Tapering off rx sleep meds with apnea

[patrissimo]

Hi. Over my 15 years of sleep apnea (decently treated last 8 years by ASV machine and several surgeries), I have become increasingly dependent on Rx sleep meds such as zolpidem (ambien). When my UARS was untreated, the meds helped me fall asleep even though bedtime was a time of anxiety because my body learned that night sleep = unpleasant scary heart-pounding time. And taking a small dose (2.5mg) helped me go back to sleep during my night wake-ups, if just lying there didn't work. Sleep meds help me "fast-forward" through these unpleasant nights.

Once I got on ASV, because my UARS is still not fully addressed, I wake up 1-3x/night. So being able to get back to sleep is still really important, and the meds help with that a lot. But I also have been learning more about how bad these medications are for your health, and I want to taper off them this year. Even if I used them 1x/night to go back to sleep, if I didn't use them to fall asleep or additional times, that would decrease my dose by like 75%-80%.

I have been putting it off because it's psychologically intimidating, and I tell myself things like "Let's see if this apnea surgery works, it will be easier to quit if my sleep is better". But I think it's time. I'd love to hear from any of you with sleep apnea & CPAP who who quit sleep medications even though they still had significant residual awakenings. Tell me about your experience.

Thanks,
Pat