Upper airway resistance syndrome

[Martial]

Just found out I had this and WOW! Is it so vital to treat, while dealing with chronic illness I was having sleep issues much akin to sleep apnea without ever treating it! This lead to a dysregulated immune system which further stressed my infection and all the other negative effects of severe sleep deprivation!

In my case it happens because my jaw is set back, over bite, with a tongue that is pretty big, and enlarged tonsils so my breathing airway gets obstructed, alongside a deviated septum which prevents good breathing through my nose.. I was using a mouth guard for snoring over a year ago and it helped a lot but I started developing TMJ from it so had to stop.

Anyways wanted to post a thread about it with a link to read about it for others to possibly look into, I know I will never get fully better if this is not treated properly myself!

The info about it all can be found in the link I provided below!


http://doctorstevenpark.com/sleep-apnea-basics/upper-airway-resistance-syndrome

-Todd

 

[ukxmrv]

How did he test for it Martial?

I've known a few PWCFS who have been told that they have this but never given any meaningful tests and felt no better after exercises/treatment etc.

 

[SickOfSickness]

I hope you get a lot of benefits from treating the UARS.

 

[Thinktank]

Interesting, how can UARS be treated?

 

[Martial]

How did he test for it Martial?

I've known a few PWCFS who have been told that they have this but never given any meaningful tests and felt no better after exercises/treatment etc.

@ukxmrv

Clinical diagnosis at sleep study clinic though he did not give me the exact name back then, Just knew it was a form of sleepind disorder where the airway gets obstructed by structural issues. Basically the tongue goes back and blocks breathing but very hard to catch on a traditional apnea test, you have to look for other specific things to add into the test for it. So the clinic would need knowledge on the cndition and be equipped to do proper testing for it.

@Thinktank

It is treated similiar to apnea with Cpap, or correctional surgery, alongside other options like mouth guards to bring the lower jaw forward, breathe right strips, and sleep habit changes like sleeping on one's side.

@SickOfSickness Thanks!

 

[SDSue]

@Martial Any luck with treating this? CPAP? Surgery? Thanks.

 

[Gingergrrl]

@Martial did you ever have tachycardia in your sleep that woke you up? I was also wondering if you had shortness of breath during the day?

I have large tonsils as well but do not have the other issues you mentioned (jaw, septum, etc all normal) and sleep study showed no apnea and I do not snore.

Thanks for any info!

 

[Sushi]

I have large tonsils as well but do not have the other issues you mentioned (jaw, septum, etc all normal) and sleep study showed no apnea and I do not snore.

Upper Airways Resistance Syndrome does not show as apnea on a standard sleep test. There are only a limited number of sleep centers that can test for it. I am aware of this because a sleep doc thought I might have this and gave me a referral to a lab that could test for it. It would have meant a long trip, so I was never tested.

Sushi

 

[Gingergrrl]

Upper Airways Resistance Syndrome does not show as apnea on a standard sleep test. There are only a limited number of sleep centers that can test for it. I am aware of this because a sleep doc thought I might have this and gave me a referral to a lab that could test for it. It would have meant a long trip, so I was never tested.

Sushi

@Sushi why did the doctor think you might have this? I just googled it and it doesn't match my symptoms. It said most people who have it snore (which I don't) and it showed a video of someone who has it sleeping and they were struggling to breathe and making a weird noise.

It also said people with it feel sleepy in the daytime and I do not. I have muscle fatigue and muscle weakness along with all my autonomic issues but I rarely feel sleepy. It also didn't say anything about tachycardia or shortness of breath while awake and it mentioned high BP and mine is low.

I just like to rule things out whenever I hear if something new (and still curious to hear more about Martial's symptoms!)

 

[Sushi]

why did the doctor think you might have this? I just googled it and it doesn't match my symptoms.

I don't have any of those symptoms either--snoring, sleepy in the daytime, etc. This was 2006 or so--too long ago for me to remember why the sleep doc thought I had it, but he said it would explain my symptoms--autonomic, PEM, difficulty getting to sleep.

Sushi

 

[Martial]

@Martial did you ever have tachycardia in your sleep that woke you up? I was also wondering if you had shortness of breath during the day?

I have large tonsils as well but do not have the other issues you mentioned (jaw, septum, etc all normal) and sleep study showed no apnea and I do not snore.

Thanks for any info!

I sometimes woke up with a racing heart but no shortness of breathe. It is worth looking into though because the symptoms can be pretty broad and different in some ways for each person.

 

[Thinktank]

@Martial, are you on CPAP now? If so, how much in % has it helped to improve your wellbeing?

 

[Martial]

@Martial, are you on CPAP now? If so, how much in % has it helped to improve your wellbeing?

No I am not, I just changed certain sleeping routines like keeping the head of bed a few inches up, not looking at any screens and using flux/min brightness a few hours before bed in the evenings. The biggest help I have found is just sleeping on my left side and making sure I stay in that position throughout the night.

I only get real issues when laying on my back because thats when the uvula, and tongue get in the way of my breathing. I do need to eventually get a double jaw surgery to fix my overbite and a few other things going on with my teeth though.


Once that is taken care of then I will not have any obstructions that will cause as much issues with the breathing. I am just going to be sure I follow the procedures well and ask for a different kind of anasthetic where lyme makes me very sensitive.

From the small changes I have made I noticed a huge difference though, do not wake up with headaches and that horrible sleepless feeling as much unless my head is lower then or equally leveled with my body while sleeping. Usually this happens when I push the pillow off the bead in my sleep and causes me to feel really lousy when I wake up.

 

[Gingergrrl]

@Martial thank you for explaining all of this and it sounds you are on the way to finding some things that are helping you. It sounds very different than my experience but I appreciate hearing all these stories so I can compare and hear ideas. Best wishes to you!