Mild sleep apnea – no health insurance – cant sleep?
I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea about a year ago but cant afford a CPAP machine.
I’ve been taking benadryl to help me sleep but lately it seems that it started to wear off at 3am and I toss and turn the rest of the night and I and am continually tired during the day. I’;d like to try a prescription medication to help be sleep better but I currently don’t have any health insurance.
Any suggestions on what I can do to help me get some sleep?
Tagged with: 3am • benadryl • cpap machine • health insurance • insurance • medication • prescription medication • rest of the night • sleep • sleep apnea
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Machine Questions
Medication is not going to help.
When you have sleep apnea, you wake up multiple times during the night, often so briefly that you don’t remember. This is why you are tired during the day.
Raise the head of your bed.
Sleep on your side.
Lose weight.
All the best.
Have you tried those Breathe Right strips? If it’s only a mild case of apnea, perhaps the increased airflow would be enough. I take melatonin every night to help me fall asleep. It’s natural and I haven’t had any side effects thus far and have been taking it for six months. I don’t think I have apnea…just a hard time quieting my mind down and going to sleep. It may help you get to sleep, but with the apnea you still won’t be well-rested.
I feel for you man…my best friend suffers from a bad case. He was so tired all the time that he almost lost his job. Finally he was diagnosed and got his CPAP machine and it turned his life around. The machine is the preferable alternative to medication.
benadryl is safest for sleep bc all hospitals use the generic benadryl and it’s even safe to use on babies…
but don’t depend on meds to help you sleep
maybe try nasal strips
if you think you’re having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep here are some foods to natually help you sleep:
-bananas
-warm milk
-turkey meat
these three foods contain an amino acid (building block of protein) called typtophan which causes sleepiness naturally.
and avoid exercising before you go to bed
sweet dreams :)
Your best bet is probably to go to a clinic and see if there are any medications that the physician would recommend and then get your prescriptions (if any) filled at Wal-Mart.
Of course, you should still obtain some kind of health insurance plan for the future in case you develop some kind of other illness that is very expensive to get treatment for (cancer, surgery, broken bone, etc.)
You can get a very good complete system for $450.00. Medication doesn’t help sleep apnea, its caused by the muscles in the neck and throat relaxing so much that your airway gets blocked. It has nothing to do with your sinuses. I use this company for my equipment and they were much cheaper than even using my insurance because they wanted to rent a machine with me paying a monthly co-pay. http://www.cpap-supply.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=PKG%2DDS100&e=Y. is the $450 system. It includes the CPAP, heated humidifier and mask. They probably even have some systems for less, I just picked the brand I use.