CPAP Making Me Hallucinate During Daytime

[Ducksquack]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this site and want to see if anyone has had this issue before. In 2020 I was diagnosed with Psychosis, I see and hear things. I got on medication and in 2021 stopped hallucinating. I have been hallucination-free since then, until I was diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea with possible Narcolepsy in May of 2023. My sleep doctor wants to treat my OSA before doing any Narcolepsy tests. I started my CPAP on June 13th, 2023. I have been using the CPAP for 8-9 hours every night and sleeping straight through the night with no interruptions/waking up. However, a few days after starting the CPAP I began having hallucinations. They were minimal and I thought they were just coming back briefly. As I started using the CPAP more for longer time consecutively, the hallucinations worsened. It got to the point where in late June I began getting paranoid and unstable mentally. Around this time on the 29th of June, I stopped using the CPAP for long hours because I started experiencing "Rainout". I was only able to manage 4-5 hours a night before the "rainout" would bother me. The "rainout" issue has since been fixed by adjusting my CPAP's humidifier and heat tubing settings, but I haven't used the CPAP for more than 4-5 hours a night since then, even with the issue fixed.

The thing is, that my hallucinations had stopped completely when I reduced usage to 4-5 hours a night. I used my CPAP for 8 hours on the 14th of July and began seeing things again, so I went back down to 4-5 hours a night since. I haven't had any hallucinations since the 14th of July. My sleep doctor and psychiatrist are both confused as to what's happening. My psychiatrist is offering to raise my psychosis meds but I'm worried that the hallucinations will just continue with CPAP usage. My sleep doctor thinks I might be experiencing hallucinations from sleep deprivation caused by using the CPAP. (Note: I was feeling rested and sleeping 2 hours less than usual because I was too awake when properly using the CPAP).

Has anyone had this happen to them? Can CPAP cause daytime hallucinations? The hallucinations don't happen while I'm in between sleep or in a just woken/just went to sleep state. They happen while I'm completely awake and have started my day (hours after waking up from sleep). I currently am hallucination-free,

Here's a quick recap of details for those who don't want to read too much:

-Got Psychosis diagnosis in 2020
-Have been hallucination-free since 2021 (due to meds)
-Diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea in May of 2023
-Started CPAP on June 13, 2023
-Hallucinations started a few days after CPAP usage started
-Stopped using CPAP consistently since June 29, 2023
-Hallucinations stopped after June 29th
-Hallucinations came back on July 14 when I used CPAP for 8 hours
-Went back to minimal CPAP usage since the 14th of July, haven't had any hallucinations since

Thank you all for reading and helping!

[Julie]

Hi, so sorry for all you've gone thru, but I've never ever heard of hallucinations having anything at all to do with OSA, Cpap or anything related. I did read an interesting newstory today of how in recent years some people diagnosed with psychosis and/or schizophrenia were found to have had concurrent autoimmune disease like Lupus, etc., and after treatment were much improved, more 'normal' than anything else. You might want to see if you can Google about it and see if there's any connection. Are the hallucinations related to any one thing, or random? Any similarities between them at all?

[Ducksquack]

Hi, so sorry for all you've gone thru, but I've never ever heard of hallucinations having anything at all to do with OSA, Cpap or anything related. I did read an interesting newstory today of how in recent years some people diagnosed with psychosis and/or schizophrenia were found to have had concurrent autoimmune disease like Lupus, etc., and after treatment were much improved, more 'normal' than anything else. You might want to see if you can Google about it and see if there's any connection. Are the hallucinations related to any one thing, or random? Any similarities between them at all?

Thank you for your response. I honestly was improving with the CPAP, my mental fog and fatigue were starting to get better even though they weren’t completely gone. Which is why it’s sad that I’ve been avoiding using the CPAP properly. Google hasn’t been helpful. The only thing I found was a study of a man with Schizophrenia who had a psychotic break when he started using the CPAP. The psychosis got better for him once he stopped using CPAP. I’ll link the study at the bottom. But that sounds very close to what was about to happen in late June for me, I began feeling very unstable and paranoid. My primary diagnosis was Schizoaffective Disorder Bipolar Type, which is Schizophrenia happening alongside Bipolar, but I was told by my new psychiatrist that I don’t have Schizoaffective Disorder. He doesn’t think it makes sense with my other issues. Now I’m wondering if the diagnosis is wrong? That’s the only thing I can think of at the moment.

Here’s the link to the study:
https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/17/2/313.long

[ChicagoGranny]

.

Good grief. I thought CPAP had been blamed for everything under the sun. This is a new one to put in the collection.

CPAP doesn't cause hallucinations.

Use OSCAR to check whether your CPAP therapy is optimized.

[Ducksquack]

Hi, so sorry for all you've gone thru, but I've never ever heard of hallucinations having anything at all to do with OSA, Cpap or anything related. I did read an interesting newstory today of how in recent years some people diagnosed with psychosis and/or schizophrenia were found to have had concurrent autoimmune disease like Lupus, etc., and after treatment were much improved, more 'normal' than anything else. You might want to see if you can Google about it and see if there's any connection. Are the hallucinations related to any one thing, or random? Any similarities between them at all?

Sorry I forgot to respond to the other part of your comment. The hallucinations are my usual ones, spider-like specks crawling around, hearing people talk that aren’t there, seeing figures and full apparitions. Those are the usual hallucinations I have which was why at first I ignored them until I became unstable and paranoid. Then noticed there was a connection when they disappeared once the CPAP usage stopped and reappeared when I used the CPAP longer.

[ChicagoGranny]

Here’s the link to the study:
https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/17/2/313.long

That's not a study. It's one case of correlation. There is no claim of causation.

[ChicagoGranny]

.

Good grief. I thought CPAP had been blamed for everything under the sun. This is a new one to put in the collection.

CPAP doesn't cause hallucinations.

Use OSCAR to check whether your CPAP therapy is optimized.

[Ducksquack]

.

Good grief. I thought CPAP had been blamed for everything under the sun. This is a new one to put in the collection.

CPAP doesn't cause hallucinations.

Use OSCAR to check whether your CPAP therapy is optimized.

Yeah sorry I know it doesn’t make sense but that’s what has been happening… I have the app “myAir” for CPAP info is that similar to OSCAR? If not what should I be looking for on OSCAR to see if the treatment is optimized?

[ChicagoGranny]

Yeah sorry I know it doesn’t make sense but that’s what has been happening

You have observed a correlation. That is not causation.

I have the app “myAir” for CPAP info is that similar to OSCAR?

Not at all. Find OSCAR instructions pinned near the top of the index page. There are plenty of members who can help you with all your questions.

[colomom]

I’m not a doctor, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. They are based on anecdotal experiences, your doctors are your best sources of info.

Like your sleep doctor when reading your post the thought that popped into my mind, was could sleep deprivation be a factor? My antidotal experience is that a few years back my son was diagnosed with psychosis, like you he was experiencing hallucinations. It was a long difficult path to figure everything out, but sleep deprivation had been the cause. For him CPAP was the key to banishing the hallucinations because with CPAP he was finally able to sleep. You talked about previous issues with rainout which have been resolved, but I wonder if the cpap could still be disrupting your sleep and perhaps you aren’t aware of it? You note that you are sleeping 2 hours less a night with CPAP. Do you think that is because your sleep is more restful so you need less or might there be something waking you up 2 hours early? If you have an SD card in your machine you might want to consider downloading Oscar and posting a screenshot of a typical night with your cpap to see if anything stands out.

The second thing that peaked my interest is your statement that your sleep doctor wants to test you for narcolepsy. Why is narcolepsy suspected? Do you fall asleep during the day? Do you ever experience cataplexy? Is there any chance that the hallucinations while during the day could be proceeding daytime sleep attacks? Your description of spider like specks crawling around sounds consistent with possible hypnagogic hallucinations. If I were you I would follow thru with the MSLT. They usually have you spend the night hooked up to your CPAP, then have you take a series of naps the next day. Not only will the MSLT be a good thing to look for narcolepsy, but it may also provide an interesting window into what your sleep with the CPAP is like.

My third line of thinking is could it all be a coincidence? Correlation does not always equal causation. Definitely keep seeing the psychologist and sleep doctor, hopefully they can figure out the best treatments for you!

[Julie]

Forgot to ask, but are you taking any meds?

[Ducksquack]

I’m not a doctor, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. They are based on anecdotal experiences, your doctors are your best sources of info.

Like your sleep doctor when reading your post the thought that popped into my mind, was could sleep deprivation be a factor? My antidotal experience is that a few years back my son was diagnosed with psychosis, like you he was experiencing hallucinations. It was a long difficult path to figure everything out, but sleep deprivation had been the cause. For him CPAP was the key to banishing the hallucinations because with CPAP he was finally able to sleep. You talked about previous issues with rainout which have been resolved, but I wonder if the cpap could still be disrupting your sleep and perhaps you aren’t aware of it? You note that you are sleeping 2 hours less a night with CPAP. Do you think that is because your sleep is more restful so you need less or might there be something waking you up 2 hours early? If you have an SD card in your machine you might want to consider downloading Oscar and posting a screenshot of a typical night with your cpap to see if anything stands out.

The second thing that peaked my interest is your statement that your sleep doctor wants to test you for narcolepsy. Why is narcolepsy suspected? Do you fall asleep during the day? Do you ever experience cataplexy? Is there any chance that the hallucinations while during the day could be proceeding daytime sleep attacks? Your description of spider like specks crawling around sounds consistent with possible hypnagogic hallucinations. If I were you I would follow thru with the MSLT. They usually have you spend the night hooked up to your CPAP, then have you take a series of naps the next day. Not only will the MSLT be a good thing to look for narcolepsy, but it may also provide an interesting window into what your sleep with the CPAP is like.

My third line of thinking is could it all be a coincidence? Correlation does not always equal causation. Definitely keep seeing the psychologist and sleep doctor, hopefully they can figure out the best treatments for you!

Thank you for your reply. I was sleeping 2 hours less because I was feeling rested and didn’t feel tired/a need to sleep those two extra hours. I would wake up after 8-9 hours of sleep and stay awake. Another poster mentioned Oscar, I will look into posting a screenshot of a typical night tomorrow.

Narcolepsy is suspected because I have excessive daytime sleepiness, psychosis, and a previous history of sleep paralysis. Before CPAP I was sleeping 10-12 hours a night with multiple naps during the day that added an extra 3ish hours of sleep daily. I do not have cataplexy, however, every time I have extreme emotions (anger, excitement, etc.) it feels like my body is shaking uncontrollably. I don’t know if that counts as cataplexy or not, but I did let my sleep doctor know. I have had hallucinations even without sleeping but I’m not sure if they happen before a sleep attack. If them happening hours before I sleep during the day counts, then yes, they do. I usually fall asleep multiple times a day unless it’s a good day, then I only take one nap which tends to happen around 1pm. On the days where I sleep a lot I tend to wake up at like 8am, fall asleep at 11am, and keep that cycle going of falling asleep or being excessively sleepy every couple hours. I will definitely ask my sleep doctor to do the MSLT test when he responds to my message updating him about all this.

And I thought it was a coincidence at first but I noticed the hallucinations came back when I used the cpap again for 8 hours on July 14th, which was after not using it that long for some time. It could honestly be coincidence but I really don’t think so. I’ve dealt with correlations like these with mediations and they all turned out to be accurate. I’ve dealt with mental health issues for way too long (even before this diagnosis) and like to keep a close eye on things.

[Ducksquack]

Forgot to ask, but are you taking any meds?

I am taking meds. Lansoprazole (for GERD/Acid Reflux), Rexulti (psychosis med), Propranolol and Hydroxyzine (both for anxiety). I also take vitamin B12 and Vitamin D (both prescribed by my primary).

[Julie]

One more thing - maybe way off course, but have you seen a neurologist? I ask because while I don't know how old you are, there's a form of (don't panic at the words please) Alzheimer's, that brings on hallucinations - it's called Lewy body dementia, and while it is classified as Alzheimer's (some people get that earlier than you'd imagine) it has features of Parkinson's, one of which is hallucinations. That's likely a huge reach given your history, etc, but thought I'd mention it just to cover all bases in case it hasn't come up... not something your doctors might automatically look at considering everything else. Just throwing it into the mix I guess. I can imagine that Cpap might incidentally have some hallucinatory effects if not properly set up or titrated for proper respiration, affecting 02, etc, but it really has never been connected causally or otherwise.

[Ducksquack]

One more thing - maybe way off course, but have you seen a neurologist? I ask because while I don't know how old you are, there's a form of (don't panic at the words please) Alzheimer's, that brings on hallucinations - it's called Lewy body dementia, and while it is classified as Alzheimer's (some people get that earlier than you'd imagine) it has features of Parkinson's, one of which is hallucinations. That's likely a huge reach given your history, etc, but thought I'd mention it just to cover all bases in case it hasn't come up... not something your doctors might automatically look at considering everything else. Just throwing it into the mix I guess. I can imagine that Cpap might incidentally have some hallucinatory effects if not properly set up or titrated for proper respiration, affecting 02, etc, but it really has never been connected causally or otherwise.

I am seeing a neurologist. I actually just got diagnosed with Hemiplegic Migraines (thought I was having a stroke and only figured out I wasn't after a series of tests at the hospital, very scary). I'm actually interested in asking my neurologist about this, because sometime around 2021 I developed a tremor on my hand that hasn't gone away. I also have other symptoms doctors haven't been able to figure out even though they've witnessed the issues themselves. At one point I wanted to ask about parkinson's because I have had symptoms closely related to it. One of my fiance's family members has parkinson's and he has the same symptoms I do, but no one has bothered to check me (probably because I haven't asked and they all think I'm too young). I'll have to ask next visit.

Also, I tried getting my info using Oscar but it refused to import any data from my cpap's SD card. I followed all the steps in the guides, even had my fiance help me, but I couldn't get it to import the info. The files on the SD card are also unable to be read independently by Oscar, they're just grayed out in the file finder. I'm using a ResMed AirSense 11 Autoset if that helps. I did hear it was a newer machine but I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the import issues I'm facing.