Newbie, and need help

I've only been on CPAP for 2 nights. My AHI was 55.5 prior to going onto the machine, my S9 said it was 8.7 after the first night, and down to 1.9 after last night. Without knowing too much about the whole thing, I'm guessing the machine is working.

My problem is this: I'm feeling on top of the world for the first half of the day, but can't help yawning from around 1pm each afternoon. Is this the norm? I'm also waking up with redness of the skin where my full face mask has been on (includes the whole area which was inside the mask).

Your advice is appreciated.

Cheers,
Max

HI there sounds like youre doing OK. I,m the same I sem to flag early afternoon as well some days, but on the whole I feel a lot brighter & have more energy. My ahi started at 26 and is now down to around 0.4 .

Re your mask causing reddening its sound like you have the straps to tight. It takes some getting used to but if you hold the mask to your face and adjust the straps until it just holds but forms a seal. Re the red face I'm not sure the masks are latex free

Thanks Proterra, it's god to get some feedback to show that I'm not going mad, haha. I haven't even seen a specialist yet, the just sent me a letter and said my case is severe and I was to start using a CPAP machine until my appointment in 2 months time.

As Proterra said, hold the mask to your face, then adjust the straps. I too get tired in the afternoon. If I am not active I dose off sitting in my chair. I don't feel any more energetic with the Cpap. Fortunately I don't have any problems falling asleep. I just can't seem to sleep more then 6 to 7 hrs no matter what time I go to bed. Many nights I fall asleep at my computer and wake up a hour or two later. Monday I have an appointment with my specialist after 8 months or so on Cpap. I have had a few times where I fall asleep without my mask. I was very reluctant for a long time (16 yrs) to get a Cpap. After much nagging from my husband and primary doctor I gave in. My machine is so quiet, my husband looks to see if it is on.

I guess that after being on my CPAP machine for a month I'm no longer a newbie. It has taken me a month to go through three masks and back to the original mask to get comfortable at night. Thanks to help from people who responded to my posts I learned that it's OK to try different things to find the one that works best for you. I've slept well for two nights but I started to get tired in the late afternoon also but I think that some tiredness is normal. I'm not as young as I once was and I go to the pool during lunch and do water jogging for nearly an hour so I decided that I'm "entitled" to a bit of tiredness. Maybe look at what you are doing and see if you are also "entitled."

This being tired in the afternoon can be a symptom of diabetes and pre-diabetes where an individual has a carb filled lunch and have elevated blood sugars. In my experience usually starches are as bad if not worse than sugar. Diabetics are advised to avoid or eat in extreme moderation white things. Bread, rice, potatoes, noodle, ice cream. The standard docs use to determine diabetes would be to take a morning, (having fasted for 12 hours) blood sugar. If the Dawning blood sugar is 127 or above it is diabetes. In absence of a docs visit, you might avoid the sugars and starches at lunch, and see if it effects how you feel. Of course, blood sugar may not have anything to do with how you feel.

With some people, it can take some days, or weeks for the full benefits of treatment to allow one to power through one's day. Focus on treating leaks, and being comfortable during the hours of treatment. Sometimes leaks are not as well measured as one would hope.

Welcome to the forum
You have a very big sleep debt to pay back. You are getting better sleep on the machine that you did before and are now getting caught up on that poor or missed sleep. Your brain also needs time to reprogram itself, its used to being tired in the afternoon, once you get caught up on the good rest that your body and brain need, you will be amazed at how perky you feel all day, every day. Be patient, it takes time to get to where you feel better all the time.

Thanks for the feedback, it's appreciated and very helpfull.