Type 2 Diabetes and sleep apnea

[littletigercat]

Hello - brand new here with a question. Does anyone have type 2 diabetes and if so, do you find a machine helps your numbers? I have just completed 2 sleep studies and am supposed to pick up an ASV? machine tomorrow. I currently get about 2 or 3 hours of sleep nightly and am excited/nervous to see what is going to happen after tomorrow. All I know right now is that I probably will get the full face mask because during the studies, I felt like I was suffocating with just the nasal mask. Any thoughts on the diabetes thing? Thanks!

[quiescence at last]

what are your blood sugar numbers? you could sent by PM if you wish.

my diagnosis of diabetes type II and obstructive sleep apnea came at the same time. My labs showed fasting glucose 134, and first A1C showed 6.7 (where 125 and 6.5 were criteria).

I am not on medication, insulin, or dietary controls. But I am making voluntary diet changes. My next check (A1C) is in March.

some symptoms of diabetes or pre-diabetes are mimicked/triggered/caused by the sleep apnea condition. I have read that the stresses caused by sleeplessness cause a sort of insulin-resistance, and this can result in too much blood sugar.

Doc says I "severely stressed my pancreas" but did not break it. He has a strong confidence I can bring the numbers down.

I will be one of the cases where diabetes II seems to clear up after PAP treatment, but will not hold diet and weight as a constant. So, I won't know if my recovery will be a direct result of PAP treatment.

I do know I could not mount a fight in my state of sleeplessness - so PAP is essential to make diet, weight, exercise, and mental-emotional changes.

Well being is making a come-back!

[DeepBreathing]

G'day Littletigercat, welcome to the forum.

I have type 2 but haven't seen any change either way since going onto CPAP. I think it's likely that sleep apnea might contribute to diabetes (through metabolic syndrome) but once you've got it then I don't think CPAP will reverse it.

If you're getting an ASV machine then you must have central or mixed apnea. The most common (obstructive) apnea is caused by the muscles of your upper airway relaxing too much allowing the tongue and soft palate to obstruct your airway during sleep. Central apnea is quite a different beast - it's caused by the brain stem not sending the message the "breathe now" to your chest & diaphragm. Mixed apnea is a combination of the two.

ASV machines are a lot more expensive than ordinary CPAPs but can do a great job of completely eliminating apneas. In my case before treatment I had over 60 per hour but now I'd be lucky (should say unlucky) to have one or two a night. It's possible but unlikely you'll get instant results. Most of us take a while (could be days or weeks, even months) to get everything working together. The critical thing at the start is to get a good mask. It must be comfortable and not leak excessively. That is more than half the battle, so don't be shy about trying many different masks until you get one that does the trick.

Good luck!

[littletigercat]

not sure how many "events" i had but they were just huge solid blocks of black on the charts, not any little tick marks. they tried the c-pap and bi-pap machines and although those helped somewhat, i still had many episodes of non breathing. the ASV seemed to be the only one that totally eliminated them. i have been on a low carb, ketogenic diet since July of this year and have lost a little over 50lbs - not sure if that will help any, but it needs to be done anyways. my AIC number was 7.9 and at last testing i believe it dropped to 5.7 so that's good. i take 500mg of Metformin 2x daily and am hoping to able to stop that someday. my waking numbers have always been a little higher - in the low 100's, but everything i have read attributes that to something called the dawn phenomenon. really anxious to try this machine - a couple people i know have c-paps and they say it makes a world of difference to how you feel in the morning. i'm just looking forward to hopefully waking up without the morning headaches anymore!

[quiescence at last]

on low carb, you will probably find your face is one of the things that slims up first. If most of that slimming has already occurred the mask you pick may be good for some time. watch out for the potential on technicians to give you a larger mask based on your body size. They should be fitting you for facial characteristics instead. I read here there was a female adult given a medium mask, and when she received advice at this forum, she got a small which made all the difference.

[littletigercat]

i guess i'm about halfway through my weight loss journey so there may be some more slimming of the face. hopefully i will be fitted properly, if not, i'll go back and get something proper. i know during the sleep studies that i had done, the tech tried a few different masks until we got one that seemed to work. i guess we'll see what happens - fingers crossed!!!

[justMongo]

Poor sleep quality has an impact on insulin resistance. PAP therapy has the potential to lower insulin resistance.
So, your DM-II may improve. You seem to be on the right track with diet and Metformin; and your numbers are improving.
An A1C of 5.7 % is an excellent range -- it is in the "normal" range. Diabetic complications can be avoided by such good control.

While no one would say PAP is a cure for DM-II. It would appear, Prima Facie, that you can reverse your DM-II.

[trish6hundred]

Hi littletigercat,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
You have a great attitude and that will go along way toward making your CPAP therapy work for you.
Do stick around for more answers to your questions and much success as you start your CPAP journey.

[littletigercat]

thanks justMongo and trish6hundred. i figure mindset is at least part of the battle! seriously, my biggest fear is probably getting tangled up in my gear! will check back later - have to go get my bedroom ready for my new present hahaha!

[DariaVader]

I have DMII, and have been on CPAP 6 weeks now. I am certainly seeing an improvement in my fasting and daytime numbers, and am hopeful about my next a1c. I have had DMII for a long time. I ate 2 tangerines an hour ago and my blood sugar is only 157 (peak postprandial) 2 tangerines would have put it up to 250 or better before.

Started meds @ 40, but high fasting blood sugars since my teens, and in diabetic ranges long before I let a Dr discover it due to being uninsured and not wanting it to be a pre-existing condition Everyone in my family has DMII, but I got it youngest. Incidentally I've had undiagnosed apnea my whole life.

Did I say this excites me???