Posted by dirtywater on February 28, 2009 at 01:37:24:In Reply to: Re: New diagnosis: complex sleep apnea posted by bredren on February 27, 2009 at 15:54:54:
Good point about possible dependency on melatonin. I'll ask my doctor about that. I know it can happen with SSRIs (antidepressants) and benzodiazepines.
When you say you "feel awful" while trying to get to sleep, do you mean fidgety and anxious? I used to have issues like that when I tried to fall asleep, but not anymore. Here are a few changes I made which probably helped me in this area:
-My primary care doc put me on citalopram (an SSRI) for generalized anxiety. This has helped a lot. I don't want to stay on it forever, but for now I need it because I already have a very busy life; having to deal with sleep apnea just makes it even more stressful.
-I take 1mg melatonin around 8pm every night
-General "sleep hygiene" techniques. This includes dimming the lights in the evening, taking a warm shower or soaking my face with a warm washcloth before bedtime, doing something calming such as reading a book before bed, and doing my "bed-time routine" at least 30 minutes prior to climbing into bed. The last item is something one of the behavioral psychologists at my previous sleep clinic recommended. The rationale is that when people perform a familiar and repetitive task such as a nightly bedtime routine, they tend to do everything in rapidfire sequence. (I am especially prone to this.) This has a stimulating effect, rather than calming effect. So you don't want to do something like this right before you get into bed.
Jeremy
- Re: New diagnosis: complex sleep apnea bredren 04:35 2/28/09 (1)
- Re: New diagnosis: complex sleep apnea dirtywater 19:50 3/06/09 (0)