CPAP=Dizziness+vertigo/dizziness?

My husband, with narcolepsy diagnosed 20+ years ago, just got a cpap prescribed for sleeep apnea. He used it almost a full night and experienced nausea and dizziness early afternoon the next day. No other symptoms, no new meds., etc. Several hours later started to feel better. Did not use the cpap that night and was fine all day Christmas (yesterday). Wore it last night, woke at 1am, got up and same symptoms. Did not put back on but is still having both symptoms now at 6pm. It seems it has to be related to cpap!We're both in the health care field and are stumped. His blood pressure is ok, slightly lower than normal. Being the weekend he has not spoken with doctor or respiratory therapist. Any thoughts greatly appreciated! Thank You

Lisa,

I've been there and have some advice which I'd be glad to share if you PM me. (click on the PM icon next to my username). I empathize with your husband.

Steve

He is likely to be rebreathing his CO2. Provide more details so members can help.

What kind of mask is he using?

What sleep position does he spend most of the night in? back, side, tummy? He may be blocking the mask CO2 vent(s)

What pressure is his machine set at? ... it is not uncommon for a dumb medical equipment provider to just give you a machine factory set at 4.

What pressure was he prescribed?

What machine?

Take time to join the forum so you can fill out his profile and make it easier for veterans to help out.

Best of luck!

sronsen wrote:...I've been there and have some advice which I'd be glad to share if you PM me...

Hey Steve, we all learn when members post helpful info. Dizziness has been reported several times and it generates multiple suggestions...your experience might be different than anyone else has posted. Anything directly related to CPAP therapy helps us all learn.

Muse-Inc wrote:
Hey Steve, we all learn when members post helpful info. Dizziness has been reported several times and it generates multiple suggestions...your experience might be different than anyone else has posted. Anything directly related to CPAP therapy helps us all learn.

Quite agreed, but my advice has nothing to do with CPAP. The worst thing about serious vestibular disorders is finding medical help which is actually knowledgeable. My advice relates to the necessary steps in getting such help and I don't think it's of general interest to this group. I have posted in the Yahoo dizzymates http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/dizzymates/ forum, if anyone is interested. The posts are very long, far longer than the long posts in this forum. There is no intent on my part to keep information from this group.

It makes sense that CPAP may play a role in vestibular (inner-ear) issues, which may cause vertigo, but episodes lasting hours are most frequently caused by neurological issues which have no direct relationship with CPAP. The long-term effects of these neurological causes can be very debilitating and far more difficult to deal with that CPAP. Of course, vertigo can also be indicative of other serious neurological disorders and warrants immediate medical attention. Just because the vertigo episode has ended is no reason to skip the doctor's visit.

Steve

Thanks Steve! I learned from your reply. My own bouts of dizziness were related to occasional spells of dehydration...took me many frustrating months to make the connection.

Muse,

Perhaps I was fortunate that my last vertigo incident, which resulted in several days of hospitalization, left me with a double-vision problem (since resolved) which my long-term ophthalmologist diagnosed as a neurological problem. (My ENT and the resident neurologists were clueless.) My ophthalmologist referred me to an optho-neurologist who subsequently referred me to one of the few acknowledged experts in the field. Along the way, my PCP, who was very plugged into everything and everyone along the way, and I were astounded by the number of specialists who knew nothing about the disorder, but were unwilling to admit so to their patient (me).

Anyway, I got involved in the dizziness community for a while and discovered that I was very fortunate to get the help I received within six months. Most people don't receive the tests necessary for a diagnosis within two or three years, consequently there are a lot of people suffering as a result. If you've had a single episode of vertigo lasting more than 5 minutes, you know what I mean.

Some causes of vertigo are easy to resolve. My wife has loose calcium deposits in her inner ear which cause brief periods of vertigo. There are very effective exercises to move the "stones" back into a benign position. Some are more difficult, as Meniere's desease, in which high fluid pressure inside the inner ear causes dizziness and vertigo. In my case, one of the vestibular nerves was attacked and rendered useless by a probable viral infection, and one must just learn to deal with the symptoms.

As you noted with your own experience, there are other benign causes of dizziness and vertigo. However, vertigo can also be a symptom of several lethal diseases, all of which may be helped by early detection. Hence my admonishment to seek medical attention even if an isolated event passes. If you get a runaround, let me know and I will tell you which specific tests are needed for a definitive diagnosis.

LisaM wrote:My husband, with narcolepsy diagnosed 20+ years ago, just got a cpap prescribed for sleeep apnea. He used it almost a full night and experienced nausea and dizziness early afternoon the next day. No other symptoms, no new meds., etc. Several hours later started to feel better. Did not use the cpap that night and was fine all day Christmas (yesterday). Wore it last night, woke at 1am, got up and same symptoms. Did not put back on but is still having both symptoms now at 6pm. It seems it has to be related to cpap!We're both in the health care field and are stumped. His blood pressure is ok, slightly lower than normal. Being the weekend he has not spoken with doctor or respiratory therapist. Any thoughts greatly appreciated! Thank You

I experienced lightheadedness, dizziness and slight nausea the entire day following my titration sleep study night. I went shopping that morning and felt like I was going to keel over. I felt really spaced out! I suspect I was hyperventilating into the mask a little during titration, which threw off my CO2/oxygen balance. Could be that my blood pressure lowered enough to notice it too, as it has come down since starting CPAP.

I've been using CPAP for several months now, and haven't really experienced that since, although sometimes my head does feel a little "funny" and my eyes don't focus as well. It may just be that he needs time to acclimate to the pressurized air of CPAP, he may need the machine settings adjusted, or it could be something else entirely.

I hope your husband's treatment goes well and he's feeling better soon!

~ DreamOn

Yes I feel the same dizzy light headedness when my sinuses act up due to allergies since I have been on cpap. I suspect they are pushing on my ears.

I am very susceptible to drugs so when ever I take even over the counter drugs I feel like that, plus after years of migraines that made the world feel distorted I am used to it. I also have little sense of balance due to some very high fevers when I was a kid (had a kidney infection) I crawl through those fun houses, I can't walk a straight line with my eyes closed either, I fall over.

sronsen wrote:...

Thanks, so far paying close attention to how much water I drink each day works. I'm bookmarking this thread so in case I need help, I'll email you. A friend's mom had Meniere's and it was a real challange for her. My bouts of dizziness would disappear after drinking about 30-36 ozs of water over an hr or so, but walking let alone anything else were seriously compromised...I typically called in sick when these occurred. Like I said, it took me months to make the connection. Because they occurred so seldom and were gone by the time I could drive, my doc was clueless.

Here is the link you should bookmark ...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... =103463398

DreamStalker wrote:Here is the link you should bookmark ...

I did, I did! Thanks.

THERE IS NO QUESTION A CPAP MACHINE CAUSED MY INTERNAL HEAD PRESSURE WITH SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS.
I HAVE BEEN USING A CPAP MACHINE FOR OVER A YEAR.
AFTER A FEW WEEKS OF INITIAL USE...I HAVE VISION ISSUES..IN PARTICULAR...PROBLEMS FOCUSING ON OBJECTS..AT TIMES FULL BLOWN SYMPTIONS OF VERTIGO. INNER EAR PRESSURE THAT IS WITHOUT QUESTION CAUSING ME TO BE VERY LIGHT HEADED AND DIZZY
THE PRESSURE PUT ON MY HEAD INSIDE THE EAR AND ALL BLOOD VESSELS IN THE HEAD ARE EXTREME.
MANY PEOPLE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I AM SAYING. YOU ARE JUST AFRAID TO HEAR THE TRUTH..THE TRUTH YOU IN YOUR HEART ALREADY KNEW.
I NEVER LOST MY BALANCE...HAD EYE ISSUES..AND OVERALL HEALTH ISSUES BEFORE I STARTED USING CPAP.
PEROID!

Mr. Goldman - you don't have to shout (which is what using all caps means). I wonder if both you and the original poster here have not inadvertently had the CO2 vent holes covered by bedding, as your symptoms sound as if that might be a possibility, either that or the pressure settings are wrong. Has anyone checked into those?

Matthew Goldman wrote:THERE IS NO QUESTION A CPAP MACHINE CAUSED MY INTERNAL HEAD PRESSURE WITH SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS.
I HAVE BEEN USING A CPAP MACHINE FOR OVER A YEAR.
AFTER A FEW WEEKS OF INITIAL USE...I HAVE VISION ISSUES..IN PARTICULAR...PROBLEMS FOCUSING ON OBJECTS..AT TIMES FULL BLOWN SYMPTIONS OF VERTIGO. INNER EAR PRESSURE THAT IS WITHOUT QUESTION CAUSING ME TO BE VERY LIGHT HEADED AND DIZZY
THE PRESSURE PUT ON MY HEAD INSIDE THE EAR AND ALL BLOOD VESSELS IN THE HEAD ARE EXTREME.
MANY PEOPLE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I AM SAYING. YOU ARE JUST AFRAID TO HEAR THE TRUTH..THE TRUTH YOU IN YOUR HEART ALREADY KNEW.
I NEVER LOST MY BALANCE...HAD EYE ISSUES..AND OVERALL HEALTH ISSUES BEFORE I STARTED USING CPAP.
PEROID!

First of all the only place the pressure can go is into your sinuses, and thereby creating pressure in your inner ears - this is not a cpap problem but something which was there before and the slight increase of pressure has illuminated it and needs an ENT has to deal with it . The other place is up your tear ducts into your eyes - you will find many a thread on that - it is a problem for ophthalmologists to fix.

As far as blood vessels is concerned - no - there is no way - the slightest bit of anatomy will tell you that. The brain is encased in a membrane - if that leaks you will be dead quickly but cpap can't cause that.

If you haven't been following up these issues with proper specialist then that is your problem. You know I have a bunion on my foot, if I wear the wrong size shoes/boots it hurts when I walk. This is not the problem of the shoe which is protecting me from the snow but the problem is my foot is now shaped wrong, I have to make sure I have the right size boot, arch supports and other protection, however going outside in the snow without boots is not an option. Shoe and boot manufacturers do not have a conspiracy happening to make my foot hurt.