Medication presribed for continued fatigue/brain fog

[prayerful-one]

I have been on cpap now for almost 5 months and still having challenges. After the 3rd month and still experiencing significant fatigue I revisited my Dr. and he increased my pressure to 12cm from 8cm. Apparently ahi was below 5 at 8cm however my sleep test showed I still was snoring with cpap up to 13cm. After 2 months and a change the pressure to 12cm I'm still having terrible fatigue and brain fog. Know he wants me to adjusted to 13cm and is recommending a prescription for 100 mg of Modafinil 1x daily. My Dr claims that many times people that have had untreated apnea for long periods of time need this Medicine to help due to the length of time some people need for healing/feeling better? My concerns are many but primarily how will I know if I am getting better if I'm on this medicine and what about dependance? Does anybody have experience with this drug? I could use some feedback please, I'm so tired of being sick and tired and confused on what to do next! I'm not going to give up on cpap I just need to get some answers.

[fidelfs]

Just two things.

Make an appointment with a general doctor to discard other problem besides sleep apnea, just in case (Hypothyroid) classic symptoms.
I also have similar problem and I am taking DMAE, it is a supplement

Different parts of the human brain use DMAE. To mention, DMAE is proven to protect cell membranes in the brain. The consequences lead to preventing cell weakening, which in turn helps put off premature aging. Also, enhancing the mood by the use DMAE is proven to work. Elevating your mood, helping to defend against depression, and helping to enhance daily cognitive functions like memory and concentration and many others are also benefits of using DMAE supplements. It has also been speculated that DMAE can amplify intelligence. Next question on your mind must be: Why does DMAE have these effects? The answer is that DMAE helps your body produce acetylcholine, a substance that helps your mind operate in a healthy manner. It has also been reported that people taking a DMAE supplement have an easier time going to sleep and are more cheerful in their time awake. Healthy skin is another benefit of DMAE intake. DMAE helps to put off wrinkles from appearing, by stopping arachidonic acid from being produced in the body.

In my opinion it has helped me regain my mind.

[prayerful-one]

I have been checked from head to toe, everything comes back ok. I'm going to look in to this supplement further. Thanks for the feedback!

[Julie]

Hi, you haven't listed your equipment on your member page profile, but if you're using a "nasal" mask instead of a "full face" one (such as the Quattro, Hybrid or Ultra Mirage) then you could be losing all the Cpap air from your mouth once you're asleep without knowing it (very common once Cpap is started). If there is any chance that's happening, you should look at full face masks (on Cpap.com where they go into lots of detail about them) - that can make all the difference.

[BleepingBeauty]

I have been on cpap now for almost 5 months and still having challenges. After the 3rd month and still experiencing significant fatigue I revisited my Dr. and he increased my pressure to 12cm from 8cm. Apparently ahi was below 5 at 8cm however my sleep test showed I still was snoring with cpap up to 13cm. After 2 months and a change the pressure to 12cm I'm still having terrible fatigue and brain fog. Know he wants me to adjusted to 13cm and is recommending a prescription for 100 mg of Modafinil 1x daily. My Dr claims that many times people that have had untreated apnea for long periods of time need this Medicine to help due to the length of time some people need for healing/feeling better? My concerns are many but primarily how will I know if I am getting better if I'm on this medicine and what about dependance? Does anybody have experience with this drug? I could use some feedback please, I'm so tired of being sick and tired and confused on what to do next! I'm not going to give up on cpap I just need to get some answers.

Hi, and welcome to the forum. Please fill in your profile (User Control Panel link, top left of the page) so we know what equipment you're using.

Your doctor sounds like my first sleep doc, pushing a pill to make you feel more awake during the day instead of solving the problem of ineffective therapy. I refused my doctor's recommendation of Provigil (after I'd been on therapy for well over a year and was still experiencing daytime sleepiness). Instead, I bought myself a data-capable machine on CraigsList, and I got my hands on the software and a card reader to avail myself of the data. I was then able to see the detailed data and make changes towards getting more effective therapy.

Relying on the good advice from the kind people on this forum, I now consider myself a therapy success story. My sleep doctor not only failed to help me get to this point, he actually made it more difficult. I struggled with ineffective therapy (with a very basic machine) for 18 months before discovering the forum, so you're way ahead of my timeline there and can now avail yourself of the solid advice to be found here.

Please fill in your profile so that others can offer more tailored suggestions in getting you where you need (and want) to be on this journey. As you read more and more here, you'll find that the majority of us have seen fit to take our therapy into our own hands, and you can do that, too. (I'm not advocating dismissing what your doctor has to say, but s/he is NOT all-knowing and should not be relied upon without question.)

Again, welcome aboard. You're in the right place.

[SuperGeeky]

These symptoms we all share vary in cause and duration. Here's a few suggestions you can take to help discern what is wrong and discuss it with your Doctor.

1. Epworth Sleepiness Scale - Great indicator of when your Therapy is just not working and you need to call the Sleep Doctor

http://www.predictonline.com/epworth.htm

2. Oximeter - Save yourself the guess of whether you need a Sleep Study. Get at the heart of 'Am I really getting enough oxygen at night?'

3. M-3 - Brand new test that indicates if your suffering from Depression. Fatigue, brain fog, aches, pains, lack of motivation can be caused by clinical depression.

http://www.mymoodmonitor.com/User/DiagnosisQues.aspx

Good luck,

SG

[JohnBFisher]

Good suggestions all. Data capable unit, Pulse Oximeter, etc. Same thing with me. Okay, my sleep is anything but normal, but it's not too bad at this point. It's as good as medicine can make it. But facing the same situation, I I decided to use Provigil on those days I need it. Some days I awaken and am VERY clear headed. I just don't use it then. I suppose some people can become addicted to it. But I've seen no indicaction of that. I can either use it or not. It does help clear my head and allow me to concentrate. But there are plenty of days I don't use it and don't feel any need to use it.

But then, caffeine also has limited impact on me. So take my answer with a grain of salt.

Just my own experience. But hopefully it will help.

[Country4ever]

Hi prayerful-one,
Are you female? Are you of perimenopause age? Some women during this time have overwhelming fatigue. You should also make sure you're not leaking around your mask, or the cpap can't help you, no matter how high the pressure is.

[free]

,
in reply to your question, i have used modafinal, as known in aust, for 6 -7 years. varying doses, no probs with addiction, can stop at any time but if go back up to my regular dose of 4 X 100mg day ie 4 tablets in a hurry( ie after a sleep study with mslt testing) i get headaches If i go up more slowly over 1-2 weeks no problems. Better alertness on it and soft landing as it wears off. Best option for me and I have titrated it carefully over the years. CPAP alone was not enough as I have neurological component to my sleep disorder, called ideopathic hypersomnia( apparently auto immune), as well as periodic movements of sleep and Central( 50 %) and Obstructive apneas.
I am new to this forum and cant find how to post up my equipment but used fisher and paykel for 5 -6 years now trying s9, full face mask and humidifier

[SleepingUgly]

Hi Prayerful-one,

I don't disagree with those who said that your therapy might not be optimal and that it may need tweaking. However, I don't think working on tweaking your therapy and taking 100mg of modafinil have to be mutually exclusive. You can go off the modafinil at any time, on any given day(s). You could take it, then go off to assess how you're doing, and then go back on if you need to. So, yes, you will be know if you're getting better from CPAP or not.

As for "dependence", I'm not sure exactly how you're using the term. If you mean "tolerance", that is, needing higher and higher doses to get the same effect, research shows that tolerance is not much of an issue with modafinil. Anecdotally, some report it is. I've had doctors tell me that if it makes no difference to my quality of life, go off it 1-2 days a week, but that if it affects the quality of my life, don't bother. I've had other doctors tell me flat out not to bother taking drug holidays from it.

In short, if your life is miserable right now, this might really help you. Simultaneously you can continue to work on your CPAP therapy.

[Julie]

You can post your equipment in your member page Profile, but you need to register first... it's free and can be kept as private as you like.