Tonight will be my first night using CPAP

I had my sleep study July 18th and was told I would hear from my primary care physician two weeks later and never did. I called my primary care physician and he said the sleep lab arranges the CPAP machine for me. That said, I called the sleep study office and they referred me back to my primary care physician stating that they put a "recommendation" for CPAP machine in the results that were sent to him and he should be able to assign a CPAP provider to me. So, I called my primary care physician again and spoke with a nurse. I explained to her that I travel a lot by car for my job and have trouble fighting droziness behind the wheel, they finaly had a CPAP specialist call me. The specialist said I should receive the equipment tonight. It has been almost two months since my sleep study! I've been told by other CPAP users that it has taken way too long! Anyways, I hope it will help me feel better! More rested during the day, less irritable and more alert! How soon do you think it will take for me to start feeling better? I'm glad to know about this forum. i'm also glad to know i'm not alone in dealing with sleep apnea!

Same here, first night here as well. Just picked mine up today. Rental is $50 a week to try and test, which then does towards the machine. Thankfully my wife has full coverage for it.

My start to end for this was fast, havign the sleep test done just over a month ago to getting the machine now

Not saying the apnea is new, but being diagnosed it. From the sounds of the symptons, Ive probaly had it for 20 years now, or even all my life. Im 41 now

The last 6 months have been worse though, waking up, dull headaches, so tired in the mornings, hating work, irritable, etc

Hoping this is the cure, so tired of being tired And sick of falling asleep everywhere.

First post and just signed up today

Good luck to both of you, srowensjr and spidey!

I am a few days in (got my machine on Tuesday) and it's been going really well. I'm already feeling a difference--more energy, and not as crabby.

Hopefully, both of you will have similar experiences.

Sleep well!

Good luck to all of you. It's hard to say when you will feel the results. I started noticing in about a week, others take longer.
It will take a little while to get used to wearing the mask. Some take to it fairly quickly and some people have to try several masks. It's a process don't get discouraged.
After awhile you will start noticing the difference.

If you have problems make sure to ask here, there are many people who have be where you are now and many that have had and solved problems you may run into.

Good luck, guys! Let us know if you have any problems. Somebody on the forum has probably had/solved a similar problem.

Well last night didn't go a smooth as I wanted. Went to bed at 11, machine on ad it actually wasn't that bad to get used to. But then I woke up at 2 am for some reason. Im having allergies right now so nose breathing got to hard. And after 2 hours of lying there with the machine on and no success of falling back to sleep, I took it off until I woke up at 7:30, which is earlier than usual for a Saturday

I think in those 3 hours of the machine I did get some solid sleep, as I feel better today. No dull headache or eyes sore.

Since this was my first night, I did notice that I couldn't get a full breath when I was awake those 2 hours with the machine. The plus is the air created a vacuum of sorts, or whatever, and my moth wouldn't fall open, unless I forced it a little

Today Im taking an allergy pill to see if that helps. Ive always had nose issues and surgery for it. Deviated septum that was fixed almost 20 years ago, but Ive always had allergy and clear breathing issues.

So while not a complete success, I think in that 3 hours I got such solid sleep that maybe I was just awake that 2 hours after because my body got more in a row sleep and didn't know what to do.

I did notice with the 2 hours I had it on and I was awake, that it "seemed" when I took a really deep breath that air acted differently, like I stopped or something. Could of been my stuffy nose to, but after that long I had to take the mask off and breath through my mouth for awhile to get a full breath. My machine has the "staging" I guess that lowers the air as you sleep depending on your breathing when you sleep.

Il be asking questions when I go back in a week, plus their modem was sending out results all night, so that will help to

Since this was my first night, I did notice that I couldn't get a full breath when I was awake those 2 hours with the machine. The plus is the air created a vacuum of sorts, or whatever, and my moth wouldn't fall open, unless I forced it a little

Does your machine have the ramp feature? If so, turning your machine off and then back on (so that the ramp feature kicks back on) may help. I feel like I can't get a full breath if I'm awake and my machine is on my full pressure.

Glad you got a few hours of good rest--hopefully this will continue to get easier for you.

Thanks for the comments everyone! My first night wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. I had issues getting comfortable with the mask and the hose. I even felt claustrophobic a couple of times and had to sit up in bed a watch a little of tv. Eventually i fell asleep and woke up feeling pretty good. Alert and not groggy. During the day I wasn't irritable like I usually am. Prior to my second night, I read the mask instructions and realized I wasn't wearing the mask properly and I noticed there is a loop on top of the mask to hold the hose which made my sleep last night pretty good. I feel really good today. I don't know if its the placebo effect, or if its starting to work. That said using the CPAp machine is something that takes time getting use too....I hope its worth it and continues to make me feel better. Oh yeah, Spidey, i would recommend Nasacort for allergies and nasal congestion. I too had a deviated septum and have always had problems breathing thru my nose, but Nasacort works very well.

I know it is frustrating in the beginning, but it gets better.

Duffy08 wrote:

Since this was my first night, I did notice that I couldn't get a full breath when I was awake those 2 hours with the machine. The plus is the air created a vacuum of sorts, or whatever, and my moth wouldn't fall open, unless I forced it a little

Does your machine have the ramp feature? If so, turning your machine off and then back on (so that the ramp feature kicks back on) may help. I feel like I can't get a full breath if I'm awake and my machine is on my full pressure.

Glad you got a few hours of good rest--hopefully this will continue to get easier for you.

It does as far as I know. Im using the test machine right now, but I remember them saying that.

So far havent slept an entire night with it, but its only been 3 nights. Been waking up 3-4 hours after falling asleep and then I take it off and sleep without it the rest of the night. Since I worked Monday I thought I better get some rest instead of trying to use it and just stay awake

This is the first work day monday for probably years I havent felt crappy. No sore eyes, or dull headache. And my mood at work is defintly better. Placebo or not, I dont know

I just noticed most of you are new to the forum. Welcome! Sit back and read some posts that will help educate you. Lots of folks here to help you with any issues that you may have. I have prepared some cookies and coffee for you as you read through the posts. Enjoy!

Starlette