Depression/Anxiety and PAP therapy

[Sleep4Life]

Just hoping to hear from some folks who struggled with mental illness, especially depression and anxiety before starting therapy to treat sleep disordered breathing. I'm only 1 week in to my treatment and have felt some positive changes but I am trying to build up hope that things will continue to improve for me as time goes on. Thanks in advance for any replies, this has been a very difficult period in my life the last months.

[Sleepster]

There is a definite improvement in mental health with better sleep. As you adapt to CPAP therapy both your sleep and your mental health will improve.

[Sleep4Life]

Appreciate the reply!!!!  I have read several studies about this, I was just hoping to hear stories from real people's experiences. Maybe I should go read some more on the success stories thread in the meantime. Every little scrap of hope is huge for me right now. I think my pdoc raised my dose of antidepressant years ago because I was mentally fine but alllllllways tired. Anyway thanks for the reply. I feel so alone in this thing but places like apneaboard help me to sort and understand my experience, and realize I'm not so alone after all.

[robbob2112]

There will be ups and downs with the treatment - for me it was up when things were working and I was getting better sleep.  And I was down with the frustration and expense of finding the right mask that fit and I could deal with.  My DME would only trade twice in the first 30 days.... it took me 8 different masks to find the right one... I was on the F20 for almost a year then the F40 came out and it is a dream.

It took me a month or so before I would actually wake up in the morning and not feel like going right back to sleep

And remember you are NOT alone there are many people in the same boat as you are.... I started therapy 6 months ago and it has also helped -- just talk therapy but it takes a load off the mind and makes me think there are good things ahead

[Sleep4Life]

Thanks for your reply!!!!

I am actually tolerating APAP very well from the first night. I'm one week in, and other that occasional mask leak issues, I have been able to sleep about 7 hours a night average. Also doing talk therapy but have noticed a HUGE difference in my anxiety levels throughout the day. I'm glad you finally found a good mask setup that works for you, God bless ?

[greatunclebill]

diagnosed in 89 right before military retirement. Didn't like the looks of champus and didn't pursue it. By 2000 tri-care was in place so I got  an old school pulmonologist and an old respironics straight c-pap. doc said to come back every couple years so he would know i'm still a patient and he would sign off on supplies, etc. I could not breathe against the straight 12 in 12 out. so every couple years for 10 years i would tell him i couldn't handle the pressure and every time his answer was more humidity. i saw him for sleep, not pulmonology.  long story short i was diagnosed with copd and got a new pulmonologist. i explained the cpap story to him and he instructed me to go back to the other guy and get the problem solved. the old doc told me he couldn't do anything for me but very reluctantly offered an apap.  i never went back to him after i got the apap. i still had problems breathing so the new guy said set it to something i can work with and raise it as i got used to it. i was up to pressure at no time. 

Toward the end of the 10 year time period and up into adjusting to the apap i made alot of er visits with all of the unusual undiagnosed anxiety symptoms. after years of medication i finally came off of cymbalta in the last month. So, yes anxiety can be an ugly thing and problems with apnea treatment can definitely trigger it. 

Supersleeper if you're reading this, I'm not sure of the exact timeframe of things in the past, but undiagnosed  anxiety on my part may have just played a big part in it. I think i just figured it out as i was writing and reading this.

[robbob2112]

Just knowing the problem and understanding the cause can greatly reduce anxiety because now you know

[super7pilot]

Of course this is just my thoughts about me. Folks can apply it if they want, Or not.

I sometimes have depressive feelings. Yes! Even outside of PAP therapy.
However, I do not call myself nor even think it's a mental illness at all. I attribute my negative feelings to over thinking the negative aspects of life and not thinking about the good things enough. I.E. It's more my undisciplined/unhealthy line of thinking than it is a brain dysfunction. And remember that sleep apnea causes lots of mental health issues (like negative feedback) from lack of sleep. It might not be a faulty brain at all, just a very tired one. I differentiate mental health from mental "illness".

An Apnea forum like this one is a great resource for support from kindred spirits all over this little blue marble.

Is it frustrating dealing with masks and getting used to PAP? Oh hell yes it is. It's just plain old hard for most folks to get used to the PAP therapy. And I'm most folks. I was a freaking zombie when I first started therapy. But a month in and I'm doing much better. So it's not an instantaneous thing. It takes time to recover from years of sleep deprivation.

I had a telephone appointment with my sleep Dr. just a couple of days ago.
She said just keep trying to use the machine as much as you can. And that you will do better some days and worse other days. She said do not think that you HAVE to be perfect right out of the gate. She also said that even 4 hours a night will markedly improve ones health. Which includes ones mental health.

[Deborah K.]

You are certainly not alone.  I suffered from severe depression and anxiety back in the late 80's. It's well under control now, and I praise God for that!  I've been on pap use since the very end of 2019.  I think using your machine will help with your emotional issues.  Getting enough good quality sleep is key for every part of your body, including your mind and emotions.  I'm praying that God uses your pap treatment to help you in every way and that you find more and more peace in your life.  God bless you!

[Sleep4Life]

Thank you for all the kind replies. Deborah k I am also a Christian and I think God in his mercy led me to suspect apnea, through a random comment from my mom about my snoring. I had been searching for answers and praying through shaking trembling and weeping litterally bowed down on the ground, knowing I was very near a breaking point. Like I was losing my mind! I felt suicide was inevitable without some sort of intervention. Only 1 week in and I have all but eliminated the need to take benzos for my anxiety (granted I only I have been on them for a month or so). I have been terrified at what the constant fight or flight state might cause me to do because I love my parents and I don't think either of them have dealt with chronic anxiety or chronic suicidal ideation like I have. It has been such a rough last 2 months--I felt like my life was over. 

1 week in to treatment only and I do believe I have lived through the worst and things can only get better from here. 1 day at a time. God bless all of you for your kind and encouraging words.