CPAP and headaches

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
Neecerie
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 7:07 pm

Re: CPAP and headaches

Post by Neecerie » Thu Nov 20, 2014 9:51 pm

pgflrob wrote:Just a quick question. Before I first got tested for sleep apnea I never had headaches. I was just tired, had to nap, and had a lack of concentration. Now I have them every morning. Does that seem odd? Related? Common?

For people with sleep apnea is having headaches something experienced before CPAP?

I can't speak for everyone...AND I am brand new.


but a morning headache has been my constant companion for a very long time now.

Last night was my very first night on APAP and I woke up headache-less.

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Pugsy
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Location: Missouri, USA

Re: CPAP and headaches

Post by Pugsy » Fri Nov 21, 2014 5:42 pm

Morning headaches are a common symptom of OSA.
I used to have some killer morning headaches but they would sort of go away after a couple of hours.
Once I got started on CPAP those headaches totally went away...nocturia is also a common symptom of OSA.
For me the absence of the morning killer headaches and the nocturia were my first signs that my CPAP therapy was working.

Now...I still wake up with headaches on occasion but they aren't from OSA or my CPAP therapy...they are from my own arthritic neck and will happen when I end up sleeping in a sort of awkward position on my bed pillow.

Since you are complaining of headaches that are showing up now and you didn't have them pre cpap therapy then it does make us wonder why they have popped up now.
I would suspect either the straps being too tight or maybe sleeping in sort of a weird position in terms of the head and neck on whatever bed pillow you are using.
The mask you are using, the P10 nasal pillow mask, doesn't have hardly any straps if you compare it to other masks but it wouldn't be impossible for the straps to contributing to the headaches. Depends on how tight and where the straps are spending most of the night..

I use the P10 and have since mid January of this year...it isn't the cause of my headaches...mine I know is from my neck (I have a metal plate in my neck). If I sleep in a position where my C spine isn't straight I will wake up with a headache. If I stay on my bed pillow like I am supposed to stay I don't have headaches or neck pain.

I suppose a person could also be having a "sinus" headache but normally with those people would be also complaining of nasal/sinus issues. You haven't mentioned any nasal or sinus issues so I am assuming that you aren't having any of those issues.
Nasal or sinus issues can develop from CPAP therapy because the nasal mucosa is unhappy with the moisture content of the air coming from the humidifier. Sometimes the nasal mucosa wants more moisture and sometimes it wants less. This is an area of cpap therapy that is highly individualize when it comes to humidity preferences.
What works for me may not work for you or the next person. There isn't a right or wrong humidity setting that we can say works for everyone. It all depends on the individuals nasal mucosa and sinuses and what they like or need.

Someone complaining of headaches that are brand new complaint only after starting cpap therapy...I would suspect some sort of muscle tension headache from sleeping position (let's face it..it can be a challenge when we sleep on or sides or our stomach with these masks) or pressure of the straps on the back of the head.

Most cpap masks are going to need some sort of strap arrangement to support the mask.
There is the Tap Pap nasal pillow mask that doesn't use any straps but instead uses a mouth guard over the top teeth to support the nasal pillows.
There is also the Oracle which is a type of mask that just uses the mouth and the nose is pinched closed.

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ASU82

Re: CPAP and headaches

Post by ASU82 » Wed Dec 10, 2014 5:28 pm

I am new to this forum but not new to CPAP. After several years of CPAP use, a year or 2 ago I started having terrible headaches in the morning, and very tender spots on my head, where my straps had been. No amount of strap moving or adjusting could relieve it. I had to change to the Oracle mask mentioned above; I had to have no straps. Something to consider anyway.
I am also curious about anyone else having this problem....

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Julie
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Re: CPAP and headaches

Post by Julie » Wed Dec 10, 2014 5:36 pm

What you had were not 'headaches' in the sense that others described related to OSA, but sore spots from straps. And those can usually be helped by a) loosening the straps a little bit, or b) wrapping them with e.g. some towel material for padding.

surf_rower
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Location: Rhode Island USA

Re: CPAP and headaches

Post by surf_rower » Wed Jan 14, 2015 4:47 pm

Hi all, I just searched on headaches and found this thread. I was headache-free for a year or so until I added the humidifier (set at 3) about two months ago, now I have a constant headache all day every day. I used to get this type of headache when I wore a heavy camera around my neck and/or bent over in the darkroom sniffing fixer, but I don't do that much anymore. I can't say the headaches started exactly at the time of the humidifier, but it was around that time. The humidifier completely cured my sneezy tickly nose issues. Nose feels great. I have a Tap Pap that I'm quite used to, so I don't think the mask is causing me any new neck tension. I will try without the humidifier for awhile and see if the headaches go away. But did want to report to this thread that I am suspicious of it, at this time. (CPAP set to 6.)
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