SleepGuide
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Trouble Falling Asleep
Hi, I am a very reluctant user of the CPAP and have had very negative feelings towards the whole thing. I have felt very resentful of having to put a mask on my face each night - looking so un-sexy and being uncomfortable. It is so hard to go to sleep because of the stress-induced tension. I make sure that the bed is made, it is calm and nice in the bedroom etc., but as soon as I put the mask on I am wide awake. My question is as follows: I take 1/2-1 Percocet each night for my feet (neuropathy), and find that when I take a whole one, I am relaxed enough to fall asleep, but hate to take a narcotic, albeit a low dose, to enable me to use my CPAP.
What do you think? Is it ok to take something to help relax you to get past the mask anxiety? I was thinking maybe taking a tylenol with one half perc. . .
I would appreciate any suggestions, thanks!
Chris
You really aren't alone on this one, and I am glad to learn that I am not either. The mask makes me feel like a creature and the awful thing about it is that it's in the bloody bedroom. My wife assures me repeatedly that she doesn't look at me differently and that I am just as sexy to her as I ever was but it is hard to believe because she could just be being nice. I feel like I have some kind of body dis-morphia, like I got ugly overnight.
Having said that I have been on a CPAP machine now for just over a month after spending the last couple of years in a haze of exhaustion. My memory has come back, my sex drive has come back, I don't hate everybody because of tired moodiness and I haven't fallen asleep at my desk in a month now. It has made me a new person and my wife is overjoyed that I am back to my energetic amiable old self. It is a rubbish price to pay for a normal life but I suspect that I my feelings of ugliness are a much bigger deal to me than to my wife. I just keep reminding myself that the positive so far outweighs the negative.
In terms of trouble getting to sleep. I found it hard in the first couple of weeks also because of anxiety and so got a prescription from my sleep specialist neurologist for Stilnox (Zolpidem), he said that it was one of the better sleeping pills for apnoea. I only needed half a tab and I was out like a light and I only needed to do that for about 7 days and then I stated to get used to the machine. He also said to me that if at any time in the future it took me longer than 20 minutes to fall asleep that I could take one. He did say to me that if you use any drugs for sleep purposes that the effect will start to wear off after 10 pays straight because you just acclimatise and then they just stop being effective but if you came off them after using them for too long you just get rebound insomnia.
I have been warned by lots of people about combining sleep aids with sleep apnoea so if I were you I would consult my physician. Self medication like you said can be dangerous and may be making things worse.
Nov 11, 2010
Bex
Nov 11, 2010
Lisa B
Like Jeffery, I prefer Melatonin to over the counter sleep aids... on the rare occasion that I take something.
My husband uses CPAP and was so embarrased in the beginning that he only put it on in the dark. He loves it so much now that he thinks I want to snuggle with his Darth Vaderness. I am glad for how much better he feels, but the best he gets with the CPAP on is a have a great day kiss on the forhead when I leave in the morning.
I have not had a sleep study, but have had extreme sleep issues in the past. I now wear an Oral Systemic Balance device and sleep great.
Check out the discussion posted by... Carol Hostetter's discussion 'Oral Systemic Balance (dental device)' Carol, Carl and Lisa's(me) stories my lead you to check further on this topic. There are many dental devices out there, but Oral Systemic Balance or Biology is different and only provided by OSB certified dentists. I see Dr. Quinttus at Rahn Dental in Dayton
Nov 23, 2010