A cure for daytime sleepiness, maybe

The only symptom of my sleep apnea has been daytime sleepiness. I started CPAP last September and have reduced my AHI from 68 to an average of about 2.7 to 3.2. But the original daytime sleepiness continues.

I recently saw a new specialist and told him my cardiologist took me off ALL caffeine 5 years ago because of my atrial fibrillation. But when I've been extremely sleepy while driving, I've found a Coke relieves the symptom and does not induce palpitations. So this specialist suggested I try a cup of "1/2 Caf" coffee in the morning. That brand claims to have 1/2 the amount of caffeine normally found in coffee. He felt it might be enough stimulus to jump-start me for the day.

After only three days, it seems to be working. The daytime sleepiness symptoms have not completed disappeared, but they definitely have diminished.

Has anyone here tried this approach to my problem?

No I have not tried it. As I understand it b/c you suffer from heart problems you should not try to accelerate it with taking Rx such as Provigil. Doesn't drinking Coffee do the same thing i.e. accelerate the heart?

avi123 wrote:No I have not tried it. As I understand it b/c you suffer from heart problems you should not try to accelerate it with taking Rx such as Provigil. Doesn't drinking Coffee do the same thing i.e. accelerate the heart?

I just read wikipedia's writeup on Modafinil and it is prescribed for daytime sleepiness associated with obstructive sleep apnea, but also is contraindicated for previous cardiovascular problems. I guess that is why the specialist asked if the caffeine in a Coke gave me palpitations. So far, the 1/2 caf has not increased my heart rate, so maybe it is below the problematic threshold. I'll continue to watch my pulse rate and BP.

I had very strong A-Fib and really had to stay away from any cafine - I went through all the drugs and finally had to have a procedure done to get rid of the A-Fib. Experiment with small doses of cafine, but really be careful because the cafine alone can bring on bouts of A-Fib if you are already prone to it - - proceed with caution.

As I understand it, you mean "Folgers® 1/2 Caff". I also suffer from RES (Residual Excessive Sleepiness) during the a. m. part of the days and I don't have cardiac problems. Just a plain OSA. It's a RES and not an EDS (Excessive Daytime Sleepiness) b/c we have "Residual", meaning that it's in spite of using a CPAP machine.

Normally I have tea in the morning. I am ready to try "real" coffee (Starbuck's VIA = 100% natural roasted instant & microground coffee), and see if it makes a difference.


In 2009 a French study discovered that 12% of CPAP users have RESes, and when omitting Restless Legs and Depression the prevalence of the RESes dropped to 6%.

Read here about it:

Prevalence of residual excessive sleepiness
in CPAP-treated sleep apnoea patients: the
French multicentre study

http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/33/5/1062.full.pdf

p.s. about the "Folgers® 1/2 Caff" I don't understand why you can't mix it with half of SANKA and get the same result?

avi123 wrote: Read here about it:

Prevalence of residual excessive sleepiness
in CPAP-treated sleep apnoea patients: the
French multicentre study

http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/33/5/1062.full.pdf

p.s. about the "Folgers® 1/2 Caff" I don't understand why you can't mix it with half of SANKA and get the same result?

Thanks for all that information. I'll download the pdf file. BTW, I do not have Restless Legs or Depression, so I guess I'm in the 6%.

Yes, I'm using Folger's 1/2 Caff and it is not too expensive, at the rate I'm using it.

I think Maxwell House used to have a Light version, which was half the caffeine.

I know that Green Mountain has a half-caff version of their coffee in K-Cups.

But you can just mix regular & decaf coffee (same brand) and get the same thing.

I try not to drink coffee past lunch time. I tend to have insomnia problems so not too much coffee for me.

Two cups of black coffee with breakfast is great. At times I will have an additional two cups at lunch. I live in the NW United States. Coffee is mandatory.

Come to think of it, I could pass on the coffee and feel fine as well. Anything more and the effect of Caffine is too much.

Linus wrote:Two cups of black coffee with breakfast is great. At times I will have an additional two cups at lunch. I live in the NW United States. Coffee is mandatory.

Skip the coffee and go for straight caffeine

I have made a point of NOT drinking coffee after lunch (I am a big coffee drinker). The afternoon "sleepies" get me daily and I have started having something (coffee, cappucino) mid afternoon. At that time of day, I was concerned it would keep me awake at night.

Not only does it not keep me awake at night, it doesn't keep me awake in the afternoon either! I STILL doze off, even if I've had a caffeinated drink!!!

ozze_dollar wrote:I try not to drink coffee past lunch time. I tend to have insomnia problems so not too much coffee for me.

No kidding! I haven't been able to tolerate caffeine of any sort past noon for probably over 20 years. Doh! That should of been one of the first clues that OSA may be a problem...

Fleming02 wrote:I have got some cause of this cure One of the primary causes of excessive sleepiness among Americans is self-imposed sleep deprivation. In the U.S. and many other parts of the world, sleep loss may occur as a result of economic or societal pressures. there are many more but these are basic.

Just for this thread, I do not have self-imposed sleep deprivation. Prior to my sleep apnea Dx, I slept 7 hours every night, and usually went to sleep within a couple of minutes of hitting the pillow. I often woke once, to use the bathroom, and then immediately went back to sleep. I woke at the same time every morning, without the aid of an alarm clock. My AHI was 68.0. My only symptom was excessive daytime sleepiness. I am 85 years old and work out at the gym 7 days a week for about 1.5 hours.

I have been using CPAP for 7 months, average 7.2 hours sleep a night, wake without an alarm clock at the same time each morning. Rarely have a bathroom break during the night. Still am asleep within a couple of minutes of hitting the bed. AHI now averages 3.2. But my daytime excessive sleepiness persists. I have been drinking one cup of 1/2 Caff each morning for about 4 days. I've notices a slight reduction of the daytime symptoms, but nothing dramatic.

Following this thread has been very informative to me. Thanks for all who contributed.

I drink tea. I really only like coffee if it is some mocha concoction. I took nuvagil for awhile within conjunction with metadate (extended release ritalin). Nuvagil is expensive so I didn't continue using it since it didn't do anything anyway. Still take ritalin as before. Still could sleep any time.

For years my trick for beating the 3 p.m. slump was eating an apple. It totally works, while caffeine only gives you the illusion of alertness.