I’m so glad to hear that it is working out so well for you, Jen! Thanks for the update!
Get face mask. If u breathe with ur mouth open the pressure from cpap will push air thru open mouth. You wake up out of breath and air hungry.
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I don’t generally open my mouth when I sleep. But I do have severe allergies, so there are times my nasal passages are quite swollen or congested despite the medications I take daily, and during those times I find it difficult to breathe through my nose. Last week I got a full face mask in addition to the nasal canula maak I have so that I can breathe through my mouth during those nights I can’t breathe through my nose very well. I’ve been using it this week to get used to it and like it quite a bit, especially after moving up a size earlier this week.
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I was doing some random googling at lunch today (my sleep schedule has become messed up after doing really well for months!) and was really surprised to come across this:
Some studies have found obstructive sleep apnea in as many as 30% of adults with Type 1 diabetes. And the majority of those tested maintained a healthy, normal weight and body mass index. Sleep apnea occurrences were also found to be highest in those who have been affected by Type I diabetes the longest.
I wonder what the association is from. That 30% statistic seems shockingly high—I’ve read the same figure for thyroid disease and women with Type 1 diabetes, and we all know those very commonly cocur together.
This in particular makes me suspect neuropathy as a factor. I wonder if aspects of vagal nerve dysfunction/neuropathy (which is what causes gastroparesis in diabetics) also increases risk for apnea, given that vagal tone is key part of the body getting into sleeping states.
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This is a really long thread with such great information from everyone. I already posted the list of things I do to help my sleep.
did want respond to your question about whether getting sleep might change your BG numbers. My understanding is that the answer is yes. I’m glad you are coping with this and adjusting your insulin doses.
I was diagnosed with OSA in 2000. I’m sure I had it for many, many years before that because I fell asleep all the time. I even got to the point where I was falling asleep standing up on the subway while holding the strap. I was asking fellow passengers to wake me at my stop as I would fall asleep sitting in a seat. I often missed my stop and had to turn around and head back. I fell asleep in countless business meetings and at my desk. I eventually went on leave due to the OSA.
I finally found a great neurologist who treats patients with OSA and is very involve in research. He works at the Beth Israel in Boston. I often tell people that I wish there were a bumper sticker that saiys, “I heart my neurologist”.
I have no idea what the cause of my OSA is. I only know that I am truly grateful that I have a treatment that works.
Thanks to everyone who posted and shared their experiences.
Kelly
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I’ve been thinking of this thread lately. Today is my one-year CPAP-aversary. 
I have used it every night without fail, and my quality of sleep is uncomparable! I’d say in the summer was when I truly finished adjusting to wearing something with air blowing down my throat all night (plus a setting on my machine got adjusted). I thought I was sleeping pretty well before, but during the summer I started closing my eyes and when I’d open them, it would be morning. Almost every night is like this now, deep and uninterrupted sleep, unless something else wakes me up. It’s glorious. I credit this thread to being a big part of the reason my adjustment was so smooth and successful.
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Great to read a success story! Good sleep is so important to our health. You are wise to proactively adopt this treatment.
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Cardamom, sorry for the late response but I also am beginning to suspect that vagus nerve dysfunction is the cause of my sleep apnea and also the beginnings of some slow moving bowels which keep my blood sugars higher then ever. I am researching some vagus nerve exercises and other things to try and fight this gently downhill battle after 29 years as a T1 Diabetic. Have you found anything else out that you wish to share? Shall we start a separate post to discuss this?
I’m sorry you’re going through that! I don’t really have anything to share unfortunately beyond my speculation about it, and I don’t have sleep apnea, so I haven’t researched it beyond noting the potential shared cause. In general though I think autonomic nervous system dysfunction is underappreciated as a underlying cause across numerous problems and symptoms across systems, and for reasons that include diabetes but go well beyond it too.
Hello, I was very interested to read your post. I too have sleep apnoeia plus bowel problems (plus paroxysmal atrial fibrillation). For years I couldn’t understand why despite my pretty healthy way of life I had accumulated so many disparate health problems. It was only when I had a random A1c test that came out at 41, and found that even eating VLC didn’t lower that much, that I came to the conclusion that raised bg had damaged my vagus nerve and that was the missing link. I have yet to find a medic to agree with this idea, or even entertain it. I keep meaning to write to Dr Bernstein about it. I’d be most interested to discuss with you, and learn more about the vagus nerve exercises.
I should say, I am not on insulin and have never been properly diagnosed, but as I am under-weight, and as eating <20-30g carbs daily doesn’t bring my A1c below 39, my idea is that I am LADA in the honeymoon period.
Gentian,
I have not yet started the vagus exercises, but I did start with the OmniPod this week to achieve better overall glucose control.
You must be giving your HgA1c numbers in a metric model so I cannot compare with what mine are or make sense of what you are saying. I am glad to continue the conversations off and on, but I need to have a conversion chart. My HgA1c is 6.1 at this time.
Robert
I am in the UK. In Europe we measure the bg in mmol/L, whereas in the US it is in mgd/dl. To convert from one to the other divide or multiply by 18.
Here is a converter for the A1c results:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-units-converter.html
Hope that helps!
Very helpful. Yes I think you could be LADA, which was not really defined when I was diagnosed.
How many years have you had these (not so) high blood sugars?
I have been diabetic now for 30 years so the long term affect is what I am expecting the cause to be.
Robert