New to CPAP/BIPAP. Need ADVICE

Hello. I am a 53 year old man.

I have probably had sleep apnea for over 20 years but was too stubborn to see a doctor about it. It finally got to the point that I was waking up every half hour all night every night and I was constantly exhausted. I could fall asleep anywhere anytime- and did.

I finally had a sleep study and started using a CPAP machine about 10 weeks ago. A month later my doctor switched me to BIPAP which I am currently using.

I am sleeping better, I dream a lot, and I am wide awake during the day. Since getting the machine the longest I have slept without waking up is about 4 1/2 hours. I no longer spend weekend mornings in bed trying to catch up on missed sleep.

My only issue is that most days I am very groggy and disoriented when I first get up. I feel better as the day goes on but sometimes I feel like I am in a fog all day.

My perception of the world also feels different; it is hard to describe.

I feel that it my be that after walking around like a zombie for so many years my body need time to make adjustments to the new me.

I don't necessarily feel "great" but I do feel better.

Can anyone identify with this?



Tony Bevacqua

Yes, absolutely!
I did not notice my increased energy and stamina until about 4 months in.
It just sneaked up on me, along with better memory, and mental abilities.
Not everyone will have the same results.
Do you take any prescription drugs for insomnia or pain?

chunkyfrog wrote:Yes, absolutely!
I did not notice my increased energy and stamina until about 4 months in.
It just sneaked up on me, along with better memory, and mental abilities.
Not everyone will have the same results.
Do you take any prescription drugs for insomnia or pain?

Hi chunky frog. Thanks for the reply.

The only med I take is for high blood pressure.

How many hours of sleep do you think you are averaging?
Are those hours broken up with wake ups? If so, about how many wake ups during the night?

Pugsy wrote:How many hours of sleep do you think you are averaging?
Are those hours broken up with wake ups? If so, about how many wake ups during the night?

Hello.

I average 8 - 9 hours a night. I wake up anywhere from 3 to up to 10 times a night. Sometimes my masks leaks and makes noise or I have to get up and pee.

Are you using the software available to see if your therapy is optimal at least on paper?
https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment

Are you a guy with prostate issues maybe that could account for the getting up to pee?

If you want to share your software reports for member input.
examples here
viewtopic/t103468/Need-help-with-screen-shots.html

how to use imgur.com to host your images
https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/tips/imgur

What we like to see if we are going to help...3 pages...be sure to read all 3..links at the bottom of each page
https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepyhead/shorganize

Perhaps there is something that stands out on the software reports screaming "fix me".

Leaks...that's a war we never truly 100% win but there are ways to reduce them.
First let's make sure that your leaks aren't impacting your therapy...and if they are just small and annoying maybe we can come up with some ideas to make them less annoying. The software will help us out there.

When you have time please add your equipment to your profile like I have mine.
It helps us help you better and faster when we know at a glance what you are using instead of having to ask each time.
wiki/index.php/Registering_Equipment_in_User_Profile

Which blood pressure medication are you taking? Some will cause drowsiness and fatigue during the day and some will mess with sleep architecture.

Thanks for all the info. I will check out those links later.

Right now I am more interested if knowing if anyone felt odd or different after starting CPAP and/or how long it took to really feel good.

How long does it take to feel "really good"? A really long time if the cpap therapy isn't doing it's job as in sub optimal therapy.
The reason I asked about the prostate (if you are a guy) is that obviously if someone has known prostate issues that could account for the night time pee breaks but did you know that OSA can cause nocturia also?
If you don't have known prostate issues then the pee breaks could be an indicator of sub optimal therapy.

Even with optimal therapy there is no hard fast time limit for feeling "really good". We get that question all the time and there simply is no definitive answer. Some people feel better immediately (lucky devils) but most of us took weeks and months to notice any marked improvement but while "give it time" does have its merits....might as well use that time to make sure the therapy is even optimal. If therapy isn't optimal....no amount of time is going to fix it.

Feeling weird/groggy/whatever during the day...yeah, people mention it but usually they want to do something about it because they don't like it...hence you get the "software speech".

The night time pee breaks is a big red flag that your therapy may not be optimal.
You already admit to leaks waking you up and it's very possible that your leaks could be affecting your therapy.

I have a modem on my machine that sends a report to my doctor. This is why they switched me from CPAP to BIPAP.

I do feel an improvement but I am at least 75 lbs overweight, don't exercise and I have a poor diet.

doniker wrote:I am sleeping better, I dream a lot,

as to dreaming:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 085915.htm
http://freecpapadvice.com/forum/viewtop ... 454#p16454
hopefully, as you get things optimized, you'll start sleeping through those dreams, and get even better rest.

Yes, it can take some months. In addition, there may be other causes of your grogginess. I have problems with restless leg syndrome. Also there are other causes of brain fog - for instance increase blood glucose levels, which I also experienced this year. Now that I've fixed that, only the RLS remains and I'm working on that one finally with meds. Also, blood pressure meds can cause brain fog. Check with your primary on that.

You mention poor diet - a lot of people have found that high amounts of carbohydrates are a problem. When they cut down to 45 gr per meal, they find they do much better after a few weeks. Something to try anyway. I have 90 gr per DAY, but then I am diabetic.