I sleep better without CPAP than with

[DoriC]

Hi Carol!

[JeffL]

It took me a while to get used to it too, but the annoyance of hosing up was far better then my sudden waking up, gasping for breath (or my wife shaking me because of my snoring).

[Notsoldbuyit]

I've had mine for a year. As a trucker I'm forced to use it 4 hrs minimum 70% of the time. I cant keep it on for more than 5 hours and normally wake up so tired I can't function. When I don't wear if I sleep longerror. No leaks. Humidity fine haven't snored unless I don't use it. My issue is obviously I have a lot more responsibility with my sleep and ill be frank about it. On days I use it i can't make 4 hours before I need tone pull it over and nap. On days I don't use it i run all day 11 hours driving in shifts of 7 and 4 withours a pRobles. I'm assumming ight has to do with central apnea but I never had any sleeping problems or alertness until late a dot physical said my neck was supposedly to thick.

[Chris333]

It probably took me 1-1/2 years to be able to use mine regularly. I was only able to wear it for about 2 hours and would wake up ripping it off. Longest was 4 hours. I gave up for months at a time.

Somehow out of the blue I tried it again and was able to sleep all night with it on. I still wake up at least once a night because of the mask, but I can go right back to bed. I've been using it daily for about 3 months now between 7.5-8.5 hours. Now I don't fall asleep in the middle of the day like I used to.

If you end up opening your mouth there is no way you can "train" it to stay shut, just have to live with it. Strap doesn't work, Tape doesn't work. Haven't tried a bite guard yet. And you're sleeping so you have no say in what your mouth does.

[VinnieBarbarino]

My issue is obviously I have a lot more responsibility with my sleep and ill be frank about it.

Well that's good. Personally, I couldn't drive 11 hours a day without chemicals. That is a difficult lifestyle in many respects.
They usually ask for sleep lab results, machine and mask details, and Sleepyhead output here. So maybe you need xPAP and maybe you don't.
But I also don't put much stock in the assertion that everything's fine without it.
Either you're right or some day your coping mechanisms will not be enough and you will hit rock bottom.
Clearly you are in an adversarial relationship with the machine. Help is available here if you're willing to supply the regulars with some data.
But the thing about wearing the mask during the day doesn't apply to you when you are driving

[Julie]

It's quite possible your pressure settings are just too low to be effective (happens so often) and you might want to review them using either Sleepyhead software or a good sleep doctor.

[Chilibit]

Were I in what I perceive to be your situation I would be looking for a second opinion from a fully vetted neurologist. Based on what I read here --- which seems skimpy to me. Only in my opinion of course.

[D.H.]

Sleep Apnea is a known risk for all the things mentioned. It is reasonable to assume that more severe Sleep Apnea equates to a higher risk. It is also generally understood (despite recent flawed studies) that controlling Sleep Apnea reduces these risks. However, it is really not known (and can't really be ascertained) the correlation between severity and risk.

Personally, I would use CPAP even if there were no long term benefit because I feel so much better.

[PEF]

Thanks to all for your suggestions and encouragement. I went back to the sleep doc (as the DME insisted). I told him just what I posted here, that I sleep better without CPAP than with. The sleep doc reviewed the sleep study results and my symptoms and changed his mind. "Your symptom is insomnia and CPAP will not address insomnia. CPAP deals with sleep apnea but not insomnia." He then launched into a discussion of insomnia vs "sleepiness" and the risk factors associated with sleep apnea (which I mostly did not follow) -- he said sleep apnea increases the risk of diabetes, stroke, and cardiovascular complications by about 1 percentage point. He concluded that I should discontinue CPAP because (1) my sleep study showed only mild to moderate sleep apnea, (2) my sleep apnea adds only a negligible risk to my health, (3) CPAP makes my insomnia worse, and (4) I am sleeping all right since I discontinued CPAP. Note that (1) and (2) were known from the outset. He did not tell me what other CPAP users have told me on this forum, namely that there is an inevitable period of adjustment and that I just need to tough it out. On my visit to the sleep doc I gave him no new information regarding symptoms beyond the fact that I had trouble going to sleep and staying asleep with CPAP. In the interim my insomnia had lessened. Now I am sleeping all right and the only things I have really done different are (1) going to bed a little earlier and at a consistent time,(2) keeping track of how long i sleep and nap,and (3) mental focus on sleeping. So in the end the doc prescribed CPAP but did not seem to have any conviction that this therapy is needed. So the only advice I would offer to CPAP users who are have difficulty adjusting to the machine is to ask your sleep doctor, "how serious is my sleep apnea and how important is it that I use the CPAP machine. So if your symptoms are serious and life threatening and directly attributable to sleep apnea, by all means keep at it. However, just because the technology exists this does not mean that we should all be using it. Doctors each have a few tools available and some may feel that when a patient comes to them they are obliged to present a solution. In my case the problem turned out in the end not to be so serious and the cure was worse than the disease. Best of luck to all who are dealing with this condition.

You know, it is kind of funny that you posted this. I have been struggling with insomnia and trying for about 15 months to get used to xPAP. Robysue and Pugsy have tried so hard to help me. Robysue helped me so much with the insomnia and I am not bothered by it any longer, as long as I allow myself to take off the mask if it begins to keep me awake. I hardly ever get sick, but 3 weeks ago I was so run down from lack of sleep (due to xPAP use) that I got really sick. I had a heart to heart talk with my ENT over the whole issue. I told him that in almost 15 months, I never gave myself the option to go to sleep without my mask. He told me right out that I am probably going to ruin my health if I force myself to continue with xPAP. He said he thinks I do not have OSA at all and maybe have some other SDB issue that xPAP is not going to fix and I should just give it up. From my sleep logs and Sleepyhead reports it is obvious that xPAP is causing my insomnia to be intolerable. He thinks stopping xPAP or using it only when it does not keep me awake and/or wake me up all night, will not compromise my health at all. Recently, I got that special bed wedge that keeps silent reflex away. It takes some getting used to, but I am not having any acid problems. Just going to bed and telling myself that I WILL take the mask off and leave it off, if it bothers me, has dramatically reduced my sleep anxiety. Sometimes, I cannot get to sleep with my mask on, take it off and then if I wake up, I often put the mask back on until morning. I am doing so much better and the insomnia is almost gone!

[Wulfman...]

I've had mine for a year. As a trucker I'm forced to use it 4 hrs minimum 70% of the time. I cant keep it on for more than 5 hours and normally wake up so tired I can't function. When I don't wear if I sleep longerror. No leaks. Humidity fine haven't snored unless I don't use it. My issue is obviously I have a lot more responsibility with my sleep and ill be frank about it. On days I use it i can't make 4 hours before I need tone pull it over and nap. On days I don't use it i run all day 11 hours driving in shifts of 7 and 4 withours a pRobles. I'm assumming ight has to do with central apnea but I never had any sleeping problems or alertness until late a dot physical said my neck was supposedly to thick.

Absolutely NO useful information in your post to make sense out of.
Which specific model of machine are you using? What are the settings?
Use a humidifier? What settings?
If you have a data-capable machine, are you using software? Getting any information from the LCD screen?
Which mask are you using? If you're using a nasal mask, are you leaking air out of your mouth while you sleep?

Since you're a trucker, would you call your shop or mechanic and say "My truck isn't running right......what's wrong?"

Need more information.


Den

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