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I hired a sleep apnea test from hope 2 sleep in January this year, and it showed I had severe sleep apnea. My GP finally believed me and refered me to a hospital sleep clinic, which I attented in April.I have an appointment in August to collect my first cpap machine.
I wanted to ask can sleep apnea affect muscle strength? Last November I got back pain, which I managed for a few days, but then had to stop work, but it still got worse and took painkillers for it . The pain subsided after a couple of weeks, but still found it difficult to get out of a chair etc. My back felt like my muscles would not work, a sort of numbness. I tried stretches and gentle movements, but my muscles particularly my back muscles felt like they were about to cramp.I then hit bottom with depression. I should say that I have been taking anti depressants for over 25 years, and as long as I take them keeps the depresion at bay. So most people who know me find it hard that I have depression. Tried to come off them a few times, but I went down hill, so I it was thought I should stay on them.
So I was taking my antidepressants but still had a bad depression. I finally made it to my GP with my husbands help. We discussed my condition as above and also told him how tired I always was, How my muscles felt jittery and felt like my back muscles couldnt hold me up, and that by the evening they were starting to get a little stronger, then went to bed and then in the morning was weak again. My GP decided to put me on Mirtazapine and antidepressent that makes you sleep. I tried these for a week and they did make me sleep, but felt muzzy during the day, so I stopped them and GP increased my dose of my original antidepressant. After 4 or 5 weeks I made it to the GP on my own and said I was better, but my muscles felt shaky and weak for a couples of hours first thing in the morning, but by lunchtime felt stronger. The GP said I had anxiety. I disputed this as I had no work, money, relationship problems. I was off work for 9 weeks. I researched anxiety on the internet and found it could be sleep apnea. I have told you all this as after being back at work for nearly 6 months I am back to where I was with all the synptoms again with back muscles in particular not working properly, Have tried massage too. So can severe sleep apnea lead to all the above?( Sorry this is long, but thanks for your time)
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Hi Judy. So glad our screening test convinced your GP to refer you to the sleep clinic, even though it's a shame some people have to go to these lengths. Hopefully in time more GP's will become aware of how common this is and start to recognise it in their patients.
Years of untreated sleep apnoea can cause a whole host of problems, and the fact that a lot of your muscle weakness is worse in a morning (after a night of untreated apnoeas and oxygen desaturations) it could well be linked. You'll know this when you get onto your CPAP therapy, and you'll be surprised at how many symptoms this is causing you....just 2 of the smaller changes in me were that my hairdresser noticed my hair was suddenly in beautiful condition and my dentist noticed my gums were too! Hang in there until you get onto good CPAP therapy and then after a few months if you're still getting the muscle weakness it's time to investigate this further. I didn't have daily muscle weakness when untreated, but at least once a year I had a total collapse where I had no physical strength until another round of anti-depressants kicked in 
I mentioned the anxiety and depression in the article the Guardian printed yesterday http://www.healthawareness.co.uk/respiratory/sleep-apnoea/think-you...
Hi Kath,
Thank you for replying so quickly, and appreciate the time taken to answer. I cant wait to try the cpap machine, although at the same time I am not looking forward to it either.. I did have a date in June to go to the sleep clinic to get the machine, but as my back was so bad could not make the appointment, so that is why it has been moved to 4th Aug. I was also trying to find online if muscle pain/back pain were related in some way(I should say I have had trouble with my back since my teens, so that is a weak area for me) I came across some talks by Dr Stasha Gominack on Youtube who mentions patients with back pain and they have Apneas that could be related to Vitamin D and B deficency (I have low Vitamin D, but dont know about Vitamin B) Have you seen these talks and if so what are your thoughts?
Thanks again
Yes, mixed feelings are understandable at the thought of sleeping with a mask on, but once you feel the benefits of the therapy then you'll not want to sleep without it. Make a note or download this page from the website with tips for when you get your CPAP in August http://www.hope2sleep.co.uk/desensitisation-tips-for-new-cpap-and-v... Also try to determine before you go whether you're a nose or mouth breather in your sleep, as by telling the clinic this, it will help them give you the correct type of mask.
I've seen all of Dr Gominak's information, and agree with most of it, but not the fact she states getting Vitamin D corrected means no more sleep apnoea. However, it is true that a lot of people with sleep apnoea do have a Vitamin D deficiency so it's always worth getting blood tests for that, but don't self-treat without knowing your levels, as I did that once and decided to put myself on a high dose of D3 assuming I had low Vitamin D. I almost went into toxic levels so that was a lesson learnt!!
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