Posted by Noa on September 10, 1999, at 16:49:13
In reply to Re: Sleep Study Help For Noa, posted by dj on September 10, 1999, at 12:55:29
Good questions, dj.
I think the depression predated the apnea for me, but I think the apnea exacerbated the depression. I KNOW it added some symptoms that I thought were from the depression but were really from the apnea, namely hypersomnolence, a fancy term for constant fatigue and sleepiness. Sure, the type of depression I have includes hypersomnia, meaning I sleep a lot. But being constantly exhausted and spending every weekend asleep day and night was due to the apnea, and as soon as the apnea was treated, this ceased. It was like suddenly having a lot more TIME in my life. Which was an adjustment. Waking up from several years of apnea related zombiness was wonderful and stressful, too, because all of a sudden I was facing time that was empty, and I was suddenly bored and wanting to be busy, but had let my life deteriorate so much. Now, with the depression, I often WANT to sleep more than I am able to. I sleep a normal amount at night, but often want to sleep during the day on weekends, just to escape the depression, but am not able to sleep like I used to. There is also a never ending circle in terms of weight gain, apnea and depression. Where the chicken and egg are, for either the fatigue or the weight issues, who knows.
poster:Noa
thread:2881
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990829/msgs/11368.html