I have requested a sleep study to determine whether I have some form of sleep apnea, perhaps related to the daytime breathing problems I've written about before. My latest MRI showed no lesions in the brain stem area, which is good and probably means that if I have apnea at all, it may not be related to my MS.

However, I have been told on a sleep apnea forum that having a combination of MS and sleep apnea can complicate things. (For one thing, some of the symptoms can look similar.)

So I just wanted to ask whether anybody on this list is dealing with both MS and sleep apnea. If so,

1-Are you seeing both a neuro and a sleep specialist? 2-Is the apnea related to your MS, as far as you know? 3-What kind of treatment you are getting?

Answer:

I am answering on behalf of my husband, who does not have MS ( that we are aware of ) but does have severe sleep apnea and the neurological deficits that it can cause.

It began w/ slurred speech, problems w/ his gait, memory loss, blood pressure spikes, blood sugar chaos. After seeing a variety of doctors, treating symptoms with diet and BP meds, we saw a continuing worsening of the symptoms.

That lead to a neurologist, who ordered a brain MRI and a 72 hour EEG. The MRI revealed a Pineal Cyst on the brain stem, which they deemed inconsequential, and the EEG lead to the discovery that he was not going into stage 3 or 4 of sleep. That lead to a sleep disorder specialist.

He spent one night in hospital for sleep study which showed decreased O2 levels, apnea episodes, etc. He was placed on the CPAP machine. The CPAP was not successful because he felt as if he were suffocating w/ it on. That lead us to an ENT who found a deviated septum, enlarged turbanits, enlarged uvula, swollen soft palate. He had surgery to remedy this in October of 2001 ( this whole process has now taken over 2 years, by the way )

As he *still* continues to have the exact same neurological deficits from time to time, we are scheduled for a repeat MRI to check for changes in the Pineal cyst or any other problems. PLUS, he is to have a dental device made that will hold his jar forward, keep his tongue in place, and hopefully relieve the last bit of apnea episodes that occur.

So, the reason I answered this post was to let you know several things. It can be a long process....the long term results of apnea can produce physical and neurological results ( it directly led to the BP problems ) and the best physician, IMO, would be a neuro or a sleep disorders specialist. We went through Emory University in Atlanta who have teams of physicians studying the phenomenon of sleep apnea and its related medical maladies.

Having said all this, we could be in for a shock w/ the next MRI....we'll soon see. My whole family finds it odd that both my husband and I have such similar symptoms. Hopefully, we are not on the cusp of revealing he has MS as well.

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