Tamsulosin/flomax

Is it likely that tamsulosin/flomax can make sleep apnea worse, even if I'm already using a CPAP machine?

I'm taking 0.4 mg tamsulosin/day for benign prostate hyperplasia.

On the one hand, you see reports on the web that tamsulosin improves sleep because it decreases awakenings from nocturia.

On the other hand, "insomnia" is listed as a side effect. There's also claims it decreases REM sleep and can cause or worsen sleep apnea. Some of those are case reports. I think one case report had OSA worsening even during cpap therapy.

I've been using CPAP for almost 5 years now. I haven't noticed any worsening of the scores I see on my resmed machine's report. I haven't been sleeping well, either, but I don't know if that's due to the tamsulosin, since I've got a lot of things going on right now (all relatively minor, but any of them could interfere with sleep).

Anyone know anything more about this?

TIA,

S

dh37 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 01, 2023 6:23 am

I haven't noticed any worsening of the scores I see on my resmed machine's report.

Isn't that a strong indication that tamsulosin has not affected your sleep apnea? But, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep are known side effects.

You could step up your sleep hygiene program. If things don't improve, you could ask your doctor about the possibility of a medication change.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 01, 2023 6:32 am

Isn't that a strong indication that tamsulosin has not affected your sleep apnea?

Yes.

But, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep are known side effects.

Huh. I don't have difficulty falling asleep, but I often wake up at 5:00 am and can't fall back asleep. Could be other things though (anxiety, other meds I'm on).

You could step up your sleep hygiene program. If things don't improve, you could ask your doctor about the possibility of a medication change.

Those are both good ideas. Medication---seems like many meds for BPH are nominally well-tolerated, yet still come with side effects.

dh37 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 01, 2023 7:52 am

I often wake up at 5:00 am and can't fall back asleep.

Scheisse! That's normal.

What time do you go to sleep?

The impact of side effects may be less than that of worrying about side effects.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 01, 2023 12:16 pm

Scheisse! That's normal.

What time do you go to sleep?

Probably too late; often between 10 pm and 11 pm. I'm 58 but I have teen-age twins. I really ought to move my bedtime earlier and see if that helps. ("Not helping" would mean just waking up that much earlier.)

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 01, 2023 12:40 pm

The impact of side effects may be less than that of worrying about side effects.

Totally agree with you there; food for thought.

I have been taking it for years with no noticeable effects.

sheriff

I started on Tamsulosin about 6 months ago and haven't noticed any difference in my sleep patterns.

Alcohol can be a real sleep disrupter, so perhaps reducing alcohol intake would help a bit.

I'm a bit reluctant to throw this out, but I started taking 10 mg. of THC every night when I realized it reduced arthritic knee joint pain. One side benefit is that I sleep like a rock when I take it.

I normally take a gummie around 8:00 pm, and by 10:00 I'm ready to crawl into bed. Taking gummies also eliminated my desire to drink alcohol. I perhaps have 3 beers/month now.

I don't know if your employer tests for drugs (I'm retired), and with teens around the house you will need to manage that, but these have been a miracle for me so far.

Good luck.

dh37 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 01, 2023 6:23 am

Anyone know anything more about this?

Tell your doctor if you experience serious side effects of Flomax including

an erection that is painful or lasts more than four hours,

Hey doc look at that will ya

If you're experiencing insomnia, lots of things can be going on in your body and in your head but for me I found that if I get into bed and get that mask on quickly and shut off the TV and put on a book, that I'm listening to on my phone, either with wireless headphones without, I fall asleep much more quickly than any other way. Flomax for me has no effect whatsoever.

If you want a great series to listen to, get the Stuart Woods Stone Barrington books from your local library. You really like the characters and what you hear is so you're familiar from book to book. You don't worry about falling asleep as nothing fantastically new ever happens in the 65 books that I listened to.

Stuart Woods died last year and there hasn't been a book for at least 6 months but there must have been one in the oven that was finished by another author, Brett Bartels. I was so happy I found it.

Sometimes I start listening as I am preparing to go to bed even before I have the mask on, and that gets me to shut the TV off, and I listen to it for a little while and then get the mask on shut the lights and I'm asleep within 10 minutes. Then in the morning I get nyself back to where I remember the last thing it sounds familiar.

Too often we want to be stimulated and we fight sleep and avoid getting that mask on. Get comfortable and that's the first thing to do, at least for me. TV, can keep you up for hours and hours and then you regret it the next day unless you have nothing to do.

When I first started listening, I listened to the Harry Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer. I don't know if it's a combination of it being my first series or a very creative series that I loved. I had trouble initially which can happen until you used to listening. You get used to listening quickly and you get used to letting yourself go to sleep cuz you know that you'll be able to come back to where you left off the next day.

Get on your Public library's website and take a look at all the books they have. If you never read because you have reading issues let me know and I can recommend going to your librarian and telling him or her that you have reading issues and they may be able to get you set up on what's called The BARD system that is for blind and reading disabled people. I never read because I had some kind of dyslexia but only when reading not with numbers thank God as I am a CPA. The voice system offers an additional array of books that you might not see on the county library sites. But many libraries subscribe to Cloud Library, which has lots of regular books fiction and nonfiction, and Hoopla that has more books that you won't find locally. For example I love an author whose name is Milan Kundera. He wrote the Unbearable Lightness of Being and many more and many of them are on Hoopla. Hoopla also has a lot of instruction and educational books. A former friend of mine from Day camp, she was the tennis counselor and I was a regular counselor and we also both went to GWU at the same time, wrote a lot of books on how to write books one of them being very famous called Writing Down the Bones. Couldn't find that book on board couldn't find that book on Cloud Library but Hoopla had it. So use what resources you have so you can get all the books you want.