Accident prone (please read please)

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
Paralel
Posts: 216
Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2014 7:49 pm

Re: Accident prone (please read please)

Post by Paralel » Thu Mar 05, 2015 12:39 pm

First off, the Ambien is your most likely culprit regarding what is going on. It is well known for causing all kinds of after effects in the daytime including clumsiness, forgetfulness, etc... It is also likely the source of you still feeling tired. I wouldn't start anything like Nuvigil until you get off the Ambien and see how things go. Be forewarned, Ambien is NOT meant to be taken long term, any doc that prescribes it long term should have their license evaluated. After being on it long term you may have a very rough time establishing a normal sleep pattern and you may even feel more tired. Unfortunately at that point all you need to do is persevere. Your body will adjust to not having the Ambien and will establish a normal sleep cycle again. Once that happens, with your CPAP properly adjusted, you will start to feel rested.

Second, Elavil (the generic being Amitriptyline) is NOT a mild antidepressant. Its in a class known as Tricyclics and they are well known for causing all sorts of issues. The only reason it helps people sleep is what's known as the anticholinergic effect. It could very well be worse than the Ambien in side effects because the anticholinergic effect directly impacts ones ability to stay awake, concentrate, and remember things and the half life (how long a drug is active in ones system) for Elavil is ~26 hrs, which means after 8 hours of sleep it still has 85% of its activity, you can see how that would make one tired and forgetful the next day. Its the reason the tricyclics never caught on and were quickly replaced with the SSRI family of medications once they became available. Taking it to help someone sleep is not an appropriate use of something as powerful as Elavil. Benadryl will work as well or better and is much cheaper and safer (the anticholinergic effect, as well as the antihistaminic effect of Benadryl is also why it makes people sleepy). I really don't recommend benadryl to help one sleep either since it also will have after effects the next day, but its a far better choice than Elavil.

Overall, you should really try to get away from all sleep aids if possible, just use your CPAP properly adjusted, and see how you do. If you find you really can't sleep, give benadryl a try if you want to get away from the Ambien, but give being off all sleep meds now that you are on CPAP and have your underlying issue resolved a sincere try, you may find it works out better than being on a sleep medication.

Punchyandtired
Posts: 125
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 12:12 pm

Re: Accident prone (please read please)

Post by Punchyandtired » Thu Mar 05, 2015 2:32 pm

Yep, I get everything you are saying. I have slept like crap for the last two nights-- without Ambien and on Anyptriline. I probably will try benadryl tonight.

I definitely feel like I have exchanged issues with this switch. I have a sleep doc appt Monday. We will discuss...

I believe I was denied the PA for Nuvigil, so that is currently a no-go though I am calling the pharmacy right now to double check...
45 year old female
First AHI: 33.6 (including 2 desats less than 70%)
Pressure setting: min 13 max 20. 95% pressure has been around 15-16.
Trying to like the resmed p10 air pillows and headgear
Started therapy December 19, 2014