be nothing, but why risk it? Good luck.

[WildChild_Love]

Thank you everyone for your answers. I went to see the doctor and they did all the lab work and even a Chest X-ray. Everything was normal, the Doctor who saw me practices Yoga daily and indeed adviced me that since I just started using the C-Pap that until my body gets used to it I should only do moderate low impact exercise such as walking. That whenever I am more stable I can start adding other exercise into my daily routine. I also did in fact look into the calorie intake and did find out that I probably didnt have enough calories in eating 4 tangerines and some cottage cheese. Its so odd how before I would never be hungry and the weight some how just kept on piling up it was so frustrating. I tried every possible diet, dont eat that, eat these. I even signed up for a gym and would do up to 4hrs daily and did not help at all.

[MeghanRF]

First, SOOO glad to hear you went to the doctor.


I haven't researched this in depth, but I do believe weight gain may be both a cause and effect of sleep apnea. Our bodies go into shut down mode. And we have no energy and our bodies may be trying to make up for this by storing food. So you are in a whole new game now that you have the energy to burn more calories. 4 tangerines and cottage cheese is NOT enough!!! I too have had all those yoga reaction symptoms, and indeed when I would look back over the course of the day, I'd be like... Oh! I had a smoothie this morning... of course I'm going to be dizzy, nauseous and want to faint. We need food to survive, to feel good, and especially if we are exercising.

Lack of sleep throws everything off, and I know it has impacted my eating as well. I have delayed sleep phase as well, so when I am waking up at noon, it's confusing to know when to eat.

This leads me to my second recommendation...

Why not take a visit to a nutritionist? Perhaps you've already done this. But given that your body is going through some changes now, it might be worth re-visiting your diet and food intake and find something really healthy and substantial enough to sustain you through the day. I do best when I eat small meals every 3-4 hours. It keeps my energy level more stable. I also try to do some carbs, protein, and a little bit of fat for each of these meals. When I do this, I feel much better. And my yoga practice flourishes! All of a sudden in class I'm finding I feel great and loving those sun salutations and warriors, and may even have a joyful wheel pose (which I cannot do when I don't eat).

Good luck! So excited for you that you are getting the higher energy levels of the CPAP!

[JointPain]

Great to hear you went to the doctor. Definitely the right thing to have done with those symptoms.

Regarding energy levels, before I got back on CPAP I felt really, really cold when resting or going to sleep, after my body had started winding down a bit. (Thyroid tests were normal.) My wife was complaining that the AC was set far too hot, whereas I was freezing. Even if I wore a sweater to bed, my hands would feel uncomfortably cold.

Now that I'm back on CPAP, I've noticed that I feel a lot warmer. In fact, now my wife is complaining more about the cold than I am! (And I haven't touched the thermostats.)

[WildChild_Love]

Well I tried taking Allegra in case its just Allergies and it seems to be working so far I am really paying close attention to what I eat to make sure am taking enough so am not so sluggish. I think I might have developed an allergy towards chocolate, every time I eat it I get so Sleepy and get a headache. Although sometimes am still a bit sleepy even after using the C-Pap. Thank you everyone for your answers and support. Have a wonderful day!