Could the wrong mask cause this?

I started cpap three nights ago and I am feeling really terrible. I am more tired than before, I have a constant headache and fogginess, my eyes are puffy and sore. I called the doctor and said it is to the point where I do not want to put this thing on again another night. I am dumbfounded as to why I am feeling this horribly after three nights of this when after my titration study, just one night, I felt awesome. The tech that I spoke to this morning thinks that it is because I had a different mask during my sleep study than I am using now. I am having a hard time with that...could it be that simple? Could the wrong mask cause me to have this reaction?

new to cpap wrote:I started cpap three nights ago and I am feeling really terrible. I am more tired than before, I have a constant headache and fogginess, my eyes are puffy and sore. I called the doctor and said it is to the point where I do not want to put this thing on again another night. I am dumbfounded as to why I am feeling this horribly after three nights of this when after my titration study, just one night, I felt awesome. The tech that I spoke to this morning thinks that it is because I had a different mask during my sleep study than I am using now. I am having a hard time with that...could it be that simple? Could the wrong mask cause me to have this reaction?

I've been on the machine for a month now and have/am experiencing similar symptoms.

When first going on the machine I was headachy in the morning... that has since cleared up. I've been using my new machine since Monday and am still adjusting to it and the settings. This morning my eyes are sore but I still feel I achieved a good sleep last night. Basically what I am saying is give yourself time to adjust.

Are you finding the mask uncomfortable?
Are you having trouble with mask leaks?
What equipment do you have? ...machine & mask?
Are you able to read your data on the machine? If so, what does it report?

There are a lot of very helpful & knowledgeable folks here who can help you sort this out.

My equipment information should be listed at the bottom of my posts. but just in case it isn't, I have the REMstar Plus M-series machine and humidifier and the ResMed Swift LT nasal pillows mask. I find the mask to be comfortable. I don't think it is leaking. Unfortunately, my machine doesn't report anymore than compliance information. I have been wracking my brain trying to think of anything that might shed some light on this. I do remember holding my breath a couple times when first putting the mask on after getting up in the middle of the night - just to fight the forced air for a split second. I wonder if this could be occurring subconsciously at night while I am sleeping. I wonder if I could be having more apneas now than I was before??

it still doesn't explain why I felt so good after the titration, though. During the study I had nasal mask that sat over my nose (which was comfortable but left blemishes on my face)

Unfortunately, you, your doctor and your tech,will not be able to tell what is causing you to feel so bad, because the machine you have does nothing except report compliance. Please call back to doctor and request that he prescribe an auto machine that has the capability of reporting data on a smart card.

It could be mask, leaking, mouth leaking, or it could be that your pressure is not set right for you.



Bev

For my first 2 weeks on cpap I felt worse than ever before. (brain fog, headaches, body aches, couldn't stay awake etc ) But after that it got a little better. After about a month of still not feeling great my Dr. switched me to an apap and that made a huge difference. I still struggle a little with mask issues but I now after about 3 months on the apap I feel like my old self. I was originally titrated at 14 cmH20 on cpap, but my average with the apap is 11.6 cmH2O. ( sometimes I do go up as high as 16 cmH2O) so the apap has been great.

Stay with it as it does get much better. Maybe you should talk to your Dr. about doing a trial (if not
permanent) home titration with an Apap. If you are anything like me you didn't get a great nights sleep at the sleep center.

This is a typical learning/adjustment curve reaction. I highly suggest trying another mask. I tried 8 masks in 6 weeks before I could get 100% compliant, every night, all night, and even BEGIN to feel close to rested in the AM.

Meantime, I had to take Provigil for about 3 months just to function and keep my job.

Don't be afraid to ask for a little help during this adjustment period. Provigil did wonders for me in getting me over the learning curve.

Hang in there, keep in touch, we'll help all we can.
Babs

I slept without the cpap last night and I feel much better. It makes me hesitate to put it on again, even with a different mask. Unfortunately, I am not very tolerant of medications so I try to steer clear of them, and there is no way in heck that I will be able to tolerate feeling as bad as I felt yesterday for the next few weeks or months. I would get fired from my job and my kids would disown me. I really wish I could take medication to get me through, if there is really light at the end of the tunnel, but I can't even take sudifed (sensitive to pseudophedrine), I was prescribed tylenol with codeine once and I couldn't even take that. Nexium and ibuprofen are my limit. I guess I need to call my doctor and cancel this whole thing....

I am very disappointed because for the past several years I feel that my mental clarity and memory have been on a steady decline and was so hoping that this would be a solution for me, especially after that titration study that made me feel so wonderful.

new to cpap wrote:I slept without the cpap last night and I feel much better.

The only way to get treatment and accustomed to the equipment is to wear it every night. A night on, followed by a night off... isn't going to do any good. Consistency is important.

I have noticed when I have a pressure change that I am somewhat headachy and have sore eyes until I get adjusted. There is definitely an initial adjustment/tweaking period along with what I suspect will be monitoring and further tweaking down the road.

Give it time to work, be patient, try to obtain a fully data capable machine so you can find out what is happening with your therapy. Unfortunately without a fully data capable machine you won't have a clue how it is going unless you go in for a sleep study.

I don't know a whole lot about this treatment...please tell me WHY you get headaches and sore eyes until you get 'adjusted'?

Why didn't I have sore eyes and a headache after my titration?

I didn't get enough sleep on my titration night, and they sent me home with an APAP for at home titration.
When I started treatment 3 and a half year ago I was fortunate enough not to have job commitment at the time. The first masks I tried were horrible - the first nights were exhausting. I don't think the Remstar was that good at understanding my breathing patterns That was about 2 weeks or more. I found Internet forums and started learning about mask comfort.

Then they gave me another machine (a PB) and another mask (the first version of the Swift). The RT who was pretty arrogant decided to put me on 7.5 fixed and wouldn't listen to me. The Swift was noisy, its straps cut my ears, the pressure was too high for me. I woke up after fitful sleep with one of the worst headaches I ever had. Called the clinic and informed them I'm stopping treatment till I speak to the doctor - which meant a 3 week wait.

They changed my RT - she listened. They changed my mask - I got a Breeze. I learned about how to make nasal pillows less painful (use KY Jelly or Ayr Gel - which I did for 4 months). After a week (or two?) I went home with a PB 420E - a automatic machine - set at 4-8.
And I started feeling better.

But the beginning - when you can't fall asleep because of all those smells, sensations and sounds - that was a tough time. And that morning's headache after having the pressure too high was unforgettable.

Don't give up on the therapy. Fight for the kind of solution that will help you. Not everyone has success with the first mask or first setting - we're here to help you, and we're here because we know how hard it can be -- and how wonderful it is when the problems are solved. We're because others have helped us - and we want to do the same for you.

Hang in there.

O.

O, what is the difference between a cpap and an apap?

As a rule, you'll find most of the term an acronyms that you don't know as links on the top of the page - take a look there whenever we sound like alaphabet soup.

CPAP is used to mean a fixed pressure setting on your machine. APAP is automatic - the machine analyses breathing patterns and figures out which pressure to apply.

APAPs are also called "self adjusting" or "auto titrating" machines. Their often pretty good at figuring out the best pressure for you to use most of the time . A pretty wide range of pressures is necessary for automatic titration - however, once you've got a reliable recommended pressure, its better to bring the minimum pressure close to the recommended pressure. The machines are not as efficient at preempting events as they are at responding to them; with a minimum pressure that is too low you may get too many events -- and restless sleep.

O.

new to cpap wrote:I don't know a whole lot about this treatment...please tell me WHY you get headaches and sore eyes until you get 'adjusted'?

Why didn't I have sore eyes and a headache after my titration?

Just so you know, we're all somewhat 'new' to cpap. At some point, if you're comfortable with it, you may want to change your forum handle to something more unique. As you learn more, you'll find you're less 'new to cpap' and more yourself. We'd like to learn who that will be.

It's possible you're trying to breathe using your chest rather than your belly. Let your breathing happen as naturally as possible, given the circumstances.

They make you lie on your back for titration because that's the position that causes the worst AHI in most people. It's intentional because they want to test the worst case scenario. Also the machines they use for titration are top-of-the-line with hardware and software that gives you much smoother air flow than the many inexpensive machines that are available. You also probably had a professional sleep technician fit the mask on you who knew how to stop it from leaking. If you had a large leak, the sleep tech would been notified during your titration about the leak by the titration software, and would have come in to adjust your mask for better therapy.

I often get a headache and puffy eyes when I sleep on my belly. I suspect the mask is torquing, causing a large enough leak that I'm not getting good therapy. I really like sleeping on my belly, but in order to get therapy, I have to sleep on my back. Others find sleeping on their sides works better.

It's likely that your mask is leaking. Because your machine doesn't do detailed reports, it's hard to learn anything about your therapy other than hours of compliance. OutaSync is right. It would really help for you to get a new machine that is fully data capable to get reports about how your leak rate is at night and how your AHI's are progressing. Getting an auto machine will help you titrate your AHI better. (See the CPAPopedia links at the top of each thread for definitions of various acronyms in the thread.) Getting the software to view your nightly data will better inform you about how your sleep therapy is progressing. More data will keep you better informed about your progress and your health.

An AutoPAP (APAP) changes the pressure on the fly in response to Apneas and Hypopneas that occur, or in some cases are about to occur. A CPAP machine offers only a straight single pressure, sometimes with exhale relief. Auto's are better.

For instance, I have a fully-data-capable CPAP. I can read reports about how my night went. From the reports, I can see that my apneas and hypopneas generally occur very infrequently at the beginning of the night. By the end of the night, the frequency of both increases. Because I have a straight CPAP, my machine cannot adjust for the increase in AHI. I suspect I would be better off with an AutoPAP. The machine would recognize the increase in AHI as the night progresses and compensate with a change in pressure. My CPAP doesn't do that.

If anything I've said is wrong, I know someone will come along with more gray cells who can steer you right.

Welcome.

Start with the most obvious solution:

Clean your humidity tank. Thoroughly clean (and thoroughly rinse) your hose and mask. Change the filter on your machine.

After that, you can look at more expensive solutions to the problem.

Could be ineffective therapy, like wrong pressure or leaks but you won't know until you get a data capable machine.