Relationship between low testosterone and sleep apnea?

[ldslifter]

Ok...my fellow brainiacs....I'm curious if any if you know much about, nor have any information pertaining to the relationship between low testosterone in males and sleep apnea.

I was diagnosed with low testosterone when I was 32...all the classic symptoms. I've been on HRT since then. I have always had a difficult time sleeping at night...waking up many times during the night. Recently, I began gasping for air in the middle of the night...enough that my wife forced me to go to the doctor.

His solution...send me to a sleep lab...where they did confirm sleep apnea. I now sleep with a cpap machine. Being recently diagnosed started me on a quest for information...ultimately finding information that links the two. Some information suggests sleep apnea can cause supression of testosterone, which can be reversed if the sleep apnea is addressed. Other studies point to sleep apnea as a negative side effect of being on HRT.

Swale, VDC...anyone have any info here that could enlighten me? Swale...have you run across patients in your clinic with sleep apnea.....do you check for this before you start somebody on HRT?

Thanks,

LDSlifter

 

[buck]

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea just prior to starting hrt. Waking up continuously through out the night could definitely lower your T levels as you are stressed all the time from being tired. I had the surgery to correct the problem. After stating hrt it seemed to come back some. 2 things th edr. told me pertaining to bb'ers. That the incresed on your chest from muscle or fat can make it more difficult to breath. And as you put on size (using the neck as an example) the diameter of the neck gets bigger but the diameter of the throat gets smaller as the muscle grows in as well. So that when the toungue slides back when you are sleeping it is easier to quit breathing as the opening is smaller.

 

[SWALE]

ldslifter--Both sides are true.

I have only one patient who is on his way to the Sleep Lab.

 

[maddzz]

This is very interesting as I was diagnosed w/ narcolepsy/mild apnea a few years back. At the time I had an opiate habit and was on methadone, both of which reduce testosterone levels. I was placed on ritalin which didnt work, so then to dexadreine which worked for a little while but I felt like I was on coke;then began to not work. My doc then wanted to put me on straight amphetamine (speed). I declined and waited until the FDA approved Modafrinil(sp?) also called provigil which finally worked. After a while I stopped taking it due to cost ($13/day) but I had also cleaned up the other problems and have had little trouble since.

 

[ldslifter]

ldslifter--Both sides are true.

I have only one patient who is on his way to the Sleep Lab.

So do you check for sleep apnea, before you put someone on HRT. I kind of feel like if my doctor would have checked for that...my nuts might have been spared as I believe I have had it for a long time, but didn't really recognize it.

So I guess the next question is, if I quit HRT now that I've got the sleep apnea licked...what are the chances of my nuts coming back online after having been shut down for the past four years? Would it be worth taking a run at it considering I "cave" after only 7 days without an injection.

Thanks,

LDSlifter

 

[SWALE]

My 140 question Medical History Form asks about sleep difficulties. Still, I would not hesitate to put a sleep apnea patient on TRT, as long as he had someone with him and night to monitor same. Also, I would use Androgel, so I could quickly suspend supplementation should an exacerbation arise.