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Correlation with caffeine and difficulty using therapy?

I was wondering if anyone had noticed a correlation between caffeine intake and having difficulty using their sleep machine?  Not going to sleep, but leaving the mask on and sleeping through the night with it.  I've been trying to use a bipap with ASV machine for about 2 months, but have only had success in wearing it all night for the last 7-8 nights.  The nights that it worked I noticed that I had not had any caffeine after about 1:00 in the afternoon.  Yesterday, around 4:00, I took one Excedrin (contains caffeine) for a headache and then last night I took my mask off at some point (I don't remember doing it) and evidently slept the rest of the night without it.  Is there a connection?

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Kristi, for you there certainly seems to be a connection.  This is how therapy works best- trial and error.  You have discovered an important key to making success of your therapy.  Good catch. 

Kristy,

I have been using Cpap for about 6 months and have wondered about the connection between caffeine usage and, for me, increasing AHIs.  It's a great question.  (I also have arthritis and am wondering about the connection with it, as well.) For years, I've been a heavy coffee drinker.

I agree with Mary, that it may well be an individual thing.

Barb

Listen to your body.

People have different sensitivities and some are quite sensitive to the effects of caffeine. Best advice (in addition to what Mary suggested) is to limit your consumption to mornings. It might even make a difference if you cut back how much coffee you drink in the morning.

Alcohol is another substance that can be problematic for some. I can drink quite a lot.  By contrast, two friends can barely drink a whole glass of wine without becoming sleepy. Result? They really don't enjoy alcohol much at all.

Hi Gang, Zollistar is on the right track. I have been tracking food and ahi info out of curiosity to see what makes a differance. Caffeine wheather it be in coffee or chocolate does negativly affect ahi if consumed with in 4 hours of sleep time. A large meal 2 hours before bed will send numbers off the rails. A small snack not too bad 2 hours before bed. A product called cafix has helped by replacing coffee in evening... numbers improve. Good Sleep,Chris 

:D But now seriously - like ZolliStar said caffeine influences the human body depending on the specific organism and the effects could vary, but for sleep disorder patients it's better to stop taking it at all. If I had coffee or a caffeine headache pill after 4-5h pm I wasn't able to fall asleep at all. After replacing coffee products with herbal teas that lower the blood pressure and decrease hyperactivity however I was able to get some relief for my insomnia. My parents (unlike me) are both diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (only my mother sleeps with a CPAP machine, though) followed my example and stopped taking caffeine in any form and replaced it with the likes of green tea in the morning (even better effect than coffee) and other herbal teas before bedtime. They both feel more rested and energetic during the day.

ZolliStar said:

Listen to your body.

People have different sensitivities and some are quite sensitive to the effects of caffeine. Best advice (in addition to what Mary suggested) is to limit your consumption to mornings. It might even make a difference if you cut back how much coffee you drink in the morning.

Alcohol is another substance that can be problematic for some. I can drink quite a lot.  By contrast, two friends can barely drink a whole glass of wine without becoming sleepy. Result? They really don't enjoy alcohol much at all.

Thanks for adding your comment, Lilly.

I have decided to (try to!) quit all caffeine. I've done it twice before -- long before I knew I had SA -- and both times I actually felt a better sense of well-being. BUT I adore coffee, the stronger the better, so I "fell of the wagon" again. And again.

I'm now weaning myself. I had a "short" cup of strong coffee this morning. I'll keep to that for another few days and then go to an even shorter strong cup for another week. Soon enough I'll be off caffeine completely -- and without headaches.

I suspect I'll sleep much better. So far, my sleeping is (still) not optimal. I think coffee (and chocolate: oh yes, another adored addiction) is a major contributing cause.

Happily, however, I still seem to be able to drink. ;-) 

~ Z/S



Lilly said:

:D But now seriously - like ZolliStar said caffeine influences the human body depending on the specific organism and the effects could vary, but for sleep disorder patients it's better to stop taking it at all. If I had coffee or a caffeine headache pill after 4-5h pm I wasn't able to fall asleep at all. After replacing coffee products with herbal teas that lower the blood pressure and decrease hyperactivity however I was able to get some relief for my insomnia. My parents (unlike me) are both diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (only my mother sleeps with a CPAP machine, though) followed my example and stopped taking caffeine in any form and replaced it with the likes of green tea in the morning (even better effect than coffee) and other herbal teas before bedtime. They both feel more rested and energetic during the day.

ZolliStar said:

Listen to your body.

People have different sensitivities and some are quite sensitive to the effects of caffeine. Best advice (in addition to what Mary suggested) is to limit your consumption to mornings. It might even make a difference if you cut back how much coffee you drink in the morning.

Alcohol is another substance that can be problematic for some. I can drink quite a lot.  By contrast, two friends can barely drink a whole glass of wine without becoming sleepy. Result? They really don't enjoy alcohol much at all.

Hmm the drinking part got me thinking, Zolli... I know it's not the best place to discuss this, but has anyone tried to combine medicinal marijuana with their SA treatment? I have a lot of stoner friends who reportedly (LOL) sleep much better after a bedtime drag. I thought about it before, but as you can figure yourself, that's not a very good thing to advise your parents to do :) From what my friends told me, medicinal marijuana is grown without any artificial fertilizers and is much more "natural" than the crap sold on the streets. It is said to decrease your blood pressure and clear your mind from all the stress for a while. I'm not a SA expert, but after witnessing all the grunting and snoring of a SA patient, getting your body relaxed could probably work with the air flow obstructions. That's in no way a recommendation, though. I'm just thinking out loud ;)

ZolliStar said:

Thanks for adding your comment, Lilly.

I have decided to (try to!) quit all caffeine. I've done it twice before -- long before I know I had SA -- and both times I actually felt a better sense of well-being. BUT I adore coffee, the stronger the better, so I "fell of the wagon".

I'm weaning myself. I had a "short" cup of strong coffee this morning. I'll keep to that for another few days and then go an even shorter cup for another week. Soon enough I'll be off caffeine completely -- and without headaches.

I suspect I'll sleep much better. So far, my sleeping is (still) not optimal. I think coffee (and chocolate: oh yes, another addiction) is a major contributing cause.

Happily, however, I seem to be able to drink. ;-)

~ Z/S



Lilly said:

:D But now seriously - like ZolliStar said caffeine influences the human body depending on the specific organism and the effects could vary, but for sleep disorder patients it's better to stop taking it at all. If I had coffee or a caffeine headache pill after 4-5h pm I wasn't able to fall asleep at all. After replacing coffee products with herbal teas that lower the blood pressure and decrease hyperactivity however I was able to get some relief for my insomnia. My parents (unlike me) are both diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (only my mother sleeps with a CPAP machine, though) followed my example and stopped taking caffeine in any form and replaced it with the likes of green tea in the morning (even better effect than coffee) and other herbal teas before bedtime. They both feel more rested and energetic during the day.

ZolliStar said:

Listen to your body.

People have different sensitivities and some are quite sensitive to the effects of caffeine. Best advice (in addition to what Mary suggested) is to limit your consumption to mornings. It might even make a difference if you cut back how much coffee you drink in the morning.

Alcohol is another substance that can be problematic for some. I can drink quite a lot.  By contrast, two friends can barely drink a whole glass of wine without becoming sleepy. Result? They really don't enjoy alcohol much at all.

Do your stoner friends have sleep apnea?  I can't see where it would help, what CPAP does is splint open the airway with air when it collapses while we sleep.  Marijuana might be good for insomnia and general relaxation before bed and may help that way.  I seriously doubt (though you never know) that we'll ever see a research study about OSA  treatment with medical marijuana.  By the way, this is an ok place to bring that subject up.  Medical marijuana is legal in certain states and some of us have certainly tried strange remedies.  Unfortunately no one with anecdotal experience will be able to post.

Hi Gang, Anything that relaxes the airway is potentially going to raise your ahi .So you may need more pressure to keep your airway open than your machine is programed to do. So if you stop posting we will know the comorbidities took you. Sorry to rain on your picnic,Chris

No need to apologize Chris. I don't have sleep apnea and was just asking for my relatives.  I'll make sure to regularly post here so that you wouldn't worry ;)

Maurijuana will help with onset but cause sleep fragmentation later on in the night. Much the same as alcohol. It does some crazy stuff to your brainwaves as well. I have heard that there have been some new strains produced specifically for sleep. Alas my lifestyle does not allow me to experiment with these things anymore. DAm the luck after moving to a legal state:) Eating it rather than smoking it will produce better results. Better for you and your system. Unfortunately there is no way to be sure about what goes into these plants as regulation is scetchy at best. It would be much better for everyone if the gov't would make a decision on the matter and stick with it.  My wife found an amzing study on this subject a while back. Ill see if I can pull it up again.

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