Nuvigil, Xanax, DME Visit and a New Mask...

[Addercatter]

I've only been on therapy for about a month and I already have 2 masks

The first one I got was the Mirage Liberty. I love the concept of this mask. I wanted it to work, desperately. I've used that mask up until last night and I think I had 1 night with it where I slept over 5 hours. It would get leaks in the night when I moved around. It made a horrible creaking noise (the part where the hose connects to the mask and turns freely). Also, I would wake up frequently in a panic (claustrophobia) or I would wake up and my mask wouldn't be on my face

I thought this mask was my only option because I can't bring myself to use a full face and I was told by both the tech who did my sleep study, and the lady at the DME who was helping me choose a mask, that nasal pillows alone would not work for me because I require such high pressure... And I believed them.

Yesterday I was fed up. I had a dr appointment with my pain mgmt and she gave me a week sample Nuvigil. I took half of one and went to my DME to find another mask. I researched this carefully beforehand and decided I wanted to try the Swift FX for Her. After lots of "compelling" arguments, me insisting that I knew what I wanted, and "ok, but don't be upset when it doesn't work, honey" from the DME lady, I came home with my Swift FX for her.

Now, I must say the Nuvigil had me feeling awake. I was able to run a few more errands and go for coffee in the afternoon with my husband

I started feeling sleepy around supper time, and by the time my teenage son came home at 10:30, I was nodding off while watching tv. I got back up and talked with him about his evening out, then took my bedtime Meds, donned my new mask and fell asleep almost immediately. I didn't even wake up when my husband came home from work and got in bed around 3 am.

My son woke me up at 7 am. I guess I didn't hear my alarm. It was hard for me to get out of bed (it's hard anyway because of pain), but I wanted more sleep. I drug myself out of bed and into the cold to take the kiddo to school, came home, took my cocktail of various Meds, now including nuvigil, and am waiting for it all to kick in. I checked my machine report for last night, just a bit ago. I slept 7 hours straight!!! New record for me! My AHI was 1.1 and my leak was 10L. AI was .2. I forgot what that one means because it has been 0.0 up to this point.

Now I am wondering about a couple of things. Did I sleep so well because of the new mask? Or was it because I crashed hard when the Nuvigil wore off? Or, maybe I shouldn't have taken my usual bedtime Xanax (1mg). Maybe it was a combination of everything.

So, I still need to make some tweaks because I was so sleepy this morning that my son was almost late for school.

Sigh, that was way longer than I meant for it to be. If anyone made it all the way through...any thoughts?

Thanks, love to everyone, Kat

[lazer]

I don't know exactly what other's opinions on this are but according to my psychiatrist, he stepped me down a bit from the benzo's by changing my dosage of xanax to Klonopin. I used to take .25mg xanax 3 times daily (for anxiety) then a 1mg xanax at night to help with insomnia. I now take simply a 3x daily total of .5mg Klonopin with the final tablet before bedtime.

All and all, I would say my anxiety is leveled off and I don't crave so much for that next pill around noon like I used to with the xanax so wondering if my "addiction" phase of being on benzos is actually being tapered down.

My goal is to eventually be "benzo free". I see the doc in early/mid December again and I will suggest another taper of the Klonopin I think.

Sorry, I don't know anything about Nuvigil to add anything helpful.

[Addercatter]

I didn't know anything about Nuvigil either until my dr gave it to me, Lazer lol. Even now I only know a bit about it from articles on the Internet.

I have Both SAD and GAD. I take 1mg Xanax 3 times a day and have for quite some time. Not as needed, just on a regular schedule. I will occasionally take an extra one if I feel a panic attack coming on. I've tried all sorts of benzos... Valium, Ativan, Klonopin etc., but I always go back to Xanax because it works the best with the fewest side effects.

I'm thinking that I might try not taking it right before bed, an experiment to see if I can fall asleep easily from the Nuvigil wearing off, but not feel so tired and groggy when I wake up (or attempt to wake up as in this morning).

I'm glad you are being proactive in reducing your medication safely. It is challenging to find the correct dose of Meds like that because everyone's systems react to them so differently. I would love to be free of several of my Meds. Unfortunately, I have resigned to the fact that as long as my health problems are present, so will the Meds.

Kat

[Pugsy]

The half life for Nuvigil is 12 to 15 hours so likely you still had some in your system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armodafinil

Xanax does have a bit of morning grogginess thing but if you have taken it before and not had that after effect then maybe not the Xanax causing the difficulty in waking up.

Maybe just the good sleep with the new mask and not having to wake up several times in the night fiddling with the mask or having it squeak, or whatever, allow you to go into a deeper sleep and your body didn't want to give it up.

Maybe a combination of all of the above???

Maybe your body just really needed the deeper sleep and all of the above contributed to getting better sleep. A month of fiddling with the Liberty and not having good solid hours of sleep along with the newness of sleeping with the alien stuck to your face finally caught up with you when you got a chance to use a mask that doesn't require a lot of fiddling with.
Properly fitted the Swift FX is pretty much like using nothing compared to full face masks. One night doesn't make a trend though. See how the next few nights go. Maybe you are just now starting to pay off that sleep debt thing if it exists.

[Addercatter]

Thanks, Pugsy

The Nuvigil is beginning to wake me up a bit now. I hope I have more great nights with my new mask. I know they aren't all going to be wonderful, but considering that a month ago I would only fall asleep after I was completely drained and exhausted from lack of sleep, last night was amazing.

It wasnt like I wanted to stay awake all night... I've been unable to do much of anything productive, day or night due to other health issues. So I would just lay there and try to read, or watch television at hours when there were only infomercials and the occasional bad sitcom from he 90's on. That in itself is torture

If I never have to go through that again, it will be too soon. I agree with you, I'm sure my body wants to get as much of that good sleep as it can. I've likely had sleep apnea my whole life, as it quite often goes along with Chiari Malformation, says my dr.

It makes a lot of sense now, as I look back even to my childhood. I was always tired and sickly. I couldn't run very far without running out of breath and I was never fast. My favorite thing to do was sleep and I gave my mother hell when she tried to wake me up in the mornings. Wish I would have known I had these problems then. Oh well, at least I did find out eventually

[Sir NoddinOff]

All and all, I would say my anxiety is leveled off and I don't crave so much for that next pill around noon like I used to with the xanax so wondering if my "addiction" phase of being on benzos is actually being tapered down..

Speaking from experience, I'd have to say Xanax is a tough little Mo-Fo to kick, and I've kicked some other nasty stuff in my distant past. You're a smart guy and I'm sure you already know about tapering down and all that. It took me three weeks cutting the pills into ever-smaller pieces. I can still take a couple of pills a month to manage major anxiety attacks should they occur... and always for airplanes (zone out time for sure, but absolutely no mixing with alcohol ) Good luck with your benzo reduction plan - keep us posted. To the OP, there's lots of info on Nuvigil and Xanax on this forum. Just search for those words. Good luck to you too!

[AHI15]

Yesterday I was fed up. I had a dr appointment with my pain mgmt and she gave me a week sample Nuvigil. I took half of one and went to my DME to find another mask.

Half of which kind of one, a 150mg or 250mg?

Now, I must say the Nuvigil had me feeling awake. I was able to run a few more errands and go for coffee in the afternoon with my husband
I started feeling sleepy around supper time, and by the time my teenage son came home at 10:30, I was nodding off while watching tv. I got back up and talked with him about his evening out, then took my bedtime Meds, donned my new mask and fell asleep almost immediately. I didn't even wake up when my husband came home from work and got in bed around 3 am.
My son woke me up at 7 am. I guess I didn't hear my alarm. It was hard for me to get out of bed (it's hard anyway because of pain), but I wanted more sleep. I drug myself out of bed and into the cold to take the kiddo to school, came home, took my cocktail of various Meds, now including nuvigil, and am waiting for it all to kick in. I checked my machine report for last night, just a bit ago. I slept 7 hours straight!!! New record for me! My AHI was 1.1 and my leak was 10L. AI was .2. I forgot what that one means because it has been 0.0 up to this point.
Now I am wondering about a couple of things. Did I sleep so well because of the new mask? Or was it because I crashed hard when the Nuvigil wore off? Or, maybe I shouldn't have taken my usual bedtime Xanax (1mg). Maybe it was a combination of everything.

With the Xanax involved it's hard for me to relate, but for me I'd have to take Nuvigil first thing in the morning because it will not let me sleep until 15-18 hrs later.

I don't take it much anymore since I built up a tolerance quite quickly over just a few months from only taking it 2-3 times a week, and other stim. meds have proven more effective with less of a pooping out problem over time.

But I still might take Nuvigil if I want to be sociable, as opposed to just get work done. It tends to make me feel anxious, though in a socially encouraging sort of way.

Good luck.

[Addercatter]

AHI15,

I take half of a 250. I think I might try a whole one tomorrow and see what happens... The fun of experimenting with Meds