New User Unsure (1 Week)

I have been on my cpap for almost a week and I wake as often as ever at night and I adjust headgear and mask each time(3 or 4 times). I am doing 7-8 hours a night and fall asleep quickly but wake every 2 or 3 hours. I have been really tired when I awake, Maybe a little more than before cpap. Today was a little better in that regard. Is this a normal adjustment period or something else?

In a word, yes!

You have to get your mask tweaked to eliminate leaks (It would be rare if you don't end up switching to another mask..or two or three).

You also have to get used to wearing the mask, dealing with the hose, and the increased air pressure. All of that takes time. It doesn't happen overnight! (Pun intended,)

I'd say you should be sleeping better in a couple of weeks (depending on mask leaks). But it could take longer. Hang in there. It WILL get better and you'll soon sleep better than you have in years. You may even start dreaming again!

Warm welcome to cpaptalk.com. Hang in there. I started Jan 7, 2010 -- almost my 1st yr anniversary. It took me 4-6 wks to get used to the sounds, the smell, the taste, the noise, everything. And I'd wake up 2-3-4 times a night.

Once I found the right mask [tried 4-5], then I started to manage my leaks better, monitor my numbers and about month 3, started to feel a big difference. I also started to sleep through the night around month 5, although will still get up every so often.

The fact that you can fall asleep quickly nightly is a major breakthrough. Waking up might be due to leaks and unfortunately I'm not familiar with your machine - is it fully data capable? Can you download data with your ResCan card? You will need clinician manual, software and card reader: pm if interested.

Remember it's a marathon - but you're on your way!

It took me a couple of months to get back on track with my sleeping after starting CPAP. After 8 months still have the occaisional problem nights. Just hang in there, It will get better.

I agree with the above post that it takes two months to get it going on CPAP. In my case, even now after 3 months, my sleep is still fragmented. I wake up every 3 to 4 hours to pee and change mask, and also change my undershirt that gets wet from sweating. Being retired I sleep like that from midnight till 8 a. m.

You're doing great boomrats for one week! Read some of the success stories posted above the forum, and you'll see much longer timeframes to get to the point that you are in one short week. Welcome to the forum!

My advice is prudently monitor the situation. Being a bit more tired during the day time for a while during your adjustment period is understandable.

A few wake ups (it sounds like you're having 2--4 per night) that you can get back to sleep rather quickly from during the night is understandable.

But watch for subtle changes. If the situation starts to deteriorate for the worse, report it to your sleep doctor sooner rather than later. There are the occasional people who have real problems making the adjustment to CPAP and need some extra help from the nurse practictioner or physician's assistant in the sleep doctor's office to make it through tougher than normal adjustment periods. I know. I'm one of them. If you need the additional help, it's best to ask for it. In my case, the first tip off was excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue that far exceeded anything I'd ever had prior to being diagnosed with sleep apnea.

With the excellent help of a caring PA, I'm now making real progress towards adjusting to xPAP after four months. If the PA hadn't been there for me right from the start, I don't think I'd have made it this far.