Apnea and Neuropathy

[Johnsy17]

I have severe apnea and am picking up CPAP tomorrow.  Does anyone know or has anyone had tingling/pins/needles in legs and or numbness in forehead and/or pain behind eyes.  All of these contribute to insomnia.
My oxygen level at rest was 80.
Anyone?

[Crimson Nape]

Hi Johnsy17 -

Seeing that you list your O2 level as 80, are you being provided any supplemental oxygen? To answer your question; No, I haven't experienced anything like your tingling/pain/numbness description.

[OpalRose]

Johnsy17,
Thats a pretty low oxygen level.  Are you under doctors care?  I've never experienced the pins and needles feeling you describe.

Do you know what Cpap you will be getting?  Touch base with us after when you receive it, and if you need help, just ask.

[ajack]

make sure you are getting a full automatic cpap or leave the machine and go back to the doctor and get another prescription for an automatic.
cpap treats the apnea that can cause low o2.
the tingling may be from low o2, you would need to speak with your doctor of it continues after treatment.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Johnsy17,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Good luck to you as you start CPAP therapy.
Hang in there for more answers to your question.

[justMongo]

Sounds like some form of nephropathy. I have a former colleague and contemporary who has idiopathic nephropathy.
idiopathic is med-speak for "I have no idea what the cause is."

[GAtkins]

Have them check for a Vitamin B12 deficiency.  A regular CBC will not find low B12 because the anemia caused by a B12 deficiency is masked by folic acid contained in enriched flour (i'm from the government and i'm here to help).

Therefore, a B12 level test must be specifically requested and low B12 is quite commonly missed.  It was untreatable and fatal until the mid 1920s.  The guys that figured it out won a Nobel Prize.

If left untreated in can cause idiopathic peripheral neuropathy and a whole host of other undesirable outcomes.  It causes demyelinating and/or axonal nerve damage.  Its symptoms mimic symptoms of many other conditions, is progressive, and in many cases the nerve damage is not reversible.

Treatment of the nerve damage is usually with an SSRI which prevents serotonin reuptake, or more commonly a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor like Cymbalta and in some cases a trycyclic antidepressant that inhibits the reuptake of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

Long shot, but worth a shot.  Treatment is normally with 1,000 mcg Methyl B12 daily easily available OTC.

Glenn

[HalfAsleep]

I have what you are describing: pins/needles/prickles/burning/excruciating. Every night. Almost anywhere.

First things first: these symptoms can come from many sources. The sources may be from minor events, major events, primary or secondary. There is not a lot to worry about until a neurologist tells you there is. IME.

If you develop a rash on one side of your body, you need the ER, in case it's shingles. This is a common nerve situation, but requires quick treatment for the treatment to be effective.

Mine have several causes. I have tried many things. I have a variety of solutions. If they're bugging me when I'm trying to get to sleep, I take 2-3 Advil to reduce inflammation (sometimes muscles can push into a nerve), throw a very large ice pack (Chattanooga Col' Pack) on my thigh(s)/legs/shoulder/wherever. Usually that calms me down and I conk out. Alternatively, if I think I have a rotator muscle clamped on a nerve (impacting the leg downstream), I sit or lie on a hot buckwheat bag placed strategically under the butt. Bonk! The other night I heated the bed impossibly hot and it released the tightness in my legs and everywhere else. Ahhhh...

Sometimes, I have to use the same strategies with neck, arms, face. Most places!

Cold for nerves, heat for muscles. Generally speaking. All trial and error.

Make sure your bed pillow doesn't have your head cranked forward. This can give you nerve symptoms most anywhere in your body. That position will exacerbate apnea as well, since it obstructs the throat.

But to repeat what I said above: wait until a neurologist (or your PCP) says there's something to worry about before you jump to a conclusion that there is.

Note that as I speak about my strategies for reducing nerve symptoms, my problems have also had a neurologist's attention and appropriate testing. I have worked with a PT. I strongly recommend talking to your doctor about these symptoms. There is a cause(s) for these sensations; nothing to ignore.


Be clear: I'm NOT a physician.

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Your nerve symptoms might or might not have something to do with O2. But your low O2 needs attention as well.

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APAP...
Make sure to read "Before you pick up a machine." Get a machine on the list. Before you leave the DME, test that they aren't tricking you into taking a used one. Practice how to find out before you go. On a Resmed, you need the Clinician's menu. Press the round button and the Home Button (underneath the information panel) for a few seconds until the clinician's menu comes up. You need the settings. Rotate the round button until you get to the right spot, press. The number of hours used should be zero. The machine hours, not the user hours. Exact instructions on this forum. You can read my thread from 3 weeks ago on how the DME tried to rip me off, but I'm not the only one.

Hope that helps.

[HalfAsleep]

PS If you need to improvise a cold pack, you can use one of those cold packs you use in a cooler. Just wrap it in a light towel, pillowcase, or something so you don't get freezer burn. I do this all the time.

[Mogy]

Hi Johnsy17,
I agree with Glen. It may be B12 deficiency. I had B12 deficiency about 10 years ago. Tingling hands and feet as well as numbness in other spots including chin. Even though I currently take a lot of B12 my feet still tingle. The damage done was not reversible.