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[Symptoms] Stress amd its effects - Printable Version

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Stress amd its effects - weeble - 05-30-2012

Hi all - 3 months ago I lost one of my beloved dogs and I noticed that my AHI started going up and up then about 10 weeks ago, it started coming back down to my normal - which was anywhere between 0.9 and 1.5 then a week ago quite suddenly I lost my 2nd dog Sad and bingo, it started going up again. So I have come to the conclusion that at first when it started happening there was something wrong with me, but now it's just stress, but what I am interested in is if my machine is pumping a steady flow of air in and yes, I am sleeping....how come the ahi would go up?


RE: Stress amd its effects - zonk - 05-30-2012

I've not looked into the relationship of grief/stress so can not comment but for me recently being congested really bad had AHI high in the 30,s and 40,s and if lying in bed awake not able to fall asleep AHI would hit the roof


RE: Stress amd its effects - PaulaO2 - 05-30-2012

I am not aware of any direct studies between stress and sleep apnea events. But it is known that stress can ruin sleep, even causing bizarre dreams.

I'm not sure as to why the AHI would go up, meaning why you had more events. You would think you were not as relaxed as you normally are so the airway would not naturally collapse more. But it could be you were more restless and that movement caused the machine to not work as efficiently.


RE: Stress amd its effects - weeble - 05-30-2012

(05-30-2012, 07:57 PM)PaulaO2 Wrote: I am not aware of any direct studies between stress and sleep apnea events. But it is known that stress can ruin sleep, even causing bizarre dreams.

I'm not sure as to why the AHI would go up, meaning why you had more events. You would think you were not as relaxed as you normally are so the airway would not naturally collapse more. But it could be you were more restless and that movement caused the machine to not work as efficiently.

Very good point PaulaO2...more restless seems like a reasonable assumption and Zonk, it would be interesting to see if we can find out how grief/stress does affect it.


RE: Stress amd its effects - PaulaO2 - 05-30-2012

And by the way, I am sorry to hear about your dogs.

Grouphug3


RE: Stress amd its effects - zonk - 05-30-2012

How high did AHI goes up to and whats the breakdown (AI HI CSA)



RE: Stress amd its effects - Sleepster - 05-30-2012

(05-30-2012, 07:35 PM)weeble Wrote: So I have come to the conclusion that at first when it started happening there was something wrong with me, but now it's just stress, but what I am interested in is if my machine is pumping a steady flow of air in and yes, I am sleeping....how come the ahi would go up?

The increase in AHI could be due, not to an increased number of obstructive apneas, but an increased number of hypopneas.

I don't know which S9 machine you have, but if it's the Elite or the Autoset, you can look at the data and find out.

My AHI goes up and down between 0.5 and 3.5, averaging about 2.0. These variations are due mostly to hypopneas, but also to clear-aiway apneas. And when I look at the breathing pattern during these events they are very short. Barely more than the 10 seconds required for a score.

It took me quite a while to get my AHI this low. Originally my pressure was set at 13 cm. Then I had the doctor lower it to 11 cm, and then again to 10 cm. Now that the AHI never goes below 5, the doctor won't adjust it.

After a couple months I finally got brave enough to lower the pressure myself to 9.5 cm. I have to wait a few weeks now to see what happens. It takes that long to set a trend.

I don't know why our AHI goes up when we are stressed. I have this weird theory, though. I think that OSA causes stress. It generates within our nervous system this notion that something is wrong. We have to keep waking up to breathe, and this affects the psyche. So, we associate the disruption of breathing with the notion that something is wrong. Then, when something wrong really does happen, like the death of a pet, it affects the way we breathe in our sleep.


RE: Stress amd its effects - Moe - 05-30-2012

I think stress and dietary habits may contribute to sleep health but I am unsure as to the actual effects of either. Um actually I can lose sleep if I'm excited about something too, almost as if my heart rate or respiration rate is kept up by too much adrenaline. Good things to think about!


RE: Stress amd its effects - Moe - 05-30-2012

I wonder how much adrenaline contributes to sleeplessness even during stress? I tend to think of adrenaline when I'm excited but I'm sure there's some info out there somewhere about adrenaline from stress/grief.


RE: Stress amd its effects - Suzjohnson - 05-30-2012

(05-30-2012, 07:35 PM)weeble Wrote: Hi all - 3 months ago I lost one of my beloved dogs and I noticed that my AHI started going up and up then about 10 weeks ago, it started coming back down to my normal - which was anywhere between 0.9 and 1.5 then a week ago quite suddenly I lost my 2nd dog Sad and bingo, it started going up again. So I have come to the conclusion that at first when it started happening there was something wrong with me, but now it's just stress, but what I am interested in is if my machine is pumping a steady flow of air in and yes, I am sleeping....how come the ahi would go up?

I'm so sorry about your beloved dogs. Truly, I understand your pain having been there myself in the not so distant past. I wasn't on cpap when my dog died but my over-all health did decline at that point and taken a number of months to return to normal, and just what's normal? Sad Hope you bounce back quickly.

Suz