Insomnia and Testosterone

[nightflight]

Not only do I have apnea, but insomnia. I'm feeling it now. My doctor prescribed my Lorazepam; they help, but I have no scheduled refill. I read they are addicting too. But I can no longer fall asleep without strong aid.

Now before all this came about I could take .5 mg of melatonin and crash hard. But the last two times I tried to fall asleep with melatonin alone I drifted in and out of an uncomfortable sleep.

Anyone recommend a good sleeping pill?

How does the possibility of low testosterone fit in with daytime tiredness? Someone I know at work who has apnea brought that up to me Friday. I'm 46 btw.

[Simon M]

I was proscribed Axiron (testosterone) and have been using it since December last year - it greatly improved my daytime energy levels. I've been using CPAP since 2005, but had been getting more and more tired during the day in the last couple of years. I'd recommend speaking to your doctor about getting your testosterone levels tested. They have to do the blood test for that early in the morning (due to the way the levels in your blood change during the day), but it's worth finding out if that's an option that can help you - it really helped me a lot (I'm 42).

[Stroppy]

Not only do I have apnea, but insomnia. I'm feeling it now. My doctor prescribed my Lorazepam; they help, but I have no scheduled refill. I read they are addicting too. But I can no longer fall asleep without strong aid.

Now before all this came about I could take .5 mg of melatonin and crash hard. But the last two times I tried to fall asleep with melatonin alone I drifted in and out of an uncomfortable sleep.

Anyone recommend a good sleeping pill?

How does the possibility of low testosterone fit in with daytime tiredness? Someone I know at work who has apnea brought that up to me Friday. I'm 46 btw.

All sleeping tablets are addictive in some form...either creating a craving or changing your metabolism so that you actually require medication before sleep will kick in. I used to take a drug called "Stilnox" ("Ambien" in the US) prescribed by my GP but they created all sorts of problems. They worsened my apnoea and they created the dreaded enuresis...something you don't want, trust me!

There is a way of promoting natural sleep using a milk-based drink like 'Horlicks" which, I believe, you American guys can buy at Walmart. This uses the soporific effects of malt and milk to gently waft you off to sleep. It works well. The other thing you could do is try any of the herbal Valerian-based tablets but they don't zonk you like sleeping tablets will...they tend to work very slowly.

Failing all else if you must use an artificial tablet then I'd go to my own personal fallback...one of the older antihistamines called "Polaramine". Take one of those babies and within 30 minutes you will feel very drowsy but I don't know about taking them long term.

At any rate you should talk to your doctor and seek his/her advice.

[justMongo]

Lorazepam is in the class of benzodiazapines. There is no more difficult withdrawal that from benzos. It takes a long taper; and may take several years for the GABA receptors to upregulate. So, temporary use only.

There is no sleeping pill that does not either work on GABA receptors or suppress respiration. Some people use a low dose of Trazadone, an antidepressant that causes drowsiness, as an off-label sleep aid.

I have low-T and low vitamin D. Try as I may, I cannot raise my 25-OH vit-D level.
Topical testosterone may improve muscle mass; and give a bit more energy during the day.
If you are lower than the normal range for a man 46, then read the possible side effects which include prostate hyperplasia, heart attack, et cetera. The risk/benefit tradeoffs need to be considered. Also consider what other conditions you may have. Testosterone is DEA cat CIV since it is an anabolic steroid. Since your doc will have to write a script, it's a decision you should make with your doctor.

I have had a trial with Androgel. Didn't do much.

I doubt it would help with sleep.

Edit: Polaramine is Chlorphenamine in the USA. Hospitals formerly used an antihistamine Diphenhydramine HCL as a sleep aid. Most antihistamines will really dry your mouth... an already common problem for PAPers.

Viel Glück und die besten Wünsche.

[cant_sleep_in_nj]

axiron user here as well. Doctor told me the axiron would help sleep and it does

[justMongo]

axiron user here as well. Doctor told me the axiron would help sleep and it does

It's rather expensive isn't it?

[JJJ]

In the US the two most common over the counter sleep aids are diphenhydramine HCl (Benadryl [tm]) and doxylamine succinate. Personally it takes twice as much diphenhydramine HCl than doxylamine succinate for the same effect, but everyone responds differently. Both are cheap, so I suggest you give them a try.

As for testosterone, mine tested in the cellar, so my doc put me on injections. I got some benefit from it, but eventually gave up because it was a pain in the butt. And I'm not using that expression figuratively.

I would try it again if I could find a local doc who does the subcutaneous implants for a reasonable price. They are extremely expensive, but they deliver the testosterone slowly over months.

[PollCat]

I was born with Klinefelter's Syndrome, which meant my body never produced enough testosterone - a condition that was not diagnosed until I was 28 (in 1974). At that time no therapy was recommended and it wasn't until 1997 that I learned that replacement therapy was available. I started receiving shots, then graduated to the patches, and finally to the topical (currently using Androgel 1.62). The support group I belonged to told me that the use of replacement T would probably result in developing sleep apnea, a statement that I found funny as I had already been using a cpap for two years.
While I did not noticed any change in my sleep with the replacement T therapy, I did notice changes in my stamina and physical abilities.
However, one current side effect is that my blood has gotten thicker and my endo (who treats both my Klinefelter's and diabetes) has cut the dosage in half in order to reduce the strain on my kidneys. So the bottom line is that low-T, diabetes, and sleep apnea are all interrelated along with a whole lot of other conditions {that, thankfully I don't have).

[nightflight]

I went to the doctor today; he renewed my prescription for Lorazepam. Forgot to ask him about the testosterone. However the Lorazepam isn't working too good now.

I'm cooked.

[Kadenz]

Not only do I have apnea, but insomnia. I'm feeling it now. My doctor prescribed my Lorazepam; they help, but I have no scheduled refill. I read they are addicting too. But I can no longer fall asleep without strong aid.

Now before all this came about I could take .5 mg of melatonin and crash hard. But the last two times I tried to fall asleep with melatonin alone I drifted in and out of an uncomfortable sleep.

Anyone recommend a good sleeping pill?

How does the possibility of low testosterone fit in with daytime tiredness? Someone I know at work who has apnea brought that up to me Friday. I'm 46 btw.

If you've got low testosterone for your age (as I used to have), taking a T supplement (in my case Testogel) can help day time tiredness.

But your doctor should also investigate WHY you have low T.

In my case, it turned out the reason it was low was that I had a non-malignant tumour of the Pituitary gland. I'm now getting treatment for that and consequently my T is now back within the normal range for a man of my age. The tumour was also one of the reasons I was so tired (the other was my OSA) and why I constantly had headaches. My headaches have now gone and I'm no longer so tired.