Week 1 under my belt - it's going ok

[ShannonCC]

The good.

It was easy! I am thankful I am not one of the people who had major problems adjusting to this. The mask is comfortable and while it's a bit weird to sleep with it, I didn't have significant problems getting used to having it on my face. Every night I put it on, it takes one awkward breath and then I'm good. And I'm definitely sleeping better!

Oh, and the middle of the night peeing! It was only recently I learned this is related to apnea and not something else. I wasn't only waking, I was having to go to the bathroom multiple times a night. This past week, some nights I've gone once a night at most, but some nights, not at all (!!!). How cool is that?

The "eh" (not quite "bad" but . . . )

Twice this week I woke up with a crick in my neck because I haven't yet fully figured out how to position myself. I think I need to get a new pillow. I've been sleeping propped up on two pillows, on my side, for so long, I have to figure out how to sleep on my back. Whenever I sleep on my side the mask leaks and I missed back sleeping anyway (I wasn't exactly comfortable before either). So yeah, new pillow I guess.

The other "eh" is that I haven't noticed a great difference in the daytime yet. It's only been a week and I know it takes awhile to catch up on lost sleep, but still, I'm a little bummed I don't feel significantly more rested.

I'm also annoyed because even though I used it a week, I only signed up for the dreammapper software today and it tells me it can't give me the data from the last week. The data that is on the SD card and I will be bringing to the doctor the end of this month, so it's *there* but their software will not retrieve it because I didn't sign up til today. Just lazy software creation if you ask me, but whatever.

But overall, I'm happy so far And hoping that things on improve from now on

[Okie bipap]

It sounds like you are off to a good start. It took me over a month before I really noticed a difference. It came on gradually, and one day I realized I was no longer falling asleep while watching TV, reading a book or riding in a car with someone else driving.

[hskriver]

I'm one day behind you and have only been using my CPAP for 6 nights. I kinda feel the same - it's going okay, but I haven't seen a huge improvement yet. I also feel lucky that I'm not having major problems getting used to my mask. It was uncomfortable the first night, but then I adjusted the fit a little and now I barely notice it. At first, I kept waking up worried that I moved the mask when shifting positions in the night, but that seems to be going down now that I've had several nights with no fit issues. I've also adjusted to the pressure and sometimes worry it's not even on since I don't notice it . This could be because my pressure starts off really low. My insurance wouldn't pay for a titration study and I'm using an auto CPAP machine that starts at the lowest setting until my doctor has a few weeks of data. Then he'll determine the correct pressure setting.

My biggest problem has been that I apparently open my mouth at night and kept waking up because of that. I got a chin strap and first slept with it Monday night and it was disastrous. It felt uncomfortable and kept shifting the position of my mask somehow. It may have been coincidence, but I also had some rainout issues for the first time that night and kept waking up due to water dripping on my chin . I was feeling really discouraged yesterday, but then I got the fit better last night and slept much better. I may have only woken up once if my cat hadn't chosen last night to get over her fear of my CPAP and reclaim her sleeping position next to me. She of course had to walk across my stomach at 5am to accomplish this which woke me up .

I hope I get to the point where I don't wake up to go to the bathroom anymore, so far I've still had to get up every night. My doctor said that my body might be so used to getting up in the night that it might take awhile to break it of the habit. The first time I sleep straight through the night will be a major victory. Even with waking up multiple times, I can tell I'm getting better quality sleep than I was before and that gives me hope. I'm noticing a little less grogginess and fog in the morning . I can tell that my body wants more sleep now though like it wants to catch up now the quality is higher. I've spent my entire life feeling tired, so who knows how long I've had this problem and how much sleep deprivation I'm suffering from. I just hope that with enough time I'll start waking up feeling refreshed and that eventually I can go most days without feeling tired.

I have the Dream Mapper app and I don't find it all that useful since it doesn't show very much data, so you aren't missing out on a lot. It has been the only way I get my AHI though, which is nice to see. Really weird it won't download past data -that's just bad programming.

[FoggyFroggy]

Congratulations Shannon and hskriver on your easy start! I'm just ahead of you two with 11 nights under my belt. I too have had an easy start and am so very thankful I took to my therapy like a duck to water! I had significant lift of brain fog the very first day, so much so that I thought it was a placebo effect and wouldn't last -- but it has.

I am using the Dreamwear mask and have had some leak and fit problems. I've had to tighten it so much in order to sleep on my side that I'm developing a pressure sore under my nose. The skin hasn't broken yet but I can feel it coming. I ordered and received a Wisp so I'm going to switch to that tonight. Fingers crossed!

I wish you continued blessings with your therapy and hope we will all be teeming with newfound energy very soon!

[ShannonCC]

Thanks all! and good luck to you too hskriver I have a full face mask because I am a huge mouth breather. People were right and having this has helped my nose breathe better, but not (yet?) enough that I could get away with just a nose mask. Full face for me Good luck with the mouth thing!

FoggyFroggy, ooo, good luck with the new mask!

[Mudrock63]

Sounds like you are all doing well. I do know that in my case when I sleep on my back it greatly increases my number of events. Been trying to train myself not to do this, but when you are asleep, you're asleep.

I have had several aha moments, the first of which occurred after my titration study. The others after tweaks to my settings improved my therapy. Overall, at four months in, I am feeling better. I am getting caught up on things I avoided doing because I was too fatigued. And need far fewer naps.

There is a list of machines that work with Sleepyhead software on this board. Do a search. If it works with your machine, download it to your computer. It takes the data off your card and gives you much more detail than DreamMapper or any other software. The importance of this is that many do NOT get the best settings prescribed on the first go around with their sleep doctor. So you might be getting therapy from your machine, but possibly not the ideal therapy for YOU. If you have been reading up on this board, you know that most medical "professionals" have a fuzzy grasp of this condition and how to treat it. The true experts, those that have years of experience actually using the machines, may be able to help you tweak your settings to what works best for you. So, I highly recommend downloading Sleepyhead if it works with your machine, then posting your results here via Imgur. Again, there is info about Sleepyhead all over this board.

[Sleeprider]

Sounds like you are all doing well. I do know that in my case when I sleep on my back it greatly increases my number of events. Been trying to train myself not to do this, but when you are asleep, you're asleep.

I have had several aha moments, the first of which occurred after my titration study. The others after tweaks to my settings improved my therapy. Overall, at four months in, I am feeling better. I am getting caught up on things I avoided doing because I was too fatigued. And need far fewer naps.

There is a list of machines that work with Sleepyhead software on this board. Do a search. If it works with your machine, download it to your computer. It takes the data off your card and gives you much more detail than DreamMapper or any other software. The importance of this is that many do NOT get the best settings prescribed on the first go around with their sleep doctor. So you might be getting therapy from your machine, but possibly not the ideal therapy for YOU. If you have been reading up on this board, you know that most medical "professionals" have a fuzzy grasp of this condition and how to treat it. The true experts, those that have years of experience actually using the machines, may be able to help you tweak your settings to what works best for you. So, I highly recommend downloading Sleepyhead if it works with your machine, then posting your results here via Imgur. Again, there is info about Sleepyhead all over this board.

Sounds like you've taken the journey and have taken control of your health with regard to CPAP. Well done, and well said.

[TimeToSleep]

Oh if this is newbie corner can I chime in too? I had a great DME who tried 6 or 7 masks on me and made sure I left with one that fit great. That's the good. The bad is they thought their "secret sauce" preferred humidifier settings were better than letting the machine figure the optimal humidity out on its own. They were wrong (for me anyway).

That said, things seem to be going great. I haven't had a single night under the mythical 4 hour window yet, and in fact last night was the first time that I went the whole night (I think? There may have been a very brief awakening) without needing to take a 5 minute break from the CPAP in the middle of the night or take it off about an hour before my normal awake time.

My apnea is mild. They tell me this means it will take longer to see most benefits, and I'm still having some daytime drowsiness, but felt more energy in the morning and throughout the day almost immediately.

I was very bummed...almost depressed even...about the initial diagnosis, but I'm feeling so much better already that I'm glad it was caught when it was!

[ShannonCC]

Mudrock, I saw sleepyhead mentioned and got as far as the page to download it but then got nervous that I'd somehow wipe the SD card (the page said to make sure not to do that!) and have no data when I went to my doctor appointment the end of this month. I have a love/hate relationship with technology But maybe after the appointment I'll get up the courage to try it.

TimeToSleep, mine is mild too so that sounds right that we wouldn't see as dramatic a change (though I have to say, if mine is *mild* I really feel for those who have it bad!).

So, AHI. The software says I had 1 clear apnea, 1 obstructive apnea and 7 hypopneas which they say means an AHI level of 1. The other night was 1 clear apnea, 0 obstructive and 8 hypopneas. Also an AHI level of 1.

So that's good? Or is the goal to have zero of everything?

Though, before I was waking 20 times an hour (only 7 from apneas, the rest from snoring) so no matter what, this is definitely an improvement

[hotrodbiker]

The good.

It was easy! I am thankful I am not one of the people who had major problems adjusting to this. The mask is comfortable and while it's a bit weird to sleep with it, I didn't have significant problems getting used to having it on my face. Every night I put it on, it takes one awkward breath and then I'm good. And I'm definitely sleeping better!

Oh, and the middle of the night peeing! It was only recently I learned this is related to apnea and not something else. I wasn't only waking, I was having to go to the bathroom multiple times a night. This past week, some nights I've gone once a night at most, but some nights, not at all (!!!). How cool is that?

The "eh" (not quite "bad" but . . . )

Twice this week I woke up with a crick in my neck because I haven't yet fully figured out how to position myself. I think I need to get a new pillow. I've been sleeping propped up on two pillows, on my side, for so long, I have to figure out how to sleep on my back. Whenever I sleep on my side the mask leaks and I missed back sleeping anyway (I wasn't exactly comfortable before either). So yeah, new pillow I guess.

The other "eh" is that I haven't noticed a great difference in the daytime yet. It's only been a week and I know it takes awhile to catch up on lost sleep, but still, I'm a little bummed I don't feel significantly more rested.

I'm also annoyed because even though I used it a week, I only signed up for the dreammapper software today and it tells me it can't give me the data from the last week. The data that is on the SD card and I will be bringing to the doctor the end of this month, so it's *there* but their software will not retrieve it because I didn't sign up til today. Just lazy software creation if you ask me, but whatever.

But overall, I'm happy so far And hoping that things on improve from now on

I never correlated night time urination with sleep apnea... I haven't gotten up since starting with my CPAP, SWEET! That's for bringing that to my attention.

It looks like we are roughly at the same point, with similar results. I was hoping for that WOW mornings where I feel so refreshed, but I don't get them, I've only heard about them from others. Now, I will say I've never been a morning person, and unless I'm waking up to something super exciting, it takes some time for me to get going. I will say that I've noticed that my energy level stays constant vice feeling tired throughout the day. Which is a welcome result as I'm building massive bookcases for a home office I'm building for my wife... but it's still taking forever to do.

I need to read up on this software...

[palerider]

Mudrock, I saw sleepyhead mentioned and got as far as the page to download it but then got nervous that I'd somehow wipe the SD card (the page said to make sure not to do that!) and have no data when I went to my doctor appointment the end of this month. I have a love/hate relationship with technology But maybe after the appointment I'll get up the courage to try it.

sleepyhead *NEVER* *EVER* writes ANYTHING AT ALL to your SD card, the note about locking the card is to protect the card from your COMPUTER, later window and macs like to write little index files to anything you insert, drives, usb thumb drives, sd cards.

one type of cpap (resmed S9 models) get in a snit about it and want to reformat the card, and then write back your compliance data (which is, unfortunately, all that many doctors care about).

so, don't worry, get sleepyhead, and get information!

[Mudrock63]

Oh if this is newbie corner can I chime in too? I had a great DME who tried 6 or 7 masks on me and made sure I left with one that fit great. That's the good. The bad is they thought their "secret sauce" preferred humidifier settings were better than letting the machine figure the optimal humidity out on its own. They were wrong (for me anyway).

That said, things seem to be going great. I haven't had a single night under the mythical 4 hour window yet, and in fact last night was the first time that I went the whole night (I think? There may have been a very brief awakening) without needing to take a 5 minute break from the CPAP in the middle of the night or take it off about an hour before my normal awake time.

My apnea is mild. They tell me this means it will take longer to see most benefits, and I'm still having some daytime drowsiness, but felt more energy in the morning and throughout the day almost immediately.

I was very bummed...almost depressed even...about the initial diagnosis, but I'm feeling so much better already that I'm glad it was caught when it was!

Haha, newbie corner. I like that. Sounds like you are well on your way. I find that I need different humidity settings, depending on the weather here and whether or not I am experiencing nasal or sinus stuffiness. My only advice for you is never sleep without your mask and machine.

[Mudrock63]

[

Sounds like you've taken the journey and have taken control of your health with regard to CPAP. Well done, and well said.

Thanks, Sleeprider. I have spent A LOT of time on this board. I don't think I am quite there yet. Pretty sure I need a Bipap rather than the APAP I have. The higher the pressure, the better my results. My next appointment is at the end of the month. In the meantime, I am cheating the APAP to get higher pressure and better results. I won't get into that though, don't want to teach the newbies bad things. LOL.

[Mudrock63]

Mudrock, I saw sleepyhead mentioned and got as far as the page to download it but then got nervous that I'd somehow wipe the SD card (the page said to make sure not to do that!) and have no data when I went to my doctor appointment the end of this month. I have a love/hate relationship with technology But maybe after the appointment I'll get up the courage to try it.

TimeToSleep, mine is mild too so that sounds right that we wouldn't see as dramatic a change (though I have to say, if mine is *mild* I really feel for those who have it bad!).

So, AHI. The software says I had 1 clear apnea, 1 obstructive apnea and 7 hypopneas which they say means an AHI level of 1. The other night was 1 clear apnea, 0 obstructive and 8 hypopneas. Also an AHI level of 1.

So that's good? Or is the goal to have zero of everything?

Though, before I was waking 20 times an hour (only 7 from apneas, the rest from snoring) so no matter what, this is definitely an improvement

ShannonCC: I would personally consider an AHI of 1.0 to be very good. If you are really worried about downloading Sleepyhead, or losing data on your SD card because of your computer, just wait until after your next appointment. I feel ya on the technology thing. I have a Mac, and every time I take my card out it warns me I have removed it improperly. Haven't lost a single bit of data so far.

Yeah, zero AHI is the elusive goal. Really, the goal should be getting as close to zero as possible without driving yourself nuts over it. I am weaning myself off of running downstairs after every night and nap to check my AHI. LOL. I am at a point I can do no more until my next doctor's appt., so I really have no need to obsess over it right now. Again, I think 1.0 is really good. If you want to go through the process of getting it even lower, then wade right in. LOL.

[Mudrock63]

It looks like we are roughly at the same point, with similar results. I was hoping for that WOW mornings where I feel so refreshed, but I don't get them, I've only heard about them from others. Now, I will say I've never been a morning person, and unless I'm waking up to something super exciting, it takes some time for me to get going. I will say that I've noticed that my energy level stays constant vice feeling tired throughout the day. Which is a welcome result as I'm building massive bookcases for a home office I'm building for my wife... but it's still taking forever to do.

I need to read up on this software...

Hi hotrodbiker: I am NOT a morning person either. Could be many reasons for not experiencing the WOW feeling. Severity of the condition comes to mind. Effectiveness of your initially prescribed settings. Other medical conditions.

My first aha moment was leaving my second sleep study, the titration one. I did not sleep great that night, but I think my body got its first taste of apnea-free sleep. And it was like, WOW, the birds are singing, the sky is blue, my brain is zinging. My diagnosis was severe obstructive sleep apnea, with an AHI of 37, and oxygen levels down to 66%.

Now to the other aha moments. So the sleep clinic doctor somehow came up with a fixed setting of 6.0 as my treatment. I stayed on that for over a month, and got average results over that month of an AHI in the mid-20's. Still terrible.

Then I came to this board, and a lovely lady named Pugsy worked with me on my settings. We carefully adjusted them, checked the results, and adjusted them again. And again. And each adjustment improved my results. Bringing my AHI into the low teens, then single digits. The first few mornings with dramatically better results were aha mornings. Pugsy also told me that since I needed such high pressures to get good results, I had probably been prescribed the wrong machine. My current settings are 18-20.0cm on auto settings. My AHI is now reliably below 2.5, and almost every morning is an aha morning. But in truth, as you get reliable results, the aha feeling is the new normal. Then you notice other improvements in life. Less daytime fatigue. Improvement with other conditions. Stuff like that. A LOT of folks only notice results gradually. I think the reason I have had so many WOW moments is that before treatment my fatigue levels were nearly debilitating. I blamed it for years on shift work. But after a year of straight day shifts I was still like the walking dead. I would have to come home and nap in the recliner every day after work. It affected my life in every way imaginable. So I think after years of my body going through this nightly torture, it is probably going to take six months to a year of effective treatment before I am fully recovered. We'll see. ChicagoGranny always points to sleep hygiene, which is all the other things you can do to improve your sleep, along with the apnea treatment. I educated myself on sleep hygiene, and now do a better job setting myself up for a good night's sleep. Definitely worth the Google search.

Another thing the experienced folks on this board stress is "How do you feel?" The answer to that question may drive whether you want to try to adjust your prescribed settings, whether on your own, or in consultation with your doctors. I will say honestly that I think most doctors are nearly clueless about this condition, but don't like to relinquish control to the patient. I can only point to the success, so far, of my treatment changes, and the results I have gotten after consultation on this board. If I had relied on the doctors, I would still be on my second adjustment, and probably not feeling very good. Instead, after four months and change, I literally feel like a new man. I give credit to Pugsy and others on this board, with a large shout out to Sleepyhead software and its creator, JediMark. These things have changed my life immeasurably for the better.