Still tired after CPAP usage

I have been using cpap for two weeks now and having a rough time. To the point I'm considering termination of use. Here is my issue.......I was having trouble sleeping through the night for the discomfort of the mask so I began taking a sleeping aid. That worked causing me to sleep for six hours before waking up and taking the mask off but felt tired the next day. I thought I was feeling the effects of the sleeping aid so I stopped taking it. After several nights of sleeping for two to four hours before removing the mask, last night I slept for six hours before waking up and removing the mask but I still feel tired, like my head is still foggy. I keep hearing all these stories of people feel rested. I don't, in fact I feel better if I don't use the machine at all. Please help. Are my settings the issue? Can one get too much oxygen?

You need to make sure you have a mask you can live with. There are all sorts of face shapes and preferences. All sorts of masks. Spend 90 minutes at your DME and try on lots of masks WITH the cpap hooked up.

Bi Al -- Elader is on the money. But I'd like to add something else.

At this point you're flying blind. Even though you have the mask on, you don't know if it is being effective. A simplistic answer would be that since you're still feeling tired, no, it is not being effective.

Why? Well, one possibility is that if the mask is not fitting properly, you may have leaks and you're getting non-optimal therapy. You may not have the correct pressure set on your machine. You may still be having apneaic events, which means no, you're not getting too much oxygen.

Some sleep doctors make sure that you get CPAP machines that record detailed data, then they look at that data to look at the effectiveness of your therapy. My sleep doctor had me use an oximeter one night to make sure that my O2 level was where it should be.

So, all is not lost. You're just beginning. By all means talk to your DME and your sleep doctor. Often results are not immediate. I've been very lucky that I was fairly successful from the start. A friend of my brother, however, didn't find success until he was on his 14th mask.

Guy

Big Al wrote:I have been using cpap for two weeks now and having a rough time. To the point I'm considering termination of use. Here is my issue.......I was having trouble sleeping through the night for the discomfort of the mask so I began taking a sleeping aid. That worked causing me to sleep for six hours before waking up and taking the mask off but felt tired the next day. I thought I was feeling the effects of the sleeping aid so I stopped taking it. After several nights of sleeping for two to four hours before removing the mask, last night I slept for six hours before waking up and removing the mask but I still feel tired, like my head is still foggy. I keep hearing all these stories of people feel rested. I don't, in fact I feel better if I don't use the machine at all. Please help. Are my settings the issue? Can one get too much oxygen?

Al, you are just beginning and not everyone has a smooth and easy go at this right from the start. (Me for one.) In fact, there are LOTS of posts from new XPAP users where the mask gets thrown across the room (it seems to be a male thing to throw the mask...don't do this...the mask doesn't fit any better after it is thrown )

As already mentioned, you DO need to get a mask that fits you and that does not leak. My first week with the machine I was in a lot of discomfort from an ill fitting mask (I tried it in two sizes even). The mask is a wonderful mask that many folks use and like a lot but it just didn't fit my face. So I took it back to the DME and exchanged it for another type of mask and had a much easier time sleeping and preventing leaks. And you DO need to have a data capable machine before you can have an idea of how your body is handling whatever pressure your machine is on. Once we know the machine you have, we can show you how to access the data on your machine.

If you will register and sign in on this forum, you can then go the user control panel and use the pull down menus to pick out from the lists, the exact machine you use, the mask you are using now, and other equipment. If we know what machine you are using and the mask you are wearing, there are a lot of folks on this forum that can help you. Even though it may not feel like it to you right now, you CAN have a lot of control over your therapy and in fact, you need to take control of your therapy.

You aren't getting too much oxygen. Your settings could be an issue. One thing that might be not helping at all is if, after you take your mask off, you go back to sleep while not using the machine. Esp once we have the machine set on the settings we need, it is important to only sleep while using the machine, even for naps.

I know exactly how you feel when reading about all the folks feeling rested while you still feel tired or even more tired while using the machine. In fact, I have a thread going called "so very tired and it isn't getting better" See, I really understand your pain I assure you that it is very unlikely you have the complex problems I have with my body so I don't want my particular situation to dismay you. In fact, even with my many issues, I'm holding out for feeling more rested and better in the future. In your case, I bet you can get to the rested and feeling better stage in the near future, with a different mask and being sure your machine settings are really working for you. Once you get your machine and mask issues fine tuned, your body will probably need time to make up for the sleep and oxygen deprivation of the past, but it will happen.

And then I will get to read posts from you about how much better you feel And I'll be happy for you...I'll get there someday too. Hang in there and read the information under the Our Wisdom light bulb on the top right of the page, look through past posts, and ask more questions. This forum is a great place and you will get answers. Good luck

mar

last night I slept for six hours before waking up and removing the mask but I still feel tired, like my head is still foggy.

So basically you have had one (1) almost full nights sleep on CPAP. And it hasn't repaired several decades worth of sleep deprevation in those 6 hours? It does take time for your body to adjust, to feel the full effects. I felt much better after the first night but I sure wasn't ready to go out dancing! I was able to not fall asleep infront of the tv before 9 pm.. However after 3 weeks of full nights of therapy I can feel the changes happening in my body and mind more clearly. I still have bad nights - like last night I rolled onto my back which caused my mask to leak and I felt rough in the morning. CPAP isn't about instant gratification you have years of bad habits and body destruction to get rid of.

BigAl, In addition to all of the above posts: This is one area where new cpap patients are not well prepared by the docs/dmes. The medical literature shows some 10% or so of cpap users may experience (mild form of) depression after starting on cpap, because they were expecting miracles immediately For a good lot of cpap users, it takes months of steady usage for beginning to feel even some benefits, it is a good guide line that you need to give it at least 6 months. For me it took over 4 months before it really stabilized to a point to feel the benefits; but after a year now I eagerly look forward to putting on my mask before falling asleep --- even a partial night of non use of cpap now makes me sleepy and not well next day.

The other area, where there is almost no medical advise given, is in selecting and fitting the proper mask. Most docs just let the patient select whatever they want (a good thing), but do not give any info about the various types (bad); but it not as easy as selecting our clothes . And the DMEs push the mask type which give them the most profit. The success of cpap depends A LOT on the right mask selection.

If all of the above were done right, you may still have some sleep conditions which were not initially diagnosed, and may need further study. But most likely you need to start on this with the positive expectation of a very long journey, with the usual ups and down. Wishing you the best for a long journey.

One last thing - a lot of us have been told that once asleep, our mouths fall open, and if you're on Cpap (a nasal mask) all the 'good' air is lost that way, so if you think you might qualify, you should be trying on 'full face' masks that allow you to open your mouth and still get the benefit of the treatment. Full face doesn't mean your whole face is covered, it just means there's an extension of the nasal mask that also covers your mouth... look up Ultramirage, Quattro and Liberty on Cpap.com under Masks - Full face.