Sleep apnea and GCA

Use the C-Pap. They were invented to help even though they look unruly.

I don't think sleep apnea is a GCA problem or a PMR problem.

That being said, I developed sleep apnea after being diagnosed with PMR, I had frequent urination at night which was a clue for my primary care doctor to get a sleep study done.
https://www.sleepapnea.org/sleep-health/nighttime-urination-and-sleep-apnea/#:~:text=While%20research%20studies%20have%20established,OSA%20may%20cause%20the%20issue.
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When I did the sleep study, I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. The cause was said to be excess weight in the area of my face and neck area likely caused by prednisone
https://www.sleeptest.com/blog/post/drugs-that-can-lead-to-obstructive-sleep-apnea
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I have been off Prednisone for 3 years. People say my face looks like I have lost weight. I still need to lose more weight. My sleep apnea like so many other problems I had when I was on Prednisone has improved.
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I hated my CPAP machine at first but after I started using it all the time, I didn't need to get up every hour at night to pee.

This illustrates how one problem leads to another and another and another.. Interestingly, many of my problems are improving now that I'm not longer taking Prednisone.

@dadcue

Thank you for your response!! I appreciate you sharing that info about the prednisone causing a fatter face because that has definitely happened to my husband. The prednisone does cause one thing after another after another. I'm so glad you're off of it!! My husband is down from 80 mg to 20 mg and still tapering so I'm hopeful. He's on Actemra to help the taper go more quickly. Fingers crossed!

Thanks also for sharing how you got used to sleeping with the CPAP machine. That is the one thing he's most afraid of thinking it will make him sleep less. I told him it might just have the total opposite affect. I'll share your story with him. It's always good coming from someone else with experience.

Don't tell him about the vivid dreams I had when I first started wearing CPAP. I had dreams that I was SCUBA diving and someone was messing with my air supply. I used to do some SCUBA diving so I knew that I shouldn't panic. In my dreams, my air supply would return so I didn't actually wake up. I liked the dreams about SCUBA diving again. I don't have those dreams anymore and I miss having them. The reason why I think my sleep apnea is improving is because I don't have those SCUBA diving dreams anymore.

The CPAP is not always necessary! If your husband has his natural teeth, he can try a mouth appliance. My 81 year old sister switched to this and is amazed by it. If not, he should talk to his sleep specialist about EPAP, which is simple and non-invasive, about implants, and about other new treatments. After years of neglecting my apnea because there’s no way I would use CPAP, I finally scheduled a sleep study to address it because I learned about these effective alternatives.

The CPAP machine does not cure apnea, though it suspends its effects. But, though sleep doctors rarely tell you, sleep apnea can be mitigated, if not cured.
Tips for Mitigating OSA
Sleep on your side, not your back
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleeping-positions/best-sleeping-position-for-sleep-apnea
Don't tuck your chin
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3940806/
Learn and practice myofunctional therapy
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25348130/
Train your lips
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5699856/
Practice box breathing
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene/best-breathing-exercises-for-sleep
I am weaning myself from the machine and sleeping great late;ly.

Thank you very much for this information. I will pass it on to my husband who is getting ready to do a home sleep study. He is not happy at the thought of having to use a c-pap machine. I’m all for trying alternatives.

@dadcue

Ha! Ha! I'll be sure not to tell him about those SCUBA diving dreams. We're still at the point of doing the sleep test. He keeps avoiding it. We have the home test kit and he's agreed, finally, to do it tonight. He says he doesn't think he'll be able to sleep with the device on so I told him if he can't, he'll have to go to the sleep study place and they'll make sure he falls asleep. I have no idea, I'm just telling him whatever to get him to do this and get it over with. It's for his own good.

@marymullins7

That is very good to hear! He does have his natural teeth and I did see that was an option. His teeth are bad right now but he's having work done starting in a couple weeks that will take a couple months to finish.

I appreciate you sharing the alternatives. Have you started using something or are you still at the stage of getting the sleep study?

Sleep study next month!