LymeNet Flash: Has anyone have lyme cause sleep apnea?

This is topic Has anyone have lyme cause sleep apnea? in forum Medical Questions at LymeNet Flash.

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Posted by lymeartist2 (Member # 5357) on :

I was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea which started since my relapse of lyme. I also have light sensitivity and facial neuralgia as symptoms. Has anyone had their lyme cause sleep apnea? Thanks, Rob

Posted by Gabrielle (Member # 5329) on :

Yes, my hubby. Next came a very high blood pressure.

Take care.

Posted by TheCrimeOfLyme (Member # 4019) on :

YES!

We're a very few number of people that do on here, you and I.. but at least you are not alone!

Jodie

Posted by Lymelighter (Member # 5310) on :

I don't know if Lyme can cause apnea, per se, but my sleep MD said that Lyme can errode your sleep quality.

My Sleep study showed no apnea but an inexplicable deficit of stage 3,4, and REM sleep.

Posted by Sue vG (Member # 3143) on :

My husband directs clinical trials for sleep disorders labs, so I've been hearing about apnea for years. He and I both have it, but there's no reason to expect a correlation with lyme unless perhaps the lyme causes you to put on a lot of upper body weight which in turn makes it harder for your airway to stay open during sleep.

BTW, high blood pressure is a frequent consequence of nocturnal oxygen starvation caused by sleep apnea.

Posted by lla2 (Member # 2364) on :

this is very common with the coinfection of babesia...have you been checked for this by your llmd?

Lisa

Posted by HaplyCarlessdave (Member # 413) on :

I think I have had sleep apnea, and it probably cam from lyme, since it was never been noticed before.
DaveS

Posted by Mo (Member # 2863) on :

My father has sleep apnea, as well as pain in his neck (aside from the one I give him

)

he is a hunter/beagler in the northeast, and has been bitten multiple times.

Despite our tribulations, he doesn't believe in Lyme..at least for him. It doesn't help that his Docs have run the inaccurate tests, all negative..

I was wondering (Lla or anyone) if you could post on this thread any related articles re: sleep apnea, or Babesiosis and sleep apnea.

[This message has been edited by Mo (edited 09 April 2004).]

Posted by Lymelighter (Member # 5310) on :

L-Artist, what was your 02 saturation during the sleep test? What is your apnea/hyponea index #? Are you on CPAP or using an oral appliance?

Posted by twicebitten (Member # 5412) on :

Funny you should mention as I'm being tested or referred for a sleep study on 4/19. I too was wondering if this was a complication of lyme or just something else unrelated.
I too have been told to look at babesia so maybe it's more related to that.
I had a - test on babs but maybe it was incorrect? I've got all the symp. right now listed in dr. B's guidelines for coinf.
I'll let you know what my test results end up being.
Melinda

Posted by rosesisland2000 (Member # 2001) on :

I think a better way to ask that question would be, Has anyone with Lyme Disease not had sleep apnea? Almost everyone I know that has lyme has had sleep problems which most likely is sleep apnea induced by Lyme Disease. My opinion.

Posted by Lymelighter (Member # 5310) on :

Good point Rose. Many of us had Lyme-related sinus problems which can exacerbate Apnea.

Posted by lymeartist2 (Member # 5357) on :

Actually, I've LOST 48lbs in a little over 2 months ever since I relapsed. And the more I lose, the more sleep problems I have. I've been having very vivid dreams and nightmares just about every night for three months. The sleep doc told me it's because the apnea is waking me up quickly in REM several times and that's why I remember my dreams so much. Weird.
I can't wear a CPAP as I have facial neuralgia (along with sinus problems) with my lyme. My face feels like it's had a cup of coffee thrown on it by the end of every day. It seems my light sensitivity triggers the facial pain. Anyone else have this? Thanks, Rob

Posted by hwlatin (Member # 4123) on :

Since I have been on the Mepron/Zythro combo for babesia, my sleep apnea problem seems to have resolved itself. I can no longer tolerate the BiPap machine. I stopped using it for several weeks, and I am getting a great nights sleep.

I will be going in for another sleep study in a couple of weeks, to officially check it out.

I do know that sleep apnea is a problem associated with Bb and babesia. Sleep apnea is not only caused by obstruction there is something called Central Sleep Apnea.

Central sleep apnea is much less common. It is caused by some problem in the central nervous system, most likely a failure of the brain to signal the airway muscles to breathe. In such cases, oxygen levels drop abruptly and usually the sleeper wakes with a start. Often people with central sleep apnea recall waking up. They generally experience less sleepiness during the day than people with obstructive sleep apnea.

[This message has been edited by hwlatin (edited 10 April 2004).]

Posted by phage (Member # 5533) on :

Or....can the hypoxia of apnea make lyme worse?

I've been lurking around for awhile but didn't plan on contributing anything for some time.

I've had what I now realize (thanks to dontlikeliver) are lyme-like symptoms (fatigue and brainfog being the worst) for at least 20 years. My lyme test was negative and I've never had a bulls-eye rash.

Like lymelighter, my sleep study showed no REM or stage 3/4 NREM. I was told I don't have apnea. My wife assures me that I do and I suspect that it occurs only during periods when I can actually reach deep sleep. I have other reasons to believe that I've had it since I was young. I managed to obtain CPAP and use it every night.

My symptoms vary with the seasons and with the barometric pressure. Bright-light "therapy" for possible Seasonal Affective Disorder did nothing even though I tried to make it work for six years, getting up to 22,500 lux for more than an hour every day. Nonetheless, the sleep doc told me I have delayed sleep phase syndrome with resulting seasonal effects and that this would account for the poor sleep quality.

I suspect, instead, that I feel better by the end of summer because the bacteria that I think infects me doesn't like heat. I also think it prefers the reduced oxygen that would go along with a drop in barometric pressure.

I tried high levels of minocycline at the end of last summer (when I was feeling pretty good already) but was disappointed by the absence of a herx. By the end of this winter I was feeling pretty bad again and tried two days of a low dose of Cipro (with a little minocycline). I spent most of the next two days in bed with what amounted to, I think, meningitis (stiff neck, headache, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes). So this gives me more evidence that bacteria is my problem.

So I think that I'm infected with a bacterium, and that that bacterium is anaerobic. I wonder, then, if years of apnea, with the hypoxia that goes with it, facilitates the growth and dissemination of borrelia. I realize that the specific agent that causes Lyme proper doesn't need much encouragement--I'm thinking in terms of the model describing a possible borrelia pandemic (described in the manuscript by the Houston physicians) involving the putative person-to-person transfer of borrelia strains. Perhaps some people have infections that remain subclinical until something like apnea (or immune suppression, or whatever) really fosters bacterial growth.

In lieu of hyperbaric oxygen (not widely available) I've signed up for Scuba classes and am going to test the ability of 60 feet (nearly 3 atm of pressure) with Enhanced Air Nitrox (36% oxygen) to produce a herx. If it does, then hopefully I can use it as part of a successful treatment.

Posted by TX Lyme Mom (Member # 3162) on :

quote:
Originally posted by phage:
My lyme test was negative and I've never had a bulls-eye rash.

phage,
It's important to be tested by a lab that specializes in LD. Igenex is the most popular lab to use for the WB test. If you were not tested by Igenex, then disregard your previous lab test result, because there is a good chance that it could have been a "false negative" result.
www.igenex.com

I see that this is your first post. WELCOME to LymeNet!

You are in good company and will receive lots of help here if you aren't too timid to post your questions.

Posted by Sonoran (Member # 5934) on :

Hi All,

LLMDs (two) have diagnosed me with Lyme and several co-infections. The biological dentist who removed the mercury from my teeth thinks I have sleep apnea, based on a thorough medical history review and new patient evaluation.

My family doctor has referred me for a sleep study to test for sleep apnea.

I've had Lyme symptoms, sleeping problems, and daytime tiredness all my life. I've had high blood pressure and edema in my feet and ankles for about 5 years. I'm now 33.

Sonoran

Posted by doggiemom (Member # 6094) on :

I haven't been diagnosed with Lyme yet, although I have all the symptoms, but I do have Ehrlichia and I have sleep apnea too. I was tested by a sleep lab. But instead of high blood pressure, my blood pressure drops too low. I also have very vivid dreams and nightmares. I have a CPAP machine but for some reason I keep removing the mask in my sleep, even tho it's the most comfortable of all the masks I've tried. So the CPAP isn't doing me much good right now.

Posted by lymeartist2 (Member # 5357) on :

Hi... Your vivid dreams are because you aren't sleeping very soundly. From what I've read and been told by sleep doctors is that everyone dreams, but normally deep enough that we generally don't remember them. If we sleep lightly, then we're more apt to remember them. I had vivid dreams every single night for months and months. I lost 76lbs in six months (Atkins and Lyme) and it really helped with the apnea. Good luck, Rob