Any long-term success stories with xPAP and sleeping meds?

I was wondering if anyone has been taking a sleep medicine along
with their xPAP and having success ... especially with avoiding
things like tolerance (always needing to increase dose to keep getting an
effect). Everyone says "not for long-term use" , but I keep hearing
about folks on Ambien for a couple of years.

Ambien and all drugs of the benzodiazepine class can cause tolerance and addiction. Further they can cause unwelcome changes in personality and psychic function such as induced hostility and memory loss.
Try to get your doctor to prescribe one of the sedative anti-depressants in lower dosage (lower than that which is usually used to treat depression) such as trazodone, amitriptyline, Surmontil, etc. They do not cause addiction and have other benefits, such as modifying pain besides their useful sedative side effects.

My doc suggested benedryl at night as it is not addictive and makes you fairly drowsy. As it is an antihistamine, you might want to use a humidifier to make sure it doesn't dry you out too much.

Benadryl 25mg to 50mg at night will often promote sleep. It has some side effects which are usually not a problem, but be sure to get a product insert and read it. Benadryl is not addicting. If you are older however or have sinus problems you should check with your doctor before using Benadryl. I would always use an humidifier in any case.