CPAPtalk.com

idamtnboy wrote:

quietmorning wrote:I tried to send a PM to the moderators to see if they will consider a sticky or if they have any suggestions with this - but that didn't work.

Who are the moderators? How do I find them and send a group message?

Let's get a list compiled first, clean it up, organize it, then submit a suggestion to Carolyn to make it a sticky. It can be done, but understandably, she will be selective in what goes into the sticky section. My write up in the "Especially for the newly diagnosed" was made a sticky after several members recommended it be made one and I asked her to consider it. In my case the response from the members after the initial posting and discussion is probably what carried the day. So don't give up on the idea, just be patient.

I sent an email to Carolyn yesterday - so I'm waiting for her reply. I started an excel file that I will post an example of in a few minutes to show what kind of information is being collected.

So, just waiting for Carolyn to give the ok and the how to proceed.

Pugsy wrote:That's going to be one massive list. People don't usually have any idea the possible side effects to their medications in terms of how it might impact sleep as well as how it might also impact how we feel the next day.

SSRIs (pretty much all of them) will impact sleep and how we feel during the day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_ ... _inhibitor
A common reason why people who take them and are on cpap and getting awesome reports but still feel like crap.

My Ultram (tramadol) that I take during the day for pain...comes with a "may cause drowsiness" sticker so one would assume it should help me sleep but if we look at the list of possible side effects insomnia is listed and I drew that lucky little side effect. It's considered a rare side effect but it's there.
It actually wires me up a little. I don't sleep well at all if I take it after 6 PM. So damned if I do and damned if I don't.
Take it and can't sleep....don't take it and can't sleep because of the pain....so had to figure out something else to take at night.

Tramadol will let me 'almost' doze . . . I get very sleepy, but absolutely CANNOT go to sleep. So, yeah. A frustrating little side effect, because when you are in that much pain, sleep is a necessity.

Pugsy, I'm going to PM you the list I've done so far (this morning) - the blocks in yellow are information blocks I still need. IF you have time - if you could help me with the meds you suggested, I'd appreciate it. If not, I'll try to do some research when I have time to fill in the blanks.

Porphyria runs in my family - porphyrics cannot - absolutely cannot take certain drugs or it could kill them. . .so there is usually a (very long) list available - sorted by drug class, then by drug name - but it lists the ability for a porphyric to take according to the porphyria type. I have used it many times and find it incredibly usefull. So, if the drug list is in a common excel file (for data gathering) with ability to have new drugs submitted (this is how the porphyria drug list is achieved) then the update should not be too complicated. **hope**

Thank you for your suggestions!

BlackSpinner wrote:For me antihistamines, which makes some people sleep, make my sleep worse. But it is sold OTC as sleep medication.....

BlackSpinner, could you please tell me what specific antihistamines you have tried and can't use? I'm doing a drug name then drug class spread sheet.

Thanks!

This morning I opened an excel sheet to gather data - so far so good. Here are the categories:

Drug Name
Drug Class
Worsens Apnea (Yes/No_
Effects Sleep (Yes/No)
Mechanical Effect (Toxology of the drug - what it blocks, releases, etc)
Physical Effect (What the physical outcome is - causes insonmia, causes vivid dreaming, etc)
Wean under Doctor Supervision (Yes, No)
Pharmacology Report (Link)
Supporting links

Any other information you would look for to help you make decisions? I'll be happy to add any other categories if needed.

quietmorning wrote:

BlackSpinner wrote:For me antihistamines, which makes some people sleep, make my sleep worse. But it is sold OTC as sleep medication.....

BlackSpinner, could you please tell me what specific antihistamines you have tried and can't use? I'm doing a drug name then drug class spread sheet.

Thanks!

Many OTC sleep remedies contain diphenhydramine (Benadryl). There is some concern regarding the negative impact of diphenydramine on cognitive function. Here's a link to one article:

http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article ... eid=649062
Diphenhydramine administration in older hospitalized patients is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline and other adverse effects with a dose-response relationship

The advanced search for The National Library of Medicine's Daily Med (http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/advancedSearch.cfm) has the facility of searching within the Adverse Reactions section of the label of drugs approved from about 2009. This should help develop a more comprehensive list.

I'm a librarian had have had to develop knowledge of this kind of resource.

I mentioned Aleve in the other thread ( viewtopic/t68121/Numbers-good-feel-bad- ... -Meds.html ). On the forum, in various threads, members have complained of disturbed sleep or grogginess from Aleve. For me, it was extreme grogginess. To be fair, others have reported no adverse reactions. But of course, there are the risks associated with NSAIDS in general.
Here's a link to a partial list of adverse reactions as listed by Drugs.com

http://www.drugs.com/ppa/naproxen.html
Headache; dizziness; drowsiness; vertigo; lightheadedness; mental depression; nervousness; irritability; fatigue; malaise; insomnia; sleep disorders; dream abnormalities; aseptic meningitis

J

Thank you, howkim and Jay! HUGE help, howkim!! Wow!! Jay - thank you for taking the time to look those up. I really like that site - (drugs.com) very informative.

I just got home from the sleep study - so it will probably be tomorrow before I do any work on this again - as . . . you don't sleep at sleep studies. . .lol.

I plan to work an hour a day on this - and the thinking is evolving into maybe a link to a site that can pull up the drug by class or by generic or brand name and then give the user information concerning how it effects sleep - then perhaps link it here. I don't know. . .will get to that once I have a reasonable data list to do something with. Shooting for user friendly. . .and think that might be the friendliest.

But, then, who knows, things change as things evolve.

I had a terrible experience with benadryl and hope I wasn't brain damaged by it and the sleep apnea

I think klonopin is the best so far for me, does anyone know why it works in lowering arousal events and keeping your O2/CO2 levels healthier? maybe it treats PLMD/twitching as a seizure med?

sickwithapnea17 wrote:I had a terrible experience with benadryl and hope I wasn't brain damaged by it and the sleep apnea

I think klonopin is the best so far for me, does anyone know why it works in lowering arousal events and keeping your O2/CO2 levels healthier? maybe it treats PLMD/twitching as a seizure med?

Thank you sickwithapnea17! What happened when you took the benadryl (if you don't mind my asking)?

quietmorning wrote:This morning I opened an excel sheet to gather data - so far so good. Here are the categories:

Drug Name
Drug Class
Worsens Apnea (Yes/No_
Effects Sleep (Yes/No)
Mechanical Effect (Toxology of the drug - what it blocks, releases, etc)
Physical Effect (What the physical outcome is - causes insonmia, causes vivid dreaming, etc)
Wean under Doctor Supervision (Yes, No)
Pharmacology Report (Link)
Supporting links

Any other information you would look for to help you make decisions? I'll be happy to add any other categories if needed.

Besides Drug Class (technical term) how about typical uses (ie pain; allergy; etc) in case someone wants to search the data by it's non-technical purpose? For we who aren't trained in the medical lingo.
Also, would this be downloadable as .XLS or .CSV ? If it's simply posted in printed format, it is a pain to import back into a spreadsheet.

n0hardmask wrote:

quietmorning wrote:This morning I opened an excel sheet to gather data - so far so good. Here are the categories:

Drug Name
Drug Class
Worsens Apnea (Yes/No_
Effects Sleep (Yes/No)
Mechanical Effect (Toxology of the drug - what it blocks, releases, etc)
Physical Effect (What the physical outcome is - causes insonmia, causes vivid dreaming, etc)
Wean under Doctor Supervision (Yes, No)
Pharmacology Report (Link)
Supporting links

Any other information you would look for to help you make decisions? I'll be happy to add any other categories if needed.

Besides Drug Class (technical term) how about typical uses (ie pain; allergy; etc) in case someone wants to search the data by it's non-technical purpose? For we who aren't trained in the medical lingo.
Also, would this be downloadable as .XLS or .CSV ? If it's simply posted in printed format, it is a pain to import back into a spreadsheet.

Very good - and you're right. Thanks! Will do.

We haven't gotten that far, yet. There are several different directions this can take - hopefully it will be the most user friendly. I'll keep this updated, though - and having it in a downloadable xls or csv file will go on the list of possibilities. Thanks!

49er wrote:Hi,

My ENT said that Ambien should not be prescribed if you have sleep apnea.

It was listed as something to tell your doctor about if you had it in the precaution section of the pharmacy printout that came with the med.

As an FYI, I quit taking it after one night for other reasons.

Obviously, each person has to talk to his/her doctor and make up their own minds.

49er

Your ENT is ignorant about Ambien b/c Zolpiden which is generic Ambien is being prescribed successfully for those with Central Sleep Apnea Syndrome. Check these:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare ... rders/3594

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2670330/

IMO, ENTs should be the last profession to trust about sleep medications. The problem with Ambien is that it's addictive in large doses. So you need to have self control to counter it and not go above 10 mg daily dose. I been taking 10 mg Zolpidem for sleep during more than 15 years. It also helped me a lot while starting CPAP 3 years ago. But a year ago I was also prescribed Alprazolam (generic Xanax) by a different Doc (Psychiatrisat) for Anxiety (the dose is: as needed). I take only 0.5 mg ER daily Alprazolam dose which is, IMO, a sub minimal dose. Because this Psycho don't like Zolpidem I have been tapering off it successfully. Only during those rare times in which I don't fall asleep for 30 min after starting my APAP, like now, I then take 5 mg Zolpidem by splitting the 10 mg tablet. Now it's 15 min since taking it and I feel my eyes closing. So I better stop here.

Quietmorning,
Here is a link that Mollete sent me that was very informative as far as my "cocktail" goes http://www.drugs.com/interactions-check ... 87,527-263

Maybe it will help.

First, thank you for adding more to the list - I am book marking this post so that I can easily access it, and will pick up new information as it is added.

Second - I had a long talk with my husband last night concerning what I'd like to see happen with this, and after much discussion and honing, we've decided to write software on a couple of different levels that will enable a larger availability for the sleep deprived individual. I don't want it to be a merchandised product - would like to see it free for anyone who needs it. But instead of posting it as a sticky, or in Wiki, this will develop into a site and into an app for smart phones and tablets. The user will be able to search the drug a few different ways and be able to pull up a grid of sorts that will tell how the drug effects sleep. We are looking into the legal liabilities right now to make sure it doesn't smack us into the poor house.

After it is set up, then I will post a link HERE on this post with everything needed to set it up for yourself.

So wish us luck!

I'll update you on the progress once a month - hopefully it will be finished before the year is out.