JennKay Posted January 28 Report Share Posted January 28 Hi everyone -- I've been dealing with my dysautonomia for the nearly the last 3 years, and things have slowly improved with time as I learn to manage my symptoms, but we still don't know the root cause of it. Anyway, over the last few months I've worn my Garmin to sleep and noticed a weird trend. At night, when I am sleeping, my respiration rate increases pretty dramatically relative to when I'm awake. It is almost twice the rate as my waking respiration rate. I've mentioned this to my neurologist and we are going to do an overnight sleep study, but I was curious if any of you have noticed this trend as well and what it might mean. I assume it has something to do with my dysautonomia, but now I'm curious if it is potentially responsible for my problems. My sleep has improved relative to when I was first diagnosed, but I never sleep through the night anymore and sometimes wake a handful of times (what feels like once an hour) while I toss and turn. I came to accept this as my new normal, but now I'm wondering if this could be obstructive or central sleep apnea. I've seen in the archives that some people see an improvement in symptoms with CPAP treatment. If anyone has experience something similar and was diagnosed with a sleep disorder, please let me know your thoughts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted January 28 Report Share Posted January 28 Well @JennKaysleep is important. not sure how much dysautonomia plays into this. A sleep study seems logical and can be helpful. I do know a few folks that have benefited from a CPAP machine. please keep us up to date. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Tee Posted January 29 Report Share Posted January 29 I wonder if this lecture might have some useful info: https://vimeo.com/272750685 It is looking at POTS, but the info might apply to other types of dysautonomia as well. ”Dr. Mitch Miglis and Dr. Fiona Barwick from Stanford University presented on sleep disorders in POTS during the May 2018 Dysautonomia International Webinar.” I’m afraid it’s been a while since I watched it, and I can’t remember whether it touches on nighttime respiration rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennKay Posted January 29 Author Report Share Posted January 29 @Sarah Tee -- Thanks for the link! I will watch and report back if it helps. I have always been more symptomatic at night, but no one has come up with explanation. My palpitations increase at night on the Holters, my weird tachycardia episodes mostly happen at night, and I don't sleep well. I still think my parasympathetic side is the wonky one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Tee Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 @JennKay, I’m sorry to hear that. I’m “lucky” in that my symptoms are all daytime, so I can sleep reasonably well. However, I do find sleep unrefreshing, and generally feel like h*ll when I wake up. I recently read that researchers have discovered marked daily patterns in blood samples taken from patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers speculated that other immune-related conditions may also have a daily cycle of inflammatory markers or “bad antibodies” that cause symptoms to follow a daily pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htberg Posted February 10 Report Share Posted February 10 This happens to me too! Heart rate does not increase, but breathing rate massively increases. I just did an overnight oximetry test but it really didn't lead to much other than I am in bradycardia for 4+ out of my 5 hours of sleep and I have many awakenings. My pulmonologist said maybe its GERD but I don't think so. I suspect its somehow related to the dysautonomia. Please keep us updated if you figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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