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Sleep Apnea

GPK26

As I continue my research into my recent autism diagnosis I have come across multiple articles linking / associating sleep apnea with autism.

I have been suffering from considerable fatigue for the past 3 years and had a respiratory based sleep assessment 2 years ago which revealed that I have severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). My consultant said that he rarely sees results as bad as mine - I was having ~80 apneas per hour and was stopping breathing for up to 2 1/2 minutes.

I have been using a CPAP since the OSA diagnosis with great results - my apneas are down to mid single digits and I am not falling asleep during the day.

Have any of the community members had experience of sleep apnea?
 

  • in reply to GPK26

    I Have the same setup as you do from the sound of it? Initially I used the water tank on the advice of my sister in law's dad, who also has one. I found it quite difficult to keep the tank clean and after I stopped using it I didn't really notice any difference. I'm still getting to grips with how autism impacts me day to day, but I understand masking and other impacts if socialising can be draining for at least some autistics.

  • in reply to Talking Paradox

    That sounds great

    Likewise. I am less tired since I started using CPAP (~2 years now). I am not falling asleep during the day, but I do feel fatigued.

    Which CPAP do you have and how do you get on with?
    I've got a ResMed AirSense10 machine with an F20 full face mask. I really embraced my CPAP from day one and would probably struggle to sleep with it. It has become so integral with my sleep routine. Over the 2 years of use I have probably missed no more than a couple of nights due to forgetting to pack the power cable on a couple of nights away from home/ 

    Autism has only recently come to light and I'm quite sure that is a contributing factor to my fatigue. A copy of my assessment report has been sent to my neurologist. I just hope that they don't use my autism as THE reason and that they do continue the various investigations. 

  • I was diagnosed with osa about 4 years ago, having previously been diagnosed with parasomnia. I've beem using a cpap machine for a while and I have found I'm less tired during the day.

  • I was diagnosed with sleep apnea about a year ago, and I use a CPAP machine. 

    My sleep study showed that I had ten apnea events in an hour. With the CPAP machine, that number is down to 0.2.

    I started snoring when I gained a lot of weight during COVID, and my guess is that's when my sleep apnea started. When I get all the weight back off, I will get another sleep study and see how I do without the machine. 

  • in reply to battybats

    One for the experts there, battybats.  There's always so much more to learn.

    Ben

  • in reply to GPK26

    Thanks GPK26, I'll bear that in mind.

    Ben

  • I don't have sleep apnea myself, but I used to work for a company that made the masks. I wonder if any increased prevalence in autistic people is related to issues with muscle tone and the way hypermobility disorders (another co-occurring condition with autism) affect different tissues in the body? I'd be interested to know whether our soft palate etc is more 'floppy' compared with allistic people.

  • in reply to Ben

    It may be worthwhile speaking to your GP about having a respiratory sleep study. Mine was a simple case of picking up a device from hospital and wearing it in bed for 2 nights.

  • I have had occasional sleep apnea for years, and it can be scary. I awake not breathing and then, after an alarming pause, take the deepest of breaths.  I've never had any treatment for it, and I certainly didn't know it linked to autism.  I shall be reading up on that.

    Ben