Dementia/Alzheimer's/Memory Loss/Sleep Apnea question.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

My mom's experiencing some memory problems no set pattern just repeating a lot of stuff. She was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea. I'm of the opinion that sleep apnea could be causing the memory problems. Does anyone have any experience with sleep apnea causing problems like this? Thanks in advance.

David

[Juche]

1. Yeah

ask her to elevate the head of her bed and sleep that way for a week or so. What I do is put cinderblocks under the legs at the head of the bed, then I put some blankets in between the mattress and the box springs near the head of the bed. in between the bed itself being elevated and the mattress being elevated his gives me a 20 degree or so incline at the torso, and helps me keep my airway open while asleep.

Naturally she should see a doctor, but doing either that or sleeping in a chair should help if she has OSA.

[Warpy]

2. The sleep deprivation caused by sleep apnea

causes a lot of mental problems. Think about how you feel when you've had a sleepless night and multiply it by about ten.

Most of the mood swings and forgetfulness associated with menopause have been found to be linked to poor sleep due to night sweats.

Has she been diagnosed via sleep study? She won't like that CPAP machine, but it can make a world of difference immediately.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

7. Yes she has been diagnosed via sleep study.

I'm trying to get the follow up appointment moved up sooner than Thanksgiving. She's 74 and has extremely high blood pressure that they can't seem to get under control (again probably the sleep apnea). It would be nice to get her in before she has a stroke. She had a pulmonary embolism in the spring I'd really like to get this stuff under control.

David

[salvorhardin]

9. There are other options than just CPAP

I use a BiPAP machine which lowers the air pressure when I breathe out, then raises it again when I breathe in. From what I understand, there are also machines now that continuously adjust both inspiratory and exnspiratory pressure to fit the person's breathing.

[enough]

3. David, I highly recommend you try asking your question at the Alzheimer's Caregivers Forum.

Here's the link:

http://alzheimers.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/frm/f/214102241

This is the place to go to get good answers for any kind of question, large or small, about dementia/Alzheimer's. This site has been a godsend for me in dealing with my father's progressing Alzheimer's over the past couple of years. I can't recommend it enough, whether you are dealing with the very early stages or more advanced stages.

Best of luck to you.

[Epiphany4z]

4. I have sleep apnea

and when I can't use my cpap machine...the sleep deprivation catches up with me ..I begin to have memory problems...like trying to find the a word I want to use..loosing stuff I just put down ect...I would still bring the problem up with a Doc...sometimes these type of thing over lap ..it may be just the sleep problem or it could be more...hope i was at least a tiny bit of help.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

5. What the first posters said, yes, indeed

Also, if she's got some extra weight on her, if she loses it, she'll sleep better.

[Pennie109]

6. Lack of sleep.

Both my husband and I have sleep apnea. Simply put, we used to stop breathing often during the night. We were both heavy snorers, which really was us gasping for air, stopping and starting breathing. It affected my job. I couldn't stay awake and barely functioned through the day.

I can see where it would affect your mom's memory. She's probably exhausted. Have her see her doctor and go for a sleep study. It was a life changing event for both of us. If you have any more questions, let me know. Goggle sleep apnea and you'll get a lot of information too.

[Fiendish Thingy]

8. She should talk to her doctor about getting a C-PAP machine...

I got one five years ago, and it's been a life changer...
Apnea increases the risk of heart attack and stroke; one sign of stroke/TIA can be confusion or memory loss.
However, at the same time, if she's repeating things frequently, she should be screened for Alzheimer's (as well as stroke related issues).

Good Luck