How does TRT worsen sleep apnea

[MBB]

I've read that some with undiagnosed sleep apnea have it worsen whilst on trt. I never thought I had apnea, but have just recently been told by my mother that my fathers stops breathing whilst he sleeps (but refuses to get a sleep study). Also my grandfather (my mothers side) has diagnosed apnea and apparently my sister does as well.
Since starting TRT my sleep seems to have gotten progressively worse to the point where I'm barely sleeping now and wake up groggy with headaches. I have just recently had a sleep study done so will have the results in 2-3 weeks.

In the mean time I was wondering if anyone knew how trt made sleep apnea worse?

 

[Megatron28]

I don't know if anyone knows the cause, but there are some observations that TRT can make sleep apnea worse in some, but not all, men. Here are a couple studies to look at. Use the search function in the first one as it is rather long.

The benefits and risks of testosterone replacement therapy: a review

Testosterone replacement in hypogonada... [Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 1985] - PubMed - NCBI


And another one for fun on how Sleep Apnea may help cause hypogonadism in case you or others are interested.

Decreased pituitary-gonadal secretio... [J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002] - PubMed - NCBI

 

[Alpin]

Went in for a sleep study years ago and i was diagnosed with highly severe when on TRT. The number of times i stopped breathing in an hour were insane....
Like 90 times. Anything over 35 is severe.

 

[Ll5073]

I have wondered the same thing- I keep asking my wife on the nights that I do snore if she can tell I'm having apnea episodes- so far she says that there aren't and episodes but this is still a very major concern of mine as well

 

[jomamma007]

more testosterone= more estrogen equals more water in the lungs or something like that.
I either read that somewhere or made it up, not quite sure.

 

[3J]

there are going to be multiple different reasons why you have apnea..

one of the most common ones is obesity.. most who start trt and are overweight see a nice change in body composition.. i know when i start getting close to 290lbs i have apnea.. my wife has taken video of me and its pretty damn obvious..

but when i cut and drop the weight i barely snore

 

[halfwit]

more testosterone= more estrogen equals more water in the lungs or something like that.
I either read that somewhere or made it up, not quite sure.

Water in your lungs would kill you haha.

The way it was explained to me is that if you're hypogonadal for a long period of time, you experience atrophy - which includes your chest. Increasing LBM of the chest by restoring hormone balance can add weight to the top of the soft tissues; leading to sleep apnea once the tissues relax.

I have moderate apnea, but didn't start my CPAP until well into TRT - so I cannot say for certain if it made it worse or not. Losing body fat has made it more bearable to sleep on my back, but whether or not that is an indication of improvement is uncertain.

My .02c

 

[MBB]

there are going to be multiple different reasons why you have apnea..

one of the most common ones is obesity.. most who start trt and are overweight see a nice change in body composition.. i know when i start getting close to 290lbs i have apnea.. my wife has taken video of me and its pretty damn obvious..

but when i cut and drop the weight i barely snore

Definitely not obesity, if anything the reason for having it would be hereditary/genetic as both my father and I have had operations to correct a deviated septum. I was more curious as to why sleep (and possibly apnea) may have gotten worse since starting TRT.

 

[Alpin]

"More water in the lungs".
Oh my God !!!

 

[Megatron28]

more testosterone= more estrogen equals more water in the lungs or something like that.
I either read that somewhere or made it up, not quite sure.

Isn't that called drowning?