Woke up with CPAP breathing deep, heavy & fatigued.

Had multiple awakenings and tired upon awakening as usual (been going on since before starting using CPAP), and what I noticed today extra is that I was breathing really heavy and deep, quite unlike my normal breathing during waking hours which is shallow and unnoticeable. I believe this is hyperventilation caused by CPAP. CPAP doesn't alter your breathing rhythm you say? But if you go by the reasoning of the Buteykoers, they say sleep apnea is caused in the first place by overbreathing and the smooth muscle collapse in the throat due to reduced CO2 levels. So with CPAP the extra pressure prevents that collapse and keeps the overbreathing going. So CPAP indirectly encourages the hyperventilation to occur by feeding the overbreathing by preventing an awakening.
Another theory (which I'm sure has been shot down in these forums in the past) is that the compressed air will force more air into the lungs. I think the debunkers assume that the ANS is intelligent enough to sense that more air is coming in per unit of time and therefore reduce the length of the inhales. What if it doesn't, especially with ANS disorders that modern medicine knows so little about?
If this is so then CPAP is not helpful for a refreshing sleep because hyperventilated sleep feels as bad as no sleep at all.

Hi, please don't listen to Buteyko anything... their reasoning and ideas about breathing are just wrong and will not help you.

We would like to help, however, but need information - what machine (full name and model please) are you using? At what pressure settings? And which mask?

Are you using software to monitor progress? I have no idea what ANS is.

C- or Apap does not force air into the lungs, it just helps to keep your airway open so air can pass through rather than be obstructed by your tongue, throat tissue, etc.

Are you here defending Buteyko, or asking for help with Cpap? The trouble with preconceived notions is that they make a hard place to begin trying to help you with Cpap if you're already convinced about erroneous ideas from somewhere else.

Julie wrote:Hi, please don't listen to Buteyko anything... their reasoning and ideas about breathing are just wrong and will not help you.

We would like to help, however, but need information - what machine (full name and model please) are you using? At what pressure settings? And which mask?

Are you using software to monitor progress? I have no idea what ANS is.

C- or Apap does not force air into the lungs, it just helps to keep your airway open so air can pass through rather than be obstructed by your tongue, throat tissue, etc.

Are you here defending Buteyko, or asking for help with Cpap? The trouble with preconceived notions is that they make a hard place to begin trying to help you with Cpap if you're already convinced about erroneous ideas from somewhere else.

I just want to heal my condition, Buteyko or CPAP, I don't care.
I'm using Philips Respironics REMStar Auto. Min pressure 6.0 Max 10.0. Full face mask.

ANS is Autonomous nervous system which controls the breathing during sleep. I was saying that the ANS may be compromised in its ability and cause hyperventilation in the presence of pressurized air if it doesn't take the pressure into account, because then more volume of air per second is being inhaled if the inhale duration is the same as inhaling air at normal pressure. And ANS is quite compromised in a number of disorders like depression etc.

I think you've gotten a lot of misinformation somewhere, especially about the autonomic system which I doubt is particularly affected by either Cpap or other very minor breathing issues - it calls the shots, not the other way around. I think it's far more likely that your low pressure setting of 6 is too low for your needs (or almost anyone else's) and if you bump it to e.g. 8 for a couple of nights you'll have a much easier time and not have to 'hyperventilate' to get enough air.

While there may be some mechanical feedback, the main respiratory control is supplied by the chemical changes of PCO2 and pH in the arterial blood. Unless you are blocking your vents at night, I would suspect your hyperventilation to be more from anxiety or as Julie suggested the low pressure setting and waking from apnea events.

If you want to know what is happening while you are sleeping, look at your data. We need to know your specific machine, Take the water out and look on the bottom of the blower for a REF or Model number.

So what do your sleepyhead graphs show?
Let's get real data instead of the stuff you are fantasizing about.

Breathing exercises are great for stress reduction and pain control when you are awake. They can also help you fall asleep None of the ideas apply when you are actually asleep.

I have yet to install the graph software and see my graphs.

I think I found the reason for the hyperventilation. I'm normally a back sleeper but after reading stuff on the internet I have recently been trying to sleep on my side. Somehow this is not ok for my body. Today I noticed that during the side sleep the nose was getting blocked somehow induced by this position and to overcome that my breathing was becoming heavy. It resolved once I got on my back. I have mistaken that the CPAP was causing it.