Central Sleep Apnea & Myasthenia Gravis

[GI6607]

I have placed a thread on the Myasthenia Gravis site, but thought I would share on this site as well....I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea in the early 90's as I took a sleep study at a Desert Storm physical. I was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis in November of 2006, three months before retiring from 41 years of military service. My apnea has gotten much worse in the past year. I have had two sleep studies in the past month that diagnosed central and obstructive sleep apnea and received my Bi-Pap last week. The physician has started me off with a pressure of 10/18. I have documents from Mayo Clinic that state that Myasthenia Gravis can be a cause of central sleep apnea. Has anyone else had diagnoses that suggest that a neurological disease/disorder can cause central sleep apnea?

[Jan4you]

NO, I have never heard of this but will study up.

I not only just got dx with mild apnea but more so that I dont remember to breathe during the DAYTIME !!

My neuro thinks it may be narcolepsy but I am not sure.

Hope more respond to this post.

Good luck to you though!!

Jan

[dllfo]

Go to CPAPTALK.com for more help. Nothing on Neurological disorders, but lots of help with
Sleep Apnea.

I have severe problems and they took me off the Respironics BiPap Auto and put me on the
Respironics BiPap Auto SV unit. It can handle a lot more problems than the BiPap Auto. You may not need the SV, but you will find a lot of knowledgeable people about the machines and symptoms.

Again, no doctors there, no Neurological experts, but it is a good resource. Best wishes for you and hope your 41 years nets you some good treatment. The Air Force screwed me on my last flight physical in '87 and the VA is still at it. Long story. My daughter works for the VA. She was a Ratings Specialist, says the huge push right now is to get the Iraq claims taken care of. WWII, Korea, Vietnam be damned. That is politics. Best wishes for you. You deserve it.

[GI6607]

NO, I have never heard of this but will study up.

I not only just got dx with mild apnea but more so that I dont remember to breathe during the DAYTIME !!

My neuro thinks it may be narcolepsy but I am not sure.

Hope more respond to this post.

Good luck to you though!!

Jan

Thanks for the good wishes! I recently had an appointment with my neurologist who confirmed that Myasthenia Gravis and other neurological diseases can cause central sleep apnea. I also have documents from Mayo's confirming. Good luck!

[GI6607]

Go to CPAPTALK.com for more help. Nothing on Neurological disorders, but lots of help with
Sleep Apnea.

I have severe problems and they took me off the Respironics BiPap Auto and put me on the
Respironics BiPap Auto SV unit. It can handle a lot more problems than the BiPap Auto. You may not need the SV, but you will find a lot of knowledgeable people about the machines and symptoms.

Again, no doctors there, no Neurological experts, but it is a good resource. Best wishes for you and hope your 41 years nets you some good treatment. The Air Force screwed me on my last flight physical in '87 and the VA is still at it. Long story. My daughter works for the VA. She was a Ratings Specialist, says the huge push right now is to get the Iraq claims taken care of. WWII, Korea, Vietnam be damned. That is politics. Best wishes for you. You deserve it.

Thanks for the good wishes! I have just started to work with the VA as myasthenia gravis is a presumptive condition for Gulf War vets. The big challenge is going to be convincing them that the central sleep apnea is caused by the nerve disease. It may work out as my Desert Storm physical diagnosed sleep apnea shortly after the Gulf War. I started my military career as a scout in the infantry on active duty in February, 1966 and retired 1 Feb 2007 as a Colonel in the Army Reserve. It was a long career, but very rewarding as I got to meet and work with the best people in the world. Take Care!

[Tom Parrish]

I have placed a thread on the Myasthenia Gravis site, but thought I would share on this site as well....I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea in the early 90's as I took a sleep study at a Desert Storm physical. I was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis in November of 2006, three months before retiring from 41 years of military service. My apnea has gotten much worse in the past year. I have had two sleep studies in the past month that diagnosed central and obstructive sleep apnea and received my Bi-Pap last week. The physician has started me off with a pressure of 10/18. I have documents from Mayo Clinic that state that Myasthenia Gravis can be a cause of central sleep apnea. Has anyone else had diagnoses that suggest that a neurological disease/disorder can cause central sleep apnea?

2-1-09
I too have central OSA (diagnosed 1987) and MG (since 2006 or before) and my neurologist informed me that there is research to tie the two together. You may want to contact the Myasthenia Foundation Of America () for more information. They also have a spring seminar where all of the experts speak and the latest state of the art treatment info is disseminated. My problem is getting the VA to consider this service connected (medic in Vietnam 1970-71 in I Corps with 1/6th Infantry, 198th INF Bde, 23d INF DIV. (Americal, aka "Metracal Division"). Exposed to agent orange, C-rats, VC, ARVNS, NVA and lead. Has anyone had any luck getting service connection from DVA? Check out the MGFA and stay well.
Tom

[GI6607]

I am pretty sure that some of the chemicals we have been exposed to cause a lot more problems than the VA wants to admit. I may be lucky as Myasthenia Gravis is a VA presumptive condition for Gulf War vets. Getting them to agree that MG is the cause of the apnea is probably going to be a lot more difficult. Keep in touch as my neuro is aware of the research to tie the two afflictions together. If she comes up with some rock-solid evidence, I'll certainly share it with you. Thank you very much for your service. I was in the infantry in the mid-60's but lucked out and got sent to the 8th Infantry Division in Germany for three years.




2-1-09
I too have central OSA (diagnosed 1987) and MG (since 2006 or before) and my neurologist informed me that there is research to tie the two together. You may want to contact the Myasthenia Foundation Of America () for more information. They also have a spring seminar where all of the experts speak and the latest state of the art treatment info is disseminated. My problem is getting the VA to consider this service connected (medic in Vietnam 1970-71 in I Corps with 1/6th Infantry, 198th INF Bde, 23d INF DIV. (Americal, aka "Metracal Division"). Exposed to agent orange, C-rats, VC, ARVNS, NVA and lead. Has anyone had any luck getting service connection from DVA? Check out the MGFA and stay well.
Tom