Using a sleep aid for my sleep study titration

schaefage · Post by **schaefage** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 1:58 pm

Hello All,

I am going to have another sleep study titration because during the last one I didn't sleep long enough.

My doctor wants me to use a sleep aid such as lunesta for my sleep study so that I can sleep better and longer during the titration. I don't have a problem with this except....

I have seen on the internet that sleep aids such as lunesta or ambien can cause sleep apnea to worsen.

My question is: Do I have to be concerned that I will not get a proper titration because the lunesta is artificially making my sleep apnea worse?

Any help or discussion on your experiences with this issue would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Kent

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 2:05 pm

I doubt it would make it worse, it will just allow you to actually sleep during the study. And you probably wouldn't sleep any deeper than you normally would at home.

I would definitely use it.

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 2:20 pm

use the sleep aid, if it makes the OSA worse then they can titrate for that condition which should cover you without its use.

I would take it in the parking lot before you enter the sleep clinic.

sleepyWI · Post by **sleepyWI** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 3:12 pm

FWIW my sleep doctor told me that Ambien has been shown to not make apnea worse (poor grammar perhaps... ). I don't know about Lunesta. I took Ambien during my sleep study and I still only had stage 1 and 2 sleep. No delta sleep and only 17 minutes of REM.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:31 pm

Thank you for your replys, it helps me to make my way through this CPAP maze.

Kent

schaefage · Post by **schaefage** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:33 pm

Say for example the titration comes up with a larger pressure with Lunesta.

Is there any harm in having slightly too much pressure??? As opposed to slightly too little pressure?

thanks,

Kent

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:57 pm

I think the pressure difference would be minimal, if any.

It's just important that you get to sleep - heaven forbid you have to go in again.

SleepingBeauty · Post by **SleepingBeauty** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 5:14 pm

I did have to go twice. I had recently had neck surgery and it was too painful to sleep on my back the first time. My neurologist told me to take two Vicodin before the second test.

She did say it might make the apnea a bit worse, but at least I'd be tirated to meet my needs for the nights I took the meds at home.

The Vicodin makes me sleepy, so it worked for me.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 5:27 pm

Thanks for your help. I guess this stuff causes me a lot of anxiety.

I have been through a lot in the last year. but it is getting better!!!

roster · Post by **roster** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 6:33 pm

my sleep doctor told me that Ambien has been shown to not make apnea worse (poor grammar perhaps...

If your doctor is talking about untreated apnea I would vehemently disagree. My ignorant doctors could not diagnose my apnea so they prescribed Ambien.

I took it one night and felt like death the next day. After I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, I surmised that Ambien held me in a deeper sleep that one night and caused my apnea episodes to be much longer than usual!

KeziasPurr · Post by **KeziasPurr** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 6:59 am

I use a Bipap and Ambien. Last night was the first night I actually slept through the night with no awakenings. I was so excited this morning. All in all, the ambien works great for me. It knocks me out about 45 minutes after taking it, and I wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go.

I understand how Ambien doesn't work well with all people. Our biologies are so different. I tried Lunesta a couple of times and it did nothing for me, but works well for others.

It's all an experimentation game until you get used to a certain routine and actually maintain a deep sleep throughout the night.

Lisa

TerryB · Post by **TerryB** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 12:43 pm

IMHO the worsening of apnea by any agent applies to untreated apnea. e.g. if I go to sleep without a med and without a _PAP machine I will suffer an apnea and I will awaken (hopefully) at some point later to increase muscle tension and enabled breathing. A chemical agent may increase the frequency and duration of the apnea events. If I have the _PAP running and my titration is correct, the machine treats or even prevents the apnea regardless of the depth of my sleep.

Don't take sleep deepening agents booze, meds, etc. when untreated.

IMHO

TerryB

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:59 pm

Thanks for your reply!!!

I am just wondering if the sleep agent deepens my sleep and/"or "deepens" the apnea"---then the tech will titrate to this deepened state. Then, when I go to sleep at home without a sleep aid, I will have much more of a pressure than I need. Is this possible?

And what are the effects of having too much pressure?

Thanks
Kent

Catnapper · Post by **Catnapper** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 2:14 pm

I can tell you what happened for me. My doctor also said that Ambien does not affect the apnea either way.

I took Ambien CR for the study, having never taken it before that night. I was knocked out - went to sleep almost immediately and slept soundly all night, except for bathroom trips and having the mask put on me. That never happens to me. Repeat NEVER. The good part is that I slept enough for the split study to happen.
I was titrated at 13 cms H2O, but they started me on CPAP at 15 because they did not feel they had enough time to be sure they had stopped all potential events.
Now that I have been sleeping at home with my autopap for 5 months, I almost never get to 13. My 90% pressure is usually 9 or 10 and the average is anywhere from 7.3 to 9.4, and AHI is usually 2 or less - even once a zero.
If you plan to have an autopap machine, I would not be afraid to take the sleep aid so you don't have to come back for a second night and let the machine provide the pressure you need after that.
Now, I am not the doctor, and don't even want to be one, so you must discuss this with the doctor instead of taking my advice. Further, you most likely will react differently than I did, so this may have no bearing on your situation.

sleepyWI · Post by **sleepyWI** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 2:16 pm

see my new post about Ambien and sleep apnea....interesting!