Long time to get to sleep - HELP!

Hi,

I have been on cpap for almost 3 weeks. When I started all of this with my sleep study, my biggest complaint was that I couldn't get to sleep so my sleep Dr. told me to take my Ativan and gravol every night for the first 2 weeks. When I do I can get to sleep in about an hour or less. I have tried to wean back a few nights taking only half a tablet and have also tried melatonin. Sleep doesn't come and I am totally aware of the mask on my face the whole time no matter how I try to relax. When I take the meds and get to sleep I seem to get a good sleep ( don't feel the mask at all), don't wake up too much and feel more rested in the morning. My question is what other sleep medication could I try that will help me to get to sleep? I was told that I cannot stay on Ativan for any extended time and a lot of the stronger meds that are in the same family aren't for long use either. I do know that the therapy seems to be working but getting to the "land of nod" is a bigger challenge than ever. I have read a lot about trazodone as a sleep aid, have any of you tried it or had luck with it?

I have found so many helpful tips on this website. When I have been at this a while longer I hope I can help out too. Thank you so much.

I love my trazadone! However, my understanding is traz is best most effective at helping one stay asleep rather than helping to fall asleep. Before I was on it, I used to wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning and not be able to go back to sleep. When I occasionally miss a dose, I have similar symptoms.

A couple of months ago -- before I was diagnosed w/ OSA -- my psychiatrist suggested I take my traz an hour before bed, rather than just before bed. That has helped me get on a better bedtime pattern.

I am not yet on cpap (fingers crossed I will be this week), so I can't respond about cpap and trazadone.

Good luck!

Hi Windmill,

I can't say I have a specific answer - only what worked for me. I was taking Ambien (10 mg) before I started CPAP therapy and kept on taking it after. I always skipped Friday and Saturday nights so I wouldn't have rebound insomnia if I stopped. It wasn't until I'd been on CPAP for well over 1 year that I was able to just about eliminate the Ambien. And by that point I hardly noticed the mask or air pressure.

This is not to say this will work for anyone else!

Mindy

Hi Windmill,

I sympathize with your sleeplessness. When I started CPAP, I thought I would never be able to tolerate it without the benefit of drugs. Since those days, I have tapered off Remeron (an anti-depressant that is well-known for it's sedating qualities) and I have to admit, things are better than I thought they would be. I still wake at night and have trouble going back to sleep (probably because I don't have an optimum pressure), but the mask is a lot less weird. And when I wake at night, I don't even really notice the pressure. Sometimes, I have to sort of blow with my mouth to check and see if the machine is working. So some kind of adaptation happens. And I thought I was the most sensitive person in creation - I have always had an enormous amount of insomnia (my problem is UARS, not apnea) - falling asleep, being awake and not going back to sleep, waking too early, you name it - I had it.

If you have not checked out your sleep hygiene, that can help. And there is also something called Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Insomnia that can contribute to better sleep. I have found that yoga breathing is really helpful. (That was also something I was pretty sure would never happen ) I would defintely look into natural methods of inducing sleep.

In regard to drug therapy: I had been prescribed a drug called Lyrica to help me relax and sleep better with CPAP. Unfortunately, I developed tolerance to the medication, and when I discontinued it, I ended up having withdrawal - an extremely unpleasant experience. You should follow your doctor's directions very carefully, and take the warnings seriously. One researcher I contacted, Dr. Heather Ashton, commented that almost any drug that makes you sleepy will have the potential of causing tolerance and withdrawal. Even though everyone's response is different, it's something to keep in mind.

Good luck - this forum is a nice place. I am a little bit of an addict right now, I keep coming her to get my fix of hopefulness There are some very nice people here.

Hi Windmill.
Did anyone ever say to you, you'll under stand it in time. Well, same thing about being aware of your mask, suddendly one night, you will forgot you have it on. That will make it more likely for you to go to sleep.

I tried trazadone, and as landi said, it is more effective at helping you stay asleep, then putting you to sleep. Traz wasn't a good drug for me. Has your doctor told you how long you can stay on Ativan. I imagine it might be a couple of months. By then, you will be more used to the strangness of the whole sleep apnea thing.

My Best to you.

Jan

Thanks for the info. I have been on Ativan before this cpap stuff and I was able to use it only 2 or 3 nights a week with no problem, usually when I had an early morning shift at work. I should also add that I had a second heart attack and the sleeping issues seem to be worse after this one. Now that I have to wear a mask to bed I need something every night. My Dr. doesn't want me on it for very long, he said you can become dependent on it very quickly. I just wish there was some magic wand to wave and I would go to sleep and then I wouldn't know the difference if I am sleeping with a mask or nothing. I am seeing my GP on Thursday to see what he can come up with. I don't see the sleep Dr. till July.

I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found this forum. When I found out that I had sleep apnea I was totally against even the thought of trying cpap. There is so much encouragement here that I come back often to feed my resolve that this WILL work.

Thank you to all!

Marlene

Windmill wrote:I am seeing my GP on Thursday to see what he can come up with. I don't see the sleep Dr. till July.

I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found this forum. When I found out that I had sleep apnea I was totally against even the thought of trying cpap. There is so much encouragement here that I come back often to feed my resolve that this WILL work.

Thank you to all!

Marlene

Hi Marlene,

I know how miserable it can be to have insomnia. It may take some time and patience but you can get past it just as you can get used to CPAP. You're right that this is a great forum! It has helped me a great deal to know that I'm not alone and there are many suggestions to try.

Mindy

Hi,

I had insomnia for almost 2 years I now use 2 tablespoons of tart cherry juice concentrate about 15 minutes before bed. I have been getting a blessed 7 hours of sleep for about a month now with it.

When I first started, I took Melatonin until I found that I was sleeping all the way through the night. And, then I weaned off of that....

I used it again for a week after I turned off C-Flex, because it seemed to take forever to get to sleep....but now I've adjusted to that....

The Dreamer