Sleep Apnea - potential culprit?

[DryInUpstateNY]

so I've always wondered if I had it. I snore loudly and generally don't feel fully rested all the time.

2 years ago had sleep study done. I was diagnosed w/ sleep apnea.

a little over a year ago I was diagnosed w/ dry eye.

I sleep best in the winter, when the house is really cold, naturally. All winter my eyes felt almost normal. had to use drops maybe 1x during the day while at work. I was careful to eat well and drink water of course... but I definitely slept better.

come warm weather and my sleep is off. I wake maybe 3x a night.

my eyes are more irritated and I need drops 3 to 4x a day.

disclaimer, I've been on Restasis the entire year+.

Air conditioning kills me but the winter heat vents do not.

Going to ENT specialist to see what we can do about the apnea and maybe fixing that will alleviate my eye issues or at least give me optimal rest, which will in turn help the eyes.

anybody else resolve eye issues by resolving apnea issues?

[Rebecca Petris]

Heh. Usually it's the other way around i.e. cpap masks for sleep apnea leaking into the eyes causing dry eye.

Do you know if your lids are fully closing at night?

[grant555]

there are a couple stories on here of people who had significant improvement from beginning cpap therapy. dr. tseng in miami recommends to many patients to get checked for it. he has a couple theories why cpap might help: floppy eyelid syndrome, where the pillow causes irritation to your eyes (this has been linked to apnea) and he has another theory about the lack of oxygen causing inflammation. i havent actually seen him, but have seen it explained on here a couple times. you could try searching apnea or Tseng on this board and find those stories. i remember reading two success stories from beginning cpap.

however, like rebecca said, many people seem to get worse with cpap due to the air.

I have had dry eye for 12 years. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea about 6 months ago. I've only been able to get the cpap machine working for about one week on two separate occasions in those six months. during those two weeks, my eyes felt great. i saw a definite improvement in my symptoms and overall health. i would definitely give it a shot if i were you, particularly if you've already been diagnosed. even if not for your eyes, you should likely get that fixed anyway (depending on the severity of the apnea).

[DryInUpstateNY]

I was definitely diagnosed with apnea.

I do not know if my eyelids shut completely at night. How can I even tell?

I should state that my left eye feels fine most the time.. It's my right eye that's dryest. Coincidentally, I sleep on my right side, which if floppy eyelid and apnea is the case, will affect the eye on the side you sleep on the worst.

How can you tell if your eyes shut completely? I have ophthalmologist appt. on Friday. I guess i'll ask him as well.

I also feel best between temperatures of 30 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. I sleep best then and forced air is at it's lowest in terms of frequency and force.

[grant555]

you sound like me. you likely have lagophthalmos or floppy eyelid syndrome or a little bit of both. sleeping on your back could very well help you. i would get the cpap and try to do so.

[Rebecca Petris]

Best way to protect against FES in some cases is with some kind of structured or rigid cover over the eyes so that there is no way for the cornea to come in contact with the pillow. (also protects from evaporative tear loss due to eyelid opening). Just mentioning this as not everyone can adjust to sleeping on their back.

How can you tell if your eyes shut completely? I have ophthalmologist appt. on Friday. I guess i'll ask him as well.

Other than having someone watch you closely I would suggesting getting the FIRST appointment of the day with your doctor. They will best be able to see the difference in the surface of any exposed area during sleep then - also signs of residual damage from FES will be most visible then. The epithelium can heal so fast that in milder cases it's not going to be as obvious by the end of the day.

[spmcc]

Here is a recent case report on sleep apnea (OSAS) and Floppy eyelid syndrome (FES) (LASIK is also involved): http://www.jaypeejournals.com/eJourn...=458&isPDF=YES

That paper says that

One of the most consistently systemic reported associations of FES is that of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS)

The authors also write that the patient reported sleeping on the same side as the involved eye.

There is a really encouraging sentence...

OSAS has been suggested as a possible cause of FES, and this hypothesis is strengthened by a report of FES resolving simply with the use of a continuous positive airway pressure mask (CPAP)

Good luck with the CPAP!