I have sleep apnea too. I asked my neurologist if it caused my epilepsy. I was told simply, “your apnea did not cause your epilepsy.” I did have a sleep study to confirm the apnea. I use a CPAP every night. Once I learned about a nose pillow mask, it was easy to get used to it. The apnea may not have caused the epilepsy, but the CPAP helps. Because of the constant blowing air I don’t stop breathing when sleeping anymore. Oxygen is kinda important.

I have struggled with sleep apnea and insomnia for years. I also have severe restless leg syndrome, and severe periodic limb movement disorder during sleep. All diagnosed during sleep study. I for sure had absence seizures caught on the standard eeg done during a sleep study last year. I already knew I had epilepsy at that point.

I think a number of sleep disorders are common with epilepsy. Have you had a sleep study done?

I have always been up after using the restroom. I just try and relax and eventually get back to sleep

Insomnia and sleep apnea are completely different disorders. Insomnia is being unable to sleep, for whatever reason. My doctor said OSA, or Obstructive Sleep Apnea is caused when the throat/ esophagus is blocked because of shape of the throat or position of the tongue, which causes periodic interruptions in the patient’s breathing. Or it could be a more serious condition called CSA, or Central Sleep Apnea, which is when the body just stops breathing for periods of time, for no apparent reason. In some less frequent cases, CSA can ultimately cause a patient’s death, when they stop breathing for too long and the brain stops telling it it needs to. It would take a good inpatient sleep study to learn which one they are suffering from.