Hello all. If it's not one thing, its another. I finally figure out my eds problem, it was definetly the dilantin causing it for me. Now I'm on lamictal, and I can't sleep more than 5 hours.  With my history of bi-polar disorder and epilepsy, this is not good.  The good news is I can definetly tell a difference between the eds I was having before, and what I am experiencing now. This is the eye-drooping, droggy I can't sleep feeling, the other was sudden, overwhelming feelings of sleepiness that would leave almost as quickly as they would come on.  Still having a few of these, but 1 or 2 a week instead of 3 to 4 a day. I talked to my p-doc and he gave me a script for 5mg of Sonata, he said I could take it in the middle of the night when I wake up and I would be able to wake up normally in the morning.  CVS didnt have it in stock, so I will have to wait to tomorrow, but I'm wondering if I should run this through with my pulmonologist before I take any.  Does anyone have experience with this stuff? Virginia


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Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

Zaleplon is a short acting drug that should do the trick. It may also increase your amount of Slow Wave Sleep.

Thanks Ram,  the  readout on it sounded a bit scary, but I guess no more than any other sleep aid.  Hopefully I won't need it for more than a few nights. Virginia


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Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

Tried it with my son; it kept him awake.  But, he often has paradoxical reactions to drugs so he may not be one to go by.  I'd like to hear how it works for you.

I think it's the lamictal. I took it a little earlier this evening and I was wide awake at 3 am. I think I'll try taking it right before bedtime, maybe I can get another couple hours in .  If that doesn't work, I'll try the sonata.  It's 6 am, I'm going back to bed. Virginia


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Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

I took the Lamictal right before bedtime, as instructed by the Neoro. Still woke up at 3 am, so I took a Sonata. That was a disaster, I was in and out of sleep until I crawled out of bed at 6 am. Maybe I need a higher dose?  I'll check with my Pdoc today and see what he says, but I'm inclined not to take it and just stick it out without the sleep aid  until my body gets used to this.  Virginia


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Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

virginia57 wrote:

I took the Lamictal right before bedtime, as instructed by the Neoro. Still woke up at 3 am, so I took a Sonata. That was a disaster, I was in and out of sleep until I crawled out of bed at 6 am. Maybe I need a higher dose?  I'll check with my Pdoc today and see what he says, but I'm inclined not to take it and just stick it out without the sleep aid  until my body gets used to this.  Virginia

I believe that it has a very short hlaf life, so if it doesnt work at a certain point, it isnt likely to help you. Double check, but I think so.

Ambien worked better than Sonata with my son  (still not good enough, but the dr later said I should have increased the dose instead of giving up.)

we ended up going with Trazadone which has worked pretty well for years, however, it also increased his daytime fatigue/sleepiness/groggy-ness.  

(We have decreased it the past 2 weeks which increased his alertness during the day, however his sleep at night is worsening so now he's back to being tired/sleepy during the day. ...can't win....I have been considering asking the dr about Ambien again at a higher dose than last time---he took a very minimal dose because he usually reacts strongly to meds...you just never know w/him because of his neurological issues. )

Have you tried Lunesta?  some people swear by that....but seems like there was some reason I doubted it for my son...don't remember.

  If nothing works better, I'm in favor of gonig back to the regular dose of Trazadone because even though he was not alert until 4pm, I was able to get a full night sleep.  If I don't get my sleep (because of getting up w/him) I am too groggy & tired to provide quality interactions/stimulation/care with him during the day.
 
I hope you (and my son) find something that works well.

(sorry, I didn't mean to turn this into being about us).

ps..one more thought---do you think you might be experiences some hypo-mania right now, that may be influencing all this?

Thanks Embryopathy,  I haven't tried lunesta, but I was on trazadone for a while back years ago.  I don't know about that one, my Pdoc was concerned that it might make it hard to awake from an apnea event. Lunesta is an idea. I picked up a bottle of 5htp this morning and am going to try that tonight. (NOT FOR APNEA TREATMENT, BUT FOR TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION, MY APNEA IS WELL CONTROLLED!).  I've had some mood swings, more on the depressive side since switching meds, so that might be part of the problem.  My doctor had said a few months ago that I could try 5htp as long as I'm not on any other anti-depressants, I sent him an email so I can get his say on this but I haven't heard from him yet. I'm hesitant about trying the sonata again because I was aware of awakening at least a dozen times in the three hours that I was sleeping with it. My ahi was very good for the night, so it wasn't the apnea .  Virginia


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Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

yeah, Virginia, it sounds like Sonata is not going to work for you.  I think the 5HTP might be a good idea (although I have never tried it, nor do I know much about it) simply because the increased serotonin may be helpful...that was the next thing I was going to ask you about.   Hope you hear back from the doc this afternoon.

I tried the 5htp before bedtime and had a better night.  I still woke up a few times, but was able to get back to sleep without a lot of difficulty.  Maybe a placebo effect, but what the hay, if it works it works.  Virginia


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Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

sounds great!  maybe i should ask my son' dr about it too.

Keep in mind that its not FDA approved, so you may not get a yea or nay from the doctor.  Mine wouldn't advise me either way, but he did say not to take it while I was on anti-depressants, as the combination can cause a life threatening over production of serotonin.  And like I said, it could just be a placebo effect, but  anti-depressants are just a little more effective than placebos  anyway.  My neoro is doubling my dose of lamictal over the next 4 weeks, it's probably going to take at least that long to get my sleep patterns back to normal, so if a placebo works, I'll take it.  Virginia


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Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

yes, i remembered right after posting about the anti-depressants thing---he is already taking zoloft....(not sure I agree w/you about anti-depressants being so similar to placebo....)

I hope doubling the lamactical (sp?) doesn't mean doubling your insomnia!?!?!?!

I hope not too!  4 to 5 hours of sleep is bad enough, I couldn't function on less!  Virginia


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Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA