Waking up feeling weary but it's not apnea?

[Bugenhagen]

Thought I'd ask the experts

After seeing the damage covid did to my cousin's lungs after a moderate 10 days of symptoms, not hospitalised, a few months back (he dips down to 80s in oxygen saturation when side sleeping now) I used a similar Wellue pulse oxymeter ring to record my sleeping.

Well it seems OK on oxygen a little high in the heart rate. I'd expect higher 40s not 53 as it shows sleeping due my size for BPM but I'm on Apixaban (blood thinner, half dose) and Propafen (for heart stability after one of four stents needed after being too close close to explosions caused scarring in my 20s was replaced, it had slipped a bit.

But I feel just like I have apnea which I know from a decade past, this went when I stopped smoking. I'm to tired to exercise most mornings the past month.

By 11am I'm feeling more energy, common with obstructive apnea however that's not evident. By 8pm I'm nodding off for a few minutes now and again watching Netflix.

Any ideas lads? Metabolic problem? But how to diagnose? Thyroid function is normal/good and my haemodynamic tests came back all good last week.

I'm late 40s, 6'6", 292 pounds but unusually broad build so not overweight.

 

[Baron]

I was at a bar not too long ago and ended up sitting beside an ear, nose, and throat specialist. We talked for a while about snoring and sleep apnea, and when I asked him what caused those conditions most often, he said, "99% of the time the cause is weight gain."

When I calculate your BMI, it's pretty high on the scale. If you get some of that weight off, your sleep apnea will go by-by.

 

[Bugenhagen]

I was at a bar not too long ago and ended up sitting beside an ear, nose, and throat specialist. We talked for a while about snoring and sleep apnea, and when I asked him what caused those conditions most often, he said, "99% of the time the cause is weight gain."

When I calculate your BMI, it's pretty high on the scale. If you get some of that weight off, your sleep apnea will go by-by.

View attachment 275496

Indeed, the BMI seem high (I've lost count of the times guys in politics called me fat haha) but it's just wrong from some builds. I have very little body fat, though I've not measured it in ages it's around 10 percent I expect.

I follow a simple routine, I have a suitcase bag with 50 pounds of weight and I climb up and down 27-30 floors in the fire escape stairs holding the bag as arms length or over head as possible. The awkward shape makes me work more.

As the sleep study shows, there is no apnea pattern anyway? That's just one day, I have three recorded but they are all very similar.

I'd be thinking a tumour but the pattern of feeling more energetic after 10 till maybe 6pm does not match and the blood work is all normal.

 

[Bugenhagen]

Just to give an example on how BMI does not work for big men, as @Baron showed, my BMI is 33.7

But picking a known face a random and not warranting the stats are entirely accurate

35.2, this makes Dave obesely fat.

 

[Baron]

You do realize that guy has been doing steroids and growth hormone for at least 15+ years right?

 

[Bugenhagen]

You do realize that guy has been doing steroids and growth hormone for at least 15+ years right?

I do and it's much of the reason I work out in the stairwell not a gym, nobody believes my "gains" and such. I dunno, I like my family are naturally very heavily muscled, long shins, just narrowing the waist a little is all required to look especially giant swimmer build.

I know looking at the strongest men (not steroid built) from say before the 80s they seemed much smaller but they weren't putting in the degree of work and technique known these days.

That guy Danny Jones for example, an inch taller than me but we have similar build.

BMI: 30

 

[Bugenhagen]

I've been doing some searching on sleep inertia and this caught my eye.

I can borrow an EEG from a friend and see what my delta waves look like for a night. That might reveal something.



[paste:font size="5"]
Scientists have been investigating possible causes of sleep inertia, and they’ve proposed a few ideas:

• Higher levels of delta waves: These electrical waves in the brain are linked to deep sleep. Scientists can measure electrical activity in the brain with an electroencephalogram (EEG). Not only do people with sleep inertia have higher levels of delta waves, but also fewer beta waves, which are associated with wakefulness.
• Slower brain reactivation: also suggests that there may be a slower reactivation of certain parts of the brain after waking, including the prefrontal cortex regions that are responsible for executive function.
• Slow blood flow in the brain: There also might beTrusted Source a lag in the time it takes for the brain’s blood flow to speed up after waking.

 

[Baron]

How long has your sleep apnea / morning tiredness been happening?

Indeed, the BMI seem high (I've lost count of the times guys in politics called me fat haha) but it's just wrong from some builds. I have very little body fat, though I've not measured it in ages it's around 10 percent I expect.

You may want to get a DEXA scan to see what your body fat really is. You may be spot on with your estimate or you could be way off. I bought a package of 4 scans for a few hundred bucks a couple of years ago, and I've used three of them so far. My last one came in at around 11 percent if I recall.

 

[Bugenhagen]

How long has your sleep apnea / morning tiredness been happening?

You may want to get a DEXA scan to see what your body fat really is. You may be spot on with your estimate or you could be way off. I bought a package of 4 scans for a few hundred bucks a couple of years ago, and I've used three of them so far. My last one came in at around 11 percent if I recall.

Its been about six weeks but a real drag the last month.

A good idea but I think it's unlikely, a friend owns an MRI research company and I had a full body scan about four years ago, they mentioned the fat levels then which were around 12 percent ish
but in actually fitter than then now. I've been mostly Mediterranean diet since then which was great for inflammation on my knee.

The thing is, the Pulse Oxymeter ring (just fits little finger) recording indicates nothing apnea like I can see? Other than my heart rate is a little high at 53 bpm for sleep, similar to daytime, I'd expect it to be lower but perhaps the heart drugs are affecting that. Still, it's not a bad level.

It could be in the brain, I'm aware I'm getting less mentally agile. Perhaps I'm not doing enough in the daytimes.

 

[ph1l]

I'm on Apixaban (blood thinner, half dose) ...

But I feel just like I have apnea which I know from a decade past, this went when I stopped smoking. I'm to tired to exercise most mornings the past month.

By 11am I'm feeling more energy, common with obstructive apnea however that's not evident. By 8pm I'm nodding off for a few minutes now and again watching Netflix.

Any ideas lads? Metabolic problem? But how to diagnose? Thyroid function is normal/good and my haemodynamic tests came back all good last week.

I'm late 40s, 6'6", 292 pounds but unusually broad build so not overweight.

Apixaban can cause tiredness.
https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/apixaban

Other common side effects
...

• tiredness and lack of energy, shortness of breath, noticeable heartbeats (heart palpitations) and pale skin – these can be signs of anaemia
• feeling dizzy or lightheaded
• a mild rash
• feeling sick (nausea)

If snoring is interrupting your sleep, you can wear an inexpensive mouth guard on your upper jaw and sleep in an inclined position. This makes it much harder to snore.