OT; the other sleep demons that haunt our nights

My OSA is well treated, yet like many of you I still have a few sleep demons that pop their ugly heads up and keep me from getting a good nights sleep.

My main demons are back pain and horrible allergies which lead to insomnia. For me the start of allergy season is here which makes my APAP much more difficult to tolerate. I currently take Singulair, Zyrtec, and Flonase for my allergies. Last year I was able to get in with an allergist/immunologist who after allergy testing said “you’ve definitely got allergies”. He ran a number of panels which showed I was allergic to everything tested for with the exception of hickory and elm trees. Since my current allergy treatments aren’t doing the trick I’m considering doing allergy shots. I’m am curious if anyone has who has done allergy shots would weigh in on their experience.
My other sleep demon is back pain, which is so common for many of us. I wish there was an easy way to alleviate it. Does anyone have suggestions on how they’ve lessened back pain at night?
I’ld love to hear any suggestions anyone may have to address my specific problems.

Also wondering what problems anybody else has that may not be directly related to your OSA but either make your sleep worse or exacerbate your sleep apnea.

Do you know what is causing the back pain? Muscle, bone, arthritis, strain???????

I have had allergy shots but many, many years ago. They helped tremendously. I forget just how long it took but it was many months for sure of once a week shots that I gave to myself.

Glad Pugsy had a success story to share! I myself was going to recommend against, as I did allergy shots weekly for a year at a doctor's office for a diagnosis of "year round seasonal allergies." I noticed no improvement. I eventually got some relief from going gluten-free, even though gluten was oddly not one of the things I showed a reaction to. But sounds like it might be worth it after all, as Pugsy knows what she's talking about. Good luck with yours.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 29, 2024 3:34 pm

Do you know what is causing the back pain? Muscle, bone, arthritis, strain???????

I have had allergy shots but many, many years ago. They helped tremendously. I forget just how long it took but it was many months for sure of once a week shots that I gave to myself.

Thanks Pugsy!

For the back pain I don’t know, but I think it’s joint pain.
As a child they were pretty concerned about scoliosis and were considering making me wear a brace, but as I grew I guess my spine straightened out and they decided it wasn’t anything that needed treatment. My husband and son have both told me that they think I look crooked, but when I mentioned back pain and my history of scoliosis to my PCP a few years back she was dismissive so I let it go.
I also have a connective tissue disorder hEDS, which I hate to even bring up with docs. EDS has become an internet fad that many are self diagnosing themselves with so many docs become dismissive as soon as you mention it.
As far as arthritis i haven’t had any imaging done on my back since I was a child, but when I saw a podiatrist for feet issues I was told I have severe arthritis in my feet (figure that isn’t relevant to my back). My current self treatments for my back are are heat and a TENS unit.
The pain that is always there and wakes me up at night is the right side of my lower back radiating into my hip. I’ve tried physical therapy a number of times, but because I am super hyper-mobile the range of motion evaluations show that I’m golden.

I’m encouraged that you felt some relief with allergy shots, probably worth a try.

You know to fix a pain you have to figure out what is causing the pain....and that's no easy task sometimes.

You probably should see your doctor and go down the diagnostic road so you can know what you are dealing with and that will dictate your treatment options.

Have you tried a heating pad?
Have you tried OTC pain meds like NSAIDs? Aspirin?
Anything make it better or worse?

My experience has been that allergy shots, when done right, can do much good and can provide significant relief for years.

On the other hand, I once had a bad experience with some serious face-swelling around the eyes in the hours immediately following a shot that was a bump up in shot strength and therefore decided to discontinue them, since my eyes nearly swelled shut.

Nevertheless, I believe I'm still to this day feeling a measure of relief from the time that I took the shots and so I'm glad I took them, despite the experience that caused me to stop them.

I believe my bad experience was extremely rare. Most of my friends/acquaintances who take allergy shots have had nothing but good experiences to report. They only complain about the inconvenience of getting the shots.