Sleep Apean and vertigo--new user, help!

Hi, I am a 57 yr old woman, diagnosed with OSA last month. I was having 150 apnea episodes an hour, plus many symptoms (terrifying nightmares, bedwetting, frequent nighttime bathroom trips, falling asleep in daytime, etc)

However, although I've been using the CPAP for a few weeks now, beginning yesterday I started having severe vertigo. I had 2 incidents yesterday (once when I got up in the morning and once when we came home from celebrating our wedding anniversary).

I somehow suspected the CPAP and after Googling, found out I was right. I cut last night's usage from 8 hrs to 4, and this morning woke up with vertigo all day!

I left 4 msgs for my pulmonologist to no avail (no return calls). I wanted to ask him to reduce my pressure since that seems to be what causes it.

My current pressure is 11. They told me I have a ramp where it starts at 6 and goes to 11. Not sure what all this means.

I learned thru Google of the Epley Maneuver, so the next episode I have, I will have my husband help me do it (it seems to have subsided right now, last vertigo

episode was an hour ago.)

I do want to say I had an inner ear equilibrium problem as a child due to my hearing loss, but the last vertigo I had was 2000 during a bellydance class. I highly

doubt its that, and believe the CPAP is what is causing it, since so many others have the same problem.

But why would it take a few wks to begin?


AJ

Hi,
Sorry you've been having such crummy symptoms due to your sleep apnea!
I'm curious where you found a correlation between cpap usage and vertigo. I've only used cpap for a month, but it's helped my disequilibrium problems (not quite vertigo - more a woozy feeling). Do you feel like the cpap is irritating your ear in any way? Also, how do you feel your sleep with the machine has been - are you waking much during the night?

Go see your MD - your equilibrium is out and Cpap or OSA being the cause is highly unlikely. Not everything's about them and you do have a history. It is possible that a little air seeped into your eustachian tubes (it can happen), but arbitrarily lowering your pressure may not help anyway and you may need it to treat your apnea. There should be other ways to deal with the vertigo than just slowing or quitting Cpap.

Prescribed pressure settings refer to the rate at which air is delivered by Cpap. The ramp is a feature to help those who can't deal with the full pressure when just putting the mask on, so it allows you to ''ramp' up to your prescribed setting(s) at a slower pace (you set the time), but 11 isn't that high considering, and most of us turn off the ramp entirely very shortly after starting Cpap... you should get used to the initial little 'blast' of air quickly... unless you really don't, and remember you're not getting fully treated until the ramp reaches your scripted low setting. But talk to your doctor re the vertigo etc, see what he says, and if you want to try lowering your '11' by a cm or 2, it's up to you, but be aware you may not then be getting optimum Cpap treatment and may want to monitor it with Sleepyhead software to be sure.

I'd also not do any manoeuvers until you talk to your doctor and confirm what's going on.

And if possible, try to stick to one thread so we can follow your whole story to make sense of things (however unrelated they may seem now).

Hi all,

Its ironic that some of you say CPAP does not cause vertigo...it was doing a search on Google for CPAP+vertigo that I found this forum and an 8 page long thread where a lot of ppl said it did trigger their vertigo. Its a thread from 2011 but with new posts for this yr too.

The inner ear has crystals that control our balance. Its likely that the blast of air from the CPAP continuously causes the crystals to move around, thus triggering vertigo.

The maneuver I mentioned forces the crystals to fall back into the proper place. Its widely used and known and WebMD tells you how to do it.

BTW just so you know upfront: I have a medical background (not a dr), and I know doctors are not always right. My primary has been wrong on a few things whereas

I was right.

AJ wrote:Hi all,

Its ironic that some of you say CPAP does not cause vertigo...it was doing a search on Google for CPAP+vertigo that I found this forum and an 8 page long thread where a lot of ppl said it did trigger their vertigo. Its a thread from 2011 but with new posts for this yr too.

The inner ear has crystals that control our balance. Its likely that the blast of air from the CPAP continuously causes the crystals to move around, thus triggering vertigo.

The maneuver I mentioned forces the crystals to fall back into the proper place. Its widely used and known and WebMD tells you how to do it.

BTW just so you know upfront: I have a medical background (not a dr), and I know doctors are not always right. My primary has been wrong on a few things whereas

I was right.

I have constant tinnitus and was diagnosed a few years ago with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) by a world-renowned expert (Dr. Timothy Hain)
https://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/d ... /bppv.html
This was after suffering with the condition for over 12 years and being treated locally by an ENT specialist who thought I had Meniere's disease. My condition is confined to the left side as confirmed by many different tests using Frenzel goggles to detect nystagmus https://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/p ... enzels.htm The Epley maneuver addresses the left side, right side, or both sides independently. How can you possibly know from an internet search that you have this condition and, if so, in which inner ear (or both) it resides?

I'm not going to get into the debate about cpap and vertigo. I don't really have an opinion since I suffered before and after starting cpap. My symptoms are more frequently aggravated by moving my head downwards while working, rolling over in bed, and fine detail work like painting. You should begin this journey by finding an ENT who specializes in vestibular disorders. From there you may end up with a physical therapist who can fine tune your treatment for BPPV if, in fact, that's what you have. Your doctor might want to eliminate the possibility of an acoustic neuroma (via MRI) somewhere in the process. This is not a condition to be diagnosed and treated via the internet. Good luck.

Definitely get checked out.

Another possibility that hasn't been mentioned is "migraine equivalent" (do you have a history of migraines?) which is like a migraine without the headache. It can present with disequilibrium and vertigo. Recently received that diagnosis myself and have complete relief now - so glad I went and was correctly diagnosed and treated (like you, I'd rather take care of things myself... plus, I do not like taking meds if there is any way to avoid doing so).

AJ wrote:Hi all,

Its ironic that some of you say CPAP does not cause vertigo...it was doing a search on Google for CPAP+vertigo that I found this forum and an 8 page long thread where a lot of ppl said it did trigger their vertigo. Its a thread from 2011 but with new posts for this yr too.

The inner ear has crystals that control our balance. Its likely that the blast of air from the CPAP continuously causes the crystals to move around, thus triggering vertigo.

The maneuver I mentioned forces the crystals to fall back into the proper place. Its widely used and known and WebMD tells you how to do it.

BTW just so you know upfront: I have a medical background (not a dr), and I know doctors are not always right. My primary has been wrong on a few things whereas

I was right.

I think it was our alphabet boy that said it.

The calcium deposits which move around are in an ENCLOSED AREA, inaccessible to respirated air.
Anyone claiming that inhaled air can move the "crystals" anywhere,
has holes where they would not be without a great deal of pain.
This happens spontaneously, or sometimes with movement, trauma or age--not cpap use.
Posters come on all the time, making impossible claims, mostly to validate their denial.

xxyzx wrote:

chunkyfrog wrote:The calcium deposits which move around are in an ENCLOSED AREA, inaccessible to respirated air.
Anyone claiming that inhaled air can move the "crystals" anywhere,
has holes where they would not be without a great deal of pain.
This happens spontaneously, or sometimes with movement, trauma or age--not cpap use.
Posters come on all the time, making impossible claims, mostly to validate their denial.

=========

that poster imho was merely trying to prove me wrong but failed again

Caution, anyone on this forum will tell you, if xxyzx says it, it's probably wrong. IGNORE HIS IDIOTIC posts

The vertigo seems to have left, at least for now. I now have a bottle of meclizine handy though, just in case.

I got some good advice from a fellow who is the night manager for the sleep center where I go.

He said he also has vertigo and uses CPAP. He suggested sleeping with my head elevated.

I tried it a few nights ago and when I laid on my right, the vertigo hit like mad.

I switched to my left side, and it left!

I'm now sleeping with my head elevated and it seems to be staying away.

Knock on wood!