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Sleep apnea and attention deficit
Jamie Phelps | Feb 18 2006
I have been having trouble with attention deficit symptoms that have progressively worsened over the past 2-3 years. I was talking with a friend who said that he used to have similar problems and that he was finally diagnosed with sleep apnea. Once he started using a CPAP machine, his apnea was much better, his wife would not have to sleep on the couch, and his cognitive functioning was markedly improved. The research on sleep apnea that I have been reading indicates that sleep apnea can cause attention deficit troubles. I am pretty sure I'm a good candidate for sleep apnea, as I reflect two of the three common risk factors: overweight, middle-aged, male. I'm 25, so I'll let you guess which two I fit. I'm 5'10 1/2" and weigh in at around 230. The most basic treatment for sleep apnea is to lose weight. After that, tests and such have to be run that would be a strain on my student budget. I have health insurance, but $300 for a test that I wasn't planning for is a little steep. So, all that being said, anyone here have experience with sleep apnea? Did you experience attention deficit troubles as a result? How much did correcting your sleep apnea help your attention deficit symptoms? What treatments helped you? Did simply losing weight help or do you use a CPAP? I don't think I am a candidate for SA surgery, but if anyone has any experience with that, I would like to hear about that as well. I have contemplated taking medication for the attention deficit symptoms, but I would much rather fix the problem than treat the symptoms. Thanks in advance. 32 Comments
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Sleep Apnea: Not Just for the Overweight SmokersSubmitted by forgeron on April 12, 2006 - 12:46am.
deldyn wrote:
If you think you have sleep apnea find a good doctor, get the sleep studies done and figure it out. I completely agree on finding a good doctor. I'm thin and I don't smoke, so for me it took way too long before doing the tests and being diagnosed with sleep apnea. Now I have CPAP machine, which is not that terrible, and the results on my productivity are amazing. So if anybody there is feeling more and more tired every morning, but don't think being a canditate for having sleep apnea, it could be worth doing the sleep studies. » POSTED IN:
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