How do temporal lobe seizures affect sleep apnea?
Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at
5:10 pm
Greg asked:
Can temporal lobe seizures cause severe sleep apnea? Or is it more likely that seizures of this nature are a result of chronic uncontrolled sleep apnea? I have both diagnoses, but my chief complaint is excessive daytime fatigue that is not relieved by CPAP, UPPP surgery, septoplasty, or medications for seizures.
Can temporal lobe seizures cause severe sleep apnea? Or is it more likely that seizures of this nature are a result of chronic uncontrolled sleep apnea? I have both diagnoses, but my chief complaint is excessive daytime fatigue that is not relieved by CPAP, UPPP surgery, septoplasty, or medications for seizures.
Tagged with: Chief Complaint • Medications • Nature
Filed under: Sleep Apnea
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that’s terrible for you=all I have is sleep apnea and am so tired all the time =I don’t know how you can take it with the seizures on top of it
The most troublesome sleep disorder in people with epilepsy is sleep apnea, in which breathing stops briefly during sleep. Sleep apnea affects at least 2% of the general population. It is most common in people who are overweight. As sleep deepens, the airway relaxes too much and becomes blocked. The brain recognizes the resulting lack of oxygen, and the person wakes up (usually with a loud snore) and begins to breathe again. Often the person does not remember waking up, but this cycle is repeated all night long and normal sleep is never achieved. Therefore the person is drowsy most of the time and may be at risk of falling asleep during activities like driving.
It’s especially important to recognize and treat sleep apnea if you have epilepsy. The lack of sleep can make your seizures worse. So can the lack of oxygen getting to your brain during sleep. You may continue to have seizures (particularly during sleep) even if you take seizure medicines that would otherwise be effective. Both your drowsiness and seizures should improve if the sleep apnea is treated.