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Sleep awakening
I have a friend who has had 2 sleep studies which were inconclusive for sleep apnea. He had a trial of CPAP but wasn't able to tolerate it. He had not one but two mouth appliances made for him but both of them hurt his teeth so he can't use them. His dentist said he's never had someone before who couldn't be helped by an appliance.
He's at a loss as to what to try next for his non-restorative sleep where he figures he wakes up between 15-20 per night. He doesn't want to try sleep aids like ambien, and melatonin has done nothing for him. He says he can fall asleep okay, but then wakes so many times that he can hardly get up in the morning, and it takes him quite a while to feel awake. He's had bad results from caffeine so won't try anything containing it to help him wake up.
Has anyone had any similar experience or tried anything that worked for them? Thank you so much for any hekp you can give him.
He's at a loss as to what to try next for his non-restorative sleep where he figures he wakes up between 15-20 per night. He doesn't want to try sleep aids like ambien, and melatonin has done nothing for him. He says he can fall asleep okay, but then wakes so many times that he can hardly get up in the morning, and it takes him quite a while to feel awake. He's had bad results from caffeine so won't try anything containing it to help him wake up.
Has anyone had any similar experience or tried anything that worked for them? Thank you so much for any hekp you can give him.
I was wondering if you might help us out by answering a one-question survey? If you have a moment, go to the front page (hit the back to community button at the top of this page) and locate the poll about sleep topics. I would love to have your feedback. Thanks, H.
The best thing your friend could do at this point would be to get a consultation with a specialist in both pulmonology and sleep medicine. If he's already seeing a sleep pulmonologist, he needs two be honest about how various treatments haven't worked for him, and what he is or isn't willing to try.
I know people with sleep apnea that for one reason or another wasn't adequately helped by CPAP who have had surgeries on their sinuses and/or soft palate to structurally correct the problem. The pro to these surgeries is obviously how it can alleviate the need to wear CPAP. The con, however, is that these surgeries may need to be done multiple times as the tissue can grow back and create another obstruction, and also the surgeries are not 100% successful in fixing the problem. Of course, there's also the risks involved in having a surgery.
Your friends seems to have himself situated between a rock and a hard place, having not had any luck with CPAP or dental appliances, and wanting to avoid prescription medications. Unfortunately, it may come down to an issue of whether it bothers him enough to try medications or not. Has your friend tried any OTC medications (or is he willing to)? The one that comes to mind off the top of my head is diphenhydramine, which is the active ingredient in benadryl, and is also found in numbers OTC sleep aides. It's possible with the melatonin that a different dose might be more effective, so that's something to discuss with the doctor as well. Some people have more success with higher doses of melatonin, while on the other hand, recent research has shown that sometimes lower doses of melatonin can actually be more effective (e.g. half a pill).
I'm sorry to hear your friend is having so many problems getting the sleep he needs, and I hope he is able to find relief soon,
Best wishes, H.
I know people with sleep apnea that for one reason or another wasn't adequately helped by CPAP who have had surgeries on their sinuses and/or soft palate to structurally correct the problem. The pro to these surgeries is obviously how it can alleviate the need to wear CPAP. The con, however, is that these surgeries may need to be done multiple times as the tissue can grow back and create another obstruction, and also the surgeries are not 100% successful in fixing the problem. Of course, there's also the risks involved in having a surgery.
Your friends seems to have himself situated between a rock and a hard place, having not had any luck with CPAP or dental appliances, and wanting to avoid prescription medications. Unfortunately, it may come down to an issue of whether it bothers him enough to try medications or not. Has your friend tried any OTC medications (or is he willing to)? The one that comes to mind off the top of my head is diphenhydramine, which is the active ingredient in benadryl, and is also found in numbers OTC sleep aides. It's possible with the melatonin that a different dose might be more effective, so that's something to discuss with the doctor as well. Some people have more success with higher doses of melatonin, while on the other hand, recent research has shown that sometimes lower doses of melatonin can actually be more effective (e.g. half a pill).
I'm sorry to hear your friend is having so many problems getting the sleep he needs, and I hope he is able to find relief soon,
Best wishes, H.
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