What to do with day time sleepiness, I'm desperate

[Gabby]

He doesn't really want me to get a machine on my own and rang the clinic for me, and I am back on the cancellation list.

He is correct. The most common form of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) which can be treated fairly simply with a CPAP machine, provided the patient gets along well with the machine.

But there are other forms of SDB besides OSA, and there are other conditions and issues that can interfere with sleep. That's why a proper sleep study is so important.

The good news for you Gabby is that once you get on CPAP therapy you will begin to notice improvements not only in your excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) but also you will very likely get relief from your headaches, and from stress, too.

I hope you get treated as soon as possible. There is nothing more important than your health, and if you have OSA you're doing a lot of damage to your cardiovascular system because you are repeatedly waking yourself up to breathe, possibly as many as 20 times per hour or more. This number is called your AHI. Mine was 23. My son's was 108. The goal is to get it down below 5.

Sleepster, your poor son, I hope he is doing ok now and is below 5. I hope you are as well. I am really hoping this may have some effect on my daily headaches that I have been suffering with for over thirty years. Always waking with them. I have tried almost every cure known to man. It would be unbelievable if this worked when we weren't even thinking about my headaches when we investigated my tiredness.
Needless to say I have stress brought on by my headaches, tiredness and other factors in my life, and I have a shocking fuzzy brain that is getting worse by the week.
I'm just basically falling apart at the seams. I have enjoyed reading the success stories on here, they have really cheered me up and inspired me no end.
All the best for the new year to you and your family.

[Gabby]

The good news for you Gabby is that once you get on CPAP therapy you will begin to notice improvements not only in your excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) but also you will very likely get relief from your headaches, and from stress, too.

This is so true. My morning headaches are completely gone now. It makes a difference on so many levels (including appetite, mood and memory)!

Regarding the humidifier it's a comfort feature, but it really helps if you have a nose that stuffs easily or suffer from allergic rhinitis. Especially during the winter months, it helps keep the mucus membranes moist and the temperature of air that is reaching to your lungs ideal.

Having said that, my mother does incredibly well without one. Her body has become accustomed to CPAP usage.

DOOM_NX, Great news that you morning headaches have gone. That is the kind of feedback I like to hear. I am hoping for the exact same result.
I have decided I will go ahead and purchase the humidifier. It seems to be the majority rules. Thanks for your feedback.

[Sleepster]

Sleepster, your poor son, I hope he is doing ok now and is below 5. I hope you are as well. I am really hoping this may have some effect on my daily headaches that I have been suffering with for over thirty years.

I noticed an immediate improvement in my son. He is one of the lucky ones who can fall asleep anywhere anytime, so he adapted well to CPAP therapy.

Like you, I suffered with headaches for 30 years. My headache would usually start within a a few minutes after waking and last all day. I popped advil like candy.

CPAP therapy gradually caused the headaches to go away and now I can go a week or two at a time without a headache. And when I do get one I can easily get rid of it with less advil or even tylenol. It used to be that tylenol did nothing for my headaches.

Before CPAP therapy I finally got so stressed out I had to seek professional help. Now I'm doing so much better.

CPAP therapy was tough for me. It took me about a month before I was getting more sleep with it than I had been getting without it. But I noticed within the first week that I at least had some mornings where I felt I was finally getting at least some restful sleep.

That was 2 years ago. Now my CPAP machine is my best friend. I've never slept without it since the first day I got it.

[eviltim]

He doesn't really want me to get a machine on my own and rang the clinic for me, and I am back on the cancellation list.

He is correct. The most common form of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) which can be treated fairly simply with a CPAP machine, provided the patient gets along well with the machine.

But there are other forms of SDB besides OSA, and there are other conditions and issues that can interfere with sleep. That's why a proper sleep study is so important.

The good news for you Gabby is that once you get on CPAP therapy you will begin to notice improvements not only in your excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) but also you will very likely get relief from your headaches, and from stress, too.

I hope you get treated as soon as possible. There is nothing more important than your health, and if you have OSA you're doing a lot of damage to your cardiovascular system because you are repeatedly waking yourself up to breathe, possibly as many as 20 times per hour or more. This number is called your AHI. Mine was 23. My son's was 108. The goal is to get it down below 5.

Sleepster, your poor son, I hope he is doing ok now and is below 5. I hope you are as well. I am really hoping this may have some effect on my daily headaches that I have been suffering with for over thirty years. Always waking with them. I have tried almost every cure known to man. It would be unbelievable if this worked when we weren't even thinking about my headaches when we investigated my tiredness.
Needless to say I have stress brought on by my headaches, tiredness and other factors in my life, and I have a shocking fuzzy brain that is getting worse by the week.
I'm just basically falling apart at the seams. I have enjoyed reading the success stories on here, they have really cheered me up and inspired me no end.
All the best for the new year to you and your family.

I'd be very surprised if it didn't help. I am not a headache prone person and would wake up with headaches before I was treated.

[zonk]

I'd be very surprised if it didn't help. I am not a headache prone person and would wake up with headaches before I was treated.

Morning headaches used to be really bad which is not surprising with the number of awakenings gasping for air
Oxygen deprivation = Sleep deprivation

[Gabby]

Sleepster, your poor son, I hope he is doing ok now and is below 5. I hope you are as well. I am really hoping this may have some effect on my daily headaches that I have been suffering with for over thirty years.

I noticed an immediate improvement in my son. He is one of the lucky ones who can fall asleep anywhere anytime, so he adapted well to CPAP therapy.

Like you, I suffered with headaches for 30 years. My headache would usually start within a a few minutes after waking and last all day. I popped advil like candy.

CPAP therapy gradually caused the headaches to go away and now I can go a week or two at a time without a headache. And when I do get one I can easily get rid of it with less advil or even tylenol. It used to be that tylenol did nothing for my headaches.

Before CPAP therapy I finally got so stressed out I had to seek professional help. Now I'm doing so much better.

CPAP therapy was tough for me. It took me about a month before I was getting more sleep with it than I had been getting without it. But I noticed within the first week that I at least had some mornings where I felt I was finally getting at least some restful sleep.

That was 2 years ago. Now my CPAP machine is my best friend. I've never slept without it since the first day I got it.

Sleepster, your story could almost be mine. Thank you for the encouragement.
At this point in my life I can go to sleep anywhere, so hopefully I will be like your son and adjust easily to the equipment. I am looking at it all with a positive attitude.
Thanks for sharing your story with me.

[Sleepster]

Gabby, one thing I will add is that I started therapy with psychologist a few months before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. That alone made a big improvement in my stress level, anger management, and well-being. Then when I started CPAP therapy a few months later, at about the same time as the therapist told me I didn't need to come anymore, it was icing on the cake.

If you have insurance it's very simple to visit their web site or call them to look at a list of covered mental health providers. One call to the insurance company and one call to the therapist to make that first appointment is all it takes.

I prefer to start with therapists, not psychiatrists. I've seen both and the psychiatrists, although they provide a valuable service for the seriously mental ill, I found them to be largely pill pushers. When the psychiatrist took me off the 100 mg daily amitriptyline to try something else he admitted that I was doing so well I really didn't need any antidepressants. He gave me 0.5 mg clonopin as needed and we parted ways.

Later, after struggling for a month with CPAP therapy I got my PCP to give me prescriptions for 0.5mg klonopin as needed and 25 mg amitriptyline nightly. That's was two years ago and I'm still there.

[DOOM_NX]

I agree with Sleepster. Most psychiatrists are such pill pushers.

Just a year ago I suffered from depression along with my sleep apnea. A psychiatrist almost forced me to start taking antidepressants which were very sedating (mirtazapine to be exact). I hadn't been diagnosed with OSA, so I didn't have a CPAP machine at that time and my apneas got worse. I was sleeping pretty much all day, but I couldn't feel rested. He just said: "It's good that you're sleeping! Sleep plays an important role on our mood!". Such a reckless a-hole. He didn't even consider my health condition.

After suffering from an ischemic colitis episode, I ditched the pills and started seeing a therapist. Well, it is nice to have somebody to talk to and hear a different opinion. I can't really make a civilized discussion with my mother, so it helped a lot. However, 50 bucks a visit, plus another 50 for the gas to get there, isn't really a great deal for 1 hour of chit-chat. I don't visit him regularly now, although I should make an appointment asap.

[Gabby]

Sleepster and DOOM_NX, I too agree with preferring Therapists over Psychiatrists.
I am lucky to see a very good psychologist at a very reasonable price and she is worth every cent I pay her. Some of these Psychiatrists can get you so mixed up on drugs you don't know where you stand, I am not saying all of them but I have seen first hand what they have done to someone close to me.
Then again everyone has to find the right kind of therapy that suits them at the time and that is going to make them as well as possible.

[Moriarty]

Sleepster and DOOM_NX, I too agree with preferring Therapists over Psychiatrists.
I am lucky to see a very good psychologist at a very reasonable price and she is worth every cent I pay her. Some of these Psychiatrists can get you so mixed up on drugs you don't know where you stand, I am not saying all of them but I have seen first hand what they have done to someone close to me.
Then again everyone has to find the right kind of therapy that suits them at the time and that is going to make them as well as possible.

Hi Gabby - just caught up with your story in this thread - wow.

Since you are on board with a psychologist you probably already know this but for those in Australia that may not be aware - there is a specific item number for a consultation with a GP where a consultation with a psychologist is prescribed. The resulting psychologist initial consult is usually bulk billed.

In the mean time Gabby I am thinking of you and hoping for a good and timely outcome - stay safe (thinking of your sleepiness and driving)

Cheers