Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 594676

Shown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Benzo's need for stimulant - sleep apnea?

Posted by RobertDavid on January 3, 2006, at 1:27:32

Social anxiety is my main issue and klonopin works good for it. I have been searching for something to help me with energy during the day. I'm not particularly depressed, just no zest for doing tasks and tired when I shouldn't be.

My doc asked me if I snore or if anyone has noticed that I hesitate breathing at night. I was told I do to some degree.

So I'm being tested for sleep apnea. He says if you have it you'll be tired during the day which would explain why provigil or a little coffee helps, but anti depressants don't.

It runs in families, my brother was tested and has a severe case. Now he sleeps with a devise that shoots air in his nose (which seems like a pain), but he says he has 40% more energy, feels great.

So I'm being tested and there's a side to me that wants to have it so I can feel better. Just end this ongoing search for feeling manageable.

Anyway, though this may not be my answer my guess is it could be the missing piece of the puzzle to others with the same complaints.

Just a thought. I'll post my results to the apnea test. It's all covered by Kaiser so what the heck.

 

Re: Benzo's need for stimulant - sleep apnea?

Posted by med_empowered on January 3, 2006, at 3:16:17

In reply to Benzo's need for stimulant - sleep apnea?, posted by RobertDavid on January 3, 2006, at 1:27:32

hey! Remeron apparently helps some people with sleep apnea. That might be more pleasant than more invasive measures. Good luck, and please keep us all posted.

 

Re: Benzo's need for stimulant - sleep apnea?

Posted by zeugma on January 3, 2006, at 16:32:42

In reply to Benzo's need for stimulant - sleep apnea?, posted by RobertDavid on January 3, 2006, at 1:27:32

if you do have sleep apnea, then a CPAP will help immeasurably, and without med side effects. Even Provigil is only approved as *adjunctive* to CPAP use in apnea. Sleep studies are incredibly expensive, though, if you don't have the right insurance. But AFAIK it is impossible to treat apnea properly without the device. You can research that on your own, however.

-z

 

Re: Benzo's need for stimulant - sleep apnea? » zeugma

Posted by Phillipa on January 3, 2006, at 17:49:41

In reply to Re: Benzo's need for stimulant - sleep apnea?, posted by zeugma on January 3, 2006, at 16:32:42

The CPAP forces air into your lungs so you continue to breath. Fondly, Phillipa

 

I've had and dealt with sleep apnea

Posted by James K on January 3, 2006, at 21:48:00

In reply to Re: Benzo's need for stimulant - sleep apnea?, posted by zeugma on January 3, 2006, at 16:32:42

I've had a struggle with sleep apnea. The sleep study itself is interesting. You go to the clinic and put on your pjs then they stick electrodes on your head and chest, a tube by your nose and maybe some other things. Then you go to bed and try to sleep. I've had three done over the years. What can I say, I keep switching from one good insurance plan to another.

If you normally take something to sleep, they may try to tell you not to, but if you stay awake all night because it is so weird, you get no results. If obstructive apnea is found, they may wake you and test you on the cpap machine right in the middle of the night.

My dad is a really big man and he was diagnosed after me, uses the cpap machine and feels it totally changed and improved his life. I wan't overweight, and toss and turn so much that the machine wasn't an option for me. I chose surgery. I always chose surgery when I can. I'd rather deal with it once. Plus, I keep getting the good insurance.

First I had my deviated septum straightened and turbinates shortened - all part of the nose. That helped. Then I had my uvula and part of my throat and upper palate lasered away. That was a three parter, outpatient, great drugs, horrible recoveries. I thought I was fine for a while.

Then my life went to heck. I was living on booze, caffiene, adrenaline, and psych meds. I was sweating all day and acting aggressive crazy. I knew I was choking at night, so I went back for another sleep study. I was waking up 65 times an hour to restart breathing. This surgery was huge. Tonsils out, upper palate cut away and stitched. tongue pulled forward (it's huge) by slitting my throat to pull on tendon; and putting a screw in my chin, through my mouth to pull another tendon. I got infected in mouth and had to have clean out and re-sew.

Meanwhile, I was fired for something crazy I wrote to my insurance company (did I say I had good insurance?) and even though my surgeon wrote a letter explaining how sleep depravation can cause weirdness, I lost my appeal.

To sum up, sleep apnea can be serious. Any weight loss you can pull off helps. If you can tolerate the cpap machine it's probably a good idea. If you're like me and don't mind surgery and recovery, you can make it go away.

Im a-okay on that front currently.

also, there is another kind of sleep apnea that is brain related rather than structure. don't know much about that one.

I hope some of this is helpful. Plus I got to share my thrilling adventure.

James K

 

Re: Benzo's need for stimulant - sleep apnea?

Posted by Cairo on January 4, 2006, at 12:25:20

In reply to Benzo's need for stimulant - sleep apnea?, posted by RobertDavid on January 3, 2006, at 1:27:32

I've used a CPAP for sleep apnea for over two years without much improvement in symptoms. There are three kinds of sleep apnea, obstructive, central and mixed, but a CPAP should help. I can only surmise that in my case either AD meds are making the apnea worse, or it did not contribute that much to my core symptoms to begin with.

That being said, I've known people who benefited greatly from the CPAP.

Good luck.

Cairo

 

Re: Benzo's need for stimulant - sleep apnea?

Posted by Cece on January 5, 2006, at 20:31:11

In reply to Re: Benzo's need for stimulant - sleep apnea?, posted by Cairo on January 4, 2006, at 12:25:20

This is going to be long, but I hope that it will be helpful.

About 10 years ago, I asked my psych doc if I might have sleep apnea since I was so fatigued. He thought that it was a possibility, and suggested that I get a sleep study.

A REAL sleep study like has been described by other people does cost a lot, 2-3 thousand as I recall, and all my insurance (which is Kaiser, I live in N. CA) would give me was a dinky little take-home test that showed nothing.

The only place in my area that does the whole shebang is Stanford, and what I did was go to their sleep clinic for a consultation which I paid for out of pocket (about $300.). The doctors there thought that I had a problem called "upper airway obstructive disorder" and that a full sleep study was imperative for my health. ("uaod" is not full-blown sleep apnea, breathing doesn't stop completely, and it's not a recognized diagnosis outside of some medical schools).

So, I took Stanford's report to Kaiser and more or less blackmailed them into paying for the sleep study, which did confirm the preliminary diagnosis.

Stanford suggested that I have the laser treatment that someone else mentioned which, at least then, was new and experimental and not paid for by any insurance. They really pushed it in a way that I was uncomfortable with, so I consulted with 3 ENT docs who felt that it was not a good idea.

I used a CPAP with very good results for about 3 years. It's a bother, but I did get used to it and the benefits were worth it. Then, while taking Topomax, I lost 40 pounds that I'd put on because of other meds and depression and I didn't need the CPAP anymore. Unfortunately, since I could stand to lose another 20 pounds, after 9 months on Topomax I couldn't put a whole sentence together and had to go off it!


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