Increased Muscle Acidity (Lactatic Acid) and Sleep Apnea

[Inspire]

Have any of you suffered from extreme muscle acidity - ie. lactic acid/lactate build-up - due to Sleep Apnea? If so, please let us know what those specific symptoms were like before and after treatment!
If you have more time, it would also be useful to know what your pre-treatment stats were (hourly apneas and oxygen saturation levels), to see if those are predictive of symptoms and recovery.

I just found an article, which suggests that OSA patients DO have increased lactate production when exercising. I'm just wondering what that looks like in practice. And also if it improves upon treatment (that's the theory in the article, but they didn't actually test it)!

I have an extreme reaction to exercise. One flight of stairs causes my thigh muscles to cramp up horribly with lactic acid. It's very frustrating! I'm hoping that this symptom might be related to my probably OSA...So far my doctors have been looking into Mitochondrial dysfunction instead, but that would be less treatable. I had 33 apneas per hour, but no desaturation (average O2sats of 95% and lowest 90%).

Thanks so much for your help!

[kwhenrykerr]

Can you point me to the information you read? I have less cramping now that I am on cpap. Still cramping too much.

[plainhat]

Have any of you suffered from extreme muscle acidity.

I have issues with cramping not due particularly to lactic acid.
I have struggled with this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cramp_fa...n_syndrome most my adult life, though it was really miserable in my 30s.

Since the problem tends to come and go on its own, I can't tell you yet if treating apnea will help. I do know that back when the problem was diagnosed I did not have apnea.

Good luck.. And yeah there was a year there where going up and down the stairs on my butt was the best option

[kwhenrykerr]

That sounds like a pain in the ... no fun. My wife had to do that after two failed surgerys until we moved.

[holden4th]

Lactic acid and cramping are not necessarily synonymous. Lactic acid build up is usually due to exercise and can also be induced by various drugs.

The night cramps that people suffer are not lactic acid based but result from a deficiency of certain minerals - magnesium and potassium are the two main ones. Supplements can make a big difference.

I've found that CPAP has significantly reduced my instances of leg cramps.

(that's the theory in the article, but they didn't actually test it)!

So treat it as BS.

[kwhenrykerr]

after starting cpap the cramps have been less. Now i want them gone forever

[bspengler]

Interesting topic.
I'm wondering about similar issues as well. I know, that not only my LDH values are usually 50% above limit but also CK values are usually 50-500% above limit. So are my Creatinine levels and therefore kidney function is slightly limited with some levels of albuminuria. My legs usually feel a bit sore. I don't do much sports to really explain this but I do ride a bike for about 1h 5 times a week at medium power level.
My SPO2 levels tend to be on the lower side and I can also measure values below 90 from time to time. Also during the day usually when resting. My pulse rate tends to be high around 90-100bpm, also when resting. Docs can't explain why this happens, lung function is normal. But I also suffer from secondary Polyglobulia. Noone found an explanation so far. Because I'm doing kind of OK docs don't worry too much.
I'm being treated with Bisoprolol, CPAP, ASS, Omeprazol (Reflux due to Hiatus Hernia) and Thyroxine. Everything was double checked and nothing particular found.

I'm usually having some complex events: Obstructive, CA, PB, Hypopnoea but not too much, so CPAP helps me but did not and will probably not cure the condition with the muscles. However I feel better when using CPAP and I would never go back without. I also combine 2l of Oxygen during the night with my CPAP. I feels better and I'm more relaxed the next day after Oxygen therapy. I have checked with a Pulseoximeter and with combined CPAP and O2, SPO2 is quite fixed to around 96 and pulse tends to decrease some 10 to 20%.

My guess is: due to some muscular condition, metabolic demand for Oxygen is elevated and therefore breath and sleep is distorted.
As long as I'm young enough situation is probably stable, with elevated parameters, however within the next 10 to 20 years more severe medical conditions are likely.

CPAP seems to improve but not cure muscular effects: symptomatic therapy only.

[Snorzz]

My doc said to eat more banannas (magnesium?).  I try to a banna each morning as I take my meds & since starting that I rarely have cramps.  Used to have them very frequently.  My cramps were mostly in the hands, feet and calves.

[Doza]

Can't say I've noticed anything different since starting PAP. I've been working out vigorously twice a week for the last year and a bit, and been on the hose for 3 months.
Cramps have always come and gone in phases, and lactic acid buildup with resultant (if at all) immediate fatigue, and muscle soreness one or two days after a session is no different than it has been throughout my life.

[Inspire]

Hi guys,
It's great to see that this thread is still being replied to. I thought I'd update my situation:
I was finally tested - and allowed to start - CPAP therapy in January 2017. So I have currently been using it for almost a year. I was originally put at a pressure of 7-10, but am now up to 9-15. Until last week I was using a REMstar Auto A-Flex 60 Series (Philips Respironics). With that machine, my automatic pressure level always hovered around 7-8, max 9. Treatment was not nearly as successful at decreasing my symptoms (mainly extreme fatigue, and the acidic muscles I discussed here) as I had hoped, although I would never consider sleeping without a CPAP now...My fatigue has decreased somewhat, and - reading back - I think the lactic acid build up has also decreased a bit. This could also be due to the daily physio therapy I have been doing for the past 1.5 years (I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome).

My new AirSense 10 elite (ResMed), however, seems to think I need more pressure, which is giving me new hope! It keeps ending up in the 12-15 range (the settings have been put at 15 max, so maybe it would even go higher if it could). I think the difference comes from the recognition of RERAs. In any case, I will post another update, if I experience more improvement with the new machine, at higher pressures.

In the meantime, thanks so much for your comments. I hope you all find solutions to help with your muscles!