off the wagon and trying to get back on

[sl33py]

Hi,

I was a new user and then I stopped using it. I have many excuses, of course. I travel a lot, it's incovenient, uncomfortable, but most of all, it would wake me up several times and I never felt like I could get back to sleep and would just take it off and sleep the rest of the night without it. A friend recommended taking melatonin. Have any of you tried this and if so, what was your experience? Did it help? Are there any reasons why I should NOT give it a try?

Thanks for your help!

[zoocrewphoto]

I can't give any advice regarding the melatonin as I have never tried it.

But if you can post about the various problems adjusting that you have had, people an give you specific tips to help you. For example, do you know why you were waking up? Was the pressure bothering you? Was your mask leaking? Was your mask hurting you? Were you feeling claustrophobic? You can get a lot of help with all the little things that add up to make sleep difficult.

[Julie]

Hi - tried it long ago and like others had an initially positive experience, but then it changed and became more of a problem than a help - something like Ambien is usually better, short term if nothing else, to get you into the routine.

Think it would be a good idea though for you to accept that using cpap is a good thing, not really an option if you need it, and if e.g. your mask never fit properly, or your pressure settings were not ideal, maybe we could help sort things out for you, rather than your taking medication, which is never a great idea if it can be avoided.

[MelindaJoan]

Some time ago, my family doctor suggested melatonin for what I thought was insomnia. I'm 30 days into cpap use and sleeping much better. Sometimes, I take melatonin before I go to bed. I do think it helps a little but it just might be a placebo effect, too. I only take the recommended dose and I don't take it every day but I DO use the cpap.

[Pugsy]

I had a negative side effect to Melatonin and I had taken the lowest dose possible. Google its side effects and you will find the list of side effects.
Most people don't have any problem with side effects. I just happened to be one of those that did. Mine was vertigo.
Try it...be aware of possible side effects and if it works for you then there is no reason not to take it that I can think of.
I don't think that the side effects are very common. Seems like most people don't have any problems with it.
Should a negative side effect pop up...it goes away pretty quickly once the melatonin is out of the system. It doesn't hang around very long. I think it has a relatively short half life. My vertigo was present only about 8 hours or so.
It was pretty ugly about 30 minutes after taking it...so I knew what it was. By noon the next day totally gone.

[LSAT]

I get stretches when I sleep well, but only for 5-6 hours....then I'm up at 5AM. When I take 3mg Melatonin I tend to sleep 1-2 hours longer. Check with your doctor to be sure it doesn't interfere with other meds you might be taking.

[Wonderbeastlett]

I have used melatonin before and it's has it's pros and cons. It's a natural hormone that your body creates and lacking it can cause insomnia. I had to switch to a lower dose because I was having dizzy spells but once I switched the dose I felt great. It puts me to sleep and keeps me asleep.
I would say to try the lowest dose and see if it helps you. I would try it on your day off when you have nothing to do just in case you don't like it.

[ems]

I have taken melatonin .5mg without any problems. I seem to sleep more restfully and longer. Every few months I stop taking it for a week or so... that's what it says to do on the bottle.

[robysue]

I was a new user and then I stopped using it. I have many excuses, of course. I travel a lot, it's incovenient, uncomfortable, but most of all, it would wake me up several times and I never felt like I could get back to sleep and would just take it off and sleep the rest of the night without it. A friend recommended taking melatonin. Have any of you tried this and if so, what was your experience? Did it help? Are there any reasons why I should NOT give it a try?

The melatonin may or may not help. At one point in my War on Insomnia, I tried melatonin. I could not tolerate even 1mg because it aggravated my nighttime teeth grinding, and it also wasn't really eliminating the wakes in the later half of the night anyway.

From what I've read smaller doses of melatonin are likely to be just as effective as larger ones since we don't make that much melatonin. And they will be less likely to cause side effects. So there's no reason to start with a large dose.

But the real issue that you are going to have to face is commitment to using the machine: As long as you continue to make excuses for not using the machine you'll continue to not use it regardless of whether the melatonin helps you get to sleep or stay asleep a bit better.

So: Try the melatonin, but also promise yourself that you will use the CPAP every night, all night long for at least three months. That means traveling with the machine. And it means that when you wake up in the middle of the night, no taking the mask off as a way of getting back to sleep faster. And it means working on solving the comfort issues as much as possible.

[chunkyfrog]

Meditation, self-hypnosis, and creative visualization works for me.
Your mileage may vary.

[archangle]

I believe that melatonin can be a miracle cure for some people. For some people, it does nothing. It's probably fairly safe if not used to great excess.

For me, it sometimes seems to work for a short time. It also tends to give me unpleasant dreams some times, and may make my stomach sour.

[49er]

Hi,

I was a new user and then I stopped using it. I have many excuses, of course. I travel a lot, it's incovenient, uncomfortable, but most of all, it would wake me up several times and I never felt like I could get back to sleep and would just take it off and sleep the rest of the night without it. A friend recommended taking melatonin. Have any of you tried this and if so, what was your experience? Did it help? Are there any reasons why I should NOT give it a try?

Thanks for your help!

Hi,

As one in a similar situation who had a way too late realization that "it is the mask" stupid, it sounds like your focus should be on finding a comfortable mask. In my opinion, while melatonin certainly can be helpful, in your situation, it sounds like it would be a band aid approach.

Another thing to look into is whether nasal congestion is causing you take off the mask and sleep without it. Even though I feel my mask issues are the number one barrier to being able to sleep on the machine all night, that is definitely an issue for me and one I intend to explore.

Unfortunately, I have tried many solutions to no avail which I have mentioned in previous posts.

By the way, I would personally stop framing the situation as having excuses. I did that previously and it really wasn't helpful and just added to my frustrations. It comes across as unfairly blaming when that is the last thing we need.

I am not going to lie and say this is easy but hopefully, looking at this in a systematized fashion as a problem to be solved will help.

49er

PS - For those of you wondering why I used the phrase, "it is the mask" stupid, I was playing off of the popular campaign phrase used by President Clinton, "it is the economy" stupid.

[TalonNYC]

I used melatonin for several years without any issues. One of my insomnia problems is that I don't get the "it's time to go to sleep now" signal at night, and that signal is sent by melatonin in most people. It worked for me, even though in later years I found Ambien to work better for me personally.

If you do use it, get vegetarian versions (which are synthetic and not extracted from animals). I do not say this for any reason other than I don't like the idea of taking a hormone taken from sheep/cow brains if I can avoid it these days - too many possible issues. The synthetic varieties worked for me equally well. Also, I had the most success with the lozenges rather than pills you swallow. One, under the tongue, when you got to sleep.

You may want to try Ambien or one of the other commercially available sleep medications. They work better for me, but that's just one guy's experience =)

As for the mask, yes, it's a hassle when you first start out. I also travel for work quite often, and had to deal with dragging the machine around with me. It does get easier as you get used to it, just like any other habit though. Hang in there, it gets better.