sleep apnea & rozerm & ambien

I can only guess how difficult is to have normal daily life with proper functioning and having sleep apnea causing extremely fragmented and of poor quality sleep. Insomnia and mood disorders can be caused and worsened by sleep apnea.
What type of sleep apnea you have?

Doc says its obstructive but I notice when I'm laying down trying to get to sleep that I subconsciously stop breathing even before I'm asleep. I'll notice that I haven't taken a breath then have to take a deep breath and start all over again trying to get to sleep. I have a heart condition called PVC and the Dr knows about it too. Right now he doesn't want to call central sleep apnea or mixed sleep apnea. The sleep test show that I don't always get to sleep long enough to reach REM. I attain REM about 50% of the nights.

Studies are currently being done on the effects of apnea on the hypothalamus and pituitary systems.
During sleep apnea events, patients are forced to come out of nourishing REM sleep in order to regain breath. Repetitive apneas cause sleep fragmentation and disorganization of sleep stages and cycles. Some, experts think that hypoxia may have direct central effects on neurotransmitters, which, in turn, will affect hypothalamic-pituitary hormone production. Sudden arousal from sleep may produce central "stress" response leading to hormonal changes. Daytime sleep episodes may interact with daytime hormone rhythms.
All of the above factors may interact and lead to changes in the central control of sleep and endocrine rhythms.
PVC can be triggered by anxiety, stress, hormonal imbalance, antidepressants, lack of sleep and exhaustion.

The CPAP machine is usually a very effective treatment for sleep apnea. If you have been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, please be aware that you are at high risk for the development of many serious, even life-threatening, conditions if it's left untreated. It's a real pity that you can't tolerate CPAP. Here are some other things that you can try on your own that might be helpful.
1. Make sure that you are not overweight.
2. Sleep on your side with your head angled upwards by about 30 degrees. Never sleep on your back.
3. Beware of sleep medications, even nonprescription ones. They can exacerbate sleep apnea.
4. Don't drink any alcoholic beverages within several hours of going to sleep. They can exacerbate sleep apnea.
5. Don't smoke tobacco products. That can exacerbate sleep apnea.

Good luck.

TO Cabits,
I am currently talking with the doctors about my almost 80 year old mother who has been on rozerem for about 2 years. She has severe sleep apnea and has been being treated for depression over these past 2 years. What I have just discovered is that rozerem should not be used in those with sleep apnea and can cause depression in those who aren't depressed to begin with and further depression in those who already are experiencing depression. My mother never was depressed before starting the rozerem and there is a great possibilty that all the treatment she has had over the past 2 years - horrific experiences with side effects of anti-depressants, etc. - may have all started with the rozerem. In other words, they have been treating drug side effects, starting with the rozerem, all along instead of her actually having true clinical depression!!
In addition, she has struggled with the c-pap machine for years and finally, after us continuing to press the issue, has gotten a correctly-fitting mask and the proper pressure. Pressure was set at 14 instead of 10 and she also always would pull the mask off and feel like she was suffocating. No wonder! Also, if you have your machine set to ramp up 30 minutes or so later, it gradually increases the pressure so that you are hopefully asleep and don't notice any difficulty trying to sleep with the machine instantly at full pressure. I also use a c-pap machine and have found using the "nasal pillow"(ask whoever you see about your machine, supplies, etc. about the nasal pillow if you haven't been told about it before) instead of a mask is much easier to tolerate and works just as well as a mask.
I was also told in the beginning, though I never had to do it, that if you have trouble tolerating the mask, try using it while you are awake, like watching t.v. or reading, for 10 minutes at a time and then work your way up to longer times, til you feel you are able to tolerate it better. Also, DO check out the website(I don't remeber what it is but google rozerem side effects, consumer comments or something like that) and you will find over 150 comments on rozerem and almost all are very negative. Many comments about sleeping just a few hours and then not being able to go back to sleep, etc. which is also a problem my mother was having. So, check out the rozerem site, have them make sure your c-pap machine pressure is correct, that the machine is set to ramp properly and check on a nasal pillow. Hope this helps! Good Luck! n.c.