Peripheral Neuropathy and Obstructive Sleep Apnea

ANDREW NYCE wrote:Hello,
I have both sleep apnea and peripheral neuropathy, but I am not diabetic. On some nights, I am awakened by a burning in my hands, feet, and legs including my knees even though I am wearing my cpap. If I attempt to sleep in a recliner without my cpap, I eventually, after many apneas, begin to have the same burning sensations. One possibility is that even with cpap, the mouth drops open and apnea begins. What are your thoughts? Is it possible to create a national study of this relationship between sleep apnea and peripheral neuropathy?
Andrew Nyce, PhD

What is in your nightly CPAP data that might cause this?

Potential mechanisms:

Events that cause arousal tend to also cause the release of stress hormones which -

a. Reduces circulation to the extremities.

b. Raises the blood sugar levels

If there is hyperventilation involved (look up “post apnea hyperventilation” “sleep apnea ventilatory instability” “hypocapnic central apnea/hypopnea” “sleep apnea long term facilitated hyperventilation”) circulation is reduced due to the lack of H+ in the blood (vasoconstriction is a normal response – carbon dioxide is a wonderful vasodilator without it...) AND metabolism is further reduced due to the Bohr effect.