My throat muscles have gotten lazy

I fell in January and ended up with 27 stitches in my leg, a bum shoulder, and a bruised tailbone. I'm seeing a physical therapist for my shoulder, and I noticed recently that, when I was on my back for one part of the therapy, my throat started closing, and I had to make a very conscious effort to breathe. Terrifying feeling, and I don't remember ever experiencing it before I was diagnosed with apnea and began treatment. I've been on xPAP for about 6.5 years now. I assume I'll be using a machine for the rest of my life (and that's fine).

I think my throat muscles (and/or tongue) have gotten lazy from years of xPAP use and that, if I were to undergo a diagnostic sleep study now (with no machine), my apnea would be much worse now than the 107 AHI I had years ago. The machine holds the airway open instead of the usual muscles, and I think the muscles have lost tone as a result.

Out of curiosity, I searched online but couldn't find any research on the subject; I did find a few older posts about it on various forums, but nothing scientific. Does anyone know of any real info (research or studies, scientific papers, etc.) on this?

One thing I found was this article about exercising those muscles to tone them up again. I don't know if the exercises can really help, but they won't hurt. https://suite.io/robert-rister/5dap2t7

First - you are 6.5 years older now.
Second you are aware of it and what it means, you mind no longer glosses over this.

Your muscles do not get weaker from using cpap therapy. You could try various singing practices or learn to play the didgeridoo.

BlackSpinner wrote:First - you are 6.5 years older now.
Second you are aware of it and what it means, you mind no longer glosses over this.

Your muscles do not get weaker from using cpap therapy. You could try various singing practices or learn to play the didgeridoo.

Reference for that claim, please?

I would venture to say I never "glossed over it" before because it never happened when I was still conscious (as it has at PT). Before I was diagnosed and treated for my apnea, I could lay on my back and not feel this kind of suffocation. Aging may have something to do with it, but I'm convinced that xPAP therapy has allowed the muscles in my throat to lose tone because they don't have to fight to keep my airway open anymore.

They don't "fight" to keep your airway open, they just don't bother, the same way that if you try to keep any muscle tense it will relax once you fall asleep.

C'mon, Lena. I'm talking apples and you're responding with oranges. You're professing an opinion with no backup for that opinion. If what you're saying is fact, please tell me where I can read about that.

I'm not talking about my throat muscles relaxing while I'm asleep (which is what I have the machine for); I'm talking about it now happening while I'm awake and supine.

Are you on any pain meds?

If so that might be the culprit

Perhaps it's not muscles, but "other" tissues in the neighborhood.
With injury and less activity, your muscle mass may have given way to an equal volume of adipose.
(please forgive me if this is not the case)

Day_Dreamer wrote:Are you on any pain meds?

If so that might be the culprit

Good question, and the answer is no. I was just relaxed.

chunkyfrog wrote:Perhaps it's not muscles, but "other" tissues in the neighborhood.
With injury and less activity, your muscle mass may have given way to an equal volume of adipose.
(please forgive me if this is not the case)

That might be a factor, as I've been less active since late January, when I fell and sustained these injuries. (The shoulder is still bothersome, but PT is helping. I was referred to Wound Care awhile ago because the stitches (badly done in the first place) were removed but the wound wouldn't stop draining. Saw them again today, and my leg is almost healed - finally).

I still suspect it's the machine that's responsible for the feeling of suffocation I experienced, though. Call it a gut instinct. I just happened to notice it now, when I was laying on my back at PT. It's not a normal position for me (other than when asleep with the machine on), so I only experienced it recently because of PT putting me in that position.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It annoys me that there's apparently no research on this.

Has nobody else here experienced it?

After some time on therapy, if you lay on your back and relax (like, on the sofa), is anything interfering with you breathing well?

TIA

Actually BB, I started experiencing the "awake apnea" stuff like you're describing, but it was during the year before I got diagnosed and put on cpap. I suspect it's just another delightful aspect of getting older -- apnea getting worse. Other parts are "relaxing" more too.

I’m a new user. Since the last two years (before going on APAP) I notice that if I relax my throat, I begin exhaling through my mouth. Sometimes this happens when I am asleep. I will be inhale through my nose and exhaling through my mouth. Is this what you are experiencing?

kaiasgram wrote:Actually BB, I started experiencing the "awake apnea" stuff like you're describing, but it was during the year before I got diagnosed and put on cpap. I suspect it's just another delightful aspect of getting older -- apnea getting worse. Other parts are "relaxing" more too.

Thanks. And yes, my other parts are relaxing more as I age, too. I'll likely be resting my breasts in my lap one day soon. *sigh*

Maybe my throat closing while awake and supine has nothing to do with the machine, but since I never experienced it prior to diagnosis and treatment and have used a machine constantly for over six years since, it has me wondering if the machine isn't responsible (either entirely or in some part) for it happening now.

Pesser wrote:I’m a new user. Since the last two years (before going on APAP) I notice that if I relax my throat, I begin exhaling through my mouth. Sometimes this happens when I am asleep. I will be inhale through my nose and exhaling through my mouth. Is this what you are experiencing?

Hi, Pesser. No, it's not the same thing. I almost always breathe through my nose (especially when sleeping). This feeling of suffocation occurs when I actually feel my throat collapse while I'm wide awake, relaxed, and laying flat on my back. It's quite unsettling.

But welcome to the hoser club, and good luck with your therapy!

You're obviously very concerned about this. Why not run this by your doctor. Once you find out it's nothing to worry about, you'll feel a lot better.

hi bleeping , its an interesting and plausible theory .

If you don't mind me asking what was your BMI or body weight in Kgs's when you had the initial diagnosis?

Just stay off your back?

Julie wrote:Just stay off your back?

That's not the answer. First, she said she "thinks" her throat is closing. If her throat is closing she could easily roll over on her back when she is sleeping. Second, if her throat is really closing, she should look into this further and find out why this is happening. This problem could easily go from happening while awake and on her back to happening any time at all. I think a visit to a sleep specialist/pulmonary/ent doctor would be in order. If she finds out it's nothing to be concerned about... then end of story. However, if she finds out it's more than just not being on her back, that might lead her in another direction.