Hypersomnia (cont.)
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 How Is Hypersomnia Treated?
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If you are diagnosed with hypersomnia, your doctor can prescribe various drugs to treat it, including stimulants, antidepressants, as well as several newer medications (for example, Provigil and Xyrem). If you are diagnosed with sleep apnea, your doctor may prescribe a treatment known as continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP. With CPAP, you wear a mask over your nose while you are sleeping. A machine that delivers a continuous flow of air into the nostrils is hooked up to the mask. The pressure from air flowing into the nostrils helps keep the airways open. If you are taking a medication that causes drowsiness, ask your doctor about changing the medication to one that is less likely to make you sleepy. You may also want to go to bed earlier to try to get more sleep at night, and eliminate alcohol and caffeine. Reviewed by
Michael W. Smith, MD on September 14, 2008.
Last Editorial Review: 2/22/2010 © 2005-2013 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved. Patient CommentsViewers share their comments |
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