Pulumonary Specialist decreased my Ambien

[kbh209]

and I feel like crap after being decreased from 10MG to 5MG. I tried it for three days and have been getting little to no sleep with the CPAP mask on. I ended up taking two 5MG halfs last night and felt better again, feeling I got enough sleep. My PCP prescribed me the Ambien because I have a hard time getting to sleep, and the Pulumonary Specialist isn't too fond of Ambien. What's a patient with a little ol' mask supposed to do in these situations?

[Drowsy Dancer]

How long have you been using CPAP?

How long have you been using Ambien?

[kbh209]

CPAP since November 28th of 2015. I was prescribed the Ambien about a week prior to that but started actually taking it last week to help me get to sleep.

[Drowsy Dancer]

Have you had your PCP talk to your pulmonary doc? My general feeling is that the specialist tends to trump the generalist.

Mind you, I am not discounting the difficulty of getting used to CPAP. Ambien can be easy to get used to and hard to taper off of if you use it for too long (which is why I was curious about how long you'd been using it).

If you haven't become too reliant on it, I'd go with the pulmonary guy's advice.

[49er]

and I feel like crap after being decreased from 10MG to 5MG. I tried it for three days and have been getting little to no sleep with the CPAP mask on. I ended up taking two 5MG halfs last night and felt better again, feeling I got enough sleep. My PCP prescribed me the Ambien because I have a hard time getting to sleep, and the Pulumonary Specialist isn't too fond of Ambien. What's a patient with a little ol' mask supposed to do in these situations?

Why is the Pulmonologist decreasing your ambien when it is the PCP who prescribed it? What do you want to do regarding this issue?

49er

[PoolQ]

Have you had your PCP talk to your pulmonary doc? My general feeling is that the specialist tends to trump the generalist.

Mind you, I am not discounting the difficulty of getting used to CPAP. Ambien can be easy to get used to and hard to taper off of if you use it for too long (which is why I was curious about how long you'd been using it).

If you haven't become too reliant on it, I'd go with the pulmonary guy's advice.

This has been my experience also. My PCP will always consult the specialist before changing meds that they have prescribed and my specialist never has asked or even told my PCP when one of them has changed anything. I sure HOPE that any specialist knows more about what they are doing than my PCP, this is why I was referred to them in the first place.

Just my suggestion, it may be worthless, before you go changing medications, you might consider finding out why your specialist made the change. They seldom do this on a whim.

Personally I completely understand that I do not know enough to self-medicate, I want the medical staff to know exactly what I am taking and what dose. If I am concerned then I ask questions until I understand enough to continue (or not) with what they are telling me to do.

Just my 2 cents, well maybe 3 in this case

[BlackSpinner]

Another point is to get good and friendly with your pharmacist.
Many doctors prescribe meds they know little about and interact with others and then some specialist decides to add a few more. You pharmacist is trained in medications, their side effects and interactions, but some times you have to make them aware that this is happening and that they need to do more then just fill the prescription. I have known mine to spend a hour chasing down the various doctors involved on the phone to get a complete description of why they prescribed the meds in order to figure out the proper combination or substitutions to get the job done without causing more problems.

[PoolQ]

Another point is to get good and friendly with your pharmacist.
Many doctors prescribe meds they know little about and interact with others and then some specialist decides to add a few more. You pharmacist is trained in medications, their side effects and interactions, but some times you have to make them aware that this is happening and that they need to do more then just fill the prescription. I have known mine to spend a hour chasing down the various doctors involved on the phone to get a complete description of why they prescribed the meds in order to figure out the proper combination or substitutions to get the job done without causing more problems.

Well said and a good way to get yourself educated without getting between the Doctors

[BlackSpinner]

Well said and a good way to get yourself educated without getting between the Doctors

Because the pharmacist gets past the office staff and the doctors respect (sort of) another medical specialty they can get the information. There is no way the patient can get hold off 4 doctors in under an hour.

[kbh209]

and I feel like crap after being decreased from 10MG to 5MG. I tried it for three days and have been getting little to no sleep with the CPAP mask on. I ended up taking two 5MG halfs last night and felt better again, feeling I got enough sleep. My PCP prescribed me the Ambien because I have a hard time getting to sleep, and the Pulumonary Specialist isn't too fond of Ambien. What's a patient with a little ol' mask supposed to do in these situations?

Why is the Pulmonologist decreasing your ambien when it is the PCP who prescribed it? What do you want to do regarding this issue?

49er

Once I started taking the 10MG and how much easier it was to get to sleep, I felt refreshed in the morning. The Pulumnologist and I spoke (last week) and I said I was a little afraid of being addicted to it (like previously with my Melatonin suppliment). So she suggested to cut the Ambiens in half. I noticed that a half of Ambien isn't putting me to sleep like the whole one.



The thing that started all this was I was not getting sleep with my Melatonin, I was feeling like an insomniac. The little bit of sleep I was getting was not enough. My friends were worried about my constantly falling asleep during the day, even after a nap. My PCP refered me to the Pulumonlogist (sleep specialist) to have an appointment made to get a sleep study done. Fast foreward, I got a CPAP machine, had trouble getting to sleep with it on. . .thus I started taking the Ambien.

As to what BlackSpinner said, I'll talk to the pharmacist about my concerns and questions.

[Matt00926]

What lung conditions do you have, if any? Making an assumption since you see a Pulmonologist. Next time you see them, ask what the specific reasons are for lowering the dosage or not using the medicine - when it comes to you, not just a general human being.

I have restrictive lung disease and I am not allowed to take any sedatives like the over the counter sleep aids. Can mess with your breathing and aggravate any existing conditions (mine is hypoventilation - breathing too slow and shallow), especially during REM sleep. (Melatonin is fine but it doesn't do anything for me.)

[Gasper62]

Q."What's a patient with a little ol' mask supposed to do in these situations?" A. Talk to your doctors, ask them your questions. Do not rely solely on advice given by faceless strangers on an internet forum. That's what I'd "do".

[BlackSpinner]

Q."What's a patient with a little ol' mask supposed to do in these situations?" A. Talk to your doctors, ask them your questions. Do not rely solely on advice given by faceless strangers on an internet forum. That's what I'd "do".

That presupposes the doctor is willing to talk to the little ol' patient and not just pat them on the head and tell them not to worry their little ol' head about it.

[Matt00926]

Q."What's a patient with a little ol' mask supposed to do in these situations?" A. Talk to your doctors, ask them your questions. Do not rely solely on advice given by faceless strangers on an internet forum. That's what I'd "do".

That presupposes the doctor is willing to talk to the little ol' patient and not just pat them on the head and tell them not to worry their little ol' head about it.

I learned the hard way that you need to adopt the mentality that your doctor works for you. Your health is important, find another doctor or at least get a second opinion first if you are not confident in your medical provider. If they just appeal to their own authority, or don't take time to explain things, drop em like its hot.

[Drowsy Dancer]

Another point is to get good and friendly with your pharmacist.
Many doctors prescribe meds they know little about and interact with others and then some specialist decides to add a few more. You pharmacist is trained in medications, their side effects and interactions, but some times you have to make them aware that this is happening and that they need to do more then just fill the prescription. I have known mine to spend a hour chasing down the various doctors involved on the phone to get a complete description of why they prescribed the meds in order to figure out the proper combination or substitutions to get the job done without causing more problems.

Another reason I decry my insurance company's aggressive push this year to make me run everything through their mail-order pharmacy. I don't get that kind of service from Express Scripts. I do get more attention from the pharmacists at my local Rite Aid.