I'm a newbie here. In fact, I'm getting my first CPAP machine tomorrow after having been diagnosed with severe apnea.

I've done some reading online about the condition and I've frequently seen it mentioned that one of the side effects of sleep apnea is waking up frequently to urinate. Has anyone read anything explaining why this is? I figured it would have more to do with the amount of fluids one takes in before bed.

For quite some time I've suffered from waking up 4 or more times a night for bathroom breaks. I've even tried to curtail my fluid intake well before turning in. It rarely helps.

Any info would be appreciated.

Actually, my visits to the bathroom and the use of my Bipap went down to once or none every night, more none than one. I have severe OSA and the bipap really does not help that much, but the reduction in getting up in the night is very welcomed.

Mike

Hi Haggisboy and welcome to Apnea Board!

Are you a bit overweight? Many people with sleep apnea are, and are therefore more likely to develope diabetes type 2, especially if you are over 35 years of age. Frequent urination can be an indicator of diabetes, especially if you have a history of diabetes on your mother's or father's side of the family.

If you are overweight by more than 30 pounds, it might be a good idea to get a diabetes test at your doctor. Or, as a cheap early indicator, if you have a friend with diabetes, they probably would be more than happy to test your fasting blood sugar level with their meter to give you some idea on whether further testing is needed.

I was diagnosed with diabetes last year and I've noticed a big increase in my bathroom trips. :P

When my OSA was untreated, I usually woke up once an hour or so to urinate. I tried everything I could think of, from curtailing my fluid intake after 6:00 PM to taking the prescription drug Detrol. Nothing made much of a difference.

CPAP therapy has pretty much eliminated the problem. I don't think I've gotten up more than once a month since, if that often.

I have a theory about nocturia and OSA. First, I believe that anyone who spends as much time as I did in Stage 1 and Stage 2 sleep, where the arousal threshold is low, can't tolerate much in their bladders at night.

Second, it's pretty well documented that untreated OSA and resultant chronic sleep fragmentation can disrupt the body's circadian rhythm. This can lead to a failure to produce sufficient quantities of the hormone ADH, which enables the body to concentrate urine at night.

Hope this helps! Carl

Thanks to both ConCarl and Supersleeper for the informative replies.

Yes, I am severely overweight, however my doctor runs blood work on me every year and it always comes back normal - including checking for diabetes. As it turns out, I have also gotten a friend with a blood meter to run a check on me and that too hasn't turned up anything out of the ordinary. I'm on blood pressure medication, which my doctor has kept me on even though, for my size, my pressure readings are, as she says, "perfect". She keeps me on the medication because it agrees with me and, as she says, if it isn't broke, don't fix it.

I got my CPAP yesterday and last night was my first night using it. Amazingly, I only woke once to go to the toilet. It's been years since that's happened.

Also, while I woke in the morning feeling more rested than I ever have in a long time (with no urge to take a nap during the day), I did have a morning headache. Anybody else experienced this after using their CPAP?

Haggisboy,

The morning headache will eventually go away, at least you had a great first night! Remember though, you'll gradually get used to everything, it's like a break in period for cars (back in the olden days of the 60's and 70's). Good luck and sweet dreams with your CPAP.

Mike

Yeah, I only experienced a headache the first morning. All nights since then I've woken headache free, AND my bathroom trips have been reduced to one or two from several. It's absolutely amazing.

Even though the doctor who ran the sleep test told me that I wasn't getting enough restful sleep, in my head I said "yeah, right". I've never been more wrong in my life. I now feel completely refreshed during the day. No urge to take a nap, no early evening tiredness forcing me to turn in earlier than most people, no yawning during the day. I'm even noticing a gradual increase in energy.

I really thought I'd have a hard time adjusting to the machine (Fisher & Paykel 600 series unit with Mirage Ultra mask), but I find sleeping with it quite comfortable and certainly worth the minimal effort given the results.

My only worry now is that I won't be up to the task of doing all the cleaning of the unit that the medical supplier told me was necessary.

Glad to hear CPAP is working for you. Don't worry too much about the cleaning... I started out doing what the supplier told me (washing everything, tubes, mask every third day or so)... but after a while I got lazy with it... I think I clean my mask & hose about once a month now, and I haven't suffered any ill effects as far as I know.

Then again, maybe the cough I have right now is due to me not cleaning my mask... hmm.... I think I'll do my monthly cleaning tonight. B)