Alcohol and Using a CPAP Machine - Do they Mix?

magnus · Post by **magnus** » Mon May 21, 2007 2:59 am

Been using the machine for a week now. Is it ok to take a drink before going to sleep?

roster · Post by **roster** » Mon May 21, 2007 4:48 am

It is OK by me, however it is well established that alcohol in the evening interferes with sleep architecture whether you are a cpap patient or not.

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:25 am

It causes a higher AHI, but it's smarter than driving drunk. A lot of the time we do things that aren't in our best interest, we know it, but we still do it, and we usually pay the price. Jim

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:29 am

I'm an extremely light drinker. I had the rare two drinks Friday night, stopped at 6 pm, and went to bed about 10 pm. Didn't notice any change in sleep pattern.

Usually, when I drink, I wake up about 1 or 2 am sweating and itchy and PISSED OFF. I dunno what it is, but a former roommate of mine, same age, same gender, also had the same experience with drinking. Both of us are like once a month drinkers.

Cheers,
Barbara

ScottH · Post by **ScottH** » Mon May 21, 2007 11:23 am

It is typical for me to end my day with a single whisky and either a good book or whatever has bubbled to the top of my Tivo stack. On the occasional evenings when I do not, there has been some difference in the quality of my sleep. But, in the five weeks or so since starting therapy I've still seen some improvement (not the "light switch" that people keep talking about, but still...)

Bottom line, do without for a few days and see if things change. We all react different to all the different variables in our sleep equations.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon May 21, 2007 12:00 pm

Yesterday I had a nice vice day. I had four or five drinks (that's a lot for me!) in the afternoon, and four cigars (the high-end good stuff) in the afternoon and evening. Nice and enjoyable day and evening.

But, a terrible night. My usual AHI more than doubled and I woke up with a headache and feeling half-asleep, which has continued all day so far.

Just another datapoint... if you're a CPAP person, I'd skip the drinks entirely, and avoid overdoing the cigars. Note I put "overdoing" in there, instead of just "avoid the cigars"... If I have 1-2 cigars a day, everything's fine, same as if I had none. There seems to be a threshold effect.

Hope that helps.

MartiniLover · Post by **MartiniLover** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:05 pm

During my second sleep test when changing from a cpap to a bipap, the doctor suggested that if I drank at all, I should do it before the test.
Better to have a test with real life facts than going in without.
I did have have a couple of beers.
I notice now that a martini or two doesn't agree with me as much as it used to.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:42 am

I appreciate all of your comments. I was diagnosed as having a case of severe apnea and my doctor scared me out of my wits by telling me that taking alcohol before going to sleep with my condition could lead to my not waking up at all!!!

I haven't taken a single drop since being told - not that I mind as I'm generally a 1-beer with a pizza person. But I wanted to know if this was just exaggeration on his part.

magnus · Post by **magnus** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:47 am

I appreciate all of your comments. I was diagnosed as having a case of severe apnea and my doctor scared me out of my wits by telling me that taking alcohol before going to sleep with my condition could lead to my not waking up at all!!!

I haven't taken a single drop since being told - not that I mind as I'm generally a 1-beer with a pizza person. But I wanted to know if this was just exaggeration on his part.

(Double post, moderator kindly delete my previous post I forgot to log in before posting. Thanks)

blarg · Post by **blarg** » Tue May 22, 2007 3:17 am

magnus wrote:(Double post, moderator kindly delete my previous post I forgot to log in before posting. Thanks)

Good luck with that. No moderator to speak of here.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue May 22, 2007 7:55 am

LOL, Blarg! Your sense of humor is so dry, no wonder you need your humidifier on HIGH!

tangents · Post by **tangents** » Tue May 22, 2007 7:56 am

That previous post was me, sorry everyone. Thought I was logged in. (Could swear I was...!)

blarg · Post by **blarg** » Tue May 22, 2007 8:51 am

Anonymous wrote:LOL, Blarg! Your sense of humor is so dry, no wonder you need your humidifier on HIGH!

And yet my mother reacts with shock when I tell her I like British humour.

*Goes back to watching Black Adder*

sleepyWI · Post by **sleepyWI** » Tue May 22, 2007 7:35 pm

A wee dram of Macallan or Balvenie before bed is my favorite sleep aid. As long as you are not getting hammered before bed I would not worry about it.

scotty · Post by **scotty** » Tue May 22, 2007 10:11 pm

My doc pretty much said to avoid alcohol entirely. I told him to stick it and stormed out of there... Nah, actually, I just nodded and said "uh huh" just like I usually do when I zone out and want to act like I'm paying attention.

When I drink -- even just one beer -- I get really congested. If it's bad I use a nasal spray decongestant which helps otherwise I mouth breath and tear off my mask in my sleep. Doesn't matter if I drink or not -- I sleep much better with CPAP than without it (as long as I'm not congested.)

If I drink more I also take an aspirin and drink at least a glass of water before going to bed.

Mask

Additional Comments: On therapy since 2007. Sleeping well since I started on the machine