causes of sleep apnea

[monotreme]

My husband has MS.  He had a sleep study showing sleep apnea and lack of REM sleep.  He wakes a few times each night and is sweating profusely, requiring changing sheets once or twice a night.    Is sleep apnea common in MS and related to the disease?
  He has Primary Progressive MS.

Thank you
Elaine

[isabellacrw]

Hello Dr. Park,
  I also have M.S., as well as Raynauds, Asthma,COPD, and Chronic Insomnia. I recently tested to have been at 89 or below on my oxygen and had 98 epidodes where I stopped breathing in one night. Sleep Apnea. I'm having some trouble with these diagnosis. Too many in my opinion??? Only the right side of my brain has lesions whille the left is unmarked. However the very largest and most significant lesion is in the corpus collasum. The Chronic Insomnia- can't fall asleep sometimes 2-3 days, then when I do sleep it is very restless and frequent waking. Extreme Fatigue, Irritability, Memory problems and find that I seem to others that I am functioning normally but actually doing things I don't realize I've done, (until i find evidence of it later) Could the M.S. be the real reason for the breathing problems and actually not COPD at all? I need to sleep so I can cope with all this in a more efficiant way. my Dr. looking into cPAP or biPAP depending on sleep study results. Any thoughts that might help?

[Steven Y Park, MD]

I'm not aware of increase obstructive sleep apnea in MS patients, but in theory, central sleep apneas can be seen in patients with MS.

Using CPAP is his best bet in losing weight in general, along with the fat in his neck. Without examining him it's hard to say what's causing his breathing obstructions and what other options are available besides CPAP. However, surgical options are not as good for overweight patients. Dental devices are another option—he may want to be seen by a dentist that specializes in this to see if he's a candidate.

[monotreme]

Dr. Park,
  I do have one more question.  If my husband came to your practice as a new patient, could you help him figure out the cause of the sleep apnea so that he could return to normal without a CPAP??  His neck has gotten larger in the past four years that he has been sick.  How does one lose weight in the neck.  

He would try or do anything to return to a normal sleep pattern without having to sleep with a machine.

Elaine