Re: MSA and sleep

[Guest guest]

Hi Stacee,

Does your mother snore or gasp for air during sleep? These are signs of

sleep apnea which can be a serious complication of MSA. Excessive daytime

sleepiness could also indicate sleep apnea. Alot of people with MSA also

have what is called REM Behavioural Disorder where they act out their

dreams. If you suspect sleep apnea you should encourage your mother to

have a sleep study done. There are effective treatments for sleep apnea

like CPAP or BiPap ---> positive air pressure masks that can be worn at

night.

Regards,

Pam

Nippon Rinsho 2000 Aug;58(8):1722-7

[sleep apnea in multiple system atrophy].

Asahina M, Yamaguchi M, Fukutake T, Hattori T

Department of Neurology, Chiba University School of Medicine.

Multiple system atrophy(MSA) characterized clinically by any combination of

autonomic, extrapyramidal or cerebellar symptoms and signs. MSA patients

frequently manifest a variety of sleep-related respiratory disturbances,

which are life threatening problems. Above all, a common and serious

complication is upper-airway obstructive sleep apnea associated with

stridor, which is caused by vocal cord abductor paralysis(VCAP). For the

early diagnosis of VCAP, it is important to perform laryngoscopy during

sleep, because VCAP does not appear during awakefulness in the early stage

of MSA. Polysomnographic study should be obtain to assess the severity of

respiratory disturbances. Tracheostomy is reliable treatment for respiratory

disturbances due to VCAP, while nasal continuous positive pressure may be a

useful treatment for some patients.

--------

: Rinsho Shinkeigaku 1998 Dec;38(12):1059-63 Related Articles, Books,

LinkOut

[Effective nasal CPAP therapy for heavy snoring and paradoxical respiration

during sleep in a case of multiple system atrophy].

Miyamoto M, Miyamoto T, Katayama S, Hirata K

Department of Neurology, Dokkyo University School of Medicine, Tochigi,

Japan.

A 64-year-old man with multiple system atrophy complained of daytime

sleepiness, fatigue, and snoring. Neurological examination revealed severe

autonomic failure, mild cerebellar ataxia and akinesia. Daytime blood gas

analysis showed respiratory acidosis with hypoxia and hypercapnia. MR

imaging of the brain showed atrophy of the pons, cerebellum and bilateral

frontal lobes. Although paralysis of the vocal cord abduction was not found

by laryngoscopy during daytime examination, polysomnography (PSG) showed

heavy snoring with paradoxical respiration associated with severe

desaturation during sleep as well as reduced slow wave sleep and REM sleep.

He was diagnosed as having sleep-related upper airway obstructive breathing

disorder probably due to Gerhardt syndrome. Tracheostomy was considered, but

we performed nasal CPAP therapy during sleep because this therapy is

non-invasive and would not impair his daily life. After nasal CPAP therapy,

daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and snoring with desaturation improved, and PSG

showed increased slow wave sleep. These results demonstrate that nasal CPAP

therapy improves the quality of sleep and should be considered in patients

with early stages of multiple system atrophy who exhibit sleep-related

breathing disorders.

----

See also:

Sudden Death During Sleep in Multiple System Atrophy Is Related to

Unrecognized Sleep-Disordered Breathing

http://www.wbsaunders.com/nnc/abs/abs2_1/v2n1p51.html

[Guest guest]

Stacee,

That sounds like it could possibly be an infection or a side effect of one of

her

meds.

Take care, Bill and Charlotte

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

StaceeS71@... wrote:

> I went to see my mother this last weekend and I spent the night so the family

> gave the caregiver the nest day off since I could help my mother.

>

> I went in to wake her up at about 9:00 am and she wouldn't wake up so I

> figured she had a rough night I would let her sleep, but an hour later she

> still wouldn't respond. I started to get worried but she was breathing ok and

> looked very peacful so let her be. At noon I started to try to shake her

> awake and she was sort of responding but so sleepy. It took me and my sister

> a good hour to wake her up and she says she still couldn't open her eyes.

> Later after she was up and awake we asked her if she heard us calling her or

> trying to wake her up, she said Yes but she couldnt respond and she feels so

> tired and sleepy all the time. Does anyone have these types of symptoms or

> ever felt this way?

>

> My mom has been diagnosed with MSA for about 6 months but she has been ill

> for a while we thought it Parkinsons for a long time. She in in a wheel

> chair most of the time now.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Stacee,

This is exactly what happened to my dad last May. It happened twice. The

first time he could not wake up. We didn't know what was going on. We

called the paramedics and they tried everything to wake him up. He did not

look peaceful at all and had a stiff jaw and grimace on his face. After

about 30 minutes with the paramedics hollering at him he woke up. He said he

was really trying to wake up but just couldn't. (all vitals were fine) They

took him to the hospital and that was the beginning of 3 weeks in the

hospital and in rehab. They changed all medications taking him off of a

sleeping pill. While in rehab it happened again. The entire floor of nurses

tried to wake him and again his vital signs were fine. After about 30

minutes he woke up again saying he could hear a little of what was happening

in the last five minutes but just couldn't wake up. His neurologist told us

that if it happened again we should call after about 45 minutes if we could

not wake him. It has not happened again since May. It was at that time that

they added the Ritalin and balanced some of his other medications. Before

this he was sleeping a lot of the time and was very confused and disoriented.

When he returned from that hospital stay he was so much better that we were

amazed. None of the doctors mentioned that this could have been the result of

an infection but now thinking back it is possible.

Are Stacee's Mom and my dad the only ones that have had this happen? It was

very scary!

(Phoenix)

[Guest guest]

Greetings Stacee!

In addition to what Pam noted, I would add that your mother should see a

sleep specialist as soon as possible. It's very important. If she had so

much problems with waking, it can certainly indicate serious problems that

should be investigated. This is especially true since these symptoms can be

fairly easily managed.

Regards,

=jbf=

B. Fisher

[Guest guest]

Stacee,

My Warren has days that he sleeps all day and night. I wake/stir him enough

to give him his meds and he falls right back to sleep. Also complains that

he can't open his eyes, this happens a lot at night when he needs to get up

for using the commode. It seems to happen after he's had a big day or two

and he just needs to rebuild his strength. I too have worried that he

wouldn't wake up but it seems that when they are ready it comes to pass.

Warren has was diagnosed a year ago next Dec.2. Sometimes it seems it has

progressed quickly but then there are days that everything seems pretty

good. Keep your chin up and bless you for helping your Mom.

MSA and sleep

> I went to see my mother this last weekend and I spent the night so the

family

> gave the caregiver the nest day off since I could help my mother.

>

> I went in to wake her up at about 9:00 am and she wouldn't wake up so I

> figured she had a rough night I would let her sleep, but an hour later she

> still wouldn't respond. I started to get worried but she was breathing ok

and

> looked very peacful so let her be. At noon I started to try to shake her

> awake and she was sort of responding but so sleepy. It took me and my

sister

> a good hour to wake her up and she says she still couldn't open her eyes.

> Later after she was up and awake we asked her if she heard us calling her

or

> trying to wake her up, she said Yes but she couldnt respond and she feels

so

> tired and sleepy all the time. Does anyone have these types of symptoms

or

> ever felt this way?

>

> My mom has been diagnosed with MSA for about 6 months but she has been ill

> for a while we thought it Parkinsons for a long time. She in in a wheel

> chair most of the time now.

>

>

[Guest guest]

We have some of those days as well. The urologist has told us to watch for

urinary tract infections that present with symptoms of malaise. My husband

was diagnosed in 1998 after previously being diagnosed with PD.

Marilyn in TN

----------

>

>To: <shydrageregroups>

>Subject: Re: MSA and sleep

>Date: Sat, Nov 18, 2000, 2:20 PM

>

>Stacee,

>My Warren has days that he sleeps all day and night. I wake/stir him enough

>to give him his meds and he falls right back to sleep. Also complains that

>he can't open his eyes, this happens a lot at night when he needs to get up

>for using the commode. It seems to happen after he's had a big day or two

>and he just needs to rebuild his strength. I too have worried that he

>wouldn't wake up but it seems that when they are ready it comes to pass.

>

>Warren has was diagnosed a year ago next Dec.2. Sometimes it seems it has

>progressed quickly but then there are days that everything seems pretty

>good. Keep your chin up and bless you for helping your Mom.

>

> MSA and sleep

>

>

>> I went to see my mother this last weekend and I spent the night so the

>family

>> gave the caregiver the nest day off since I could help my mother.

>>

>> I went in to wake her up at about 9:00 am and she wouldn't wake up so I

>> figured she had a rough night I would let her sleep, but an hour later she

>> still wouldn't respond. I started to get worried but she was breathing ok

>and

>> looked very peacful so let her be. At noon I started to try to shake her

>> awake and she was sort of responding but so sleepy. It took me and my

>sister

>> a good hour to wake her up and she says she still couldn't open her eyes.

>> Later after she was up and awake we asked her if she heard us calling her

>or

>> trying to wake her up, she said Yes but she couldnt respond and she feels

>so

>> tired and sleepy all the time. Does anyone have these types of symptoms

>or

>> ever felt this way?

>>

>> My mom has been diagnosed with MSA for about 6 months but she has been ill

>> for a while we thought it Parkinsons for a long time. She in in a wheel

>> chair most of the time now.

>>

>>

[Guest guest]

I never had the experience of not being able to wake my mother Joyce, but I

do know that there was awhile there when she was unable to open her eyes

when she awoke. It was as though her eyelids were stuck together. Slowly,

they would eventually open. I think I remember reading about this on the

Parkinson's List at some point. Hope someone else can help you with the

unresponsiveness. Debbie (Joyce Scaduto, diagnosed SND 9/98, died 11/5/00)

Debbie White

dwhite@...

>