My brother's having trouble

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

He's been to a doctor, and the problem seems to have been physiological, with sinus difficulties creating something like sleep apnea. He's better now, and I am both relieved and grateful.

Without prying too much, how was it affecting him psychologically? I've had an undiagnosed* case of sleep apnea for years, but this is the first I've heard of it causing anything but purely physical symptoms.






*My girlfriend says she hears me stop breathing for awhile in my sleep. That creeps me out to no end.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

I'm not around the house as much as I'd like to be lately, what with work and college, and I didn't want to embarrass him. My parents know much more about it than I do. He'd been having panic attacks and severe fear, especially at night.

 

[Steve Jung]

That's good that the doctors found a likely cause. Is he going to try one of those CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines?

 

[Algolei]

Excellent! Even if it ever happens again, having found a physiological source of the problem is half the battle. Now he knows what it is, so it shouldn't ever seem nearly as bad as it did.

He'd been having panic attacks and severe fear, especially at night.

Cripes, I don't blame him. Sleep apnea can be nasty, my brother suffers from it. And for a while, when I was suffering from stress, I would hold my breath in my sleep because I kept dreaming that I was being held underwater, so I wouldn't let myself take a breath until I woke up to make sure it was safe to breathe. That was frightening. I shudder to imagine combining those two!

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

That's good that the doctors found a likely cause. Is he going to try one of those CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines?

I do not know. I don't think that there was a cause for the sinus troubles other than mundane colds/allergies.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I do not know. I don't think that there was a cause for the sinus troubles other than mundane colds/allergies.

John, no kidding, I'd look into a Sudafed connection. I'm very serious. What you are describing is sounding more and more like what I went through.

What started with a simple cold progressed to insomnia, hyperactivity and other manic behavior, paranoia, dissociative behavior, and eventually psychotic delusions.

I've done a bit of research and frankly I can't believe that dextromethorphan is still available over the counter. Although with more and more home meth labs popping up, a lot of pharmacies are putting it behind the glass and limiting the quantities you can buy.


Wulf

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

I did, believe me He wasn't taking any medicine at the time.

 

[DaveStebbins]

I'm so glad to hear that things have cleared up. I love it when people have good news and happy endings to share in this forum!

 

[Aris Dragonborn]

Good to hear, John. Hope they're able to isolate the cause soon.

w00t!