Started CPAP 7/26/15, still not feeling much different.

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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BIGsherm7272
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Started CPAP 7/26/15, still not feeling much different.

Post by BIGsherm7272 » Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:56 pm

I was diagnosed with OSA with an AHI of 33.2, desats down to 68%, but were mainly hypopneas. I have been using my machine for over 8 hours each night, do not struggle to fall or stay asleep, and I am averaging an AHI of 1.5, with no leak issues. I am a 26 y/o male, and have several other health conditions. Blood pressure is normally good, had undiagnosed hypothyroidism, now treated with synthroid, good labs. I struggle mightily with insomnia, and take 100mg of seroquel or 15-30mg of mirtazapine to sleep. I am still having plenty of intense vivid dreams everynight, and wake up feeling very tired and run down, almost same as pre-cpap. I was prescribed vyvanse for EDS due to OSA, and still take it just to function. I am just wondering if it can take this long to start feeling any benefits, as I was told they woulde be almost immediate. I also suffer from bipolar depression. Any dvice or experience would be greatly appreciated, just trying to feel better and stay positive, as well as making sure I get the most out of CPAP therapy.

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Wulfman...
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Re: Started CPAP 7/26/15, still not feeling much different.

Post by Wulfman... » Thu Aug 27, 2015 10:56 pm

BIGsherm7272 wrote:I was diagnosed with OSA with an AHI of 33.2, desats down to 68%, but were mainly hypopneas. I have been using my machine for over 8 hours each night, do not struggle to fall or stay asleep, and I am averaging an AHI of 1.5, with no leak issues. I am a 26 y/o male, and have several other health conditions. Blood pressure is normally good, had undiagnosed hypothyroidism, now treated with synthroid, good labs. I struggle mightily with insomnia, and take 100mg of seroquel or 15-30mg of mirtazapine to sleep. I am still having plenty of intense vivid dreams everynight, and wake up feeling very tired and run down, almost same as pre-cpap. I was prescribed vyvanse for EDS due to OSA, and still take it just to function. I am just wondering if it can take this long to start feeling any benefits, as I was told they woulde be almost immediate. I also suffer from bipolar depression. Any dvice or experience would be greatly appreciated, just trying to feel better and stay positive, as well as making sure I get the most out of CPAP therapy.
Hi Sherm.

I understand how you're feeling.......but, you have to get your mind thinking this is "baby steps".......one night at a time.
Whoever told you that it should be immediate was an idiot or a liar or both. It DOES happen, but very rarely. So much of it depends on getting one's therapy optimized, getting good sleep habits, and getting ENOUGH sleep to name a few. It would help if you would put your exact equipment in your profile along with the settings......pressure and humidity.
The bottom line is it can take MONTHS to start feeling the effects, even after everything gets tweaked.
Some people who use APAPs in a range of pressures have their sleep disturbed by the pressure changes all night long and actually do better with straight pressure.
Some people need to experiment with their humidity setting.......some people need more and some people do better with less. Too much humidity can cause nasal congestion and that leads to mouth-breathing or mouth-leaking, which can compromise their therapy.
For someone with nasal congestion, doing nasal cleansing before bedtime (and lower humidifier settings) may help them breathe better.

There are lots of things to consider and try with this therapy. The user needs to try to figure out what works and what doesn't.

Good luck.

Den

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49er
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Re: Started CPAP 7/26/15, still not feeling much different.

Post by 49er » Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:10 am

BIGsherm7272 wrote:I was diagnosed with OSA with an AHI of 33.2, desats down to 68%, but were mainly hypopneas. I have been using my machine for over 8 hours each night, do not struggle to fall or stay asleep, and I am averaging an AHI of 1.5, with no leak issues. I am a 26 y/o male, and have several other health conditions. Blood pressure is normally good, had undiagnosed hypothyroidism, now treated with synthroid, good labs. I struggle mightily with insomnia, and take 100mg of seroquel or 15-30mg of mirtazapine to sleep. I am still having plenty of intense vivid dreams everynight, and wake up feeling very tired and run down, almost same as pre-cpap. I was prescribed vyvanse for EDS due to OSA, and still take it just to function. I am just wondering if it can take this long to start feeling any benefits, as I was told they woulde be almost immediate. I also suffer from bipolar depression. Any dvice or experience would be greatly appreciated, just trying to feel better and stay positive, as well as making sure I get the most out of CPAP therapy.
Bigsherm,

Den's advice is excellent.

I would also add that you might to review your meds with your doctor to see if they are possibly causing problems with fatigue. I know you said you also suffer from insomnia but taking Seroquel or Mirtazapine would be causing problems the next day. Maybe you could switch to a sleep med that wouldn't cause as any problems? The other thing to ask of course in consultation with your doctor is could you try taking less of the sleep meds at night to see if you would still get the same benefits but not feel as lousy.

Best of luck.

49er

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BIGsherm7272
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Re: Started CPAP 7/26/15, still not feeling much different.

Post by BIGsherm7272 » Fri Aug 28, 2015 2:35 pm

Thank you for the replies. My pressure setting is at 10, with ramp 5-10 over 30 minutes. I use to tke over 200mg of seroquel and 30mg of remeron everynight. So what I take now is much less, and I am trying to stop completely. But even without any meds, I still sleep bout the sme. Like today, I just woke up. I slept for over 12 hours, dont know why.....its like when I wke up my body is so exhusted it forces me back to sleep. I dont know, just wish I felt little better. I think it may be my depression coming back, as I had to stop taking my bipolar meds due to losing health insurance. So idk, just hope one day I will feel better, and I believe I will. I am also trying to quit taking my vyvanse, but being this tired isnt helping.

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CaptainRaven40
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Re: Started CPAP 7/26/15, still not feeling much different.

Post by CaptainRaven40 » Fri Aug 28, 2015 3:53 pm

Great great feedback from everyone above. Just putting in my 2 cents for being new to CPAP this month. I have found that my AHI is much lower and that CPAP is helping, but getting used to all of the variables with it and waking up because of them to have to fiddle with something or to fix a leak. Things of that nature. I believe that is just part of the learning and keeping at it because these things do decrease. Even though I have been at this a very short time I can already see these things decreasing. You are going to have some bad nights. Everyone does, but hang in there. My doctor told me that It could take up to 6 months before I may see a huge difference. She said she has had one patient in all of her years that felt a difference the first night and she said that the majority of patients hit in the 1-3 month when they start to notice and feel a difference. BUT she said that she has seen it as long as 6 months in multiple patients. So hang in there!! I am rooting for you!

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Started CPAP 7/26/15, still not feeling much different.

Post by chunkyfrog » Fri Aug 28, 2015 3:59 pm

It is not unusual for some benefits of cpap to take several months.
About four months into therapy, I suddenly realized that I could run more than half a block without getting winded.
Yay! Very useful when rounding up a toddler or a Chihuahua.

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Noctuary
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Re: Started CPAP 7/26/15, still not feeling much different.

Post by Noctuary » Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:06 pm

Don't feel bad; I'm 16 months into this and still feel like shit. However, I'm far better with cpap than without.

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