sleep apnea and eye redness

[StephenP99]

Hi All,

So I have sleep apnea and use a cpap machine. I still have interrupted sleep. I've seen Dr Tseng in Miami and he thinks that the sleep apnea is causing my eye redness, dryness, and inflammation. I also have aqueous tear deficiency and MGD too. Has anyone else had an ophthalmologist tell him about this correlation between sleep apnea and red/dry eyes? I'm also to avoid prone & side sleeping because it puts pressures on my eyes and can lead to some poor oxygenation. I do note that my eyes are reddest after taking a nap or when awakening in the morning, so maybe this is a supportive argument in favor of this theory.

Any comments?

[chimera]

Thats exactly what he told me on wednesday! he said he suspects I have apnea & that I have poor sleep & my side sleeping is causing my DES problems. The thing is I dont think i have sleep apnea, b/c i dont snore! I told him but he says I should get tested at a sleep clinic anyway & that I should also buy sleep googles(like tranquileyes.) I use a regular cloth/satin sleep mask but he said it needs to be goggles.

He also asked if i "dream" alot & that I do. I seem to "dream" almost every night especially after I wake up at around 4:30- 5:00 am to take a medication for my thyroid, I then have a lot of trouble going back to sleep & often thats when i start dreaming. So i do have sleeping problems but I dont know if its the same as sleep apnea.

He also said no computer or tv at night. I dont usually use the computer after 7pm but I sometimes will use my i-phone internet for a short period when Im in bed & I do watch tv in bed though sometimes I just have it on as "wallpaper". i also fall asleep with my tv on. I find that if i dont have my tv on I cant get sleepy. I turn it off when i find myself drifiting to sleep. He said when you fall asleep w/ the tv on your brain stays active & you dream or dont go into deep sleep or something like that.

so Im gonna try to chage some of my habits & maybe use goggles but Im not sure if Ill take a sleep test...

[mgshutterbug]

Bipap Patient with Dry Eyes

I have tried probably 6-7 different masks over the past 4-5 yrs. Full face masks caused the most air leakage, the most severe dry eye. I tried different models, they didn't help that much with sleep apnea and certainly greatly worsened my dry eye disease. I have finally settled on a Resmed nasal mask. It has done the best job so far. I also have to use a chin strap, which is a pain in the neck, but no choice. Unfortunately, with all that on, I totally freak if I use goggles, and wake up with all that on. I'd have to totally "disrobe" vis a vis the bipap equipment in order to take off the goggles. For me, The resmed mask has leaked the least, but I do have to buy a new mask every 2 mos. (course that's true w/any mask. you have to get a new one between 2-3 mos, because the silicone in the mask deteriorates). Just another expense.

[StephenP99]

I figured I've tried so many thing so far, might as well get a repeat sleep study. The only thing is the sleep doctors in my area are booking out 2-3 months! Guess I'll wait.

By the way, I've heard thyroid issues can cause red eyes.
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/relatedc...eyedisease.htm

That might be a contributing factor to your case.

Thats exactly what he told me on wednesday! he said he suspects I have apnea & that I have poor sleep & my side sleeping is causing my DES problems. The thing is I dont think i have sleep apnea, b/c i dont snore! I told him but he says I should get tested at a sleep clinic anyway & that I should also buy sleep googles(like tranquileyes.) I use a regular cloth/satin sleep mask but he said it needs to be goggles.

He also asked if i "dream" alot & that I do. I seem to "dream" almost every night especially after I wake up at around 4:30- 5:00 am to take a medication for my thyroid, I then have a lot of trouble going back to sleep & often thats when i start dreaming. So i do have sleeping problems but I dont know if its the same as sleep apnea.

He also said no computer or tv at night. I dont usually use the computer after 7pm but I sometimes will use my i-phone internet for a short period when Im in bed & I do watch tv in bed though sometimes I just have it on as "wallpaper". i also fall asleep with my tv on. I find that if i dont have my tv on I cant get sleepy. I turn it off when i find myself drifiting to sleep. He said when you fall asleep w/ the tv on your brain stays active & you dream or dont go into deep sleep or something like that.

so Im gonna try to chage some of my habits & maybe use goggles but Im not sure if Ill take a sleep test...

[calcan]

Hi All,

So I have sleep apnea and use a cpap machine. I still have interrupted sleep. I've seen Dr Tseng in Miami and he thinks that the sleep apnea is causing my eye redness, dryness, and inflammation. I also have aqueous tear deficiency and MGD too. Has anyone else had an ophthalmologist tell him about this correlation between sleep apnea and red/dry eyes? I'm also to avoid prone & side sleeping because it puts pressures on my eyes and can lead to some poor oxygenation. I do note that my eyes are reddest after taking a nap or when awakening in the morning, so maybe this is a supportive argument in favor of this theory.

Any comments?

This is the first I've heard about sleeping positions and eye problems. Does the doctor recommend sleeping on your stomach or sleeping partially sitting up?

[StephenP99]

sleeping on back, such that nothing is in contact with the eyes. Avoid sleeping on the stomach and even side sleeping. Pressure on the eyes leads to deoxygenation. Honestly, I spoke with my lasik doc about this, and he said he never heard of anything like this. Classic floppy eyelid syndrome involves sleeping on pillows and this everting the eyelids. But this theory is that you shouldn't even contact a soft surface with your eyelids when you sleep.

[chimera]

Stephen, yes I have hypothyroidism so it may be a factor as well as antidepressant use since the 90's.


I was also told to sleep facing up. I didnt know any pressure on the eyelids is bad. I sleep with a cloth mask to protect me from the air from the A/C vents but maybe Im actually doing more harm.

[StephenP99]

No, I don't think a cloth mask is enough pressure to do any harm. I think doctors mean enough pressure on the eyeball as when the weight of your head is on the pillow, even with the eyelid shut. Don't put that kind of pressure on the eye.

[chimera]

actually i sleep with 3 things over my eyes, a cloth sleep mask, a small thin cotton blanket & a pillowcase. I do sleep on my side though. I find it hard to fall asleep lying on my back so i have no idea how Im gonna change this habit....

[StephenP99]

actually i sleep with 3 things over my eyes, a cloth sleep mask, a small thin cotton blanket & a pillowcase. I do sleep on my side though. I find it hard to fall asleep lying on my back so i have no idea how Im gonna change this habit....

A sleep mask should be harmless.
Anyhow, I do have a small success to report. A combination of never sleeping on the side and sleeping longer has actually helped my dryness and redness. My redness is in the temple aspect of both my eyes, so for some reason, when I sleep on my side, I may be putting too much eye pressure on my temple sides of my eyes. I'm happy to report a 30% improvement since changing sleeping habits.

This is significant because not even serum tears, restasis, etc have helped my red eyes this much (if at all).

So chimera, you may want to try doing this, esp if you have red eyes in the temple aspects of your eyes. The way I force myself to sleep on my back is I wear a visor taped to my head at night, it prevents me from moving side to side.

[chimera]

^thanks I am going to try it. I dont have much of a problem with red eyes, usually if they are red its cause the dryness has been bothering me & Ive been rubbing them(I know Im not supposed to do that) or Ive put some type of drop in like restasis. I had to stop using the lipid ointment that Tseng gave me too b/c they were also making my eyes red & causing too much mucous.