Waking up exactly 30-35 minutes all night long

[pianoman37]

I've been exhausted since my teenage years. Been to lots of primary care doctors and had all kinds of blood work over the years. Nothing was found. Then I got to figuring out that it may be my sleep. 2018 a sleep study showed a 4.7 AHI and 18 RDI. Had deviated septum and turbinate reduction surgery.

In December 2019 I had a bunch of weird symptoms of heart rate and blood pressure bouncing up and down, adrenaline rushes with trembling all over, etc. Went to the ER 3 times between December 2019 - January 2020. Basically anxiety/panic attack-like symptoms. Cardiologist visit for a full Stress Echocardiogram, Doppler Color Flow and Doppler Echo exam. He said my heart was healthy. Then in February, my whole household came down with a violent stomach virus that left one family member with severe vomiting and black diarrhea and two of us just had black diarrhea for days. After that, my stomach got to where it hurt for weeks. An Upper Endoscopy at a Gastro doc revealed a swollen stomach lining. Tests were negative for cancer and bacteria. I tried CPAP for a few months starting at the end of 2019, but then after I got sick with the stomach virus and haven't been the same since. I was too anxious to use the CPAP and it seemed like my body started rejecting it and the numbers shot up. A recent visit to an ENT Specialist/Sleep doc and he looked over my in-lab study and home sleep study results and said he didn't think I need the CPAP at all and he thinks the 18 RDI was probably artifacts in their scoring at the other sleep clinic. Because his sleep lab is closed, he wants to do a home sleep study. He insisted that the Type 2 that I wanted to get from an online mail-order (records 20 channels for $499) won't provide enough data for him and he wants to do a 3-5 channel Type 3 that he says will provide enough data. So now I'm confused. Very well-known sleep doctor considered to be one of the best.

Nowadays, I don't have those panic attacks, but I have other weird stuff going on. I have had a spare home security camera trained on my bed for months now. Every 30-35 minutes, like clockwork, I turn over. I can see the event times all night long. In the previous in-lab sleep study, I heard the sleep tech in the other room say, "He keeps waking up!" Haven't figured out why. New sleep doc doesn't think I have Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome. He went all up my nose with a camera endoscope. Sinuses are clear. He said my anatomy doesn't indicate that of someone with UARS. I've been to a Thyroid doctor recently. Awaiting test results from that. He doesn't think it is thyroid, however, but hasn't ruled it out until my blood work comes back. I have part of the symptoms.

I've been having blood pressure spikes and heart rate drops and spikes today and my hands, arms and legs/feet feel cold sometimes and look whitish. Odd muscle twitches and muscle aches/random pains all over. Feeling dizzy and faint. "Cold" tingling in legs and calf muscles. Tightness on each side of my neck running up vertically to under my ears. I was thinking something like POTS or Dysautonomia. Not a good time for that to happen since I have to work.

How do I figure out what keeps waking me up? It is impeccable every night all night, even when I'm laying on my stomach with my head turned to the side, on my side or on my back. I'm no longer using CPAP because it was causing panic attacks. Haven't tried BiPap yet, but doc doesn't feel like I need it. Even an in-lab sleep study previously revealed that I didn't have restless legs, yet kept waking up. I don't know what to do and this is taking its toll on my body so badly. GP doc wasn't sure and referred me to check m sleep again.

[DreamDiver]

I've been exhausted since my teenage years. Been to lots of primary care doctors and had all kinds of blood work over the years. Nothing was found. Then I got to figuring out that it may be my sleep. 2018 a sleep study showed a 4.7 AHI and 18 RDI. Had deviated septum and turbinate reduction surgery.

In December 2019 I had a bunch of weird symptoms of heart rate and blood pressure bouncing up and down, adrenaline rushes with trembling all over, etc. Went to the ER 3 times between December 2019 - January 2020. Basically anxiety/panic attack-like symptoms. Cardiologist visit for a full Stress Echocardiogram, Doppler Color Flow and Doppler Echo exam. He said my heart was healthy. Then in February, my whole household came down with a violent stomach virus that left one family member with severe vomiting and black diarrhea and two of us just had black diarrhea for days. After that, my stomach got to where it hurt for weeks. An Upper Endoscopy at a Gastro doc revealed a swollen stomach lining. Tests were negative for cancer and bacteria. I tried CPAP for a few months starting at the end of 2019, but then after I got sick with the stomach virus and haven't been the same since. I was too anxious to use the CPAP and it seemed like my body started rejecting it and the numbers shot up. A recent visit to an ENT Specialist/Sleep doc and he looked over my in-lab study and home sleep study results and said he didn't think I need the CPAP at all and he thinks the 18 RDI was probably artifacts in their scoring at the other sleep clinic. Because his sleep lab is closed, he wants to do a home sleep study. He insisted that the Type 2 that I wanted to get from an online mail-order (records 20 channels for $499) won't provide enough data for him and he wants to do a 3-5 channel Type 3 that he says will provide enough data. So now I'm confused. Very well-known sleep doctor considered to be one of the best.

Nowadays, I don't have those panic attacks, but I have other weird stuff going on. I have had a spare home security camera trained on my bed for months now. Every 30-35 minutes, like clockwork, I turn over. I can see the event times all night long. In the previous in-lab sleep study, I heard the sleep tech in the other room say, "He keeps waking up!" Haven't figured out why. New sleep doc doesn't think I have Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome. He went all up my nose with a camera endoscope. Sinuses are clear. He said my anatomy doesn't indicate that of someone with UARS. I've been to a Thyroid doctor recently. Awaiting test results from that. He doesn't think it is thyroid, however, but hasn't ruled it out until my blood work comes back. I have part of the symptoms.

I've been having blood pressure spikes and heart rate drops and spikes today and my hands, arms and legs/feet feel cold sometimes and look whitish. Odd muscle twitches and muscle aches/random pains all over. Feeling dizzy and faint. "Cold" tingling in legs and calf muscles. Tightness on each side of my neck running up vertically to under my ears. I was thinking something like POTS or Dysautonomia. Not a good time for that to happen since I have to work.

How do I figure out what keeps waking me up? It is impeccable every night all night, even when I'm laying on my stomach with my head turned to the side, on my side or on my back. I'm no longer using CPAP because it was causing panic attacks. Haven't tried BiPap yet, but doc doesn't feel like I need it. Even an in-lab sleep study previously revealed that I didn't have restless legs, yet kept waking up. I don't know what to do and this is taking its toll on my body so badly. GP doc wasn't sure and referred me to check m sleep again.

First, I'd like to say "Welcome!"

It looks like you posted about this before on April 5. Kteague and Miss Emerita responded, and their advice seemed sound. They did ask a couple questions. Unfortunately, you did not respond. No worries, when we all start out on CPAP, we're all pretty much in the waking dead stage, so you're in good company. You may have been too out of it to remember that you'd even posted.

It's probably best to stick to this one thread so that people can read back, learn what's going on and see if we can help you figure things out for yourself. A couple housekeeping things:
1. It would help to have your machine and mask selected in your member profile so we can see what equipment you're working with.
2. Also maybe include your pressure settings in the text part of the profile.

There are others who have had panic attacks on this forum. Some of them may have advice for how they approached it.

I don't have to tell you, we're all pretty avid about getting sleep therapy on this forum. I know from experience, as do many of the others on here exactly what you're going through.

If you're having trouble doing it at night, start by reading in bed during a nap. Remain conscious and just get used to breathing with the mask on and the machine running while you read. Or you could watch a movie or listen to music. The idea is to let your conscious self train your unconscious self that it's okay to wear a mask. You may even fall asleep during the nap. At some point a couple nights later, start wearing the mask at night. If you end up taking it off after a while, or while your unconscious, don't feel guilty about it. The fact that you put it on at all is a goal in itself. Get your body used to the fact that you're going to be putting the mask on every night. Hopefully soon after, you'll be sleeping soundly through the first night.

I know it sounds like wishful thinking now, but sometimes it has to happen in small steps, like getting used to cold water in a swimming pool. After a while, the water's fine.

Others will be along shortly with suggestions about how they might tackle some of the various considerations you've brought up. It's important that you respond in this thread so we can keep up. Making new threads about the same topic will make it more difficult for those trying to help you determine where you are in your progress. And remember it's important to respond, so we can be aware of your progress.

We work best with data. If you suspect you have something, it helps that you've confirmed it with a doctor. If you have a question about your machine data or polysomnographs, it helps to have some munged copies of your reports posted here for us to look at.

I hope you'll stick around, and I hope you'll keep trying to get used to your sleep apnea machine. Once you are getting some rest, you may find the fog clearing and suddenly you'll be focusing clearly again.

Chris

[LSAT]

Are you planning to give the CPAP another try? If you are, come back when you are using it and we may be able to help.

[pianoman37]

I'm awaiting another home sleep study. New sleep doc (old sleep doc wouldn't even give the CPAP at all and the CPAP came generically from my ENT doc who was trying to help) looked over both sleep studies and doesn't think I need the CPAP. That sleep study will probably be scheduled on Monday for maybe later this week.

[pianoman37]

I was using Air Sense 10 Autoset For Her (because it had the extra lighter algorithm that I wanted to try, which didn't help). My new ENT doc/Sleep doc (double certified) said I don't fit the bill for UARS. He thinks their scoring method was messed up at the other lab and they did indeed botch a lot of things there. With only 2.75 hours of sleep, I'm not even sure how accurate that was. I'll have another in-lab study as soon as something opens up to have one. I just got approval from my insurance company for the home sleep study, so that will be coming up soon. Sleep lab is closed, but I don't sleep well with someone watching me, anyway.

The 2018 in-lab study showed 4.7 AHI, 18 RDI. Home sleep study showed 5.2 AHI. Sleep doctor doesn't think that's the issue, though. With all of my crazy weird symptoms, we are trying to make sure it is sleep-related. I've read that POTS can cause dizziness, but thyroid issues can also cause dizziness and I'm waiting on the test results for that after seeing an endocrine/thyroid doctor yesterday. My T3 uptake levels were low on recent blood work, for instance. My Albumin/Globulin levels on the blood test have been consistently high for months, as well. Bad cholesterol levels have shot up, good cholesterol has gone down. Digestion and stomach issues have increased, so something is going on.

As the sleep doc said, he wants to get it right. We aren't currently sure if my brain is waking up and causing me to move, if my legs/body movements are waking me up or if it is my airway closing/narrowing that is waking me up to cause me to move. Even with my own sleep cam every night, I can't tell. My hypnogram (he went over it with me) from the in-lab study showed that I bounced in and out of the first and second stage of sleep all throughout the entire 3 hours that I slept in the study. Mostly in the first stage.

The panic attacks started many, many months after using CPAP. Right after my family got sick with a stomach bug and we were all violently ill. Then my digestion went out of the window, I started having massive stomach pains, we discovered the swollen stomach lining (Gastritis) with no known cause, etc. Then I was having other Gastro issues. After that, blood pressure and heart rate spikes and drops to the point where it triggers the "irregular heartbeat* icon when I take my blood pressure. I know from watching the video footage that I'm consistently waking up every 30-35 minutes. No idea why. Not sure if it is the breathing or some kind of neurological issue that is going on. When I was using the CPAP, I didn't have any panic attacks. AHI was down to 0.5 with my settings, but I couldn't see if I was treating any of the RERAs properly.

My dizziness seems to improve when I pedal on an exercise bike, so I'm thinking I may have some kind of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome or something. After exercising, my legs tingle a little more than before, but some of the dizziness seems to improve. I don't know what is causing that tightness/uncomfortable feeling running vertically along each side of my neck. It is like a pressure feeling. Might be from low blood pressure/volume. I'm told that a BiPap may help this if it is POTS from the RERAs confusing the nervous systems, but I'm waiting to see my home sleep study results. Sleep doc didn't think I need BiPap at the current time until we physically see some good results from a night of sleep that will show more of what is going on. That 2.75 hours was quite skewed. He thinks the 50 breathing events/18 RDI may have been artifacts and said most sleep labs don't score them properly as 10 or more seconds. He also runs his own sleep lab.

I don't mind using the CPAP (and I may end up getting a BiPap soon if we determine that I need to try one), it just wasn't working like it used to. I brought the CPAP in with me to the sleep lab at their request and they reviewed data from my SD card, checked my machine settings, etc.

The settings that I was using before I got ill with a stomach bug suddenly caused me panic attacks and basically choked me awake when I started using the machine afterwards. Before getting sick, I was 0.5 AHI to 1 AHI. Afterwards, those same settings caused 18 AHI. I adjusted up and down in the settings to see if maybe something changed a little and I could not get used to the CPAP any more. It was like it was doing something different to my body and the body was fighting back. I don't know what is causing those frequent awakenings when I adjust/turn over every 30-35 minutes. I do it a lot even when I sleep on my stomach or side for half of the night. Doesn't seem to make a difference and apneas are known to be worse on the back. On the side, my AHI was like 3 in the home study. It is like someone sitting there with a timer telling me to turn over every 30 minutes. I'm not sure that it is apneas/hypopneas or RERAs causing it.

[DreamDiver]

I was using Air Sense 10 Autoset For Her,,,

,,, Before getting sick, I was 0.5 AHI to 1 AHI. Afterwards, those same settings caused 18 AHI. I adjusted up and down in the settings to see if maybe something changed a little and I could not get used to the CPAP any more. It was like it was doing something different to my body and the body was fighting back. I don't know what is causing those frequent awakenings when I adjust/turn over every 30-35 minutes. I do it a lot even when I sleep on my stomach or side for half of the night. Doesn't seem to make a difference and apneas are known to be worse on the back. On the side, my AHI was like 3 in the home study. It is like someone sitting there with a timer telling me to turn over every 30 minutes. I'm not sure that it is apneas/hypopneas or RERAs causing it.

Data are important, sure. But throw a monkey wrench in the works, like a viral stomach bug, and they can be skewed by a lot of things. Going from .5 AHi to 18 AHI could be entirely expected, for instance if it also caused some form of flow limitation (stuffy nose, drippy nose, etc.) that just changes things. It wouldn't surprise me to see a giant skew during a bug. And that's okay.

It's entirely possible you may not be a candidate for sleep apnea therapy. This second opinion may help make that decision. Don't sweat any numbers the night of the test. Your job is just to be you.

As to the turning over every 30-some minutes like clockwork, I do that a lot too. I did it more when I first started. On this avenue, I'd like to point out KTeague's advice to a fellow forum member Jake B, just recently -- just amazing advice about the body getting used to a new sleep hygiene regime. It can take some time, but you'll master this, whether it's sleep apnea or something else... You'll master your sleep hygiene because you're taking steps like this.

Looking forward to hearing more as you document the journey.

Chris

[pianoman37]

Right now I'm suspecting thyroid to be the cause of my sleep issues unless they prove it otherwise with the blood work. Stuff like my hands/feet turning white/cold, the nausea, dizziness, heartbeat, etc. Primary care doctors have tested my blood dozens of times over the years, but I've never been to an endocrine/thyroid doctor to get targeted blood work for those specific things that they didn't know to test for. It may be why I'm waking up. I get weird blood pressure/heart rate increases/decreases even while sleeping and some of the symptoms of thyroid issues are poor sleep, as well.

One of the alarming things that no sleep forum or sleep doctor has been able to pinpoint or identify is that my brain wakes up before my body quite frequently. It doesn't matter if I'm taking a nap (it literally happened today during a 1 hour nap just this afternoon) or a full night of sleep. I wake up sometimes during the night, my body is 'vibrating' internally and physically still in sleep mode. It feels like a bunch of very rapid shakes inside of my organs/abdomen as if all of my organs and my entire body is quietly trembling. It probably couldn't even be felt if someone touched my outer skin. My brain is awake and alert as soon as I wake up, so it isn't sleep paralysis and there are no delusions like people tend to have. If I just lay there, my body will 'vibrate' for a minute or two and then wake up. But if my brain wakes up and I immediately turn my head or move my arm, my body physically wakes up more rapidly and my heart starts beating faster to get out of sleep mode. For a normal person, this doesn't get experienced. It is weird as heck and sleep doctors don't know what to tell me. Part of me hopes that by posting on the forums I can find someone with some kind of odd neurological sleep disorder with something relatable to explain my odd awakenings that may be linked to this same phenomenon.

If I have OSA or UARS when these sleep tests are done, I'll be happy to get back on CPAP/BiPap. Next time I may try BiPap. I still have my CPAP and a few masks, the sleep clinic just doesn't want me using it until we prove that I need it. Then I'm going to get a proper titration for those RERAs. Self-treating hasn't been working. I felt like it wasn't helping and some of the anxiety seemed to be from me trying to force my body to get used to it and it is possible that I don't need it. I had trouble with using it for 2 months after getting sick on Feb 1, so it wasn't just a day or two of anxiety.

[upforsleep]

Has your Doctor ruled out diabetes?

[pianoman37]

Has your Doctor ruled out diabetes?

Primary care doctor looked at previous blood tests. Thyroid doctor (they're also a Diabetes and Endocrine clinic specifically) looked at my most recent blood work that my GI doctor requested a couple of weeks. All bad cholesterol is high, good cholesterol is low and Triglycerides are high. A/G Ratio has been consistently high for months, but just a little. The T3's are low just a little, but below the minimum sliding scale number. Blood sugar after a 12-hour fast during my most recent blood work was about 200. Literally like 1 number above the highest number of the sliding normal scale, so of course it showed High because of one number.

I have days like today where I feel malaise when I get up. This morning my neck on the left side, lower back on the left side, left hip joint and left leg were hurting randomly. It was about 11:30am. I had been up since about 9:00am. I got in the shower and my hands turned white and fingernail beds turned blueish purple. Could by Cyanosis indicating poor oxygen/blood flow or could be Raynaud's that I seem to get when I wash my hands. When combined with the feeling like I'm going to faint, the Gastritis in my stomach, the poor sleep and possibly something else going on, it can feel overwhelming. It doesn't help that I randomly feel short of breath and muscles sometimes don't seem to want to work right or get phantom pains. I've read that thyroid issues can cause the discolored extremities and such, as well.

I'm running out of doctors. I can go back to the Cardiologist in a couple of days. I can go to a Pulmonologist and maybe get some lung tests. Other than sleep, I'm running out of options. Everything else seems normal on blood work except for the mentioned things. As the thyroid doctor stated, my "symptoms" are just that - symptoms. Not really indicative of anything that just screams out a specific disease or condition as a whole. He said it could be a variety of things or something else other than thyroid going on, as well. I have days when I feel like I'm going to faint in the floor due to being dizzy-headed.

[DreamDiver]

Right now I'm suspecting thyroid to be the cause of my sleep issues unless they prove it otherwise with the blood work. Stuff like my hands/feet turning white/cold, the nausea, dizziness, heartbeat, etc. Primary care doctors have tested my blood dozens of times over the years, but I've never been to an endocrine/thyroid doctor to get targeted blood work for those specific things that they didn't know to test for. It may be why I'm waking up. I get weird blood pressure/heart rate increases/decreases even while sleeping and some of the symptoms of thyroid issues are poor sleep, as well.

One of the alarming things that no sleep forum or sleep doctor has been able to pinpoint or identify is that my brain wakes up before my body quite frequently. It doesn't matter if I'm taking a nap (it literally happened today during a 1 hour nap just this afternoon) or a full night of sleep. I wake up sometimes during the night, my body is 'vibrating' internally and physically still in sleep mode. It feels like a bunch of very rapid shakes inside of my organs/abdomen as if all of my organs and my entire body is quietly trembling. It probably couldn't even be felt if someone touched my outer skin. My brain is awake and alert as soon as I wake up, so it isn't sleep paralysis and there are no delusions like people tend to have. If I just lay there, my body will 'vibrate' for a minute or two and then wake up. But if my brain wakes up and I immediately turn my head or move my arm, my body physically wakes up more rapidly and my heart starts beating faster to get out of sleep mode. For a normal person, this doesn't get experienced. It is weird as heck and sleep doctors don't know what to tell me. Part of me hopes that by posting on the forums I can find someone with some kind of odd neurological sleep disorder with something relatable to explain my odd awakenings that may be linked to this same phenomenon.

If I have OSA or UARS when these sleep tests are done, I'll be happy to get back on CPAP/BiPap. Next time I may try BiPap. I still have my CPAP and a few masks, the sleep clinic just doesn't want me using it until we prove that I need it. Then I'm going to get a proper titration for those RERAs. Self-treating hasn't been working. I felt like it wasn't helping and some of the anxiety seemed to be from me trying to force my body to get used to it and it is possible that I don't need it. I had trouble with using it for 2 months after getting sick on Feb 1, so it wasn't just a day or two of anxiety.

Many of us have thyroid issues on this forum. I do. I manage it with prescriptions. It's important never to skip if you're on thyroid medication. The good thing about it is that it's mostly manageable.

What you describe in your second paragraph sounds totally like sleep paralysis. This happens to me all the time. I cannot speak to many of the other symptoms, but this one sounds very familiar.

There are two sides to the coin of sleep paralysis.

If you fight it, it feels like a nightmare. Buzzing, popping, earthquakey sensations, feeling like blood is pouring out of your ears, feeling like your insides are vibrating weirdly, but not painfully... feeling like you're in six inches of warm water, just low enough to allow you to breathe... feeling like you can't move, or you try to move, you're moving through peanut butter... feeling like you've turned inside out and can see inside and out at the same time... Sensations can get really bizarre. Feeling like you've gone to the other side of the galaxy in your dreams and then you're yanked back so violently that your forehead feels like it's been slapped with a willow whip even after you wake up. And then when your body does wake up, everything is entirely normal. There are no weird things happening. It was all, just.. a dream. Totally sleep paralysis for me. The feeling of very rapid shakes I suspect ( and I'm totally guessing ) may be how it manifests for you.

If you relax though, you can conscious dream. I just imagine in my mind's eye that I'm rolling over and getting out of bed, even if my body is still in bed. I know I'm dreaming, but I'm also conscious. So I can walk through walls or fly or invent fanciful creations straight out of the movie Fantasia. Or I'll fly through a temple, or skim the crest of a mountain ridge or zip through clouds across the sunrise... After anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, my body wakes up. I usually feel incredibly refreshed after that. If it's early, I just roll back over and sleep a little more.

This has been happening to me since before I learned to talk, so I just learned to live with it. For me, it's more fun if I give in and take control of the dream rather than let it control me. The one good thing about sleep paralysis is that you never lose control over your breathing. You always have control over that. When it happens, start by keeping your breathing even. Don't concentrate or think about it, just know you're breathing is even. Roll over in your minds eye and, well, let the fun begin.

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the explanation. I hope for you it is the case that you have been experiencing sleep paralysis. And I'm glad you're trying to get exercise. Apparently more of that would be good for you since it makes you feel better. Getting enough exercise during the day -- exhausting your body physically -- is also important for sleep hygiene at night.

Good luck on your next polysomnography. I hope you don't need cpap. If you do, well, you've got company here. If the graphs show some other determination, I hope you receive a therapy or protocol that will maximize healing and resolution.

Chris

[pianoman37]

What you describe in your second paragraph sounds totally like sleep paralysis. This happens to me all the time. I cannot speak to many of the other symptoms, but this one sounds very familiar.

Good luck on your next polysomnography. I hope you don't need cpap. If you do, well, you've got company here. If the graphs show some other determination, I hope you receive a therapy or protocol that will maximize healing and resolution.

Chris

One of my biggest symptoms is waking up and feeling like my heart is beating slower (as everyone's normally does when they sleep), but mine feelings like it is POUNDING hard while beating slower. Could just be that I'm more hypersensitive to the feeling or something. With Gastritis, for a few months now I've felt various twitches and jumps in my stomach, which my GI doc attributes to increased blood flow to the stomach area and the stomach lining inflammation. He said others have told him they felt that. But for the heart thing, I've felt that for a long time and nobody knows what it is. I may get my Cardiologist to give me a heart monitor for a few days so that they can see. Theoretically, the Stress Echocardiogram, Doppler Color flow and such should have found any issues if there were any.

I don't have any dreaming when I wake up and my mind is still asleep. I've had ear popping and felt awful and jittery. I wake up fully alert.

[DreamDiver]

One of my biggest symptoms is waking up and feeling like my heart is beating slower (as everyone's normally does when they sleep), but mine feelings like it is POUNDING hard while beating slower. Could just be that I'm more hypersensitive to the feeling or something. With Gastritis, for a few months now I've felt various twitches and jumps in my stomach, which my GI doc attributes to increased blood flow to the stomach area and the stomach lining inflammation. He said others have told him they felt that. But for the heart thing, I've felt that for a long time and nobody knows what it is. I may get my Cardiologist to give me a heart monitor for a few days so that they can see. Theoretically, the Stress Echocardiogram, Doppler Color flow and such should have found any issues if there were any.

I don't have any dreaming when I wake up and my mind is still asleep. I've had ear popping and felt awful and jittery. I wake up fully alert.

In your previous post you said your brain wakes up before your body. Now you're saying it's otherwise, so... Okay, it looks like there are a lot of complications outside of sleep apnea with what your talking about. We could name zebras, but really that's something you need to do with a doctor, or better yet a team of doctors. Too often, one doctor will say, 'that's not my specialty' and tell you to go to another doctor. This happened with me for a sinus infection over a tooth. The two doctors kept saying it's not their department. I finally got them in the same room and got closure. It sounds like if you're running out of doctors, you need them to spot light this with all of them in the room. All of us pointing at zebras isn't going to help you find the horse that's probably eating your roses.

Looking forward to some data from you or your doctor to document your journey.

Chris

[pianoman37]

In your previous post you said your brain wakes up before your body. Now you're saying it's otherwise, so... Okay, it looks like there are a lot of complications outside of sleep apnea with what your talking about. We could name zebras, but really that's something you need to do with a doctor, or better yet a team of doctors. Too often, one doctor will say, 'that's not my specialty' and tell you to go to another doctor. This happened with me for a sinus infection over a tooth. The two doctors kept saying it's not their department. I finally got them in the same room and got closure. It sounds like if you're running out of doctors, you need them to spot light this with all of them in the room. All of us pointing at zebras isn't going to help you find the horse that's probably eating your roses.

Looking forward to some data from you or your doctor to document your journey.

Chris

Yes, my brain does wake up before my body, so I can feel that heavy and slow heartbeat along with the full-body vibrations sometimes. I don't have any dreaming when my brain wakes up, though. I just wake up and realize, "Oh, I'm in my room asleep" and there's no hallucinations/dreams like many with sleep paralysis seem to get as a common symptom. If I turn my head or move my arm, the body will take up more quickly. If I just lay there with my brain awake and don't move, my body will wake up a minute or two later and I feel the heartbeat increase and such that most people don't feel because it happens before their brain is fully awake. Part of me wishes it would be thyroid (hypo seems to be the possibility since T4 was normal in multiple tests and T3 Uptake has been lower) so that I can take some synthetic hormone and boost the levels and finally have a reason for all of this fast heartbeat stuff, blood pressure going up and down, poor sleep, etc.

Yes, I've had that with lots of doctors. Primary care doc said anxiety after they were stumped and wanted to use meds to suppress symptoms. The anxiety comes from the issue that is messing with my body. The primary care doc says check with a cardiologist (I'll do that again in a couple of days due to my dizziness and circulation issues). Cardiologist couldn't find anything and said anxiety, but warned that the meds were suppressing and covering whatever problem was happening instead of fixing it. ENT doc/Sleep doc says I don't fit the bill for sleep apnea or UARS so far. We'll be doing an in-lab study when the lab actually opens up. I'm in Atlanta, Georgia. Georgia had some of the highest Coronavirus cases, so the labs are closed. Terrible timing. ENT/Sleep doc's assistant asked me at the start of my appointment if I was having Gastro issues. When I brought it up later to the doctor, he didn't want to talk about it even though sleep apnea and UARS patients seem to regularly have GERD and other issues.

The Endocrine/Thyroid doc said he didn't want to talk about the other stuff because it isn't his specialty and he doesn't want to give me wrong info, but wants me to get the right info and diagnosis. So I suppose that's why doctors do that so often.

Curiously, my last sugar levels from my GI doc's blood test requested about a month ago showed 200. Some of the websites show that like 149-199 is pre-diabetic and over 200 is Type 2 diabetes. However, my primary care doctor and the endocrine doc who looked over the blood work didn't say a word about my sugar levels. Other sites list up to 199 as normal for a non-diabetic person.

[pianoman37]

Got put on a 30-day cellular heart monitor today for me to choose the symptoms I'm having when I feel odd and feel like my heart is beating weird. Still waiting on thyroid. I think my dizziness may be from the poor sleep/lack of sleep.

[DreamDiver]

Got put on a 30-day cellular heart monitor today for me to choose the symptoms I'm having when I feel odd and feel like my heart is beating weird. Still waiting on thyroid. I think my dizziness may be from the poor sleep/lack of sleep.

Glad you're getting help!