What are you supposed to feel like when you wake up?

[manwe]

I can honestly say that I never recall having a single morning in my whole life where I woke up and "hopped" out of bed ready to go, full of energy and refreshed. I always wrote this off to just not being a "morning person". Now that I have know I have sleep apnea, I'm curious as to what it's "supposed" to feel like. I'm not trying to judge progress or anything since I haven't even got my machine yet. I guess I'm just curious about what it's like to wake up like a normal person and what to expect once I have solved the enigma of masks, machine adjustments, etc.

Should I expect to feel fantastic and full of energy when I wake up or are my expectations too high? I know it should eventually feel "better", but what is better for most people? Are there people who sleep well without significant apnea issues and still wake up sluggish and drowsy (assuming no other health issues of course)?

I do realize that everyone is different to some degree. Just looking for some generalizations and hopefully something to look forward to.

[Wulfman...]

I can honestly say that I never recall having a single morning in my whole life where I woke up and "hopped" out of bed ready to go, full of energy and refreshed. I always wrote this off to just not being a "morning person". Now that I have know I have sleep apnea, I'm curious as to what it's "supposed" to feel like. I'm not trying to judge progress or anything since I haven't even got my machine yet. I guess I'm just curious about what it's like to wake up like a normal person and what to expect once I have solved the enigma of masks, machine adjustments, etc.

Should I expect to feel fantastic and full of energy when I wake up or are my expectations too high? I know it should eventually feel "better", but what is better for most people? Are there people who sleep well without significant apnea issues and still wake up sluggish and drowsy (assuming no other health issues of course)?

I do realize that everyone is different to some degree. Just looking for some generalizations and hopefully something to look forward to.

In my opinion, your questions are not answerable by anyone else than yourself.
Yes, we're all different......different ages, different amounts of time we've had sleep apnea, different amounts of time we've been on therapy, other health issues, and on and on.......

Are you currently using this therapy? I couldn't tell by your post and you have no equipment or anything else in your profile.

I think for the majority of us, it has been a gradual "recovery" and that only happens when the therapy is optimized. It's not like someone flipped a light switch and we were resurrected from the dead.


Den

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[Julie]

But if after a reasonable time you really don't feel any different, you need to look at things with software, etc. and if there are no answers there, then your GP needs to start looking at other possibilities unrelated to OSA.

[chunkyfrog]

"Overnight makeovers" are unusual. We are all different. It depends on where you started, and YOU.
Watch for subtle changes over time. My nightmares and morning headaches left quickly.
Energy and stamina improvement took months. My boss noticed my improved mental abilities before I did.
My family noticed improved mood and temperament. Others make slower progress.
Sometimes your improvement may only be measurable by your doctor.
Trust that something is happening, even if you can't see it.

[BlackSpinner]

I was more of a morning person when my OSA was untreated - events and having to pee took care of that.

Now I don't have to leap out of bed to pee anymore I am not a morning person, just like I wasn't a morning person before I got OSA.

[Sheriff Buford]

My take is like Chunky's. I would suggest that you keep a journal of sorts. Write down how you feel. If your improvements are subtle... you may be able to look back and see the small changes.
My mornings are like Nick Nolte on North Dallas Forty. I wake up and see what works and what don't. I check all the sore spots from the day before. A few years back we ran into a bar and a young lady cold-cocked me on my coconut with a beer bottle. I still feel that every morning. My kinda lady!

Sheriff

[manwe]

I think maybe this came off more seriously than I intended. I haven't started therapy yet. Waiting for my DME appointment soon. I don't really need reassurance. I was just curious as to what I have to look forward to eventually. I guess there is no answer really other than just "wait and see". I can live with that. Just impatient to get started and looking forward to feeling something different in the morning. Thanks for the responses though.

[Cardsfan]

My sleep Dr. just told me it takes 6 months of CPAP therapy for your brain to recover from the lack of good sleep. It's been 7 months for me, and I definitely feel a big difference. It did not happen overnight. I actually feel good when I wake up, rested and perky. So much better than pre treatment.

[chunkyfrog]

If I had it to do over, I would have pressed the matter much earlier.
I know I had apnea for years, and my family, career, and I suffered greatly for it.

[Sheriff Buford]

I look at it in three phases:
- successful treatment. Getting used to wearing the mask all night. No ( or little leakage.. looking at Pugsy)' acceptable AHI's etc...
- feeling better. More energy, needing less sleep and feeling better than you had in years.
-healing/stopping the damage sleep apnea did to your body.

The damage-repair can take a long time and should help in the feeling better catagory. The feeling better catagory should be immediate, but some folks can take time, and the feeling better catagory may be gradual. Heck, some folks never really feel better but can take comfort in stopping the apnea damage from occurring and, as in my case, probably adding 7 to 10 years to my life. Hope this helps.

Sheriff

[yaconsult]

I think that the more severe the apnea, the more dramatic the relief those people get. For me, with an AHI of 80, a lot of relief was immediate and it got even better over time as I adjusted, learned more, got better machines, made adjustments, etc. I would never even consider sleeping without the machine - it's physically impossible for me. If I had a much milder degree of apnea, I don't know if it would be the same or not.

[Janknitz]

Before CPAP I used to wake up feeling very stressed and negative with my mind racing, heart pounding. Now I wake slowly, peacefully, calmly, usually before my alarm. I love waking up with the cool CPAP air and I hate to turn it off most mornings.

[kteague]

I distinctly remember how I felt the first time I woke up in a way I can only describe as "awake". Like the fog had lifted. The sun even looked brighter. Still had much to deal with, but that moment gave me my first ray of hope that just maybe all my long standing symptoms wouldn't be forever.

[thasatelliteguy]

Lol... I know where you are coming from so well... I am 37, and have had extreme sleep apnea all my life. CPAP was not effective until recently. About two years ago, I got pneumonia and spent a week in the hospital and was put on to bipap, which has a high enough pressure to be effective. (Still not real sure about why the machine stops at 20 in CPAP mode though...) Anyway, my experience was this... everything I knew about myself as far as sleeping habits got thrown out the window. You spend your life gathering personal data... "If I go to bed at X, I will feel like X the next day." or "If I skip sleeping here, I will react like X there." But since I never got a good sleep before, all that went out the window. My 'baseline' changed. For me, it was like a little kid that didn't want to go to bed. "But mom, I'm not tired!"...lol I would get a few good night's sleep and then not sleep for a couple days. I describe it this way.. Where I wake up, most people are going to sleep. What I consider tired, most people never even experience because they slept last week. I considered myself "tired" when I fell down and passed out. I had my computers and everything in my life setup for standing because it was the only way to get anything done. If I sat, I slept and I got to the point I simply refused to sleep my life away any longer. I have been off my machine for a year, (it broke) and I am very recently back on, and find myself having to relearn all these sleep patterns as they come, and my AHI is only down to 5-20 from high 60's so far. I still feel 1000% better even at this point. I mean, I'm up at 5:30 am writing this... that would have rarely happened before.

I would expect everyone's results to be different depending on severity and treatment effectiveness, but over time it's DEFINITELY worth it to improve your quality of life.

[manwe]

Thanks, that helps. I'm really curious to see if it's possible for me to actually enjoy mornings. That concept seems so foreign to me. I guess I was just thinking that even if I get the apnea controlled well by the machine, the best case would be that I feel much better during the day but I still might be groggy during the first hour or so in the morning. I'm wondering if not being a "morning person" is 100% caused by the apnea or maybe it's just a personality quirk that I will continue to have.

It's specifically that first hour when I am dragging my butt to the coffee maker that I would love to not experience anymore. The universe can keep those.