Apnea Forum Posting

Posted by Cue Miller on June 11, 2001 at 17:41:09:

In Reply to: Memory Improvements (When?) posted by Debbie on June 10, 2001 at 23:25:20:

I find it is difficult to distinguish between problems thinking straight because of that foggy feeling after a night of choking and waking, and actual memory impairment.

The fogginess has pretty much gone, thank goodness. I used to have a great deal of trouble getting going in the morning. Many days it lasted until after I had lunch and my blood sugar got revved up. But I can now sit down to work in the morning and start right in, rather than poking around among my papers and staring blankly at the computer. This is a major improvement and it came pretty quickly ... although offhand I cannot say how quickly. Within the first year. I sure notice it when for some reason my use of CPAP is not effective during the night. The next day is tough. I write things for a living and finding words on those mornings is very hard. I confess that it sends a chill down my spine when I cannot find the word I am looking for. I mean, this is my big defining talent, and the idea that it might be gone is frightening. But after a good night's sleep the next night I am fine again.

My actual memory for details and events in the past is not too bad, but it definitely isn't as sharp as it was when I was 30 or 40, that's for sure. Of course, in my case a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then -- I'll be 60 later this year. I cannot directly pin all this on sleep apnea, however, as there are many other factors in my life and my health that almost surely have affected my memory and focus. Let's just say that it could be worse, and I do think that it has gotten somewhat better.

The most irritating thing is an inability to multitask very well. It seems like I cannot do more than one thing at a time, even very simple things. I do get a great deal of exercise going up and down the stairs, however.

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