Sleep Apnea

Medications

Doctors typically do not suggest medicines for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). But medicine can help reduce daytime sleepiness when continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is reducing apneas—the number of times you stop breathing at night—but daytime sleepiness continues.^{11, 12}

Medication Choices

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved wakefulness-promoting medicines for people who are using CPAP but still have excessive daytime sleepiness:

• Wakefulness-promoting medicines

What To Think About

People with sleep apnea who take wakefulness-promoting medicines should continue using CPAP to treat sleep apnea.

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Author:	Maria Essig	Last Updated: July 9, 2009
Medical Review:	E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Mark A. Rasmus, MD - Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
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