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Sleep Apnea and Seizures
Wed, 08/29/2007 - 21:50My husband has a seizure disorder. He was diagnosed with sleep apnea last year. He tried using the CPAP machine at night and struggled with it and gave up. He was diagnosed as SEVER SLEEP APNEA and suffered from lowered oxygen levels to 73% thru the night because of it.
CAN SLEEP APNEA CAUSE HIM TO HAVE SEIZURES?
His seizures are form head trauma 18 yrs ago...my concern is that is he making his epilepsy more complicated by the fatc that he has severe sleep apnea and refuses to do anything about it.
Anyone else out there with sleep apnea and E.?
Comments
Re: Re: Re: Re: Sleep Apnea and Seizures
Submitted by JimMartin on Fri, 2007-10-26 - 13:32
Your husband may be a stubborn guy (like me), but ignoring the apnea connection is a major mistake. The C-PAP therapy can potentially be replaced with some minor surgery to deal the the obstructive tissue. If he is a loud snorer, that is a definite sign that the apnea is obstructive in character. Take it from someone who didn't come to grips with this until his family forced him to do so.
I've found that once I was able to eliminate the chronic sleep deprivation from the sleep apnea, the seizures came under control with less medication. Also, the other epilepsy issues (attention, concentration and focus) became far less severe. While I still need to use checklist and memory aids, I'm convinced a substantial aggregating factor influencing (at least my) prevalence for seizures is the sleep deprivation associated with unaddressed sleep apnea.
Good luck.
Jim
Re: Re: Re: Re: Sleep Apnea and Seizures
Submitted by SunflowerPower on Fri, 2007-10-26 - 13:55
I've read that sleep apnea is really hard on the heart and increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Don't ignore it!
Does anyone know if seizures can cause sleep apnea?
Re: Re: Re: Sleep Apnea and Seizures
Submitted by support_caregivers2 on Thu, 2007-08-30 - 09:36
He is willing to go back to trying to use the CPAP. He didnt give it long enough time to get use to it. The snoring has gotten worse which means so has the sleep apnea. My husband can fall asleep at teh drop of a hat. Even if he is in the car waiting for me to run in and pick up something. Thatw as one of the major signs the ENT said was a sign of sleep apnea. When they tested him he was severe like I said in my first post. Thansk for info. I was wondering if anyone else on here had sleep apnea and E.