Newbie Question

[readyforsomezzzzzzs]

Hi! I had my sleep study last Saturday, and was fitted for a cpap. I go this Friday night to determine what pressure is needed. The results of my first study showed I was desatting to 78% during sleep.

My question is, well, will I feel better? I am completely exhausted all the time, and feel like I am in a fog. I am an RN, and am completely freaked out by the 78% sat rate. During the day it's 99%.

So glad I found this website. Thanks in advance for the help.

Lori

[Foggy1]

Yes, you will feel better! Some people notice it immediately. Others notice it over time.

I woke up after my first night on CPAP and thought that the sky looked bluer and the world brighter. I felt rested, for the first time in ages. Over time, I noticed that a lot of aches and pains also faded away and that I had more energy.

[Pugsy]

My O2 went down to 73%.
Once I got my pressures tweaked optimally the first 2 symptoms that totally went away immediately were nocturia and the waking up with killer headaches. The general fatigue and lack of energy levels took longer but it was worth it not to have to get up and pee a bucketful every hour on the hour and not have a throbbing pounding killer headache for 2 to 3 hours every morning.
If you are having those symptoms..they are usually easily zapped. Sometimes the energy, fatigue, daytime sleepiness takes a while because sometimes there are other issues affecting how we feel.

My initial prescribed pressure wasn't quite optimal. It took me a couple of weeks to get the card reader and software that I needed at the time to see in my reports that I was still having too many obstructive events. A little pressure change and I was heading down the right road.

Make sure you know your machines.
Read these 2 blogs
http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/
http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/what-y ... me-part-i/

[Otter]

My question is, well, will I feel better? I am completely exhausted all the time, and feel like I am in a fog.

Edit: I misread your question. I thought you asked when you would feel better. Yes, you'll feel better. As to when...

It depends on how badly your body has been damaged. Recovery can take time, and you may need something besides CPAP to put yourself back together. OTOH, if you caught the apnea early enough, you may recover almost immediately once you have everything dialed in. Hopefully, it will be latter, but if not, you'll get there eventually.

I think it's fairly common for people with untreated apnea to have adrenal problems. It's really not surprising, considering that apnea forces these glands to work when they would ordinarily be at rest, and to do it without sufficient oxygen. Eventually, this takes its toll and the adrenals aren't able to keep up with the demand for important hormones.

Unable to make enough cortisol to access their energy stores, they make adrenalin instead. When they begin to recover and cortisol levels come back up, people actually feel more tired, as without the excess adrenalin, the depth of their sleep debt becomes apparent. If this happens to you, support your adrenal glands and try not to be discouraged. It's actually a good sign that you are appropriately tired. It means you are healing.

I am an RN, and am completely freaked out by the 78% sat rate. During the day it's 99%.

The good news is that that will soon be behind you.