CPAP makes no difference

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
Disneynutt

CPAP makes no difference

Post by Disneynutt » Tue May 22, 2012 6:05 pm

I have been using my CPAP for about 2 weeks now and it has made absolutely no difference in how I sleep nor how much I sleep. Everyone was telling me how wonderful I would feel and I feel nothing.
I have a chin strap to keep my mouth shut at night (I'm changing to tape tomorrow after I go to the store) so I don't know why it isn't working. Am I still breathing thru my mouth. I have this apnea severely so I have to get it to work.
Doctor's appt. in about 2 weeks so will ask him to but I was curious about any opinions.

Thanks.

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Drowsy Dancer
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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by Drowsy Dancer » Tue May 22, 2012 6:23 pm

What kind of machine do you have? Is it data capable? Do you have the software to read your data? What was your AHI upon diagnosis? What has your AHI been the first two weeks on your machine?

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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by kteague » Tue May 22, 2012 6:42 pm

Hopefully once you give some of the answers you'll be able to get targeted suggestions. In general, if a chin strap isn't keeping your mouth closed and you still have trouble even with tape, you may need to go to a full face mask. If you have no blockages in your nose, you may yet adjust to nose breathing. Can you breathe normally through your nose when you are awake without mouth breathing?

While some may take to this like a duck to water, don't feel abnormal if it is more of a process. Plenty of us here had tweaking to do before therapy was optimized and the results apparent.

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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by jen4700 » Tue May 22, 2012 6:54 pm

Welcome to the forum! Please fill out your profile with your equipment information. Also, posting some of your sleep study data will help, too - like AHI, 02, etc.

Everybody reacts differently to cpap therapy. For some it only takes one night to see a huge difference - this is very rare. Most take weeks to really start feeling better. And others take months. Give yourself some time to heal. OSA can really be hard on your body. I know it can be very frustrating but hang in there!

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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by Disneynutt » Wed May 23, 2012 5:50 am

Thanks everybody. I did a lot more exploring after I posted that message and found out a lot more.

I tried to choose my equipment type from the profile page but it wasn't listed. It's a Phillips Respironics Remstar Pro C+. I did manage to get the chip out and read the data. (I'm not as dumb as I look.) My AHI is averaging about 1.3 sometimes 2.7. I think when I had my first sleep study done my AHI was 99 (does that sound correct? I know some number was 99) so I have pretty severe apnea. This is an improvement definitely but I don't feel "like a new person". I still sleep a lot although today I awoke at 7. I feel tired but not zombie-like.

By the way, according to the data I still have a lot of snore episodes. I'd like to stop that so thought I might use tape over my mouth (many people will cheer this decision ). What kind is best? Any suggestions?

Thanks. This is a wonderful forum and I'm so happy I found it.

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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by CatButler » Wed May 23, 2012 6:22 am

I think everybody is a bit different. You may be fighting a huge sleep deficit. But man, what an instant improvement. I'd kill to get ranges like that. My first 6 weeks I went from an AHI of about 55 to around 28 and felt much better. A couple of more tweekings and I was around 7. I have an appointment in a couple of weeks where I'll probably get the pressure raised again (if it's possible). I don't feel I am getting better than the initial boost but that was definitely a big improvement, I wouldn't go back, but other issues may be affecting me other than apnea.

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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by gertrude » Wed May 23, 2012 6:27 am

I'm also new at this and also got the line about how wonderful I would feel. I think that is a real disservice. It raises the expectations way too high for those of us who don't feel immediately rejuvenated. It seems to be true for some, but certainly not for many, as I've learned on this forum. I actually felt MUCH worse for about the first month of using APAP -- groggy and irritable and stupid in ways I had never been before. I'm doing somewhat better now, but can't say that I feel any better than before I got my apnea diagnosis. Maybe the reaction depends in part on the pre-xPAP symptoms. I wasn't sleepy, but I have learned that my insomnia is likely a symptom and I no longer have that as consistently.

I'd advise you to look for little improvements as encouragement. For example, there's a reduction in the number of nights and the frequency with which I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. And my mouth is not as dry in the morning. Those changes, along with reasonable AHI readings, tell me that the APAP and my effort are doing something.

And while I am spending WAY too much time reading on this forum (work is suffering), I feel I learn something everyday from it. And the sense of people sharing both struggles and encouragement has been significant to my sticking with the treatment.

Welcome and stay patient!

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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by Drowsy Dancer » Wed May 23, 2012 1:11 pm

Disneynutt wrote:Thanks everybody. I did a lot more exploring after I posted that message and found out a lot more.

I tried to choose my equipment type from the profile page but it wasn't listed. It's a Phillips Respironics Remstar Pro C+. I did manage to get the chip out and read the data. (I'm not as dumb as I look.) My AHI is averaging about 1.3 sometimes 2.7. I think when I had my first sleep study done my AHI was 99 (does that sound correct? I know some number was 99) so I have pretty severe apnea. This is an improvement definitely but I don't feel "like a new person". I still sleep a lot although today I awoke at 7. I feel tired but not zombie-like.

By the way, according to the data I still have a lot of snore episodes. I'd like to stop that so thought I might use tape over my mouth (many people will cheer this decision ). What kind is best? Any suggestions?

Thanks. This is a wonderful forum and I'm so happy I found it.
Snore episodes aren't necessarily related to mouth breathing, but I'm a taper myself. I like the EL ("EdgeLock") tape for "delicate surfaces"--yeah, like my face.

You could easily have had an AHI of 99 at your sleep study, which is, indeed, pretty severe.

My doctor told me, "It will take you a long time to come back from the desats you were experiencing." And it did. Months, really. And my initial AHI was lower than yours.

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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by Pugsy » Wed May 23, 2012 2:25 pm

Disneynutt wrote:I tried to choose my equipment type from the profile page but it wasn't listed. It's a Phillips Respironics Remstar Pro C+. I did manage to get the chip out and read the data
Welcome to the forum.

Is this your machine?
https://www.cpap.com/cpap-machine/respi ... -plus.html

If so then it is indeed in the equipment drop down menu list. Look for the grouping of equipment that begins with PR System One...... that Remstar thing totally confuses a lot of people. Respironics has been using Remstar on every one of their models since time began. Your humidifier is in the same PR ...grouping....PR System One heated humidifier.

A lot of people read about the lucky souls who see marked immediate overnight improvement once they sleep with their machine.....and they think that everyone must see the "miracle" and wonder why they don't. In reality the number of overnight "miracles" are rather rare and most of us took much, much longer to see any substantial improvement and often it comes on so gradually we don't really notice it until for some reason we might not use the machine and then we get a rude awakening as to how bad things were. We didn't get OSA overnight...it is a gradual process and it simply can take some time before substantial improvements can be expected. We want the overnight miracle because others have it happen to them. I was in the same boat. I thought for sure I would have the "miracle" but it just didn't happen.
My nocturia ceased and the killer headaches every morning ceased but the other stuff....took much longer to see any changes.

So how long does it take? It takes as long as it takes. Just because a person doesn't see marked changes doesn't mean it isn't working. I just means it isn't working like we wanted or expected it to work.

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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by lali0020 » Wed May 23, 2012 3:03 pm

When I was new at it, I didn't feel better instantly and I was here posting the same things. I ended up still having issues and night sweats because my pressure wasn't right. The more I read about it the more I thought I needed to switch from a straight CPAP to an Auto CPAP (like the S9) and that made a huge difference. I guess I needed that variability at night as most of the time I'm below a 10 but a few times through the night it will go to a 13 or 14 and with straight cpap I wouldn't get that so I'm sure at those points I would suffer events where I don't now and I feel much better now. Another thing is that as I used it, it was such a gradual improvement that I wasn't sure how great it was working until I didn't wear the machine for 1 night. That next day was so miserable that I said never again and I don't ever miss a night now. It may take time to get back that sleep deficit but I promise you will always feel better with it than without. Don't give up, stick with it and always look for tweaks to temp or humidity that make help you.

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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by BlackSpinner » Wed May 23, 2012 3:30 pm

Disneynutt wrote: It's a Phillips Respironics Remstar Pro C+. I did manage to get the chip out and read the data. (I'm not as dumb as I look.) My AHI is averaging about 1.3 sometimes 2.7. I think when I had my first sleep study done my AHI was 99 (does that sound correct? I know some number was 99) so I have pretty severe apnea. This is an improvement definitely but I don't feel "like a new person". I still sleep a lot although today I awoke at 7. I feel tired but not zombie-like.

By the way, according to the data I still have a lot of snore episodes. I'd like to stop that so thought I might use tape over my mouth (many people will cheer this decision ). What kind is best? Any suggestions?

Thanks. This is a wonderful forum and I'm so happy I found it.
First of all with an AHI of 99 (99 times per hour you stopped breathing) you have probably done quite a bit of damage to your body. It took quite a bit of time to do that damage. Think about, if you had broken your leg, would you expect it to be healed in 2 weeks? would you plan on running a marathin any time soon?

Also it takes at least of month for some people for their brain to trust that it can relax. For years it have stayed onn alert to keep you alive, in 2 weeks it is not going to step down and trust that thing on your face to do the right thing.

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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by soundersfootballclub » Wed May 23, 2012 3:51 pm

Disneynutt wrote:I have been using my CPAP for about 2 weeks now and it has made absolutely no difference in how I sleep nor how much I sleep. Everyone was telling me how wonderful I would feel and I feel nothing.
I have a chin strap to keep my mouth shut at night (I'm changing to tape tomorrow after I go to the store) so I don't know why it isn't working. Am I still breathing thru my mouth. I have this apnea severely so I have to get it to work.
Doctor's appt. in about 2 weeks so will ask him to but I was curious about any opinions.

Thanks.
I get worse sleep when I do things to forcibly keep my mouth shut when I sleep. My AHI has been lower when I've tried this as well. The lower data is irrelevant if you aren't feeling better. I don't see what kind of mask you are using but if you arent already I would try one that will allow you to mouth breath and see if you feel like you have had better sleep. Actually see how you feel during the day, don't just rely on machine data.

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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by robysue » Wed May 23, 2012 4:16 pm

How much time does it take?

Well, for most of us who are not among the lucky souls who take to CPAP like ducks to water, several weeks to several months. It can take a month or more just for your brain to figure out that this alien that's hugging your nose all night is a friendly alien instead of an enemy one.

And a few of us are, quite frankly, unlucky. For me, I felt 100 times WORSE when I was about 2 weeks into therapy than I had felt prior to starting CPAP. And it took a good eight months or more of PAPing before I finally started to feel about as good as I had before starting CPAP. Slowly, but surely over the last 18 months things have started to improve. And I can now honestly say that most mornings I wake up feeling rested and even sometimes refreshed.

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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by chunkyfrog » Wed May 23, 2012 4:40 pm

The fact that you are posting here is several steps above the people who just give up.
Very, very few feel wonderful overnight.
It took months for me to start getting my energy back--and I'm one of the 'ducks'.
I still have a bad night every now and then; but the cumulative benefit is very palpable.
You are ahead of me when I was this new.

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Re: CPAP makes no difference

Post by tony21 » Thu May 24, 2012 1:34 am

Disneynutt wrote:I have been using my CPAP for about 2 weeks now and it has made absolutely no difference in how I sleep nor how much I sleep. Everyone was telling me how wonderful I would feel and I feel nothing.
I have a chin strap to keep my mouth shut at night (I'm changing to tape tomorrow after I go to the store) so I don't know why it isn't working. Am I still breathing thru my mouth. I have this apnea severely so I have to get it to work.
Doctor's appt. in about 2 weeks so will ask him to but I was curious about any opinions.

Thanks.
you need a fullface mask,it let's you mouthbreath.