What came first,silent reflux,asthma,sleep apnea,or zoloft?

Hi All!

Still a major newbie ( 3 weeks in ).
I'm wondering if all my diagnosis of:

1. depression - manifesting as irritability, was it menopause? Now taking 25 mg zoloft, and 4000 mg of Alpha 3 Omega.

2. Reflux, esophageal (sp?) boo-boos. Now taking 40 mg. of Nexium. Esophagus ok now. No more heartburn.

3. Asthma - 10 mg of Singular and sometimes in times of stress Advair or rescue inhaler.

4. And finally sleep apnea.

What came first?

I feel in my heart of hearts that control of the sleep apnea is at the root of curing all of the above. Is it wishful thinking or can it be true?

Since I am so new, I guess that this has been discussed before.
Could someone send me to those posts?
Or---what does anyone else think?

Just want to thank you all for the advice about taping my mouth. You are wonderful! Will try the strips soon. Or maybe full face mask.

Love from Shelley

For my son it was asthma, sleep apnea and now acid reflux.

Duh!
Sorry to be so lazy. Just googled sleep apnea + asthma, sleep apnea+GERD.
Gee, what do you think?
All seem to be related.
Oh, well....
At least I am getting the best info available.
Shelley

Hi,

In response to your question, "I feel in my heart of hearts that control of the sleep apnea is at the root of curing all of the above. Is it wishful thinking or can it be true?"...

I am thinking it CAN be true! You sound very much like me (depression, adult onset asthma, reflux, and now sleep apnea). I'm newly diagnosed (anxiously awaiting my machine!!). I've been interested in sleep apnea for quite some time, not only because I'm a health professional, but because my father died at 41 of a massive heart attack. When I showed my MD his medical records a few years ago, he agreed his cardiac abnormalities (weird ECG and slight enlargment) were most likely a result of severe sleep apnea. My mom and brother have it, and now, so do I.

Anyway, I believe we're just beginning to learn all the detrimental effects of sleep apnea, and within 10 years there will be mountains of evidence that untreated sleep apnea is HUGE contributor to many health problems we encounter. In the meantime, I feel so blessed, as if I've been given a new beginning, and a second chance at a healthy life. I'm a single mom of 3, and I can't wait to start sleeping well again and stop having to fight the urge to nap any chance I get. Whoohoo!

Good luck to all!

Hi - you won't 'cure' asthma with Cpap - it was there first for sure. The depression could be a combo of menopause, apnea symptoms, genetics, anything, and you won't cure it with Cpap (though it should help your general feeling of well being). GERD is something an awful lot of people get in midlife, and usually stems from a 'lazy' esophageal sphincter valve (where the eso. meets the stomach) due to age and overeating minus exercise, and will aggravate the apnea, but not be cured by CPAP, but a better diet and exercise (though won't actually be cured, but improved greatly).

I too suffer from depression, and asthma as well as osa, and have pondered the same question. I do take singular and advair..Just for the record Advair is a medicine that must be taken every day it is not a quick fix for asthma attacks as is preventil or ventolin. I did not get asthma or depression until I was 30. But I do know that I was a poor sleeper even as a child,so i do feel the osa may have come first for me. Good luck.........Ellen

Hi, in my case, Zoloft, A-fib, and OSA. I tried stopping the zoloft 2 months after I started my Cpap, very gradually over 12 weeks and had to start taking it again, but was left with a ringing in my ears, I wouldn't stop taking it had I known about the bad side effects, severe anger and mood swings.as for my a-fib ,I tried stopping the drug I take to control it and in 5 days I went into a-fib again, so my doctor said I had better keep taking it. Moral of this story, don't rush to stop taking meds just because you start to feel better, talk it over with your Doctor and go slow. Been there Rodth1

Hi again, Just for the record I feel OSA came first. Rodth1

Here is a great article on GERD. "GERD: The Surprising Source of many Physical Disorders"
http://grandtimes.com/GERD.html

After reading several articles on GERD, I am convinced that it has a big impact on our health and particularly how well or poorly we sleep. There certainly is evidence that GERD can cause swelling in the esophagus and airway and in turn this makes it easier for us to have obstructive events.

Here is one more for good measure. "Silent GERD May Underlie Many Patients' Sleep Complaints" Sorry, you will have to register, but its free.
http://medscape.com/viewarticle/516189

Good Reading!!

kornazoo wrote:
1. depression - manifesting as irritability

I feel in my heart of hearts that control of the sleep apnea is at the root of curing all of the above. Is it wishful thinking or can it be true?

For me it was defiantly sleep apnea at the root. For 10+ years I was told my irritability and inability to sleep was caused my depression. This never felt right to me, and often stated that I thought it was connected to my sleep issues. The more drugs they pumped into me the worse I felt. Some of the really sedating ones felt like they where going to kill me (because they where no doubt making my apnea much worse) Eventually I refused to take more drugs and they started calling me non-complaint and said I wouldn't ever get better if I didn't take their drugs (non of which have ever been proven to fix a measurable problem. They make you feel better by boosting neurotransmitters to unnaturally high levels) The sicker I got from apnea the more these doctors convinced themselves I had psychiatric issues. (the symptoms they look for are so broad they could cover many illnesses)

Eventually I got diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. As soon as I read the list of common symptoms I knew it described me perfectly. A few days after learning to make it all the way though the night with CPAP my irritability vanished. I've not had a spell of depression since.

It took many months to get off those drugs, I am grateful its over. The withdrawal was worse than what they where prescribed for. Many people become dependant on them for life since they can no longer function off them due to receptor down regulation.

I've had some lasting side effects (including the ringing ears that was mentioned) which really angers me since it was never the real problem. I think there is a danger that psychiatric drugs are often used to just mask real physical or psychological problems. I can't tell you how upsetting it is that the following has happened to me because of misdiagnoses... http://ssri-side-effects.com/

I've come to the conclusion that psychiatric drugs are dangerous and should only be used in extreme cases (please don't attack me for my view on this). Unfortunately they are handed out like candy. They often result in not getting to the real root of the problem.

Heck maybe even those antidepressants contribute to developing sleep apnea? (lowered dopamine in Parkinson's as been linked to developing apnea) How many of us on this forum where on antidepressants before developing sleep apnea? Just a wild completely unsubstantiated thought.

Rodth1 wrote:Moral of this story, don't rush to stop taking meds just because you start to feel better, talk it over with your Doctor and go slow.

Agreed. If your on SSRIs and decide to get off them you need to do it very very slowly. This is because of changes that the drugs have caused to your brain. You need time for your brain to adjust and upregulate new receptors. If you don't you'll likely experience something like you have never before (and doctors often wrongly conclude that this is 'proof' that you need this drug)

If you do decide to do it, I recommend the approach in the book "The Antidepressant Solution"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743269721

Julie wrote:you won't cure it [depression] with Cpap

I disagree. In some cases you will. If your depression was a result of the low oxygen each night you may very well be "cured" by CPAP.