Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group sleep apnea

hey all,

I'm pretty sure this has been covered, I was wondering if there's much of a link between AS and sleep apnea. The best study I found had 17 participants with AS and 2 of them had apnea (12%) and 2 were borderline. Their conclusion was that AS patients are predisposed to it.

I went back to my primary care doctor for the fatigue since the biologics aren't helping it at all. He had me cut back on medication for a month but that didn't help either. He wants me to do a sleep study to determine if I might need a CPAP machine. I'm not thrilled with the prospect of using one, but I'm getting to the point that I'll try anything that might help.

Jeff

The dentist I work for specializes in treating patients with sleep apnea. There are dental appliances that can help with this if you can't tolerate the CPAP machine. It goes through the medical insurance, not dental for billing, but not all insurances cover the dental appliance yet since it is a newer treatment option. As far as the link between AS and sleep apnea, I don't know but it would seem to me to be higher risk for sleep apnea.

my stepfather is on a machine for sleep apnea / heart problems.....i know he was on a machine that he did not care for at first and they changed him to a machine that he likes much better....so if you need one, you might find one more to your liking than another.

sue

Thanks for the replies. My dentist makes all sorts of jaw appliances for helping TMJ. I'll ask him if he makes anything for apnea next time I have an appointment (assuming the results come back positive). The reason I was asking about links between the two is that my mom's trying to convince me to cancel the study and that my fatigue is just from the arthritis. I was thinking maybe she'd trust my doctor more if I could show her there's a connection.

Yep I am on a CPAP machine and mask.

It has helped me feel better and I think some of the fatigue I thought was AS was actually from the Apnea. My blood oxygen never was low or the apnea dangerous but in the study I was amazed at the lack of sleep I was getting.

I have been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. I use a CPAP with a pressure of 14. I am HLA B27 + and I have AS. My CPAP tells me when my allergies are out of whach. When I have too much sun, and it will sent my CPAP into moderate or severe range. I use my CPAP nightly or when I am taking a nap. I have had Central Apnea, where the brain forgets to tell you to breath. For that one time I thank my dog KAyla she saved my life, by barking in my face when I hadn't wore my MASK, and startled me awake.

I stopped breathing 41/hours when I first got my CPAP machine. At a pressure of 14 I am in mild range. Allergies, colds, will cause my apnea to go into serve range. Each night now I may stop breathing 40/night in mild range instead of 328/night, severe range.

hugs Gerri

I hated the notion of using the CPAP.

It was a bit aggravating to get used to but it is well worth it. Helps get sleep that you didn't realize you were missing by waking up so many times a night without even knowing it.

I'm glad I hav e it now. I still don't use it all the time but most nights its well worth it.

Thanks for all the responses, everyone. I really hope they figure out why I'm so tired all the time. I was just thinking, though, that I have a muscle above my ear that has spasms every few minutes. Its been doing it for a couple years and I've learned to ignore it, but it bothers me at night. If this is waking me up a little every time it spasm, it could mimic the symptoms of apnea. I suspect its from a bad disc at C3 that I was told to leave alone unless it starts hurting badly. Will the sleep study detect this if its the problem or would it be better to call the doctor and tell him about this? Thanks.

Jeff

Jeff, during the sleep study, they'll have electrodes attached all over you. Not sure what all they read, but I would think one of them would pick up on the muscle spasm. You might mention it to the people conducting the study.

I truly believe that sleep studies are well worth the hassle. Your fatigue could well be due to the AS and pain, it could also be low iron, but you have to find out for sure. The only way to rule out sleep issues (i.e. Apnea, Restless Leg Syndrome) is a sleep study.

I hope you find out what's going on soon.

Hugs,

I too have wondered.... and put off the test for many years. I finally did the first test July 18 and found that I indeed have apnea. I knew I have it, Donna tells me all the time about me not breathing at night. I went for a second test with a CPAP on July 22 and am awaiting the results. I hated the machine and feel I had an even worse sleep than normal. I slept much lighter and feel I was aware of everything, especially my breathing. I was still fatigued the following day. Started with just a nose mask, then they changed it to a full face about an hour into my sleep as I was apparently opening my mouth.... Very strange to open your mouth and have air rushing out and it's not you doing it!!

The test was:

9:30 pm appt, arrive 9:20 and register
10:30 assigned room
11:00 wired up

2 leads on each leg muscle for detecting restless leg syndrome
2 leads under left eye
2 leads over right eye all for detecting REM
2 leads behind each ear and on head for brain wave activity (told them they wouldn't see much with me )
2 leads on chin for teeth grinding detection
4 leads on chest for heart
belt on waist and belt around chest
oxygen sensor on index finger

12:00 go to sleep. They want you on your back, in a strange bed which for us can be a daunting task. I took my pillow with me. When I rolled onto my side I tore a lead off my left leg. They come in turn on overhead lights, apologize, replace lead and leave....

bloody 5:30 wake up.....

the gel for the leads is nasty to remove in morning, check if your clinic has a shower! Gel melts in hot water.....

Second test was as above but with CPAP.


and the results are.......... tbp