[jen29]

Hi,

just wondering if anyone using a CPAP? Probably a stupid ? and am sure there are some out there that do. I know it takes adjusting to, but how long? I am just not adjusting to mine. How long does it take? Ok so it's been a week now...and am supposed to sleep with it or at least use it for so many hours a night for my insurance to cover it. It has a chip in it for them to download and make sure am using it...well I am using it, but am not sleeping any better than before.

I am going on my 14th week now or maybe more with very sleepless nights...about 2 hours a night. I sooo can't take this anymore. I have been on sleeping pills, and i can fall asleep and crap like that but can't stay alseep.

I did have the sleep test and was discoved to have moderate sleep apnea. i use the full mask that covers the nose and mouth because when at the sleep study i freaked out when just over the nose for some reason and I feel like am getting more air when i have the full one on...but still not hardly any sleep. I sleep the first hour and then am up for pretty much the rest of the night.

Anyways, it's just begining to take a HUGE toll on my mental health and there are physical problems too, but with not much sleep not a lot i can do during the day lately. I have no clue what to even do about this anymore. I went to my Pdoc when couldn't sleep, he sent me to specialist, now I use this machine, and still nothing...i mean what's the point?

I take my meds each night at the same time...and am up about the same time or about an hour to two hours later after I fall asleep pretty much till sun comes up. It's getting pretty frusterating.

Thanks for listening and any feedback would be appreciated very much,
Jen

[Yoda]

Sounds rough for you. I also have insomnia and sleep apnea. It took a couple of years and switching to a new Pdoc to find the right meds to help me sleep. I have been using CPAP for nearly two years. Mine just covers my nose not my mouth. I am fine with it most of the time but sometimes it just annoys the heck out of me for some reason and I toss the face piece to the floor and say not tonight. But I am getting more and better quality sleep than several years ago.

How long have you been taking your current sleep meds? Perhaps you need them adjusted.

[jen29]

I have been on and off sleeping medications since the age of 17 and now am 31. My pdoc is the only one in the area and have had my share of them. I guess am just frusterated and pretty much at the end of my rope with this issue. It's affecting every area of my mental and physical well being right now.

Once am awake i try and go back to sleep but that either takes forever and can only stand laying there for a certain amount of time, or I am not tired anymore.

[Yoda]

My therapist told me not to lie in bed if I cannot go back to sleep. She said if I am awake more than fifteen or twenty minutes to get up and do something soothing and try to relax before returning to bed. It can be very frustrating when you starting counting how long you have been awake and how little sleep you have got. Also I find a small snack about an hour before bed helps me. Sometimes with herbal tea.

[jen29]

Ok it's now almost 5:30 am and have been up for over 6 hours now. I went to bed just like i normally do and woke up of course after an hour and tried but couldn't go back to sleep. There is no where for me to go at night when I wake up so am in my room. We live in a 2 bedroom apt. and my step-mom has one room, i have the other and my dad sleeps ing the living room....long story and he has always done that since they lived here starting almost 8 years ago even before i moved in.

I just don't know what happened cause it started all of a sudden the not sleeping and now it's week 14 or 15 am loosing count. I am going to see if can get in with Pdoc this or next week, but don't know what he can do.

Oh well

Jen

[Perna]

Oh, Jen, it sounds so hard for you. Did the night sleeping correspond to changes in your step-mom's and father's relationship and sleep situation? That would make sense to me.

I go downstairs when I am having a bad night, eat a banana or a slice of cinnamon raisin toast, or a carton of yogurt. I don't like it downstairs because I keep the temperature really really cold (the cool air across my face seems to help me sleep) so I prefer to lay in bed a bit, even if I'm awake rather than be 'up".

I have asthma and hypothyroid and those conditions can affect sleep too. I've found that if I take a Pepcid Complete antacid and a children's allergy med that has sleepiness as a side effect, that I do much better than usual (but I don't do that every night as I don't want my body to get habituated) because my breathing/any post nasal drip or GERD that might bother the asthma is not there. Maybe go to your regular doc and look for other physical conditions that might cause difficulty? Have you done that lately?

[jen29]

Perna

They have slept like that for years. My dad snores so bad and of course won't do anything about it. He doesn't have insurance but he still wouldn't do anything.

I don't really know what is going on with the sleep issue. I started having flashbacks around week 5 but before that I was ok with staying up all night and not getting any sleep.

There are times now when I hallucinate, actually started about 6 weeks ago and I know I told my T and am pretty sure I told my pdoc.

As far as taking something over-the-counter, I have to be careful because am on a class of medications called MAOLs...they are anti-depressents but the old ones they used to give before the SSRIs became popular...at least that's how I understand it. I took a benadryl once and almost passed out from being so dizzy so am not ging to try that again.

I have valium and pain pills and stuff like that but first that's not what they're for and second when I have taken then sleep maybe an hour.

I thought now the not sleeping could have to do with it being so flipping hot in my room, but I couldn't sleep during the winter months either. Guess am just at my witts end now and my thinking has really gone downhill. I just am totally not me anymore, guess that happens when u get about 15 hours of sleep a week....and no am not being drmatic about this. There are days when I can't drive because I don't trust my reaction.

Anyways, ty everyone
Jen

[onlymedid]

My husband has his CPAP and it took him about 2 weeks to get used to it, now he can't sleep without it! He loves it because he gets plenty of sleep.
I'm sorry you are having such a hard time of it. It will get better.

[Perna]

I would go back to your regular doctor, pdoc and/or the sleep clinic, see if they can find another cause of your insomnia; it definitely doesn't sound normal and could be a different, more serious sleep disorder. You shouldn't be hallucinating, that's not good losing that much sleep that you hallucinate. All your doctors need to talk together and try something different; the cpap isn't working so it's probably not your sleep apnea that's the main problem?

[jen29]

I called the place where the doc. gave me the cpap machine and talked to someone who specializes in people who are on the machine. She said it can take up to 2 months before getting the full affects. I wanted to cry then. I told her you mean I have already been through 14 weeks of barley any sleep and you are telling me that I could have another 8 weeks of this. She really didn't have much to say. She said to keep giving it a try and if still having problems down the line to call back. Doesn't really give me much hope.

I have an appt. on my pdoc on Friday but he doesn't know what to do about the sleep thing, he has told me that before. I have an appt. with my reg. doc on Thursday due to some other things going on but am going to mention it to him i think and see what he says.

Thanks everyone for the advise.

Jen

[Perna]

I hope the reg. doc can think of something to help; do tell him you're hallucinating:

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1690

[jen29]

Yeah I don't know what am even supposed to say anymore. i have a pdoc and he says there isn't much he can do so he sent me to the sleep specialist. So that should solve the problem right. They found that have sleep apnea and so I don't even know what am saying anymore.

I read the article you linked above and it's kinda scary. I mean saying people who are sleep deprived are more likely to die from it because of health problems. Well, am developing my share of them. That's the reason am going to see the doc. on Thursday. So who knows, and right now I don't care. I know sounds like a horrible attitude and that's fine if you think that. i don't know what to say anymore. I mean am I supposed to take a bottle of pills to get 4 hours of sleep or more? I don't remember the last time I got that much sleep in one night. But have gotten to the point where it doesn't matter anymore. The depression has returned and I know in my head or whereever that it's because am so flipping tired, but it's there. Then the thoughts get bad and then so on and so on.

Who knows anymore. If this is all in my head then I want it out. I was able to function at a very pretty "normal" level for many weeks at first, and now I can barley get out of bed. I want to cancel all my appointments and just curl up in a ball and cry. But the tears won't come and I won't let them. Right now, I don't even know what to do, i so don't want tonight to come, i don't want bedtime to come. I can fall asleep but can't stay that way.

Oh well as I always say. Guess something has to always be wrong in my life lately. Sorry know that was stupid to say, just saying what's in my head. And probably feeling pretty sorry for myself right now.

Has anyone ever heard of being given a shot or something along those lines to put you to sleep for a while? I am just getting pretty desperate and I know a doc. around here would never do that, just wondering if anyone has ever heard of that?

Thanks,
Jen

[dance59326]

Here's the sister forum to PC I highly suggest you look at this one, here's the link for all the sleep study issues and CPAP issues. Maybe this might help, keep me posted
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/se...ry=Sleep+Study

[jen29]

I went to the sleep specialist on Monay and she said i am doing all the right things, just keep doing what am doing. Meaning am trying everything i can do at this point. I have to see an insomnia specialist. He does what is called CBT-I and it just involved nighttime things and how have to scrape and then drive into work and pick you up.

i have to get going, you get ready too...ce ya in littl bit,
Jen