sanctacaris wrote:
As to GERD, the articles I've been reading have been about the link between GERD and sleep disturbance, not the GERD-OSA connection. They are, taken as a group, pretty interesting. They seem to suggest that GERD can cause microarousals and that treating GERD can improve sleep quality and daytime performance, even in patients who don't experience many of the common GERD symptoms (e.g., heartburn). One consistent finding is that MSLT scores don't seem to measure GERD-related sleep disturbance very well. This is all interesting to me because I was told I had reflux problems many years ago by a couple different doctors, but I never really worried about it because I didn't get bad symptoms.
Sanctacaris, I'm not a sleep professional in any way, but I think you may have nailed your arousal/awakening problems either completely or in large part. "Silent" (non-symptomatic) GERD may very well be playing a role in your sleep disturbances, imho. If it were me, I'd at least try a course of OTC Prilosec, or a prescription med from a doctor to see if that helps at all. One way or another, I'd sure check out the possibility that there are ongoing acid reflux problems you aren't aware of.
