Autonomic dysfunction and Sleepiness

[SadieSunflower]

Hi,

Thank you very much for participating in this forum! I may never have been diagnosed if it wasn't for MedHelp.

I am a 26 year old female of average weight. I have been diagnosed with autonomic neuropathy. I also have POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) which is caused by the autonomic neuropathy. I am working with some very good neurologists who have not been able to find find the cause of my neuropathy but we are still trying. I also have problems with muscle fatigue which no one can find a cause for. I do not have diabetes.

I take a low dose of Propranolol to help with the tachycardia. Sleepiness has been a problem before I started Propranolol. I have no problems falling asleep or staying asleep at night and I sleep alone.

Since I have been symptomatic with autonomic problems, I have gradually been getting more and more sleepy. I have sleep paralysis every time I fall asleep. Just the other day I was in starbucks drinking coffee and I started to fall asleep. I fell into sleep paralysis right there in the store and I couldn't move!

I have talked to my internist, and she has referred to a neurologist who is a sleep medicine specialist. My appointment is next week.

I am wondering if you know of any sleep problem that is common in people with autonomic dysfunction. If you can point me to any articles on the subject, that would be great. I am very concerned about what kind of sleep disorder I could have. I hope that I do not have some kind of central neurological problem. Can dysautonomia cause sleep apnea?

[Steven Y Park, MD]

Sometimes people with airway resistance syndrome (see my blog article post) can case orthostatic intolerance, which is a variation of what you have, along with various degrees of autonomic dysfunction. Later on, if they gain weight the blood pressure goes to normal, but later on as the weight progresses, blood pressure increases to elevated levels.