Trouble Adjusting

[jnoc2003]

Hey everyone, new to the forum and looking for advice. I'm going on day 3 with my CPAP and I'm having trouble falling asleep. I used the machine for about 5 and half hours on the first night and about 5 hours the following night. Each night I took zquil to help me fall asleep faster as it usually takes me a while to nod off. Each night I simply could not fall asleep. I powered through and kept the mask on but found myself awake trying everything I could to take my mind off of things.. The second night, before bed, I made sure to stay away from electronics an hour before bed and did all the suggested sleep hygiene. Still, I could not get comfortable enough to fall asleep, tossing and turning for 5 hours. I even found myself in a panic at times, breathing more. I know this is all in my head and it will take time to adjust but 2 hours of sleep for the past couple of days just isn't good for me.

I called my doctor to see if something could be prescribed to me to get me through this adjustment. I'm not giving up and I'm committed to doing this, just need some help or tips to adjust. Is taking a sleep aid the right way to go? I've tried the nasal mask but often found myself needing to open my mouth and that causes me to panic even more with the pressure. So I believe the full face is the better mask.

Sorry for the long post and thank you for any input you may have.

[Miss Emerita]

Sorry to hear it's been rough going, but good on you for your determination to stick to it. A couple of thoughts:

Could you let us know your starting pressure, your pressure range, and your diagnosed AHI?

Try using the machine during the day, sitting up, while reading or watching TV. This is just to get yourself used to the weirdness of it all.

Try downloading Oscar software: https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/ Best to read the guide first. Then post a screenshot of attempted night-time use. Turn off the calendar and the pie chart, and stack your graphs this way so they all fit in one picture:

Events
Flow rate
Pressure
Leaks
Flow limitations
Snores

It's good you are starting to follow the sleep hygiene guidelines. I ignored them completely for all too long but am now a true believer. In my experience, it took a while for the benefits to kick in, so I say keep at it!

I don't have anything to offer on the question about medication. Certainly I've read posts from some people who found that helpful at the outset of treatment.

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the forum.

Did you have so much trouble falling asleep or staying asleep prior to starting cpap?

Unfortunately starting cpap does make insomnia a lot worse for some people....there's a time and place for meds (either OTC or RX) and maybe you are at that place. Talk to your doctor about it.

In the meantime...might want to read this. You aren't alone.
http://adventures-in-hosehead-land.blog ... er_19.html

[jnoc2003]

Sorry to hear it's been rough going, but good on you for your determination to stick to it. A couple of thoughts:

Could you let us know your starting pressure, your pressure range, and your diagnosed AHI?

Try using the machine during the day, sitting up, while reading or watching TV. This is just to get yourself used to the weirdness of it all.

Try downloading Oscar software: https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/ Best to read the guide first. Then post a screenshot of attempted night-time use. Turn off the calendar and the pie chart, and stack your graphs this way so they all fit in one picture:

Events
Flow rate
Pressure
Leaks
Flow limitations
Snores

It's good you are starting to follow the sleep hygiene guidelines. I ignored them completely for all too long but am now a true believer. In my experience, it took a while for the benefits to kick in, so I say keep at it!

I don't have anything to offer on the question about medication. Certainly I've read posts from some people who found that helpful at the outset of treatment.

Thank you, I know they set me up on a ramp starting at 04 and max is set to 20. I know i was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea, not sure what my AHI number was. I'll have to check that out.

I will definitely try using it during the day and I have to check out that software. I appreciate the help. I also was provided the "MyAir," app to track my progress but I'm not sure how accurate that is. It's telling my sleep score was 75/100, even though I barely slept at all.

[jnoc2003]

Welcome to the forum.

Did you have so much trouble falling asleep or staying asleep prior to starting cpap?

Unfortunately starting cpap does make insomnia a lot worse for some people....there's a time and place for meds (either OTC or RX) and maybe you are at that place. Talk to your doctor about it.

In the meantime...might want to read this. You aren't alone.
http://adventures-in-hosehead-land.blog ... er_19.html

Thank you. I never really had a issue falling asleep before this. For me has always been staying asleep and waking up a lot. The mask is just making it uncomfortable, so I panic and can't calm my mind from racing. Tonight will be round 3 and I figured if the zquil wasn't working the doctor could give me something stronger so I can get sleep. I just don't want the medication to take away from me needing to adjust to this.

I'll check out the link you sent..thank you so much!

[Pugsy]

As far as OTC stuff goes I am a big fan of plain old Benadryl (assuming a person doesn't have a reason to not take it).
It's fairly benign and doesn't have too much of a morning hangover effect unless you take a big dose.

[chunkyfrog]

Prior to cpap, only apnea disturbed my sleep.
Cpap "contributed" for a week or four.
Once you get used to it, your hiney will fare much better.

[USMCVet]

Could you try and swap to the dreamwear full face mask? It's comfortable and for me at least it's comfortable to sleep in any position. I like the dreamwear masks because I can have hose behind and come up over top of pillow so hose doesn't get in way and the dreamwear masks allow air through both sides. If you sleep on your side that is a big benefit.

Melatonin works for me, if I need to fall asleep I'll take like 12mg. I can't use the extended release melatonin though because I'll be dead the next day.

[Miss Emerita]

I’d suggest that you raise your starting pressure to 6. A lot of people feel air-starved at 4. To change the pressure, enter the clinical menu by pressing the knob and the home button simultaneously for a few seconds until you see the clinical menu option. While this may not be a huge help, at least you might be more comfortable at the start of the night.

My Air is more of a motivational tool than a goldmine of useful data. You will be pleasantly surprised when you see Oscar.

[ajack]

There is an adjust period that can last for a couple of months for some. I wouldn't just lay there awake, sit up and read a book till you are tired. Or an audio book if the mask gets in the way. Google sleep hygiene, you don't want to start any bad habits.

[zoomzoom]

I’d suggest that you raise your starting pressure to 6. A lot of people feel air-starved at 4. To change the pressure, enter the clinical menu by pressing the knob and the home button simultaneously for a few seconds until you see the clinical menu option. While this may not be a huge help, at least you might be more comfortable at the start of the night.

My Air is more of a motivational tool than a goldmine of useful data. You will be pleasantly surprised when you see Oscar.

I agree. Air starved at 4, ok at 6

[Miss Emerita]

I’m glad you’re finding 6 more comfortable. Are you having any better luck falling asleep?