Sleep Apnea - any experience or advice.

[FrogieBear]

Hello everyone ,

It seems after seeing my " thyroid doctor" to asses my neck swelling , goitre and nodules , it seems I have sleep apnea .

My ultrasound and biopsy results showed thyroiditis.

Specialist requested CT scan and sleep apnea test as I have swallowing issues and extreme fatigue.

My sleep study shows I need a CPAP machine to help me breath at night !! I don't smoke or drink , I exercise daily and have perfect blood pressure .

My BMI is 33 and I really struggle with my weight which can cause sleep apnea , I was just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience .

[puncturedbicycle]

My mum has sleep apnoea. She is tiny but also has thyroid nodules which I believe are responsible for narrowing her airway. The cpap should help enormously but they must also address your thyroid issues, not either/or.

[FrogieBear in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Thank you for replying . Its rather scary to discover you have sleep apnea so I am comforted this machine works.

[Silly in reply to FrogieBear]

I have to have a test for sleep apena . Endo thinks I have it . He's says it's the biggest cause of weight gain ??

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Silly]

Yes, I think it is cortisol that rises when it should be low (when sleeping) and has something to do w weight gain. Under stress (sleep deprivation, shift work etc) your metabolism goes into crisis mode and retains rather than burns off caloric energy. Or at least that is my very elementary understanding of it.

The new cpap machines are amazing, so much smaller, easier to clean and less intrusive than the old ones. I don't know what is available on the nhs (my mum lives abroad) but the new machines are far better than they used to be.

My mum identified a difference in how she felt immediately.

Do keep an eye on your treatment and ensure you're not being fobbed off w sleep apnoea alone when your thyroid meds may also need attention. Many of us are undertreated.

Good luck! I hope they sort you out.

[FrogieBear in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Thanks for all the information , its really reassuring . Specialist seems to have a real fixation on how obese I am and made me feel utterly disgusting ( I walk 6 miles daily with my dog and have perfect blood pressure , toned and slim legs but a big fat belly that makes me look like a human bird ) I felt really embarrassed about the diagnosis but don't now as I see it will/ should make me better .

Plus I understand why This Charming Mans been going around in my head all afternoon !!!

[puncturedbicycle in reply to FrogieBear]

Shop muzak is a nightmare for me, a phrase can play in my head *every waking moment* for weeks. I have a particularly awful one going around in there at the moment. I must see if I can replace it w This Charming Man.

Bless you, how awful that this obsession w weight is used against you. Doc said himself that the apnoea can make you gain weight; how can you prevent that?

I have posted here before that my darling (male) partner fell in the 'borderline obese' category at his last health check and got a free pass from his (male) gp who said 'Oh never mind, if that was true I would also be borderline obese' - ! So if it's any consolation(?) you're subject to that double standard as well.

As someone who is not slim myself I understand that to give you the best chance at health they need to tell you if there are things you can change to improve yourself. I have no issue if someone says something neutral that is sensitively-worded and risk-related, ie if your blood sugar shows you're pre-diabetic it makes sense to discuss a reasonable plan for reasonable weight loss which reduces your risk. Much of the time there is shame involved and some unscientific nonsense, ie they might try to tell you you're fat because you're depressed and then prescribe you antidepressants that have weight gain as a side effect. And if you're actually wrestling w an active health problem, let's look at that first and weight loss can come later fgs.

It's a nightmare. I hope you get competent help and feel better. x

[FrogieBear in reply to Silly]

I think it could be a factor in my weight issues . I hope you get on well with your test and hopefully will feel better soon

[greygoose]

Most un/under-treated hypos have sleep apnea. Do you have copies of your blood tests? It's possible that you are under-treated, too.

[FrogieBear in reply to greygoose]

Hi greygoose . I am still in mystery , post RAI low TSH , goitre , nodule feeling garbage, fat neck fun times I have full bloods including vitamin levels , antibodies and T3 and T4 booked on Monday morning .I saw doctor on Thursday armed with all my new group acquired information and made lots of requests that where greeted positively .YAY !! So I will have a new beginning with information and will certainly be posting my results here.

I feel "classic" underactive so will wait and see ..

[greygoose in reply to FrogieBear]

Then I shall look forward to seeing all those results!

[cuteyoungchic]

FrogieBear, my partner snored too much & too often when I first met him, he also had sleep apnea.

I'd gone gluten free 5 years before meeting him, so knew a lot about the effects on our bodies of gluten, including it causing inflammation, making people snore.

He went gluten free, & he stopped snoring within 3 days, & to my surprise his sleep apnea fizzled out over 2 1/2 weeks too.

His snoring & or sleep apnea now only happen if he cheats & has gluten, found mostly in wheat flour. I finally talked him into just eating the topping only on a pizza, so the base no longer affects him. If he eats a pie, he leaves the crust etc.

It takes a while to get used to not using wheat flour, but there are many substitute flours available now, also bread products, etc., so is made pretty easy,

The health food aisle of supermarkets carry quite a variety of gluten free products.