What just 2.5 hours without my cpap did to me this morning

[cpapguru38]

I should have just drank a liter of vodka, as I would have felt the same as I do now. I have been getting 4-5 hours per night of sleep with my mask. Usually sleeping a good 4 hours straight, then wake up, toss and turn slightly driting in and out of sleep, then getting up to start my day. Despite only getting 4-5 hours I had been feeling GREAT.

This morning same thing. Slept 4.25 hours with cpap therapy, then woke up. Tried to go back to sleep, but I was so "aware" of my mask and Ikept having leak issues, so I took it off. BIG MISTAKE! I ended up falling asleep for about 2.5 hours, woke up and my first thought........"did I drink last night?" Oh my God, did I feel horrible! Migrane headcahe, big ball of green mucos in my throat, my jaw and neck ached, blurry vision, nausea. Here it is mid day, 400 mg of ibuprpfen and I still feel miserable. I would have been better off, just getting up.

I think I am feeling twice as bad, as my body had adjusted to sleeping with cpap for about 10 days now. Then I fell asleep without it, for a short 2.5 hours and must have really worked myself out. I feel like I must have been snoring damn hard as my entire head aches and my throat and sinuses hurt like hell.

Anyone elese experience this from just a short session without their cpap?

[DreamStalker]

Amazing insn't it?

I had a similar experience once when I was first starting out ... for me it was like having the flu and a mega-hangover at the same time.

xPAP ... does the body good.

[Daffney_Gillfin]

Yep. I did the same thing about 3 months in. Awful headache, brain fog, even a nose bleed. I have not done it since. It was a good lesson.

[El Pap]

Anyone elese experience this from just a short session without their cpap?

Had the same experience on a business trip when the hotel lost power in the middle of the night. To make matters worse, I had been at the bar before going to bed. Woke up feeling like those comic book charactures with X's for eyes and stars circling above my head. Not fun.

What's odd though, is that I sometimes fall asleep in my recliner while watching TV, and don't seem to have obvious symptoms when that happens.

[Georgio]

I swapped machines last night and I can't remember peoples names!

[BleepingBeauty]

Soon after I started my CPAP journey, we lost power one night just as I was getting into bed. For four hours, I tossed, turned, twisted myself into different shapes, elevated my head with a wedge pillow, tried sleeping in my recliner - nothing worked. I couldn't sleep at all without that damned mask on my face! When the power was restored, I was ecstatic to get into bed and really sleep.

I promptly bought a backup battery so I'd never have to go through that again. Once you understand and experience what this therapy does for you, it's awful to be without it.

Hope you can make up the difference tonight.

[Wulfman]

We all need that "wake-up call" to put this therapy into perspective.

About 2 weeks into my therapy, things were going good......my numbers were getting lower......then I came down with a horrible cough and cold or "something". I was coughing so hard I couldn't keep my mask on, so I decided to tough it out without my CPAP till whatever it was subsided enough to get back on therapy. It was 10 of the longest days/nights I've endured. It was like starting over with my therapy.
I had a few colds and a bout with the flu that year (2005), but managed to keep using therapy. Thanksgiving week of that year was the last time I've been "sick" (that week it was the flu).

Den

[Guest]

I had bronchitis for 29 days in Jan/Feb and I could not use my CPAP at all!!! Well, I had to start all over again.
Since then, I have learned to cough with it on /through it. I use "breath right" strips and that opens my nostrils better as I have a slight deviated septum--using the breath right strips helps me get more benefit from my air/pressure/humidity.

[Debjax]

This morning same thing. Slept 4.25 hours with cpap therapy, then woke up. Tried to go back to sleep, but I was so "aware" of my mask and Ikept having leak issues, so I took it off. BIG MISTAKE! I ended up falling asleep for about 2.5 hours, woke up and my first thought........"did I drink last night?" Oh my God, did I feel horrible! Migrane headcahe, big ball of green mucos in my throat, my jaw and neck ached, blurry vision, nausea. Here it is mid day, 400 mg of ibuprpfen and I still feel miserable. I would have been better off, just getting up.

Anyone elese experience this from just a short session without their cpap?

Yep. One night I woke up about 4 am with the same...migraine and felt like sludge on a bad day....apparently I had taken my mask of at some point, since I wasn't wearing it. When I ran the cards the next day, I found mine had been off for about 2 hours.....

[Gregg]

Oh thank you for posting this!

I haven't seen many people discussing their symptoms that match my own. The last few days have been just horrible. I've thought about how nice it would be to be dead. This is just like a hangover. And the bad part is, I don't drink any more. And I really miss it. But I"ve done everything in my power to eliminate this feeling. And here I am sick again.

Your post is the only thing that has made me feel better today. Now I have a sense of optimism again. It helps knowing that this is indeed apnea, and not some unconquerable disease.

Sheesh, I'm so screwed up I can hardly type. And it's 8pm. An entire day of sickness. Crap! At least I spent it on a tractor, moving dirt. That's always fun, sick or not.

[cpapguru38]

Oh thank you for posting this!

I haven't seen many people discussing their symptoms that match my own. The last few days have been just horrible. I've thought about how nice it would be to be dead. This is just like a hangover. And the bad part is, I don't drink any more. And I really miss it. But I"ve done everything in my power to eliminate this feeling. And here I am sick again.

Your post is the only thing that has made me feel better today. Now I have a sense of optimism again. It helps knowing that this is indeed apnea, and not some unconquerable disease.

Sheesh, I'm so screwed up I can hardly type. And it's 8pm. An entire day of sickness. Crap! At least I spent it on a tractor, moving dirt. That's always fun, sick or not.

Last night I got 7 hours total on the machine. Again, waking after about 4 hours and thought about taking the mask off then, as I was having trouble falling back asleep. but the memory of how I felt the morning before, did not allow me to take it off.Took a good 60 minutes to fall back to sleep, but I eventually did. Got 7 hours in all and again, today, I feel GREAT!

I can't help but think how bad I was damaging my system all those years. One symptom that has went away aside from the typical hangover feeling, it my hand and face tremors. My fingers, hands and face would tremor off and on from pure nervousness, all day long. I was like someone with parkinsons. Now after 12 days on cpap, those symptoms are gone, my hands and fingers do not shake. I have no idea what specifically was causing it, but I'm sure it had to have something to do with my severe apnea.

For those out there still fighting to adjust, (myself included) this therapy is well worth the effort it requires to adapt to it. In just 12 days, I've gone from death's door step to having enery and feeling sane again! My craving for carbs and high fat is deminishing, walking 3-5 miles per day, already loosing weight. It's a miracle therapy if you can adjust. Don;t give up!

[Kiralynx]

Anyone elese experience this from just a short session without their cpap?

Yes. Last week, I had a respiratory infection, and could not use a nasal mask. It took two days to get a full-face mask from CPAP.COM (couldn't order and have it shipped on a Sunday).

Night One, I didn't think was too bad except for coughing all night. Then I went to get up and screamed in pain. (My sleep issues cause severe chronic pain.) I hurt all day.

Night Two, I "slept," if you can call it that, sitting up.

Night Three, I had the full face mask, and slept well in spite of coughing, hacking, and wheezing.

Anyone who isn't already using a full-face mask ought to have one for a back up -- because permanently avoiding a cold is probably not possible.