TBI and Mixed Sleep Apena. Related??

[larryn]

37 years ago I had a Motor cycle accident. Head injury called a "Subdural Hemotoma". Unconcious for about two hours. Weekly Seizures for about the first 6 months. Short term memory problems since. NOW...the hospital has said that I have a nasty Central sleep (mixed) apena. I run out of gas everyday in the middle of the day. And fall asleep whereever I am right after I eat supper. I have known that I have had a sleep apena problem for the last 20 years. (My ASV machine is not living up to what I have read that they can do to help.)
QUESTION: Can the TBI have caused the Sleep Apena???

[Mark in Idaho]

larryn,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

Yes, I believe concussion can cause sleep apnea, especially Central Sleep Apnea.

I suffer from CSA. I believe my problem is due to upper neck inflammation causing a disruption in the brain stem/autonomic nervous system. The first time I experienced CSA I was awake on the bed getting an EEG preformed. I was sleep deprived and was trying to fall asleep for a sleep EEG. The rolled up towel under my head had my neck in an awkward bent state. As I would try to relax enough to fall asleep, my breathing would stop and I would become short of breath.

Nevertheless, I never could fall asleep so the EEG was inconclusive.

I have been able to reproduce this situation at home. I also have been observed having 12 to 16 CSA episodes in a hour by my wife. Yes, she stayed up one night and watched and counted.

My only solution has been very careful sleep positions. I start to fall asleep in a recliner chair. I then get in bed flat on my back with my pillow rolled up and supporting my head so it does not roll to the side. If I can fall asleep immediately stay in this position, I can avoid the CSA and get good sleep. If I toss and roll to my side, I will likely has CSA episodes and wake my wife. She will usually wakes me and tells me to go sleep in my recliner.

If she gets up in the morning and notices my breathing is irregular, she can expect me to have a rough day.

When she finds me asleep in my recliner, she checks to see how well I am breathing.

There is a diaphragm stimulatory made by Avery BioMedical that is designed to assist with breathing. Check out http://www.averybiomedical.com/index.html It stimulates the phrenic nerve to cause a breath to be taken.

Kind of extreme but for some of us, extreme measure are needed. I am not needing such extreme measures yet.

There are Pulse Oximeters that can be set to wake you went your Ox level gets low. They fit to the finger. Avery Biomedical hope to have a Pulse Ox based demand breathing stimulator in the future. Their current system is constantly on at a preset rhythm.

So, welcome to the CSA club on NT.

[larryn]

Mark in Idaho

I never thought of a recliner. THANKS! That would be a great help to me.
I regularly wake my wife when the mask starts leaking or I start gasping for air.
My ASV machine is a real pain. I start to breath SO SHALLOW that the breath of air the machine launches....just wakes me up. These are just the on-set of my Apena episodes, i think.
Another thing....my short term memory sucks so bad, lately. I think I am loosing it.
Whenever we travel....the signs just confuse me and I feel ashamed to admit that not much is sticking in my head.

Anyway...thanks for the response.
LarryN