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snowgolum · Post by **snowgolum** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:03 pm

I posted a month ago suspecting I have sleep apnea. It turns out that I do (AHI-23 RDI-84). My symptoms have mainly been mental health related and I was wondering how many of you saw your anxiety and disassociation clear up a bit once you began CPAP treatment? I'm not exactly expecting a miracle but I've seen that it doesn't help some people. The reason I even suspected apnea is because I'm never an anxious person and these symptoms came out of nowhere.

I ordered the CPAP and will begin treatment soon.

greatunclebill · Post by **greatunclebill** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:39 pm

My personal opinion is get on a medication for the anxiety first. There's a learning curve full of frustrations getting the machine and mask and getting used to it all. It could worsen your anxiety. Get it under control first. Then after you have everything working smooth you can revisit the drug therapy. I use a bpap and still take the anxiety med.

snowgolum · Post by **snowgolum** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:55 pm

greatunclebill wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:39 pm
My personal opinion is get on a medication for the anxiety first. There's a learning curve full of frustrations getting the machine and mask and getting used to it all. It could worsen your anxiety. Get it under control first. Then after you have everything working smooth you can revisit the drug therapy. I use a bpap and still take the anxiety med.

I was already on Lexapro and it made me a lot worse; including passing out and throwing up. In fact, I had more panic attacks taking it than not. If anxiety is created from sleep deprivation then taking an SSRI that causes insomnia will create even more problems. Antidepressants are known to be less effective if you have a sleep disorder. The anxiety didn't start up until I was noticing sleeping issues two months ago; never had any issues regarding anxiety before then. My chart shows that I'm getting less than ten minutes of REM a night with no deep sleep whatsoever which I know can cause major issues. I'm not necessarily asking about how to "fix" the anxiety. I'm asking if the CPAP helped anyone with the brain fog and anxiety at all. I know about adjustment periods and that it can get worse before better. I'm also a female and I know that lack of sleep for months can mess with your hormones.

zonker · Post by **zonker** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:37 pm

snowgolum wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:55 pm

I'm asking if the CPAP helped anyone with the brain fog and anxiety at all. I know about adjustment periods and that it can get worse before better. I'm also a female and I know that lack of sleep for months can mess with your hormones.

yup. brain fog definitely cleared up for me. never had any anxiety so nothing to report on that front.

snowgolum · Post by **snowgolum** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:42 pm

zonker wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:37 pm

snowgolum wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:55 pm

I'm asking if the CPAP helped anyone with the brain fog and anxiety at all. I know about adjustment periods and that it can get worse before better. I'm also a female and I know that lack of sleep for months can mess with your hormones.
yup. brain fog definitely cleared up for me. never had any anxiety so nothing to report on that front.

Brain fog I think is causing me to feel a lot of disassociation.

Tinben · Post by **Tinben** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:03 pm

Not sure about disassociation but Paxil/Paroxitine Hydrocloride has been my friend for many years. I suffered from extreme anxiety to where I didn’t even want to leave the house. I would definitely try and treat the anxiety first. Just my opinion. Not a specialist.

snowgolum · Post by **snowgolum** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:06 pm

Tinben wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:03 pm
Not sure about disassociation but Paxil/Paroxitine Hydrocloride has been my friend for many years. I suffered from extreme anxiety to where I didn’t even want to leave the house. I would definitely try and treat the anxiety first. Just my opinion. Not a specialist.

I find there's way too much of a correlation between the apnea and the anxiety. I haven't had one full night of sleep in two months and not just anxiety related but my body was waking me up without panic. My ct scan also showed a bad sinus infection. If the anxiety goes on longer after CPAP then I'll look into medication but I don't want to get on something when I'm not entirely sure of causation. I'm kind of surprised I'm hearing about anti-anxiety meds when there's proof that they can make apnea worse pre-treatment.

Tinben · Post by **Tinben** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:19 pm

snowgolum wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:06 pm

Tinben wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:03 pm
Not sure about disassociation but Paxil/Paroxitine Hydrocloride has been my friend for many years. I suffered from extreme anxiety to where I didn’t even want to leave the house. I would definitely try and treat the anxiety first. Just my opinion. Not a specialist.
I find there's way too much of a correlation between the apnea and the anxiety. I haven't had one full night of sleep in two months and not just anxiety related but my body was waking me up without panic. My ct scan also showed a bad sinus infection. If the anxiety goes on longer after CPAP then I'll look into medication but I don't want to get on something when I'm not entirely sure of causation. I'm kind of surprised I'm hearing about anti-anxiety meds when there's proof that they can make apnea worse pre-treatment.

I understand. Hate taking meds. Meds have some side effects.

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:31 pm

snowgolum wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:06 pm
I find there's way too much of a correlation between the apnea and the anxiety. I haven't had one full night of sleep in two months and not just anxiety related but my body was waking me up without panic. My ct scan also showed a bad sinus infection. If the anxiety goes on longer after CPAP then I'll look into medication but I don't want to get on something when I'm not entirely sure of causation. I'm kind of surprised I'm hearing about anti-anxiety meds when there's proof that they can make apnea worse pre-treatment.

All medications come with some baggage...even the lowly aspirin isn't without a little baggage.

Mood medications have their time and place but I personally avoid them like the plague unless I absolutely have no other alternative.
Since it is entirely possible that your anxiety is a by product of poor sleep....I would agree with your reasoning to try cpap first and see if better sleep helps or not. The baggage that comes with all mood meds...huge and not very pleasant.
I took a med last summer that the side effects were just horrible for me and I only lasted 2 weeks with it before I bailed on it.
And I thought I would be okay going cold turkey off it (they say taper off) since I was on a very small dose and only took it for 2 weeks.
Bad idea on my part...withdrawal totally messed with my sleep. It was supposed to help me sleep...insomnia is a known side effect and I drew the short straw.

So try to deal with the sleep apnea first because there's a good chance that your anxiety will resolve with optimal therapy.
If it doesn't....cross that bridge if/when you come to it.

greatunclebill · Post by **greatunclebill** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:35 pm

because something can make apnea worse, doesn't mean it will make it worse. I'm on cymbalta 60mg and my ahi is in single digits, usually 1 or 2. different drugs affect different people very differently. This is my experience. Others may be different. Good luck.

snowgolum · Post by **snowgolum** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:46 pm

greatunclebill wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:35 pm
because something can make apnea worse, doesn't mean it will make it worse. I'm on cymbalta 60mg and my ahi is in single digits, usually 1 or 2. different drugs affect different people very differently. This is my experience. Others may be different. Good luck.

If you're using a CPAP and getting ahi single digits then that's not what I mean. I mean it worsens apnea while you're not treating it. I don't have a CPAP right now. Alcohol and benadryl even make my apnea worse. That's actually how my first panic attack began. I drank a ton on New Year's eve and woke up with a horrible panic attack and heart rate of 120.

snowgolum · Post by **snowgolum** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:55 pm

Pugsy wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:31 pm

snowgolum wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:06 pm
I find there's way too much of a correlation between the apnea and the anxiety. I haven't had one full night of sleep in two months and not just anxiety related but my body was waking me up without panic. My ct scan also showed a bad sinus infection. If the anxiety goes on longer after CPAP then I'll look into medication but I don't want to get on something when I'm not entirely sure of causation. I'm kind of surprised I'm hearing about anti-anxiety meds when there's proof that they can make apnea worse pre-treatment.
All medications come with some baggage...even the lowly aspirin isn't without a little baggage.

Mood medications have their time and place but I personally avoid them like the plague unless I absolutely have no other alternative.
Since it is entirely possible that your anxiety is a by product of poor sleep....I would agree with your reasoning to try cpap first and see if better sleep helps or not. The baggage that comes with all mood meds...huge and not very pleasant.
I took a med last summer that the side effects were just horrible for me and I only lasted 2 weeks with it before I bailed on it.
And I thought I would be okay going cold turkey off it (they say taper off) since I was on a very small dose and only took it for 2 weeks.
Bad idea on my part...withdrawal totally messed with my sleep. It was supposed to help me sleep...insomnia is a known side effect and I drew the short straw.

So try to deal with the sleep apnea first because there's a good chance that your anxiety will resolve with optimal therapy.
If it doesn't....cross that bridge if/when you come to it.

Yeah, even supplements bother me and like I said, this feels more like symptom anxiety rather than regular anxiety. The longer I've gone without sleep, the worst it's become. I know about the adjustments and that CPAP isn't going to magically fix everything. But I just read that females with apnea have different symptoms than males and one is a hormone imbalance with anxiety issues. I tested for a positive ANA too so there might be some thyroid issues going on. But I know since suspecting apnea that my cholesterol and glucose levels have shot up along with cortisol. So I want to see if the CPAP levels some things out.

It's not that I'm totally against medication but I know that it's never worked for me and like you, I've gone through those withdrawals and they are awful.

Deborah K. · Post by **Deborah K.** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:02 pm

I agree that getting started on cpap is your best first step. It takes some getting used to, but adding in a new drug will complicate matters, and you may not be able to figure out what is helping and what is making things worse. One thing at a time seems wise to me.

p.s. Welcome to the board!

You will find lots of help and support here.

snowgolum · Post by **snowgolum** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:22 pm

Deborah K. wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:02 pm
I agree that getting started on cpap is your best first step. It takes some getting used to, but adding in a new drug will complicate matters, and you may not be able to figure out what is helping and what is making things worse. One thing at a time seems wise to me.

p.s. Welcome to the board! You will find lots of help and support here.

That's my logic too. I was on so many meds last month that I didn't know which ones were bothering me. I've been sleep deprived before and that's what this feels like. I haven't had a regular night in quite some time. I'll definitely be posting once I get the CPAP in since it looks all sorts of confusing.

zonker · Post by **zonker** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:25 pm

snowgolum wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:22 pm
I'll definitely be posting once I get the CPAP in since it looks all sorts of confusing.

once you are ready to do so, please post here, in this thread.

makes it easier to keep track if it all stays here from now on.

thanks.

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