Any ideas why sleep apnea went away for 4 months?

[Johand77]

I’ve had health issues for the last decade- brain fog, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, TMJ, Bruxism, scalloped tongue, inflammation, heart palpitations, gut issues, anxiety, panic, depression, paranoia and am stuck in a hypervigilant state with little ability to down regulate.

It all started after I started waking up feeling beat up- I like to say it feels like I wrestled a bear all night and had 30 beers. After a year of poor sleep the symptoms showed up.

I was finally diagnosed with mild OSA in 2021 and started using CPAP with no success.

I’ve worked with a lot of doctors and specialists and all of my labs “look great”, no indication what is causing my health issues.

Outside of that I’ve been doing my own research and experiments to fix my health- more magnesium, better diet, sleep hygiene etc I was mouth taping and seeing the sun rise and set back in 2017, long before it became popular. Etc

Nothing I did made any difference at all. Not in the slightest.

Two summers ago I took a breath hold meditation course with Erwan Le Corre, who holds the US record for static breath hold.

Essentially the course is teaching you how to meditate while holding your breath, how to create a lived sense of relaxation, peace and contentment during intense neurophysiological stress. 


One of the exercises is to inhale and hold your breath, moving the diaphragm up and down to stimulate the mechanoceptors of the respiratory muscles. This release of a diaphragm during a breath hold forces the air into the soft palate. I have a sense that force helped strengthen my palate and I also felt and heard cracking in my sinuses and skull. 


In 4 weeks, with little practice my breath hold went from :30 to 1:45, for reps, with ease. 

On the last day after the course was over I felt something come over me, or come off me, as if I had had a python constricting me these last 10 years. I felt a sense of relief and relaxation and peace and contentment I hadn’t felt in a decade.

That night I slept like a baby and sprang out of bed for the first time since Obama was president lol. 

All of my issues were gone. Every single one.

Even the bruxism, TMJ, and scalloped tongue which suggest structural issues (ie my mouth is too small for my tongue according to my myofunctional therapist)

This lasted for four months in which I dropped 40 lbs, got a promotion, started weight training again and met a wonderful woman.

And as soon as I met this wonderful woman my health issues returned.

I have no idea what’s caused this or what cured it or what caused it again but I’m hoping maybe some of you will have some insight because I am dying and need help.

[HalfAsleep]

You're not currently using a CPAP, is that correct? I'm not sure how you'd know sleep apnea went away unless with a formal in-lab sleep test or recording CPAP data to Oscar and then scrutinizing it.

There could be, like, 1000 reasons for your experience, including a dysfunction in almost any body part, including the brain. Humans aren't static organisms. It's actually quite normal IME for humans to have fluctuations in how they feel, and there's no magic potion "fix" to make it any different, although humans often think there is.

FWIW poor sleep quality could affect almost any metabolic process and create all 1000 of those reasons. Problems that are the result of poor sleep IMO are not fixable except by getting better sleep. Also, as an adult, IME you have to work at getting good sleep; it doesn't just happen. That's where I would start.

My top guess is that the results of breath-holding practice are short term only. Also, the technique might have affected your experience, but not your metabolical reality. In other words, the training disguised the issue for a bit, but nothing was actually "fixed". This has nothing to do with your significant other in the negative; on the contrary, her new presence in your life may have had a therapeutic outcome and have given you a real boost, but the old issues continued (or from your experience, "returned"), because they weren't ever actually resolved.

IMO the top way of addressing this would be to start using CPAP again, and post some Oscars here. If the settings on your Avatar are exact to the machine, since they are the defaults, the unit is likely not set for maximal therapeutic results and/or comfort. This would substantially impact your sleep. Also, the Oscars will reflect leakage and positional issues which can interfere with sleep.

Keep in mind, as you do this, that CPAP is not "plug and play". It is not a device where you plug it in, throw on a mask, and your sleep voilà fixes overnight. You really have to work at it to get benefit, as you can tell from most posters here.

Also, what was your AHI on your initial prescriptive sleep test?

[Nightynite]

Like Halfasleep said, you would need 2 inlab sleep test before you could say my sleep apnea when away. One before and one after. Home sleep test doesn’t count.

[Deborah K.]

Are you using your pap machine?  If so you would certainly benefit from increasing your minimum pressure from 4 to 7.  4 is generally used for children and would leave an adult feeling air-starved.

If you will post an Oscar chart we could no doubt help you to achieve better therapy and comfort.

[Johand77]

You're not currently using a CPAP, is that correct? I'm not sure how you'd know sleep apnea went away unless with a formal in-lab sleep test or recording CPAP data to Oscar and then scrutinizing it.

There could be, like, 1000 reasons for your experience, including a dysfunction in almost any body part, including the brain. Humans aren't static organisms.  It's actually quite normal IME for humans to have fluctuations in how they feel, and there's no magic potion "fix" to make it any different, although humans often think there is.

FWIW poor sleep quality could affect almost any metabolic process and create all 1000 of those reasons. Problems that are the result of poor sleep IMO are not fixable except by getting better sleep. Also, as an adult, IME you have to work at getting good sleep; it doesn't just happen. That's where I would start.

My top guess is that the results of breath-holding practice are short term only. Also, the technique might have affected your experience, but not your metabolical reality. In other words, the training disguised the issue for a bit, but nothing was actually "fixed". This has nothing to do with your significant other in the negative; on the contrary, her new presence in your life may have had a therapeutic outcome and have given you a real boost, but the old issues continued (or from your experience, "returned"), because they weren't ever actually resolved.

IMO the top way of addressing this would be to start using CPAP again, and post some Oscars here. If the settings on your Avatar are exact to the machine, since they are the defaults, the unit is likely not set for maximal therapeutic results and/or comfort. This would substantially impact your sleep. Also, the Oscars will reflect leakage and positional issues which can interfere with sleep.

Keep in mind, as you do this, that CPAP is not "plug and play". It is not a device where you plug it in, throw on a mask, and your sleep voilà fixes overnight. You really have to work at it to get benefit, as you can tell from most posters here.

Also, what was your AHI on your initial prescriptive sleep test?

Yeah, I agree with most of what you’re saying. We are complex and changing organisms.

Of course, I didn’t have a follow up sleep study to see if I stilled had apnea or not. I was just elated to feel like a normal person again. Besides all of the health issues that went away, one of the things I correlate with sleep quality is urine quality. When these issues started I went from waking up with urine that indicated a hydrated state to urine that indicated a dehydrated state. I’ve been having trouble staying hydrated despite consuming adequate water and electrolytes. When my sleep quality improved that summer I woke up and my urine indicated I was hydrated. I know it’s not a sleep study but for me it goes hand in hand with sleep quality- not to mention the rest of the health issues.

I do use CPAP. Have been using it for 3 months now. It was difficult to figure out for a couple of years  because I would use it for a few weeks and then I’d start having trouble breathing with it- waking up choking as soon as I’d fall asleep. After a follow up sleep study my doc adjusted the pressure but that made it worse. I just gave up and that’s when I did the breathwork course. 

I began using a nasal spray this time and that has helped

Sleep hygiene is something I’ve been working at for basically the entire time since this started- going to bed early, consistently at the same time every night, doing relaxing things (though nothing is relaxing) like reading and stretching, keep the bedroom cold, dark, etc. seeing the sun rise and set, I tried mouth taping for a couple of years. I predominantly sleep on my side. I sleep roughly 7-9 hours a night, depending on when I wake up. I’ve tried a lot of different supplements from magnesium’s and Theanine to glycine etc. nothing has any noticeable impact, and I’m a pretty aware and sensitive guy. The biggest issue is that I slept really well before this, so there’s a noticeable difference and it just doesn’t feel right. 

I have posted my OSCAR data on here and on Reddit twice in these last couple of months. Generally it looks pretty good and my events are low and positional. 

My initial sleep study I got an AHI of 6 and an RHI of 8. With my CPAP I usually have an AHI of 0.5. This morning was 0.2

As far as my partner goes- I have two theories. One is that I was exposed to mold in her house and that’s the cause of these issues. We also have mold in our current apartment. Working on getting that fixed and getting some labs done to verify.
The other thing is I think this relationship may just not be right for me and my subconscious is screaming at me to get away. There’s nothing wrong with her or us, I just think it isn’t right. But also I wish I could experience this relationship as a healthy person to truly know.

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Are you using your pap machine?  If so you would certainly benefit from increasing your minimum pressure from 4 to 7.  4 is generally used for children and would leave an adult feeling air-starved.

If you will post an Oscar chart we could no doubt help you to achieve better therapy and comfort.  

Yes I am. The minimum is 8, though the ramp up starts at 4. I use it every night and have posted OSCAR data on here a couple times- yesterday morning actually, in another thread.

[HalfAsleep]

I'm not sure what you'd like comment on? It sounds like you've covered all the bases you've determined need covering.

[Johand77]

I'm not sure what you'd like comment on? It sounds like you've covered all the bases you've determined need covering.

I don’t know man. I just need some help because I’m so exhausted I can’t keep living like this and am hoping someone has some insight. I’m desperate. 

I thought I was just answer your questions and clarifying things.

[Sleepster]

I don’t know man. I just need some help because I’m so exhausted I can’t keep living like this and am hoping someone has some insight. I’m desperate. 

There's evidently some kind of mind-body interaction going on here. I suggest you make an appointment with a good mental health provider to see if you can get it sorted out.

Also, can you you go back to that therapy you described that helped you so much? Try it again and see if the results can be repeated.

Meanwhile, look into the possibility that you do have sleep apnea.

[Johand77]

There's evidently some kind of mind-body interaction going on here. I suggest you make an appointment with a good mental health provider to see if you can get it sorted out.

Also, can you you go back to that therapy you described that helped you so much? Try it again and see if the results can be repeated.

Meanwhile, look into the possibility that you do have sleep apnea.

I am working with a therapist, but just starting with a new one so it’s gonna take a minute to get things going. 

I’ve tried doing the breathwork again but it’s just not the same. 

And I’m not sure what I’ve posted but I was diagnosed with OSA, so I do have sleep apnea, just trying to figure out the cause and solution.

[Deborah K.]

It would help if you turned ramp off. You get virtually no therapy while using it.