Posted by LostBoyinNC43 on March 6, 2013, at 19:00:11
In reply to Re: CPAP affects my mood like crazy » LostBoyinNC43, posted by SLS on March 6, 2013, at 16:50:09
I was originally diagnosed formally in 2000. But not treated until 2007. I had all the symptoms of sleep apnea when my "mental problems" first developed in late 1997, but at that time did not recognize the symptoms and the area I live in did not have any sleep medicine specialists I could go to back then.
The sleep medicine profession believes sleep apnea is way underdiagnosed. It is expensive though and doing CPAP therapy is expensive and high maintenance...compliance rates with the CPAP gear are only around 50%. I put a lot of work into CPAP, keeping the gear cleaned, changing masks every two to three months, changing hoses and filters. There is just a lot to it.
The overall results for me have been good to excellent, however. One bad thing about it, for me, is I have to use a full face mask as I mentioned and the full face mask is not like wearing a regular nasal CPAP mask, not as comfortable as a nasal mask.
It has improved my "depression" across the board. In all different ways. I still take an SSRI, but many symptoms and complaints I used to think were purely psychiatric went away completely within days of starting CPAP therapy. It truly was amazing, the overall results.
Sleep apnea is caused by a combination of obesity and also, the shape of your airway and jaw. Some people just have enlarged tissues in the back of the throat and are prone to having an obstructed airway when they become unconscious during sleep. The obstructed airway leads to oxygen desaturations during sleep, but you dont recognize them as that. You have to go to a sleep study or wear a recording oximeter during a night of sleep to detect the oxygen desaturations. The oxygen desaturations cause fragmented, shallow and poor quality sleep that basically amounts to chronic sleep deprivation, longterm.
Any kind of sedative medication makes sleep apnea worse. Booze makes sleep apnea much worse. Many common psychiatry medications make apnea worse, benzos and anti-insomnia drugs specifically. Also many OTC drugs worsen it, anything that makes you drowsy like anti-histamines like OTC benadryl really makes my pressures spike.
If I dont use CPAP even one night, I feel basically like I used to in the old days the next day. I also dont feel well if I use a nasal mask instead of a full face mask.
Losing a lot of weight helps it, I went thru a two year period in 2008 and 2009 where I lost fifty pounds and kept it off for about two years. I continued using CPAP during that period, because the weight loss did not get rid of my apnea, but it did help it. And my mood REALLY improved during most of that two year period.
I'd look into a sleep study if I were you, if you have not already done it. I cannot imagine not having had a sleep study or two if I had the sorts of complaints a lot of people have on this and similar psychiatry message boards.
LostBoyinNC
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> Do you have any ideas as to why this is so common? Is it a societal thing? Are too many of us overweight?
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> How old were you when sleep apnea first emerged? In what ways is your depression improved since employing a CPAP? Is it limited to energy level?
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> Thanks. Your posts are very helpful.
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> - Scott
poster:LostBoyinNC43
thread:1039687
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20130222/msgs/1039738.html