Apnea, cont'd.... yes, sorry, Lovelies, that again!

General
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So I’ve been researching this alot now that I have to strap an alien to my face every night in order to sleep and it seems hypothyroidism can lead to sleep apnea. Tongue swelling and changes in throat musculature cause it. Does this mean that once I get my thyroid back on track I can essentially “cure” the apnea? Anyone have theories or experience?

Oh and Petunia, they told me not to worry about sleeping pills with the apnea pre-CPAP because I’ve been ok taking them so far still alive. Seems kind of a copout answer to me, so I am gonna research myself! I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks all!
Love,
Laurie

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Note: My thyroid was discovered to be very underactive a month ago and now I am trying to regulate it on Levoxyll.

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If you had a sleep study done to diagnose sleep apnea, it will show whether you stop breathing, or have hypopneas, as it is for my sleep apnea diagnosis. I have had restless legs (RLS) for many yrs. and I think those are what they call the hypopneas. Each ck up with pulmonologist/sleep doc - I take in my card (computer chip) which reads the occurrences and it shows on a scale 1. how long I sleep 2. apnea/hypopnea occurrences. I have had fibro for 17 yrs, but only diagnosed with sleep apnea after an overnight sleep study at the hospital's sleep center in March 2011. In July same yr, I was diagnosed with tonsillar cancer (SCC) - then had surgeries to remove the tonsil tumor, neck dissection, radiation, and am now 2 1/2 yrs in remission. So, even tho the tumor was removed, I still have apneas (stop breathing and leg movements even tho I take a med. now for restless legs). I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism (autoimmune thyroiditis - aka Hashimoto's) back in 2004, and 10 yrs after fibro diagnosis. I am not sure how hypothyroidism would affect sleep apnea, unless because we tend to gain more weight with hypothyroidism? I am only person in my entire family who has trouble getting weight off. I am always willing to learn more about the hypothyroid connection to the apnea, thanks!

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Thank you for all of this info. I am waiting for the sleep report in the mail. As for the hypothyroidism, I found lots of research stating it is a possible cause of apnea. It has something to do with lax muscles in throat and inflammation due to the under active thyroid. You will find more on it when you investigate on internet. Good luck and sorry you suffer as well hon.
Laurie

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u r welcome - ask for expl on the study if you do not understand it. I am sure I had sleep apnea for many many yrs undiagnosed and since I have suffered fibro for so many yrs also.

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Thanks hon:)

7

Hey there, Laurie,

I'm sorry but I just HAD to laugh over your description of "THE MASK!!!" Yep, an alien strapped to your face pretty much sums it up. Perfectly. An alien that smooshes all over your face and loses its shape after awhile.

I don't know if sleep apnea can be cured. There are other things that are often involved in it. I'll cut and paste here:

The risk of OSA rises with increasing body weight, active smoking and age. In addition, patients with diabetes or "borderline" diabetes have up to three times the risk of having OSA.

Snoring is a common finding in people with this syndrome. Snoring is the turbulent sound of air moving through the back of the mouth, nose, and throat. Although not everyone who snores is experiencing difficulty breathing, snoring in combination with other conditions such as overweight and obesity has been found to be highly predictive of OSA risk.[21] The loudness of the snoring is not indicative of the severity of obstruction, however. If the upper airways are tremendously obstructed, there may not be enough air movement to make much sound. Even the loudest snoring does not mean that an individual has sleep apnea syndrome. The sign that is most suggestive of sleep apneas occurs when snoring stops.

Other indicators include (but are not limited to): hypersomnolence, obesity BMI >30, large neck circumference (16 in (410 mm) in women, 17 in (430 mm) in men), enlarged tonsils and large tongue volume, micrognathia, morning headaches, irritability/mood-swings/depression, learning and/or memory difficulties, and sexual dysfunction.

I actually have it due to a nasal passage that is too narrow. So, as you can see, it's maybe not as simple of an illness as it seems.

You could double check on the safety of taking sleep meds while having sleep apnea. I don't think I was told anything about the issue but who knows? My memory is mush.

Hugs,

Pet

I also saw research that stated mild hits to the head can cause sleeplessness and apnea. That's a new one on me.