Men - Apnea treatment and testosterone levels

[Eddie B]

I have been on my CPAP machine for 3 weeks, I'm fortunate that I have taken to it like a duck does to water. It appears that my Apnea most likely started about 5 to 10 years ago. I was chronically fatigued most of the time. For years I visited my doctor and we looked at everything but Apnea as a cause. I'm age 54 ,and last year I requested that my doctor check my T-level; it was very low. I began receiving shots and got some improvement, but the fatigue remained. I have heard that testosterone is created/secreated during deep sleep (stage 3/4), It appears that I might not have gotten much stage 3 sleep, and probably zero stage 4 sleep.

Are there any men out there that have noticed after some period of successful CPAP use that their t-level increased due to better sleep? Thanks..

[gpap]

I too am in the same situation. I have blood work tomorrow so will some idea in a few weeks.

[Eddie B]

I too am in the same situation. I have blood work tomorrow so will some idea in a few weeks.

How long ago was it that you were diagnosed with low T-level and how long have you been a CPAP user? I will be having my t-level checked in mid-April...

[2flamingos]

I have been on xpap since Nov 2008, and had my T levels checked in Mar 2009. BOth total and free were low. Have been on TRT since. LEvels have increased, but not as much as I think they should. I am, however, feeling much better overall.

[PtownKev]

Interesting question. My T levels were also very very low. I tried using topical HRT (Testim) but my body didn't seem to absorb it and it didn't raise my levels. In September I started on injections and now my levels are right in the middle of the "normal" range. I too experienced some small increase in energy with the T as well as some overall feeling of wellbeing, but nothing dramatic. I started on CPAP a month ago and finally feel like things are coming together. I never heard of a relationship between OSA and low testosterone levels but it's an intriguing idea.

[LarryD]

Here is a link that discusses low testosterone in men. It sees TRT as a negative impact on sleep apnea.

http://men.webmd.com/features/low-testo ... re-too-low

Larry

[jmelby]

I have talked to my doctor treating me for Low T about the relationship between testosterone and apnea... it is a complex relationship and everyone will react differently, but his take was that treating low T can make apnea worse (like the Web MD article says). The answer of course is "it depends"... so you'll have to see for yourself how your own body reacts. Unfortunately, once you are being treated with testosterone injections, your body will stop producing it, so you'd actually have to discontinue the testosterone shots in order see if treating apnea has helped your T levels.

[Eddie B]

Regarding the webmd article it would be great if they expanded on the premise of how testoserone replacement therapy could actually make apnea worse. I could certainly understand that if upper body and muscle mass increases particularly around the shoulders and neck that it is certainly plausible that obstructive apnea events could be increased. But without some decent level of testoserone a man will become tired/lethargic, not feel like exercising, or if untreated sleep apnea exists the snowball going downhill gets bigger and bigger...patient will continue to gain weight, and everything gets worse. What comes first - weight gain, then low-Testoserone, and then Apnea. or low-T, Apnea, and then weight gain? Sounds like the chicken and egg..

I would think that if effective treatment of Apnea and T-levels can get in a good range - then movement, exercise, and weight loss can begin provided healthy eating is in play. Years of untreated Apnea can perhaps be the trigger to low-T, weight gain, then later diabetes and cardiac problems.

[PtownKev]

Eddie, that's exactly what I was thinking. I wish the article would say what mechanism would make OSA worse in response to regulating testosterone levels. Clearly BPH can be caused or exacerbated by higher T levels since it's associated with higher levels of DHT (which is a metabolite of testosterone--Avodart and Flomax and other drugs used to treat BHP act by blocking DHT). But it's not clear to me why HRT would lead to an increase in OSA symptoms.

And you're right, increasing energy levels through effective treatment of OSA likely leads to increased activity, better eating habits, more exercise and, hopefully weight loss, which would, if anything, lessen the effects of OSA. Increase T levels through testosterone replacement would also tend to increase energy and assist in conversion of fat to lean muscle mass. I don't see how that would make the symptoms of OSA worse.

[Slartybartfast]

FWIW, take care if you're considering TRT. My dad was prescribed TRT and it sort of made him crazy. He became very aggressive with my mom, started picking (verbal) fights with her about long forgotten slights from years ago. I ended up removing the distributor rotor from his truck 'cause he announced he was leaving my mom and was going to just take off driving. When I asked him where he was going, he said "I don't know." And when I asked him if he thought that was really a good idea, he replied, "Probably not, but i'm going." Got him back to the doc who was alarmed at the transformation it made in him and he put him on an Seroquel to calm him down.

Testosterone's a wonderful thing. It makes you feel like you're invincible (ask any 19 year old). But it also can make you stupid (ask any 40 year old who remembers his youth.