Have lots of questions about insomnia

Hello All,

I have been having really bad insomnia lately. I either go to bed and I am instantly awake or I wake up after two or three hours extremely anxious. Was wondering if anyone has an experience with Premarin cream (estrogen cream) induced insomnia? I did not sleep at all last night and was not able to get to sleep until 8:00a and then I only slept until 12:30p. I am definitely going to get some exercise today and hopefully that will help. I am trying to eliminate any new medications or herbal supplements that I have started. Any suggestions would be helpful. I have also been through a lot of stressful changes in the last three months so until my anxiety gets under control so I can sleep, I am backing off the CPAP so I can maybe have a chance at functioning. Any information about the estrogen cream would be helpful. I have been doing some searching online in medical communities but cannot seem to get an exact answer.

Thanks so much,

Maria

Don't intake anything with caffeine after lunch (including chocolate, sodas, candy, etc), or at least 6 hrs. before bedtime.
I was a coffee consumer of the worst kind (4 -6 cups at breakfast), then cokes, candy and that sort.
When insomnia became overwhelming for me, I had to give it up. Now, I drink 3 cups, but mix half caffeine and half decaf. And no chocolate candy at all, and no soda except something like Sprite or Ginger Ale.
That has helped me a lot.
Jay

Do you take naps? If so, I would advise against it.
Try to adhere to a good sleep schedule.

I would also advise against backing off of your CPAP therapy. It's too easy to start making excuses and then they lead to another and another, etc.......


Den

Yeah, what Wulfman said.

Don't back off the CPAP. Anxiety is not caused by CPAP in itself. So backing off CPAP would only make the problem worse.

Think about it. If you were choking to death at night for years, your body has grown used to having to wake you up to keep you alive. It did that by using hormones that can make you feel anxious and panicky. But when you are exhausted, you aren't as aware of the anxious feeling, because, well, you aren't as aware of anything. Now that you are getting at least some effective sleep (I assume), your body needs time to figure out it doesn't have to wake you up with those hormones. But the solution isn't to decide to stop getting effective sleep, to go back to choking to death every night and being too out of it to feel much of anything.

You may need to do something to address the anxiety at night for a while. Talk to your doc. Maybe something as simple as some benadryl before bed or something for a few weeks. As far as insomnia goes, some have been helped by melatonin and doing all the sleep-time rituals that relate to good "sleep hygeine." But whatever the solution for your insomnia is, I doubt very much that the logical approach for you is to back away from CPAP. The solution to dealing with insomnia is almost certainly something else.

I would back off the estrogen cream before backing off the CPAP. Yes, hormone changes can induce insomnia, but it's more likely that the stress you're dealing with in your life is what is causing it. This is what I do to combat insomnia

1. keep a regular bedtime
2. dim the lights in the house starting 2 hours before bedtime
3. take a hot shower or bath about a half hour before bed

YMMV, of course.

swcompassionate wrote: I have also been through a lot of stressful changes in the last three months so until my anxiety gets under control so I can sleep, I am backing off the CPAP so I can maybe have a chance at functioning.

hmm - I agree with wulfman and jnk - this is NOT the way to get treatment - this is not the way to be able to function

There are valid medical contraindications to CPAP but not wanting to use it or anxiety aren't them.

Did you ever think about what happens when you lose your job because you are no longer able to function and get terminated?

If you need time to adjust then use FMLA leave, but get back on CPAP.

Insomnia is a very complex conodition with many causes and more approaches to dealing with it.
One of the worst is to take sleeping pills except for a very brief time.
Most pills cause rebound insomnia and you are worse than when you start.
They can be abit forming and people can abuse them.
Except for rare types of insomnia, most can be treated with good sleep habits.
I know of which I speak.

Simple insomnia is nat allthat bad.
I would not lose sleep over it.

I am dealing with extreme stress that last night I was not able to go to sleep until 8:00a and even then I only slept until 12:30p and have not been back to sleep since. I do not take naps, I do not use caffeine at all period because it impacts another medical condition, take Trazadone and Effexor, not at the same time, Trazodone at night and Effexor in the morning to control anxiety. I cannot take FMLA because I would not be able to afford my bills because of the decreased pay or no pay for the FMLA and I barely make enough to cover my bills every month to be able to go on disability. I did not say I was giving up on my CPAP but I have to get the plain not sleeping at all at night before I can add another adjustment. When I said extreme stress, I mean extreme stress. It is not just caused by the CPAP. That is all I wanted to say. I hate who I become because of this sleep deprivation and sleep is essential to functioning. I wish you all a good night.

SWC,

Here is a good resource about sleep hygiene: http://www.umm.edu/sleep/sleep_hyg.htm

Do you have someone you can talk to in confidence about the stress? A close friend or relative, a pastor or fellow church member, a counselor?

Are you aware that sleep apnea can cause high anxiety and depression? Even when you are 100% compliant with cpap you can still have apneas. A data capable machine is recommended to monitor apneas, hypopneas and leak rates to ensure that your cpap therapy is effective.

Trazodone and Effexor were two of many things docs experimented with on me. I finally figured out I had sleep apnea, got a cpap with monitoring capability and tweaked the settings for a low AHI. I am now prescription drug free. It is possible that a good cpap therapy could improve your health to the point that you can handle a lot of stress. It did for me.

Please let us know how things go for you,

Simple insomnia is nat allthat bad.
I would not lose sleep over it.

tomjax, how did that one slip thru without anyone picking you up on it?!! can I use that quote?!

Suffer from insomnia myself, drives me nuts. But I must say I feel that any time on the CPAP, even awake, is preferable to sleep without it. As far as I can tell, sleep without CPAP is not refreshing for any sufferer, and also the health benefits of CPAP outweigh the disadvantages.

Speaking personally, It does take some time to become accustomed to sleeping with all the paraphanalia associated with these machines, and with respect I (again personally) don't think anything less than total and regular compliance is going to help this process.

sw compassionate, good luck with it all, but keep in mind time may be one answer you are seeking.

Thanks rooster for all your support. I am actually seeing a counselor/therapist once a week for counseling and it is helping some. I will get my sleep schedule back on track and get a little calmer and then try again to adjust to the CPAP. I think I am going to be one of those people that is a very gradual adjuster. I know this is going to sound really weird but I am having trouble with keeping the back straps on the Swift LT from fitting and I am trying to think of different ideas. Someone suggested the papcap from pursleep.com but the problem is when I actually slept with my chin strap from when I had a nasal mask, I would get dry mouth. I did not get dry mouth without the chin strap. Strange huh? I am thinking about a couple of things to try and help because the back straps slip because of my hair. I thought about velcro strips from the fabric store to add into my hair but that would still not stop it from slipping on my hair. I thought of panty house cut up and pinned to the sleepwear I use. Any other thoughts about keeping it in place? I love the mask itself and do not want to give it up. Or is there another mask that does not have the straps that go around the head? Just wondering.

swcompassionate wrote:I am thinking about a couple of things to try and help because the back straps slip because of my hair. I thought about velcro strips from the fabric store to add into my hair but that would still not stop it from slipping on my hair.

I'm not sure I understand about adding velcro to your hair. When I had a headgear that slipped on my hair, I got adhesive-backed velcro and stuck strips of the "loop" velcro on the inside of the headgear strap with the velcro facing my hair. It was not uncomfortable and did not pull my hair, but the little loops did hang on a bit to my hair and helped keep the strap from sliding.

from viewtopic.php?t=15104 - the swift and swift LT lab rat awards - read and see what will work for you -

SWIFT


Marietjie
cork to seal end of Swift cylinder
Nov 4, 2008 subject: HOW I MODIFIED MY MASK TO PREVENT LEAKS! (SEE PHOTOS) to Marietjie for pictures and description -- using a cork and O ring to plug leaks at end of Swift cylinder
viewtopic.php?t=27187


Moby
pantyhose tights replacing headgear
Dec 30, 2007 subject: Swift 2 Pantyhose headgear to Di for modification and pictures -- using pantyhose tights to replace straps on the Swift II.
viewtopic.php?t=27187


svh
safety pin/sewing fix for Swift's backstrap
Nov 09, 2006 subject: Swift headgear modification for stability to svh3 for modification and pictures -- using safety pins (or sewing) to shorten and slightly change angle of back strap.
viewtopic.php?t=14991


ufo13
velcro fix for Swift's backstrap
Dec 03, 2005 subject: Tips for SWIFT users!! to ufo13 for modification using velcro strap to keep Swift's back strap from slipping upward.
viewtopic.php?t=5965


Tridens
Routing Swift's hose in front:
Aug 22 2005 subject: Solution for Swift side sleepers to Tridens for modification to place Swift's hose at front/center and Lori's pictures of the fix.
viewtopic.php?t=4290


_____________________________

Swift LT



feeling_better
extra strap and chinstrap pad to hold back strap down.
Oct 05, 2008 subject: How I prevent the back strap from slip for my mask to feeling_better for instructions and pictures - using velcro and a "chin" pad to keep strap at back of head from slipping up.
viewtopic.php?t=35274

feeling_better's revision/improvement to his strap fix:
Nov 28, 2008 subject: The mother of all stabilizers for Swift LT
viewtopic.php?t=36634

oldtimer47
O ring to reduce movement of the nasal pillow
Nov 09, 2006 subject: Swift headgear modification for stability to oldtimer47 for modification and pictures -- using O rings to reduce movement of the nasal pillows and help prevent them from popping out of nostrils.
viewtopic.php?p=274917#274917

feeling_better
string to absorb rainout
Sep 20, 2008 subject: My fix for rainout (condensation) in Swift LT nasal pillow to feeling_better for instructions and pictures - using string to soak up waterdrops in the nasal pillows assembly.
viewtopic.php?p=298845#298845

sw compassionate, I'm not up on how to search for previous threads & link them in, so someone more experienced (read just plain savvier) will probably assist here.

But there was a thread quite some time ago including pics which showed several adjustments which can be made to the Swift II mask using 1) velcro to prevent slipping, and 2) safety pins.

I don't know much about your mask either, but presuming the strapping is much the same, perhaps the same fix can be applied to it. I do use the velcro fix described in these threads when using my Swift II mask, but if someone can find the thread it'd be easier for you to grasp than me explaining.

Anyone able to locate & link in?

Okay, never mind, already done whilst I was typing! Thanks, Jules.