Sleeping meds to get used to CPAP?

[rez]

Thank you so much for your willingness to share your experience. Knowing that others are having similar experiences and are overcoming them is a huge relief. I have been feeling so alone and like I was crazy or something. It is weird. I have a loving wife and three wonderful daughters and a house full of pets, yet my sleep troubles have been making me feel alone and angry.

[Sleepster]

You're welcome. I too am blessed with a wonderful wife, children, and grandchildren. We have a comfortable financial situation with secure jobs that we enjoy. And Juno, the terrible terrier.

I should add that I haven't been to a therapy session since shortly before I started CPAP therapy, almost eight months ago. I'm down to 25 mg daily of amitriptylene, the smallest dose possible. I take a 0.5 mg clonopin very rarely now, like maybe twice a month.
My next goal is to lose the excess 50 lb I've built up over the last 25 years and get off the prilosec and zantac that I take to tame frequent heartburn and indigestion. And maybe the Lipitor, too.

For the last 12 years my blood pressure has been borderline high, around 135/95. With exercise I could get it down to 125/85. Now with CPAP therapy, even without regular exercise, it's down around 120/80.

[rez]

Sleep is now down to about 10 minutes or less per night. Every time I put the cpap on, I experience anxiety for which the only relief is to get up and take off the mask.

[mjbearit]

Rez,
It could be helpful to learn to associate your mask with something soothing, calming, something you may enjoy. At some point during your day just take a half hour, sit n a comfy chair, disconnect the mask from the machine, put the mask on and put some earphones on with some soothing music. Just close your eyes and lose yourself in the music. After you successfully do this a few times, try doing it with the machine attached (and on of course so you can breathe!). You need to "make friends" with your machine. It is there to help you. The more time you can spend wearing your mask during waking hours, just getting used to it and learning that it is not going to cause you any harm, the easier it will be to sleep with it at night.
And don't worry about it. A lot of us here have odd little issues.

[Sleepster]

Sleep is now down to about 10 minutes or less per night. Every time I put the cpap on, I experience anxiety for which the only relief is to get up and take off the mask.

You need to talk to your doctor about this right away. Call the office and tell them that you are sleep deprived and it's driving you nuts. Tell them that if you don't get some relief, you won't be able to continue functioning.

It may be that you'll need medication for the stress and lack of sleep.

Meanwhile, try to acclimate to the mask. Wear it while you're reading, watching TV, or listening to music.

[Dawei]

Rez,
You need to "make friends" with your machine. It is there to help you. The more time you can spend wearing your mask during waking hours, just getting used to it and learning that it is not going to cause you any harm, the easier it will be to sleep with it at night.
And don't worry about it. A lot of us here have odd little issues.

mjbearit's thoughts on the anxiety problem seem right on the mark.
That anxiety monster needs to be defeated with the recognition and conviction that the mask, hose and machine bring us relief from apneas and their destructive effects.

Rez, your description of tension/anxiety when just lying down in a way reminds me of a similar feeling I had shortly after having open heart surgery to repair my mitral valve. For some unknown reason, I developed the idea that if I got horizontal to sleep, I would die. Don't ask me where that came from, but it was a very convincing anxiety. As a result, I slept in a recliner for several nights post-op. Slowly, that anxiety faded, and I rejoined the human race.