Newbie kind of?

Hello,
I've been reading posts from this site for a bit now & I thought it was time to actually post something!
I was diagnosed w/OSA in late fall of 2008 & struggled for a long time with the process, feeling claustrophobic, taking my mask off, not falling asleep, not staying asleep, etc. Due to a very stressful year (most of 2009 & so far in 2010), my OSA wasn't a huge priority & I wasn't very focused on making it any better. I previously had a machine that had no capacity to record data & I didn't really know much about any of it, but now I am learning!
After some additional big stress items in my life (moved into a new place, lost a job, lost a pet) & started with a heart arrhythmia, it was decided to re-check my OSA w/a new PCP & a new sleep doctor. I do not know all of my numbers from the sleep test & I don't even have a copy of the test but I now have a new machine REMstar Auto A-Flex M Series w/a pressure of 10 (previously a pressure of 9) & I also recently started taking Neurontin to help w/the insomnia that my sleep doc says I have. I usually fall asleep quickly but would wake up often throughout the evening. I started w/1200mg at night, after several days felt too drugged, then went to 600mg, started to NOT be able to fall asleep & currently I'm taking 900mg & that seems OK? I am going back to my doc next week & will have my data card read & we will review the results.
I do feel like I'm sleeping better w/this new machine as well as w/the meds, but I'm really not feeling refreshed or rested & in the past few months, while going through the new sleep tests & waiting for the results, I've been thinking that I might be depressed? Side note: when I started w/the heart arrhythmia I was given a beta blocker that totally made me feel like a slug, not sure if it was just the drug, or the drug & the stress or the drug & the stress & the OSA combined, but I totally tanked! I took it for a month & then went off of it, started to feel better & then started to not feel good again & was wondering if it might be depression? I went to see my new PCP & he tried me on Trazadone but I was only able to take it a few nights before having a reaction to it, then he tried me on Remeron & that made me feel really, really drugged, I also tried Tylenol PM & after several nights of that I felt pretty spent as well.
I know that I must be patient, so my new sleep doctor tells me & I've only had this new machine for a few weeks, but I just crave to have the GREAT feeling that so many of you talk about, I really, really do! I know I shouldn't put every bad feeling on my SA, but I also know that if you aren't sleeping right, for whatever reason, it's hard to put everything else in place!
I faithfully use my machine each night & hope to feel GREAT the next day & I do have glimpses of feeling "better", just waiting for GREAT!
Thanks for listening!
Janalee

Hi, well good for you for continuing to try! One idea would be to tape your mouth at night to test if you're losing air that way without knowing it once you're asleep. You can't feel better if your therapy is going out in the breeze and you may need a full face mask in future. I'm not familiar with Neurontin, but I do know that beta blockers will slow you down and they're not always recommended for people with OSA - ask your MD if there's anything else (I believe there is) that could do even part of the job without the side effects, especially if you're already on other meds. You probably do feel depressed - anyone who tries to carry on normal life with untreated OSA is very likely to feel awful a lot, but the answer is not more meds, but dealing with Cpap better. BTW, I also had a reaction to Traz after about a week or so.

Someone once told me "patience is a virtue." I know it is really difficult when you want results NOW. Trying different meds, dosages, etc. could be affecting your cpap treatment , in addition to the stress. For some of us, it takes longer times to settle in to using the machine, finding the correct mask, finding the right pillow, and just getting used to the machine and getting comfortable with it. But, believe me, you will feel so much better when everything settles down. When I started sleeping all night, it felt like a whole new life opened up to me, and I am no longer depressed; I have much more energy, etc. etc. etc.

Hang in there. We're all pulling for you.

Irene

janalee, Welcome to the forum! It sounds like your medical situation is complicated, so congratulations are in order for taking steps to take charge of what's happening to your body. It'll probably take some time to sort everything out, but it's a pretty sure bet that effective xpap therapy can only help your situation. Can you check your data on your machine? It's essential that you be able to view your AHI, AI, HI, and leak rate. If you don't know this information you have no way to evaluate whether your therapy is working or not. My personal experience has been greatly reduced symptoms of depression, and improved blood pressure, among other benefits. Keep reading here, keep asking questions!

Hi Janalee,
I just wanted to tell you that I was a terrible insomniac before I started using my apap..

My apnea actually CAUSED the insomnia.. I never wanted to take any sleep meds, but it was so hard to adjust to the apap, i tried a few things, none
of which worked, so I just bit the bullet and after a couple months on the apap, my insomnia was over.. no more sleeping so lightly that I was
hyper aware of everything, no more trips to the bathroom every few hours, no more waking up, struggling to go to sleep for two or three hours..
I also had heart arrhythmia (caused by the OSA) and my cardiologist put me on several heart meds, and I did not like the side effects, so
I tossed those, tossed her, and no more arrhythmia.

I just wanted to let you know, that in some instances, osa can cause insomnia, and even my sleep doctor realized that was my problem.

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Ahhhh, the patience dilemma. Sometimes it's hard to know when to just be patient, or when to know something is wrong and push for answers. Maybe it's a bit of desperation (and I know that feeling) that can cause us to keep grasping at one thing after another and not give our bodies and minds a chance to adjust and see what our status can be with OSA treatment and time. Sometimes just letting the dust settle gives us a clearer picture.

I had not heard of Neurontin being a treatment for insomnia. Is there any chance your sleep study showed limb movements? Just asking because sometimes Neurontin is prescribed for limb movements that disturb sleep. When one continues to have trouble sleeping after adjusting to cpap, limb movements is one of the things I think of to check out. Also things like thyroid dysfunction, some mood disorders, or medication side effect.

Hope things become clearer for you as you seek good sleep. Often I've felt,"Is that too much to ask?" Hopefully it's not.

Thanks for the replies, they're really appreciated!
I've never tried taping my mouth shut before, any suggestions regarding what tape to use?
I've tried a full face mask before but struggled w/it because I'm a belly sleeper.
My cardiologist wanted me to stay on the beta blockers but I decided to go off of them & after he did a series of tests he determined that the heart arrhythmia was probably due to the OSA.
I'm so NOT a medication person in the least & after the trials of Tylenol PM, Trazadone & Remeron, I wasn't interested in trying something else, but since my sleep doc wanted me to try the Neurontin, I decided to try & it's working w/keeping me asleep & the new dose seems OK? He told me that he believes the OSA caused the insomnia, seems like everything is caused by the OSA, it really blows my mind!
As far as I know I do not have any issues with leg movement while sleeping, but I'll check w/my sleep doc when I see him this week.
My machine has a card in it that's recording "stuff" but I'm not really sure how much info is recorded? I do have info on my screen but it's just an "average" for 7 days & for 30 days, not a nightly recording. From what I can see it states that my AHI is 1.2 & my leak rate is 33.4 but I'm not sure if the machine can detect when I'm actually sleeping & when I'm not? I tend to go to bed before I plan to sleep & put the machine on while I'm still awake for a bit & then I also keep it on when I'm still in bed in the morning, this might make the numbers misleading since I'm awake & wouldn't be having any apneas? I'm not really sure? I'm new to the whole data capable systems, my other unit was a ResMed Compact (I think) without any data.
Funny thing, I comment ALL the time "Is sleeping too much to ask for", just seems silly to me that I can't do something so simple without such a big flippin' deal, ya know?
Thanks again for your kind comments, I'm so happy that I found this site!
Janalee

hi there!
"is sleeping too much to ask for"

No! and when you finally get some good sleep, so many of those health issues will just take a hike! good riddance!

I use a nasal pillow too, and I tape my mouth with medical paper tape, and I cut a quarter inch hole in the middle, which is
great if you have to sneeze or cough, or whatever.. otherwise you might implode or break your tape away..

I hate meds too, and most of all the problems I had were caused by the osa.. I did manage to get to sleep FINALLY after a few weeks
of getting used to the pressure..


Oh, and yes, my machine recorded apneas while I was awake.. because I tend to have them all day and night!

Is it too much to ask to breath? ha! it aint so easy is it?

Well, you just keep putting one breath in front of the other, and keep yourself occupied till you fall asleep the best you can, and
things should start to settle in for you..

all the best, hang in there toots!

elena