Last week I asked you all about sleep apnea and you were so helpful. I talked about "central" type sleep apnea with my husband. After doing some research, I really feel this could be his problem.
He saw a new doctor and he seems to be really good. He goes in for his sleep study tonight and tomorrow night. The doctor was surprised to learn that Lyme Disease is present in So. CA and my husband gave him a quick education on Lyme.
The doctor was cardio/pulminary before concentrating his practice on sleep study. He is facinated with "air hunger" and the possibility of Lyme induced apnea.
Q: does anyone have links I could provide to him on these such things as they relate to the Lyme patient?
The doctor told my husband he has had about 15 patients who were in treatment for Lyme over the years. Said he never was aware there could be a Lyme connection and is anxious to learn more.
Any help would be great - Thanks -p
Posts: 641 | From So. CA | Registered: May 2008
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Jill E.
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9121
posted
Peedie,
I don't have any links, but my sleep study was also done in Southern California, and my specialist was fascinated, and had a Bartonella patient years ago. She was the one who suggested testing the central aspect of sleep apnea.
I just gave her some general info about Lyme and all the coinfections because I have all the coinfections - so she could see the symptoms. She said she would try to do some research on her own but I doubt she would have known where to start.
I can PM her name to you, and maybe your doctor and she can exchange info. She was so interested in my case that she wants to present it at a sleep conference here in San Diego.
I do not have apnea so all my symptoms are definitely due to tick-borne diseases, including the myoclonus, air hunger, etc.
You can also print out the home page of the CaliforniaLyme Yahoo group - it has a map of the US where Lyme ticks have been confirmed and it shows California including So Cal. I've brought that to doctors'appointments with me.
Jill
-------------------- If laughter is the best medicine, why hasn't stand-up comedy cured me? Posts: 1773 | From San Diego | Registered: Apr 2006
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Jill E.
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9121
posted
Just sent you a PM with my sleep specialist info so our doctors can talk if they'd like.
Jill
-------------------- If laughter is the best medicine, why hasn't stand-up comedy cured me? Posts: 1773 | From San Diego | Registered: Apr 2006
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TerryK
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 8552
posted
I could not find studies that note an association between sleep apnea and lyme disease. Not surprising since the IDSA does not recognize Chronic Lyme Disease - (persistent infection) and they don't list sleep difficulty of any kind as a symptom of the supposed Post Lyme Disease Syndrome.
The best bet would be to see if you can hook him up with ILADS docs so that he can ask them questions. That said, I can't say what the general concensus is of the ILADS group regarding sleep apnea and lyme.
Sleep apnea is noted on Lyme Disease symptom lists and I found a few things from lyme treating MD's who have written about it.
http://tinyurl.com/lm9e8x "Sleep apnea is more common in Lyme patients. It frequently causes a paralysis of the pharynx due to injury to the 9th cranial nerve(glosopharyngeal nerve).
Look in your throat. Is the uvula deviated? It should be in the middle. Does the soft palate move poorly when you say "ah".
Brain Lyme may also cause central sleep apnea due to injury of the sleep center in the brain. Sleep apnea is a serious disease and should be treated.
Be aware that it is hard to get a good sleep study and that sleep studies tend to under diagnose sleep apnea. C-pap doesn't treat Lyme. It treats sleep apnea which is more prevalent in Lyme patients."
http://tinyurl.com/kjgr9f A patient writes: "You had mentioned in an earlier appointment that you have noticed a lot of your patients with sleep apnea."
Answer "The sleep apnea may be due to dysfunction of the 9th cranial nerve, the glossopharygeal nerve. This disorder can be observed when the uvula is deviated to one side or when the soft palate does not rise when the person says "Ah" Disease of this nerve is common in Lyme patients. In the past everyone had a uvula which was midline(in the middle of the pharynx-throat). A patient recently told me that an ENT specialist told here that it has now become "normal" for people to have a deviated uvula. ???"
"In men, reduced levels of testosterone can disrupt sleep and cause problems such as sleep apnea."
Written by a lyme doctor (this doctor is now deceased): http://tinyurl.com/dg9k2p "As both LD and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome are attended by sleep apnea, this should impel further research to determine if some babies with SIDS are actually suffering from LD."
Sorry I can't find anything that I think would be acceptable to most M.D.'s. The reason these lyme doctors believe there is an association is because they see it in their practices.
There is an association via some studies with fibromyalia and sleep apnea. Many who are diagnosed with fibromyalgia actually have lyme disease but that is not recognized by most non lyme doctors. It is recognized by ILADS and they mention the association between lyme disease and fibromyalgia in the phamplet on their website and I think in their guidelines.
Terry
Posts: 6286 | From Oregon | Registered: Jan 2006
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
peedie,
copy your link here, and PM KEEBLER; she's outstanding on links & may have some in her files currently !!
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