Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Pain medications and sleep apnea

About two weeks ago I had an injection in my ear to treat my meniere’s disease. I will receive a total of four shots with two weeks in between each shot. After the first injection my ear hurt quite a bit and I had a terrible headache. The doctor called in a pain medication and it seemed to help some but as you know pain medications and sleep apnea usually aren’t a good mix.


It is widely known that sleeping pills shouldn’t be used by sleep apnea patients. The medication apparently relaxes the muscles in the back of the throat blocking the airway making the sleep apnea even worse which means you get even less sleep. Now if you are using a CPAP then it might be a different story, you’d have to check with your doctor to see if it’s okay to use sleep medication while using a CPAP.


As for pain medications in my own situation it really makes it difficult to get any rest. I know that the pain pills are sedative in nature so like sleeping pills they probably relax the muscles in the back of my throat. It’s a tough decision whether to take the meds or not because if you don’t the pain that you are experiencing wouldn’t go away but if you do your sleeping is worse then usual.



If you have had a similar situation with sleep apnea and pain meds let me know.

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Thanks

2 comments:

  1. I HAVE REALLY BAD BACK PAIN AND KNEE PAIN DUE TO OVER WEIGHT AND LOW SUGAR CAUSE MOST OF THE WEIGHT NOT NORMALLY A FAT PERSON.. I HAVE NEVER TAKEN ANYTHING FOR MY PAIN CAUSE I'M AFRAID TO DUE TO MY SLEEP APNEA . I USE MY MACHINE REGULAR NEVER HARDLY EVER SLEEP WITH OUT IT .. SAID IF I LOSE ABOUT 50 LBS I PROBABLY WANT HAVE TO USE ONE BUT I ALSO HAVE A SMALL THROAT THE DR SAID.. BUT NOW THE PAIN IS SO BAD THAT I CAN'T STAND FOR ABOUT 10 MINS IF THAT BEFORE I SIT DOWN AND IT MAKE ME SIT MORE AND GAINING WEIGHT MORE I CAN'T GO ANYWHERE AND INJOY MY SELF. I CAN'T DO ANY THING WITH MY YOUNG CHILD. SO MY QUESTION TO YOU IS CAN IT BE SAFE TO USE PAIN MEDS IF I USE MY MACHINE . MY DR HAS GAVE THEM TO ME BUT I JUST LET THEM EXPIRE AND THROW THEM AWAY.. PLEASE ANSWER MY QUESTION.. I HAVE NO LIFE ANYMORE I'M 53 YRS OLD...

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  2. I would follow your doctor's advice. If he/she wrote you a prescription and they know about your sleep apnea you should probably take the medicine.
    You can always get a second opinion from another doctor if you don't feel comfortable about taking the meds.
    I hope that helps
    good luck
    David

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