Hi all, Im new here so Im a little unsure as to how this all works. First off, I

sustained a "mild" concussion in May of 2014 when I fell off my bike. I went to

the emergency room, had a CT, which of course, was worthless, and went home.

I was very lethargic and fatigued for the following days. I had no headache, no

amnesia, no phycological problems...nothing but fatigue really. Two weeks after

the injury, I felt normal, and left my peaceful family home for DC where I had a

summer internship. The first week in DC, I felt about 90%. However, I soon

began exercising, which was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Walking in

DC's humidity is enough to tire out a Northwestern boy like me, but running in it

is just insane. Approximately 24 days after my injury, I went for a fairly

strenuous run. At the start of the run, my head throbbed a little, but I dismissed

this critical warning sign. That night, I had terrible insomnia. From the following

morning onward (nearly 6 months), I have lived in a perpetual state of

exhaustion/fatigue/whatever you call it. I've dropped out of school for the time

being. I've been to a sports medicine doctor, but he refused to believe that I

could simply be tired and not have a headache; later on, he prescribed me

Amitriptilyn for the head pain I don't have. Now, I am scheduled to see an

excellent sleep doctor, who I hope can help resolve my problem, but I still want

to ask the nuerotalk community for any advice. What could be causing this

chronic fatigue? What can I do to mitigate its effects?

concussionkid,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

It is possible you are not getting good restorative sleep. The brain heals and recovers during REM sleep. Also, failure to have good sleep will make it difficult to remember from one day to the next. If you can do a take home sleep test, it will give a good start at understanding what is going on. Sleep apnea can leave one fatigued throughout the day.

btw, Please help us out by not double spacing every line. Many of us struggle to follow from one line to the next and find 5 lines in a single spaced paragraph format easiest to read.

My best to you.

Thanks for the reply Mark. I believe that I have sleep apnea too. I just don't know which type. According to a NUCCA chyro, my neck is app 30 degrees misaligned, and I wonder if this could be causing obstructive sleep apnea, but he disagrees. I haven't actually gotten any adjustment done yet...sort of afraid to.

Is there actually any way to fix central sleep apnea? Also, Mark, being from Idaho, are you familiar with Dr Michael Coats in CDA? I will see him later this month.

My Central Apnea was triggered by neck position. If my head was tipped forward and/or to the left, after some time, I would stop breathing. This would happen even when I was awake. It took upper neck work with disciplined posture during sleep and resting to allow my neck to strengthen so I could be more free with neck/head positions.

I am concerned that your NUCCA chiro does not think your upper cervical issues would cause Central Apnea. Inflammation in this area can interfere with brain stem blood flow and proper autonomic nervous system function.

Wow, 30 degrees misaligned. I don't know how that could be possible. But, I'm not a chiro much less NUCCA trained. In my 30+ years of chiro treatments, I know there is a lot of show and sell that can exaggerate the reality.

I don't know of Dr Coats but see his main office is in Spokane.

Yes, 30% seems like a big exaggeration to me as well. Going to address sleep apnea with another chiropractor, who I trust to move my neck. Hopefully cervical treatment can fix my sleep apnea and therefore, my fatigue. One other thing. I don't have bad dreams/nightmares, which I've heard is necessary for sleep apnea diagnosis. However, I am a lucid dreamer now and wasn't prior to injury. Can having pleasant, memorable dreams, occasional dry mouth, and fatigue be enough to diagnose sleep apnea in your opinion?

Sleep apnea is only diagnosed by witnessing a stoppage of breathing. It is not diagnosed by symptoms. I doubt the chiro alone will fix sleep apnea. Such a neck injury will take months of proper cervical treatment combined with your disciplined posture during sleep and rest.

Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) is when the brain/brain stem malfunctions and stops sending signals for the diaphragm to take a breath. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is where the airway has obstructions that impede the flow of air as the lungs try to pull in air. OSA is usually associated with snoring.

Dry mouth would usually indicate you are breathing through your mouth and drying the tissues. It does not signify much else.