What medications to avoid if you have sleep apnea?

Many medications can make sleep apnea worse, including:

• Barbiturates.
• Benzodiazepines.
• Some beta-blockers.
• Opioids.
• Sildenafil (an erectile dysfunction drug)
• Testosterone.
• Drugs that cause you to gain weight.

Can certain medications cause sleep apnea?

Certain medications, notably antihistamines, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and opiates, can impact your natural sleeping cycle and breathing, increasing your risk for developing sleep apnea or worsening the condition if you have it.

What aggravates sleep apnea?

Congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and Parkinson's disease are some of the conditions that may increase the risk of obstructive sleep apnea. Polycystic ovary syndrome, hormonal disorders, prior stroke and chronic lung diseases such as asthma also can increase risk.

Do medications make sleep apnea worse?

If you have undiagnosed sleep apnea, any medication which relaxes the muscles can make the sleep apnea worse.

Can you take muscle relaxers with sleep apnea?

Muscle Relaxers Can Make Sleep Apnea Worse Too

If you take muscle relaxers while you have sleep apnea, you are only making the problem worse. Obstructive sleep apnea happens when the muscles in your throat relax, your soft palate collapses, and your air passages close. Muscle relaxers only make this worse.

Can sleep apnea be treated with medication?

While there's no drug yet that can replace a CPAP -- or cure sleep apnea -- some medications help relieve symptoms of sleep apnea or other conditions that often arise alongside it. These are some of the medications that might help: Antidepressants.

What sleeping position is best for sleep apnea?

Sleeping on Your Right Side

Side sleeping is the preferred position for helping calm your sleep apnea. Sleeping on your right side reduces snoring and encourages blood flow.

What is the newest treatment for sleep apnea?

The new treatment - known as Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation (UAS) therapy - offers the first implantable device for treating obstructive sleep apnea. The therapy works from inside the body and with the patient's natural breathing process.

Can Benadryl help with sleep apnea?

Treatment of allergies may be useful for milder cases of obstructive sleep apnea. There are several treatments available: You can take over-the-counter antihistamines like Benadryl or Claritin, or a decongestant like Mucinex or Sudafed, to minimize the effects of allergies during the day.

Is there a new pill for sleep apnea?

Solriamfetol, a dopamine/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (DNRI), was approved in 2019 and is indicated to improve wakefulness in patients with excessive daytime sleepiness who have OSA.

What foods make sleep apnea worse?

5 Foods That Can Make Sleep Apnea Worse

• Bananas. Bananas are full of healthful nutrients, and they are delicious. ...
• Refined Carbohydrates. Whole grain foods are great for your health because they contain lots of nutrients and contribute to satiety. ...
• Dairy. ...
• Alcohol. ...
• Fatty Meats.

Does heat make sleep apnea worse?

How Heat Aggravates Sleep Apnea. During times of extreme heat and humidity, it makes it much more difficult to breathe for those with lung conditions such as asthma, COPD, or sleep apnea.

Is sleep apnea fatal?

“Sleep apnea can directly cause death by a person's breathing being infrequent enough to create immediate tissue ischemia (tissue death from lack of oxygen) in the heart and/or brain, resulting in a fatal heart attack or stroke,” Jenna Liphart Rhoads, R.N., Ph.

Does Xanax worsen sleep apnea?

They include well-known medications such as Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, and Restoril just to name a few. Studies have shown that these medications can actually decrease breathing in patients with OSA, worsening the effects of an already dangerous condition.

How can I sleep to avoid sleep apnea?

“Side sleeping with your back mostly straight is the best sleep position as it reduces apnea severity and snoring,” Dr. Knobbe said. It can also help keep your spine in proper alignment, although it can put additional strain on your shoulders, hips and spine.

Is it OK to take melatonin if you have sleep apnea?

Should I Take Melatonin To Help My Sleep Apnea? No. Obstructive Sleep Apnea is caused following the relaxation of throat muscles, which obstruct airway flow while a sufferer is asleep. Too much melatonin will actually increase this relaxation and potentially put a patient at risk.

What is the safest sleeping pill for the elderly?

In the elderly, nonbenzodiazepines such as zolpidem, eszopiclone, zaleplon, and ramelteon are safer and better tolerated than tricyclic antidepressants, antihistamines, and benzodiazepines. Pharmacotherapy should be recommended only after sleep hygiene is addressed, however.

Can aspirin help sleep apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea patients with endothelial dysfunction gained aspirin responsiveness after using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, according to the findings from a small study scheduled to be presented at CHEST 2017.

Does Trazodone make sleep apnea worse?

Conclusions: Trazodone increases the respiratory arousal threshold in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and a low arousal threshold without major impairment in dilator muscle activity or upper airway collapsibility.

What can I use instead of a CPAP?

5 Sleep Apnea Treatment Options

• Oral Appliances. Just as there are dental professionals who specialize in orthodontics or dental implants, there are also those who can help with sleep apnea. ...
• Oral Surgery. In some cases, genetics can be the cause of sleep apnea. ...
• Weight Loss. ...
• Positional Therapy. ...
• Inspire Therapy.

What are the 3 types of sleep apnea?

What are the types of sleep apnea? A person with sleep apnea stops breathing during sleep. There are three forms of sleep apnea: central, obstructive, and complex. The most common of these is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

What is better than a CPAP machine?

BiPAP, or BiLevel PAP therapy, works in a similar manner as CPAP. Instead of one single pressure, BiPAP uses two pressures – an inhale pressure and a lower exhale pressure. BiPAP is often used as an alternative to CPAP for sleep apnea when patients also present with lung issues, like COPD.

What is the main cause of sleep apnea?

In adults, the most common cause of obstructive sleep apnea is excess weight and obesity, which is associated with the soft tissue of the mouth and throat. During sleep, when throat and tongue muscles are more relaxed, this soft tissue can cause the airway to become blocked.

What side should you sleep on for your heart?

Similarly, sleeping on your left side, specifically, could help the flow of blood to your heart. When your heart pumps blood out to your body, it gets circulated and then flows back to your heart on the right side, Winter explains.

Does sleep apnea cause belly fat?

In women, researchers found no association between obstructive sleep apnea and visceral fat accumulation. In women, visceral fat was only associated with body-mass index.