Did you feel instantly better?

It does indeed take some time to recover from the nightly "beatings".
Sleeping with untreated apnea is very rough on a frog (and most people).
Learning how to "dance with the mask" also takes time.
Stick with it, and it will become second nature.

I have been on CPAP now about 10 years. As I remember back yes for the most part I felt better the very first night on CPAP. It did take some getting used to but I definitely knew I was getting better sleep from day one.


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Sorry for being atypical, but I did feel better almost instantly.

Note that this is not what most report, so don’t be discouraged. Typically, one starts to feel the relief gradually over several months. It is not uncommon for a patient to report that CPAP is not helping, discontinue use, and report feeling “worse than ever” after discontinuation. What’s happening in such a case is that the patient doesn’t really notice the relief because it’s gradual, but notices the cessation of that relief immediately!

My advice to all is to stick with it for several months, and then take an “inventory” of how you feel vs. how you felt before. If necessary, pretend that it all happened the first week.

I felt way better the first day, and also gradually better, I think The first day feeling better is probably related to how severe the apnea was... in my case I had quite a bit of oxygen deprevation, so that was a major impact for me, and breathing normally and not damaging my body with CO2 and low oxygen probably made a huge difference in how I first felt. I think for others they may mostly only get the gradual from a lower level of oxygen difference and slowy sleeping better. It may also be that I was lucky in that my first night I had a pretty good mask fit with an effective mask at a pressure that worked for me. So there's also the possibility of too high leaks, and incorrect mask pressure which would make the improvements slower and the therapy not as effective.

It took me about three months before I really noticed any difference. It was a very gradual thing. I noticed I could sit at the table and work the crossword puzzle without dozing off. I could also sit and watch a TV program and not fall asleep. I have been using my machine for a little over two years, I have used it almost every night once I started. I missed three nights when my machine broke while I was out of town, and about a week after I had back surgery and could not stand the mask due to nausea. It was either throw up in the mask, or go without. Once I got off the pain medication, I went right back on the mask, and have only missed one night since. I got a large shot of steroids that day, and did not sleep at all that night, which, for me, is a common side effect of the medication.

I still feel bad, it's been 12 years now, I feel like i'm 12 years older. In another 12 years I hope I feel 24 years older. The good part I keep waking up everyday. Jim

Thanks for the replies. Again, I'm just at the 3 week mark. I have energy when I wake up and I think it lasts for several hours, but mid-afternoon I am still hitting the wall. And I don't really understand what "sleep debt" actually means. I believe I have had sleep apnea for many years -- so does that mean I have a lot of sleep debt to pay back?

Sleep debt is a hypothetical concept used to explain that one night's good sleep does not make up for several nights inadequate sleep. There are all kinds of numbers bandied around, starting from 1 hour lost must be made up by one extra hour. One recent study I read was that for some brain structures to return to normal took between 3 months and a year. That would imply it takes a year to make up all of your accumulated sleep debt, but in reality, no one knows if you ever fully recover from all damage done by long-term sleep deprivation.

Most authors liken it to a bank account or a credit card, when you do not get enough restful sleep, it is a decrease in the balance, extra sleep helps to pay off that accumulated debt.

Sleep Well, enjoy the ride.

TASmart wrote:Sleep debt is a hypothetical concept used to explain that one night's good sleep does not make up for several nights inadequate sleep. There are all kinds of numbers bandied around, starting from 1 hour lost must be made up by one extra hour. One recent study I read was that for some brain structures to return to normal took between 3 months and a year. That would imply it takes a year to make up all of your accumulated sleep debt, but in reality, no one knows if you ever fully recover from all damage done by long-term sleep deprivation.

Most authors liken it to a bank account or a credit card, when you do not get enough restful sleep, it is a decrease in the balance, extra sleep helps to pay off that accumulated debt.

Sleep Well, enjoy the ride.

The concept of sleep debt was well studied by researchers. People were deprived of a full nights sleep, one or more nights in a row. Then they were told to sleep as long as they wanted to. The excess sleep was pretty much equal to the amount or "missed" sleep. After the debt was paid back, they were not able to sleep in excess of normal hours. These studies were carried out many years ago. They may not be repeatable because - based on what is now known - it is unethical to deprive people of sleep.