AAS and sleep apnea

[genman]

Just thought I would relate my experiences and get some feedback.

About a year ago, while on cycle, I started snoring for the first time ever. My SO told me that it was getting progressively worse. I felt lethargic and unrested during the day. My gains in the gym started to stall. I went and had a sleep study done and it confirmed that I had moderate sleep apnea (when you stop breathing because of an airway obstruction). There is a new procedure where they inject Teflon implants into your soft pallet to keep it from flapping when you sleep. I had that done and it worked for a while.

About three months later I was back snoring more than ever. I went to a specialist and he said "How long have you been on steroids? ". I dress very baggy in these instances so as not to call any undue attention to body. At 6'1", 235 lbs, 10% bf I am a big, lean 46 yr old man, but not a freak. My Dr. explained that the use of AAS causes thickening of the tongue tissue and increases sleep apnea. He saw this during my examination.

My second sleep study confirmed severe sleep apnea. I stopped breathing an average of 30 times an hour for up to 45 seconds at a time. Now I breath at night aided by a CPAP machine which gives a positive pressure in your throat keeping you unobstructed.

So, in conclusion, AAS CAN aid in sleep apnea, which will cause you to sleep like crap, stall gains and be generally a jerk to deal with. If you start to feel tired during the day, have it checked out. It can lead to a bunch of bad things like stroke, heart attack, etc.

 

[Big_Joe]

Sleep apnea can be from lots of things not just roids. My had had it and I have it. Seems to run in the family. I also have sleep problems. It's very strange but sometimes I am awake in bed for a long time but I can hear myself snoring.

One night my daughter was cuddling in my arm, she was ten at the time. I fell asleep and had a bought of apnea. She started to freak out. She was screaming DADDY DADDY. She thought I had died. Poor girl. I woke up and asked what the problem was. She was freaked out.

 

[centy]

Great post man. Thanks. I just had my second sleep study last night. Been cpap-ing for a year now.

There is a new procedure where they inject Teflon implants into your soft pallet to keep it from flapping when you sleep. I had that done and it worked for a while.

Jesus - was that as painful as I imagine it would be?

My Dr. explained that the use of AAS causes thickening of the tongue tissue and increases sleep apnea. He saw this during my examination.

Wow - that's fascinating. And kinda scary.

 

[ceo]

I have mild OSA. Partial airway obstruction, but still a very small amount of air getting through, 9 times an hour. Doing another study this week. Fuggin 20 inch neck.

 

[galaxy]

I had the surgery and it worked. Couldnt stand the CPAP mask. Not sure if Id blame steroids. Obviously they dont help as the increased body weight and neck size will contribute to sleep apnea. Never heard of the tongue thickening thing. Think aging and getting fat and growing a second chin attributed more than anything.

 

[ceo]

I had the surgery and it worked. Couldnt stand the CPAP mask. Not sure if Id blame steroids. Obviously they dont help as the increased body weight and neck size will contribute to sleep apnea. Never heard of the tongue thickening thing. Think aging and getting fat and growing a second chin attributed more than anything.

I'm glad to hear the surgey worked. My pulmonologist said it's kinda hit or miss, 50/50 if it ends up working. I don't think I could stand the C-PAP either!

 

[juiceddreadlocks]

I had the surgery and it worked. Couldnt stand the CPAP mask. Not sure if Id blame steroids. Obviously they dont help as the increased body weight and neck size will contribute to sleep apnea. Never heard of the tongue thickening thing. Think aging and getting fat and growing a second chin attributed more than anything.

which specific surgery did you have? There are a handful, most people snore less but still have some obstruction afterwards... The pillar procedure (what the OP was referring to) has a handful of NIH studies going on right now.

 

[juiceddreadlocks]

I'm glad to hear the surgey worked. My pulmonologist said it's kinda hit or miss, 50/50 if it ends up working. I don't think I could stand the C-PAP either!

have you been evaluated by an ENT to see which surgery you'd be a candidate for? if it's the UPPP one, meh that's far less than 50% success rate, if you define success as elimination of any sort of OSA or UARS. The pillar procedure works on some people, some it makes it worse. If you have a dentist which would go that route, the TAP device could also help, it advances your jaw so your throat doesn't collapse as easily. Not a lot of dentists do that though.

 

[ceo]

have you been evaluated by an ENT to see which surgery you'd be a candidate for? if it's the UPPP one, meh that's far less than 50% success rate, if you define success as elimination of any sort of OSA or UARS. The pillar procedure works on some people, some it makes it worse. If you have a dentist which would go that route, the TAP device could also help, it advances your jaw so your throat doesn't collapse as easily. Not a lot of dentists do that though.

I haven't been to the ENT yet because my OSA is so mild. It's only a partial airway obstruction and only 9 times an hour. Anything at this point would be elective as well and not covered by insurance. So, I'm just waiting to see if it gets worse.

 

[juiceddreadlocks]

I haven't been to the ENT yet because my OSA is so mild. It's only a partial airway obstruction and only 9 times an hour. Anything at this point would be elective as well and not covered by insurance. So, I'm just waiting to see if it gets worse.

If you have excessive daytime sleepiness, hypertension, impaired cognition (or memory problems) or anything like that, an AHI of 9 would actually be considered more serious, and you're getting screwed by your insurance company.

The scale your study was measured on would be helpful to know... there can be a huge variation between using 3% destaurations with or without arousals versus 4% desaturations with or without arousals.