More Tired than Before CPAP?

Has anyone experienced feeling more tired using the CPAP machine than they did before starting to use it? If so, what's that about? If you have since started feeling well-rested using the machine, how did that come about?

Yes. Very common.

You have this sleep debt thing going on. You are getting use to the machine and probably don't have things perfect yet. Things will improve. Six years and I just noticed that I now anticipating what I should set the humidifier to as the season changes.

You have just started to heal but still have damage to address. Read up on the oxygen starvation, brain cells killed off, heart tortured every night, excessive adrenalin in your system messing you up. Healing takes energy and this, what you feel is your body finally actually able to rest without the torture. Do a search on this board for "sleep debt".

It was three months until my first really good night of sleep but I had issues (wrong machine, bad settings, etc).
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5758&p=52033#p52033


You are paying off your sleep debt. It will get better. Don't give up.

I'm having that same problem. I don't know that the idea of having sleep debt built up in my system seems reasonable to me though. I can grasp the cumulative effects of poor sleep adding up until it impairs your functioning ability, but it seems like you should be able to set yourself right with a couple of nights good sleep, instead of needing six months of good sleep. I'd sure like to see some legitimate scientific studies on that concept.

It is frustrating though; I feel more "out of it" then I ever have after using this machine for several nights.

boognish wrote:seems like you should be able to set yourself right with a couple of nights good sleep, instead of needing six months of good sleep.

There is more to it than just hours of sleep and "catching up".
Fragmented sleep for any reason just won't do the restorative job that needs to be done.
We also have to deal with the damage done to our bodies in the past. One night of "good" therapy doesn't fix the damage that occurred for probably months and years.
We also might have other issues that affect how we feel besides OSA. Treating my OSA effectively didn't make my bad back quit hurting. So pain, insomnia, other health issues, bed comfort issues, number of hours of uninterrupted sleep, lifestyle and a long list of other contributors can and will impact how we feel.

But we gotta start somewhere and the cpap machine is where we start.
Make sure therapy is optimal. leaks aren't creating problems etc. Then start whittling away at other possible reasons why we don't feel so great. Fragmented sleep? Number of hours asleep? etc, etc.

Yes it is an adjustment and yes for some it is a difficult adjustment. Identify the problem adjusting and start working on it. Yes, it does take time but it doesn't mean that you have to sit idly by and not take a proactive attitude. If a leak is impacting therapy and we don't know it, how will we ever expect to feel better? Won't even have a fighting chance...

Don't give up.

There is probably a thousand discussions about the "sleep debt" and how long until you feel better. (Search "sleep debt" and take a look at the oldest posts first...).
search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&keywords=%2B% ... &start=975

It's going to get better. Work on getting comfortable, getting rid of the leaks, no more mouth breathing and sleeping better. The recovery is different for everyone.

It will come. This does work.



It's funny. Once you "wake up" you end up being a prophet.

boognish wrote: I can grasp the cumulative effects of poor sleep adding up until it impairs your functioning ability, but it seems like you should be able to set yourself right with a couple of nights good sleep, instead of needing six months of good sleep. I'd sure like to see some legitimate scientific studies on that concept.

Here's a good starting place for your research: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 181032.htm

Drowsy Dancer

napstress wrote:Has anyone experienced feeling more tired using the CPAP machine than they did before starting to use it? If so, what's that about? If you have since started feeling well-rested using the machine, how did that come about?

Short answer: Yes, I felt much, much more tired and much, much more dysfunctional for a solid four months after starting CPAP therapy. Why? In my case I had some serious adjustment issues to deal with. I also found the CPAP machine to be highly disruptive of my already light sleep. And starting with night 3, I developed a truly nasty case of insomnia that by the end of December was romping through my bedroom nightly feeding on a whole host of things---some related to BiPAP and some not.

I'm now beginning to feel better on many (not all) days. And the truly disastrous days are becoming rarer. Why? Well, it's largely because at my semi-emergency appointment with the PA on Dec. 30, I was finally able to admit to myself as well as the PA that the CPAP-induced insomnia was out of control, that the insomnia was now a LARGER problem than merely sleeping with the BiPAP was, and that I could not manage to tame the insomnia by myself with my usual "anti-insomnia" strategies. The PA listened carefully to me and helped me design a largely CBT-based way of tackling the insomnia that involves a sleep restricted schedule (six hours in bed max at the start; I'm working on moving it to 6:15 now). And I've had face-to-face followups every month since then with phone calls in between when things have hit rough patches. By the end of January, I was no longer feeling like something the cat threw up each and every morning. By the middle of March, my insomnia is now under control, but not eliminated, and I'm feeling much better because the insomnia is no longer sucking out of me every bit of energy the CPAP is feeding into me. But until I get my bedtime moved all the way back to where I'm in bed for 7 or 8 hours and actually sleeping 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours, I don't fully expect to feel the full benefits of either mastering the insomnia or the CPAP. But it's getting better, slowly but surely.

For the LONG answer about CPAP-induced insomnia and its very real toll on the new CPAPer as well as suggestions on what to do since that seems to be part of your problem, see my reply to your other thread posted at viewtopic/t62512/Wake-Up-After-2-Hours.html for a much longer answer. The post has grown out of my all too long and all too familiar war on my own insomnia: It mainly consists of things that I wish I'd known when the insomnia started raising its head by the end of my first week on CPAP instead of waiting some 3 months to start figuring out.

I have the very same issue. I tried a cpap machine 25 years ago for 6 months and did not have any improvement in my daytime sleepiness. I am in the worst shape I have ever been in at 6 ft. muscular and 215 lbs. At 51 I am over 200 for the first time in my life. I had a heart attack on Jan. 1 2014. Everyone, including the doctors say I am not the typical candidate. I am fit and in shape etc. Yet, after researching why I had the HA, I found that sleep apnea and heart failure are closely related... so, to make a life story short, I'm went back and had a sleep study done and found that I stop breathing somewhere between 15-45 times an hour and I rarely, if ever reach REM sleep. Doctors tell me that the cpap machines are vastly improved and that I should try again... so I do, I've been on for one month now and guess what? I'm more tired than ever, can hardly keep my eyes open while I work at my desk. Every time I sit down I fall asleep. Now Doctors say it may be related to the 5 pills I take each day for my heart.
You know what I think? Life is a crap shoot. Dr's are humans with good intentions, but they are not God and they have not and may never figure out how to cure anything... they can fix things that are broken, but they can't prevent/cure... They may be able to prolong life, but that's it.
I would give anything to experience one day where I do not feel sleepy. 51 years of this is more than enough. But like every other ailment, one learns to adapt and survive.

skdw2204 wrote:I have the very same issue. I tried a cpap machine 25 years ago for 6 months and did not have any improvement in my daytime sleepiness. I am in the worst shape I have ever been in at 6 ft. muscular and 215 lbs. At 51 I am over 200 for the first time in my life. I had a heart attack on Jan. 1 2014. Everyone, including the doctors say I am not the typical candidate. I am fit and in shape etc. Yet, after researching why I had the HA, I found that sleep apnea and heart failure are closely related... so, to make a life story short, I'm went back and had a sleep study done and found that I stop breathing somewhere between 15-45 times an hour and I rarely, if ever reach REM sleep. Doctors tell me that the cpap machines are vastly improved and that I should try again... so I do, I've been on for one month now and guess what? I'm more tired than ever, can hardly keep my eyes open while I work at my desk. Every time I sit down I fall asleep. Now Doctors say it may be related to the 5 pills I take each day for my heart.
You know what I think? Life is a crap shoot. Dr's are humans with good intentions, but they are not God and they have not and may never figure out how to cure anything... they can fix things that are broken, but they can't prevent/cure... They may be able to prolong life, but that's it.
I would give anything to experience one day where I do not feel sleepy. 51 years of this is more than enough. But like every other ailment, one learns to adapt and survive.

Please fill out your profile with more details on the equipment you are using and download SleepyHead software to share your sleep data on this forum. It may be that your therapy is not optimal. People here will try to help.

skdw2204 wrote:I have the very same issue. I tried a cpap machine 25 years ago for 6 months and did not have any improvement in my daytime sleepiness. I am in the worst shape I have ever been in at 6 ft. muscular and 215 lbs. At 51 I am over 200 for the first time in my life. I had a heart attack on Jan. 1 2014.

Just a little thinking outside the CPAP box here...have you had your blood testosterone levels tested recently?

Another thing that would be very helpful to you and the O.P. is to review sleep data your machine is (should be) recording, to see if there are any patterns to AHI or RERA (Respiratory Event Related Arousal) events. This information can give you insights on why you are tired, and if any aspect of your therapy may be improved to avoid these sleep killers.

Morning - Came across this thread while surfing for information about my husband's CPAP machine -- please don't give up. Get help with settings - please get help and keep trying. My husband passed away in January of this year and one of the causes was obstructive sleep apnea. He was only 44. Not to turn this into a grief forum or anything but he said the exact same thing as your post. He was MORE tired with the machine than without and he felt better when he slept on his own and would fall asleep at work or even driving. Looking back, I wish I'd pushed him to try more settings, masks, anything rather than him not be here. In the hindsight an adjustment period will be a small price to pay. Prayers and positive thoughts that you find rest .