[ultramar]

Hi Everyone,

I recently lowered my Seroquel dose because I was falling asleep all over the place (which was getting to the point of nearly passing out more than falling asleep) and with a lot of dizziness.

These symptoms have improved a lot now, but I am still falling asleep (mostly at work). I'm not getting tons of sleep at night, but I'm not getting any less now than when I was previously on this dose for a long time and not falling asleep like this. Sedating medications are one possible cause of sleep apnea.

So, at the previous dose I was finding myself waking up from sleep gasping for breath, which is a sign of sleep apnea (along with daytime sleepiness). This has lessened with the lower dose, but is still occasionally happening. I'm going to bring it up with my PCP when I see him in a couple of weeks.


So -have any of you guys suffered from sleep apnea as a result of taking sedating meds like Seroquel?

As a caveat, I'm not sure, of course, that I'm having apneas, I might need a sleep study to confirm it and/or rule out other causes.

[optimize990h]

Hi ultramar.

Everyone's reacts differently to medications. Just has to do with each person's biochemical systems. I had a sleeping disturbance problem and tried 3 different types of medications. The first two did not work and I hope the current one does not cause the same effects as the first two medications.

zoplicone(latin term for med)eventually caused a worse sleep disorder as it started to give me insomnia. I got switched to trazadone which caused the same effects as you described. So I got switched to Restoril 15 mg which is ok but I have to exercise regularly because my antidepressant makes me anxious enough that at bedtime I do need a sedative. So any med with sedative side effects could intensify if taken in a day and create a sleeping disorder-(apnea in your case.)

[Moose72]

I have sleep apnea. You should get a study asap to rule it out. They will likely want to know about the meds, too.

[ultramar]

Originally Posted by Moose72

I have sleep apnea. You should get a study asap to rule it out. They will likely want to know about the meds, too.

Did your doctor think it was caused by meds you were taking? I don't have the other risk factors for sleep apnea, though of course sometimes things just happen and you don't know why. I'm just super-scared that I'll have to end up choosing between Seroquel and a CPAP machine. I of course won't know until I get a sleep study, and even then the only way to know if the Seroquel caused it (if I have it) would be to go off of it, which I just can't see happening.

Thanks.

[Moose72]

I'm overweight so that's part of it. Though my son is skinny and he has it, too. You won't have to go off seroquel with a cpap.

[dizzyqueen]

Hi good topic as i am on all 3 ,CPAP, & Seroquel 100mg,& Zopiclone 15mg the only thing i would say is that the Seroquel give's me a dry mouth ect, i do sleep well that's the Zopiclone but i don't get tried with Seroquel plus i am on other meds !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! x

[ultramar]

Originally Posted by Moose72

I'm overweight so that's part of it. Though my son is skinny and he has it, too. You won't have to go off seroquel with a cpap.

I'm just afraid I'd be put in a position of making a choice, in the sense that if it is determined (somehow, don't know if it's possible) that the cause of the apneas is the Seroquel, the apneas may go away with reducing more or stopping the Seroquel in which case I wouldn't need to use a CPAP machine. Of course this would depend on how averse I am to using the machine. I work in healthcare and have seen patients on it --it looks sooo uncomfortable, at least as something to have to be worn/used every night. Do you find it very uncomfortable? If so, have you found ways to adjust it so it's more comfortable?

[Moose72]

There are many masks to choose from for one thing. But won't lie that it does take time to get used to. After all, its something on your face blowing air at you! If you try every night to use the mask, you will get used to it and it will be like second Nature. In fact, sleeping WITHOUT it will feel weird! I don't find it uncomfortable. There is a setting to change how much humidity you get, too. The pressure of the air is set by your doctor, though, based on your sleep study. I did ask for it to be lowered a bit, though, and they accomodated me. I think you need to go to the sleep study and then give the machine a solid "go", as it were. I take ativan to sleep sometimes and I'd think that the cpap would HELP if I'm having more apnea because I'm more sedated.

Please carry a list of your medications with you when you see a lung specialist (or whoever does the appointment for your sleep apnea test). If there are any meds that the doctor thinks might influence a sleep apnea test, he will tell you.

As for the dryness, yes, it can occur, but if you use clear, fresh pure
water in the humidity portion of the machine each night, you'll have plenty of moist air coming your way.

The major benefit of CPAP therapy is that it supplies the REM (rapid-eye movement) sleep that charges our "batteries". And it does reduce or even eliminate the times that you feel you need an afternoon nap.

It does not act as an insomnia solution, however. I still have to take
an antihistamine at times to relieve high histamine levels that interfere with
sleep. I will be surprised if it eliminates all insomnia for you, but you'll just
have to wait and see or ask your specialist about it.

I hope it works for you. I like the Resmed CPAP equipment personally,
but there are, as others have said, many types out there. (It's covered by Medicare, and for you, your health insurance probably will cover it.)

Good wishes and good sleeping!

[Moose72]

I use distilled water in mine. There is metal to warm the water and it will corrode with regular water.

[ultramar]

Originally Posted by genetic

Please carry a list of your medications with you when you see a lung specialist (or whoever does the appointment for your sleep apnea test). If there are any meds that the doctor thinks might influence a sleep apnea test, he will tell you.

As for the dryness, yes, it can occur, but if you use clear, fresh pure
water in the humidity portion of the machine each night, you'll have plenty of moist air coming your way.

The major benefit of CPAP therapy is that it supplies the REM (rapid-eye movement) sleep that charges our "batteries". And it does reduce or even eliminate the times that you feel you need an afternoon nap.

It does not act as an insomnia solution, however. I still have to take
an antihistamine at times to relieve high histamine levels that interfere with
sleep. I will be surprised if it eliminates all insomnia for you, but you'll just
have to wait and see or ask your specialist about it.

I hope it works for you. I like the Resmed CPAP equipment personally,
but there are, as others have said, many types out there. (It's covered by Medicare, and for you, your health insurance probably will cover it.)

Good wishes and good sleeping!

Thanks for all the information. It sounds like there are different brands? (Resmed) so maybe there are different ones to try.

To clarify, it's not a problem with insomnia, I'm getting enough sleep, the problem is that despite that, I've been extremely sleepy during the day and this just isn't normal for me, at least since I've lowered my Seroquel dose to what I had been taking for a long time previously and was basically fine on.

I can get referred for a sleep study by my PCP who I'm seeing in a couple of weeks. I know my meds backwards and forwards, so no problem there 3 out of the 4 are sedating: Seroquel, Klonopin, and Methadone for chronic pain (yes, aside from being for heroin addicts, it's used for severe chronic neuropathic pain).

But the only new thing since I started falling asleep during the day was the higher dose of Seroquel, but I don't understand why after lowering it I'm not doing better than I am. But sh**t happens, maybe I'll never know why it started now, and for that matter, maybe I don't have it. I'm looking forward to seeing my PCP and trying to get this settled. One of these days I might get caught passed out at my desk at work, and that wouldn't be pretty!

Thanks!