Jeffster, I don't have any good news for you, but I do want to share that others like myself share your condition. I have struggled with non-restorative sleep, multiple wake ups, and waking early (the big wake) for years. When I was younger, it wasn't much of a problem. I would just get up, drink coffee, smoke cigarettes and go off to work. As I got older, I found that I had more and more difficulty coping; fatigue, lack of concentration, depression, etc. I finally found my way to a psg and was diagnosed with moderate to severe apnea and severe PLMD. I was given a cpap and nasal pillows, was non-compliant, went through all the self learning stages that one has to with this affliction. One day I discovered I could get some data from my S8 elite. Man, was I excited and mad that no professional had bothered to tell me that data was available short of going for another PSG, of which I've had three. Anyway, since that day (about a year ago) I've worked hard at getting my respiratory events under control. I've fired and hired a number of sleep docs and become 100% compliant with an AHI around 3 and an AI about 0.5. Problem is, I still don't obtain restorative sleep. According to my PSG's and Zeo I only get about 7 minutes of deep sleep a night. I go from stage 2 right to REM, to wake, to stage 2 throughout the night.
Now here's the thing, I don't feel unsuccessful. I'm fairly certain I started with more than one problem. Afterall, I was diagnosed with severe PLMD as well as OSA. Unfortunately, treatment for PLMD came at time when I was non-compliant. CPAP didn't help, drugs didn't help, I still felt lousy in the morning. I quickly gave up on both. But now that I have my apnea under control, I feel I can tackle whatever else is keeping me from getting to deep, restorative sleep.
That's a little harder, though. Abnormal sleep architecture or fractured sleep does not seem to have a common cause or treatment. Just as an aside, I read a study which seemed to indicate that abstinate alchoholics (me) have abnormal sleep architecture for years after their last drink. Unfortunately, no treatment was suggested. Anyway, my plan is now to continue to try different drug therapies for the PLMD, one at a time, til I find the one that works. I have put together a little mini sleep lab at home with my ResScan, Pulse-Ox, IR video, and Zeo to help me objectively determine what's working and what isn't. I have determined that a new drug, Horizent, does not work for me. It decreased my deep sleep and increased my wakings. I am now starting at the beginning with ropinirole, which I took years ago but didn't give a fair chance.
So, I guess this is kind of a pep-talk. Don't get discouraged. It sounds as if you're really getting a handle on your AHI. Keep that up until you can rule it out as a disruptive issue and look to the next thing. Be careful with the drugs, I would research each, even the benadryl, and make sure it contributes to deep sleep, or at least, doesn't prevent it, and keep them to a minimum so that results aren't concealed unintentionally.
Hang in there!
Jay
P.S. See this guy's opinion on benadryl:
http://www.askdrjones.com/blog/take-2-b ... e-morning/
BTW, My blood pressure has dropped significantly since I've been compliant. 145/80 to 120/70