Insomnia

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
cdutka
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Insomnia

Post by cdutka » Tue Aug 28, 2012 7:38 am

How is a cpap supposed to help someone with insomnia? When I sleep, I sleep well with the mask, I have no complaints. Last night I was up every hour on the hour with insomnia. I am seeing a pulminologist in a week and I was wondering if she would be likely to prescribe something to help me sleep. My PCP will not.

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Pugsy
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Re: Insomnia

Post by Pugsy » Tue Aug 28, 2012 7:45 am

If your insomnia is not related to any sleep apnea events then using the machine isn't going to fix it.
Insomnia is not limited to just people with sleep apnea. Insomnia is a sleep disorder all on its own and is only fixed with a cpap machine when the only cause of the insomnia is the sleep apnea events.
The machine only fixes one thing...sleep apnea.

I have a form of sleep maintenance insomnia that is due to pain. The cpap machine doesn't do anything for the cause of the pain. I have to do something different to help limit the pain so that I can deal with sleep maintenance insomnia.

If someone has bad sleep that is unrelated to sleep apnea then the machine can't fix it.

Robysue will likely be by later and give you her thoughts. She has first hand experience with really bad insomnia.
Mine is very minor compared to hers and mine was relatively easy to fix.

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themonk
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Re: Insomnia

Post by themonk » Tue Aug 28, 2012 7:50 am

The conventional wisdom on message boards is your brain will eventually recognize it is 'safe' to sleep and you will just magically sleep with the PAP machine. I find this really silly, honestly. CPAP is good at one thing, treating the 'apnea' part of sleep apnea. It isn't designed to treat the 'sleep' part.

You might look into cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia. Your sleep doc might have someone he/she recommends. It is basically a psychologist trained in sleep disorders. I am heading down that path myself so I don't have anything to offer personally, but the research is very promising. It has been shown to be as or more effective than sleep meds.

Of course if it is very sporadic, you could ask for a sleep med. I have used Ambien for some time off and on and both my PCP and my sleep doc have no issues with it. It is my choice to look into other options, hence the CBT.

I suspect a lot of the approach is learning to relax and calm the mind and body. Insomnia can kind of be a big negative feedback loop and it feeds on itself. Learning to calm your body and mind would clearly impact that part of the problem positively.

I think a forum member named Robysue has had all kinds of issues related to insomnia and has a very good handle on dealing with it. I am sure she will offer excellent suggestions from personal experience.

jacob006a
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Re: Insomnia

Post by jacob006a » Tue Aug 28, 2012 8:06 am

I have insomnia, my pcp has given me a perscription for Lunesta, which sometimes lets me get a full nights sleep. I have also used time release melotonin. I had a third sleep study which revealed Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, which was masked by the Apnea, which contributed to my insomnia, now that it is under control, between the Lunesta and melatonin, I am getting a better nights sleep. I usually sleep from 9 PM to 1 AM, am up for two hours and then able to go back to bed. Since the rls/plmd is under control, I have managed to fall backup asleep much easier, stay in bed and not go read or catch up on work on the computer.

Sometimes medication can also cause insomnia issues.

Hope it gets better for you

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cdutka
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Re: Insomnia

Post by cdutka » Tue Aug 28, 2012 8:11 am

The sleep tech said I may have RLS, but she did not know if it was due to and actual condition or sleep deprivation. While now I can sleep, but still not sleeping so I think it may be RLS. Going to have to tell Doc that I may need medication for RLS.

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robysue
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Re: Insomnia

Post by robysue » Tue Aug 28, 2012 8:48 am

cdutka wrote:How is a cpap supposed to help someone with insomnia? When I sleep, I sleep well with the mask, I have no complaints. Last night I was up every hour on the hour with insomnia. I am seeing a pulminologist in a week and I was wondering if she would be likely to prescribe something to help me sleep. My PCP will not.
How long have you been PAPing? How long do you think you may have had OSA before you started PAPing?

How long have you had the sleep maintenance insomnia?

Have you any ideas on what might be triggering the wakes? Pain? Restlessness (in your legs)? Aerophagia? Mask comfort? Leaks? Cats, dogs, traffic noises and other environmental issues?

What do you do as soon as you realize you are awake in the middle of the night? And what goes through your mind as soon as you realize you're awake in the middle of the night?

And how is your sleep hygiene in general?

The answers to these questions may suggest a starting point on how to tame your insomnia monster.
How is a cpap supposed to help someone with insomnia?
The best discussion of this question that I'v come across is the last part of Dr. Krakow's book Sound Sleep, Sound Mind. The entire book is a fantastic resource for anyone who is fighting insomnia, but that last section is a gold mine for those of us with OSA and insomnia.

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cdutka
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Re: Insomnia

Post by cdutka » Tue Aug 28, 2012 8:54 am

robysue wrote:
cdutka wrote:How is a cpap supposed to help someone with insomnia? When I sleep, I sleep well with the mask, I have no complaints. Last night I was up every hour on the hour with insomnia. I am seeing a pulminologist in a week and I was wondering if she would be likely to prescribe something to help me sleep. My PCP will not.
How long have you been PAPing? How long do you think you may have had OSA before you started PAPing?

How long have you had the sleep maintenance insomnia?

Have you any ideas on what might be triggering the wakes? Pain? Restlessness (in your legs)? Aerophagia? Mask comfort? Leaks? Cats, dogs, traffic noises and other environmental issues?

What do you do as soon as you realize you are awake in the middle of the night? And what goes through your mind as soon as you realize you're awake in the middle of the night?

And how is your sleep hygiene in general?

The answers to these questions may suggest a starting point on how to tame your insomnia monster.
How is a cpap supposed to help someone with insomnia?
The best discussion of this question that I'v come across is the last part of Dr. Krakow's book Sound Sleep, Sound Mind. The entire book is a fantastic resource for anyone who is fighting insomnia, but that last section is a gold mine for those of us with OSA and insomnia.

I have been on cpap for three weeks. I have had insomnia for as long as I can remember. Have no idea what is triggering my awakes. When I awake I usually go smoke a cig then go back to bed. I don't know what you mean by sleep hygiene

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KEQ5
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Re: Insomnia

Post by KEQ5 » Tue Aug 28, 2012 1:19 pm

Sleep hygiene (as I understand it) is basically:

- The bedroom is only for sleeping and sex. No reading, TV watching, gaming, web browsing, work.
- Don't lie awake in bed for more then 15-20 minutes, get up and go to the living room until you're sleepy again
- Try to go to bed same time each evening.

Then you get into things like temperature control, better bedding, blackout curtains, noise suppression (fan or white noise generator), etc.

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Roch369
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Re: Insomnia

Post by Roch369 » Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:54 pm

I've been waking up several times a night last year. Got diagnosed last month with severe OSA. Started seeing a therapist to help me with CPAP adherence and I defnitely have to work on my sleep hygiened. I got in such a bad habit the last couple of years with my laptop in my bed with my surfing the web for hours each night. I've also had to desensitize myself with the CPAP machine. Still dread going to sleep = wake up anywhere from 3-5 times a night.
Dr. just wrote prescription of Lunesta - scared I'll rely on it. But would be nice to sleep straight through.

quickdeepsleep
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Re: Insomnia

Post by quickdeepsleep » Sun May 21, 2017 10:21 pm

Hello,

I also used to suffer from insomnia from many years.I think you should also try to fix up few things at the basic level.e.g: you might have a messy sleep routine,drink too much caffaine etc.
My advice is try to fight insomnia using natual and home remedies depending on your severity.Try to fix your sleep schedule first http://quickdeepsleep.com/info/how-to-f ... -schedule/