Can Sleep Apnea just be Asthma?
Ever since I was 9, I was diagnosed with Asthma. It has ruined my life. I'm obese, when i never was. See, in middle school, because of my Asthma, I was taken out of gym class. Same with high school. Anyways, now I'm 20 years old, still obese, but now I've be diagnosed with Sleep Apnea. I have a CPAP machine (level 11). I was wondering if my asthma could be all that I have. Here is my theory, OSA and nocturnal asthma are both "sleep-disordered breathing" according to an article written by Robert C. Basner. I'm wondering if my asthma kicked in, and I started coughing (which I've done before, not every night, but I've been known to wake myself my up when I cough) and if the Sleep Study people thought I had Sleep Apnea because of the coughing. Also, my hospital and doctor's office are completely dumb. I've had other problems with this facility before. But, without that that, do you think that I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea when maybe all it was, was my Asthma? Any help would be great.
Answer by ckeiling
I think that is unlikely that you were diagnosed with sleep apnea by accident. If you had a sleep study, they will have recorded your many apnea episodes. It is possible that your asthma contributes to your sleeping problems, but don't assume that the apnea diagnosis is wrong. Has the CPAP machine helped? If so, there is your answer. I use a CPAP machine every night, have been using it for two years. I recently lost 30 lbs and was able to lower the pressure, but still needed the machine. I plan to lose more weight this upcoming year, hope that will free me from the CPAP, but in the meantime, I use it every night. Makes a big difference in my sleep quality.
Answer by wezy53154
While on the surface they may look the same to you they are completely different. Yes they may both wake you up multiple time during the night coughing and gasping for breath but that's where the similarities stop. OSA is a very serious condition that is diagnosis via a sleep study. During the test they measure the number of time you actually stop breathing and how long you oxygen level in the blood drops. (Remember that annoying little thing you wore on your finger) Most people with sleep apnea start at a level of 5 to 7 and work up from there. You stated that you are at 11. So you are at a medium level, therefore, you must have a fairly bad case of OSA. Asthma should not limit you from gym class or other normal activity, nor should it cause you to become obese. If you are having asthma symptoms while exercising than you need a change in your medication regime. If you are having difficulty with you doctor, your the boss. Find a new one. All patient's with asthma should be seen by a board certified pulmonologist and have a full course of education performed by a certified asthma educator. Once you've done this you should set up an appointment with a registered dietation and get help on setting up a heathly, varied diet that you can live with and that includes the food that you like. Finally, get out and start exercising. Start slowly and work up as it gets easy. Do you know that your insurance company can help you with this. Many of them will even reimburse you for part of your health club fees as it helps to lower you cost to them when you stay healthy.
Answer by Elizabeth
Others are correct in that your sleep study would have recorded periods of you not breathing with your oxygen dropping. Asthma doesn't do that.
Just some extra info- this is the better of the two breathing disorders associated with obesity, and you could progress to the other one (obesity hypoventilation, or "pickwickian" syndrome where you get cyanotic during the day as well) over time. The good news is that you can completely reverse your symptoms and eliminate the need for CPAP by losing 10-15% of your body weight.
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