Sleep Study

I've been having trouble sleeping for years. I'm 42 now and my insomnia started when I was about 14. The diagnosis of bipolar disorder at 19 explained my sleeplessness at the time. About 10 years ago, I started having sleep problems again. I had gained a lot of weight because of bipolar medications, and my psychiatrist suspected that I had sleep apnea. He referred me to a sleep specialist and I had a sleep study. It was determined that I had mild sleep apnea (too mild to treat) and I was told that I would get better sleep if I slept on my side, so that is what I did.

This past summer, I started to suspect that my sleep apnea had gotten worse. I was waking up about 6 or 7 times each night, that I remembered, and I didn't feel rested. Part of the problem was that I was taking lithium, and it was causing extreme thirst, which was compelling me to drink huge amounts of water, and I was in the bathroom all day and all night. I was so thirsty that I would drink more water each time I woke up at night. Whether because of my extreme thirst, or suspected sleep apnea, I wasn't getting good sleep, so I asked my general practitioner to refer me to a sleep specialist, and I let my psychiatrist know about it. My psychiatrist was very interested in learning the results of my sleep study.

My sleep study in October was disastrous. I got out of bed 7 times to go to the bathroom and drank 6 cups of water throughout the night. I only slept for 1 hour, although it seemed like I didn't sleep at all. During that hour, I stopped breathing 16 times because of sleep apnea. That qualifies as moderate sleep apnea and is considered serious enough to treat. I went back for another sleep study in November, and this time I wore a CPAP, a device that blows a gentle stream of air into the nose during sleep to keep the airway open so that you can breathe properly. I slept 7.5 hours and was getting at least 90% oxygen all night, which is in the healthy range of oxygen. It was determined that I would get my own CPAP, and I did.

In December, I met with a respiratory therapist and was fitted with a mask and learned how to use and care for the CPAP. At first, I was given a full face mask. After three weeks of sleeping with it, I decided that it was too uncomfortable, so I went back for another mask. This time I got nasal pillows and they are proving to be much more comfortable.

I was not really excited about using the CPAP at first, but now, at the end of January, I feel so much healthier and more energetic since I've been using it, that I believe it is worth the expense and awkwardness. Also, it is thought that if you have sleep apnea and bipolar disorder, using a CPAP can lessen your experiences of both mania and depression. As an added bonus, I even look better. My eyes look much more rested and my skin looks radiant. Now, in addition to considering it necessary for good mental and physical health, I consider it to be a beauty treatment, and that makes me feel more excited about wearing it.

Unfortunately, many people with bipolar disorder gain weight from the medications, and that causes other health problems, like sleep apnea. There is a possibility that if I lose weight, I will be able to sleep well without the CPAP. Getting to my ideal weight is my next quest. When you get good sleep, you have fewer stress hormones in your body, so it is easier to lose weight.

Since I've been using the CPAP, I've lost 23 pounds. This is probably also the result of a medication change. When my psychiatrist learned, from the sleep study, that I was waking up and drinking water all night, she substituted Trileptal for lithium. I've been asking psychiatrists to take me off of lithium for years, but this was the straw that finally broke the camel's back. I'm also taking Lamictal and Saphris to control my bipolar disorder and I'm doing very well. I'm stable and alert and feeling much more optimistic about the future than I've felt in years.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous12/03/2013

    I have Sleep Apnea too. I get my CPAP this week and I cannot wait to get some relief. Instead of having to drink at night I experience urgency to use the bathroom...so much so that I go about 3-5x in a typical night. Of course the overall goal is to shed some of the weight I have gained so the Apnea is reversed.

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    1. The CPAP takes some getting used to, but it really does help. It can help your blood pressure go down if it is high, and my blood pressure is down. I had urgency to go to the bathroom too, because of lithium. It was a terrible cycle of going to the bathroom and then getting more to drink. That doesn't happen anymore, because I am not taking lithium anymore. I have lost 54 pounds since I started the CPAP and I am exercising a lot. It is thought that using a CPAP can help you lose weight because using it reduces your stress hormone which can make it hard to lose weight. A really nice thing about using the CPAP is, you won't be able to snore. I really hope it helps. The main thing to know is that, for it to work well, you really need to use it every night.

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  2. Micheal12/17/2015

    My CPAP machine is the best thing I have ever received, it has helped me so much. I cannot think of anything that would work better, I tried a lot of devices to help but non worked at all, anti-snoring chin straps are completely laughable.

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  3. I like my CPAP too. I have much more energy since I've been using it and I even look better. It is so nice to sleep well through the night. My blood pressure is also lower. I am hoping that I will be able to lose enough weight to get rid of it though. My only complaint is that it is cumbersome to travel with, but I don't travel that much, so this isn't such a big deal.

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