4 nights on CPAP

[Alabama Girl]

The DME delivered my CPAP Saturday, so I've used it (4) nights. I haven't had any problems sleeping with it all night & only had leaks the first (2). My husband calls me the scuba diver & my daughter calls me elephant head!
Question 1: This morning I fell asleep several times driving to work. I've had the problem a lot in the past, but thought it would be over once I started on the CPAP. Is this common & if so, how long does it take for it to stop?
Question 2: I haven't had any increase in my energy level yet. I thought it might be gradual, but nothing so far. What is an estimated average to feel a difference & by what time should I have all of my energy back?
Comment: During my waiting period between sleep studies, my doctor gave me Nuvigil (similar to Provigil) because of my sleep-driving. I took it two weeks & started having a serious side effect - one that the pamplet states to stop taking immediately & call your doctor. I had very intense anxiety/panic spells, sometimes coming over me every few minutes. It was so bad that I missed two days of work. I stopped taking it, but had to go through a week and a half of "coming off of it". I didn't get much sleep, so my nights were terrible. I think it had that effect because it is a stimulant. Has anyone out there had this experience?
I am optimistic that the CPAP will bring me good results at some point.

[Pugsy]

Do you know how to get to the data on your machine?

While we don't expect miracles we don't want you falling asleep driving.

A pressure of 7 cm is not very much. You need to check your AHI numbers to see if they have improved from your sleep study.

There is no "estimated time for energy to return" because each person has their own individual factors involved.
Some report pretty much immediate success but most of us have to report that it is a very gradual process measured weeks and months. That is with confirmed optimal therapy.

There are some things you can do to make sure that your therapy is optimized though. The first thing is to access the data on your machine. Can you confirm please that the machine that is showing in your profile is indeed the machine that you are using. That particular machine is an older model. Was it supposed to be new?

[kteague]

Hi. I have to use only a low dose of Provigil or it makes me nervous and jittery. About still being tired - I agree you need to know for sure your therapy is effective, and that you don't have a leak or mouth breathing problem. At 4 nights in I would think you'd barely begun to repay any sleep debt. Also, how many hours of sleep are you getting, and how many wakeups do you have? As is recommended after any trauma, rest aids recovery. If you can go beyond maintenance hours of sleep and get some extra while recovering, in my non medical opinion, I would suggest that.

If in a few weeks your treatment is optimized yet you still feel bad, you may want to be evaluated for any other problems, sleep or otherwise.
Kathy

[Muse-Inc]

...fell asleep several times driving to work...

My worst was driving home, so I used to call my friends & chat (yes distracting but falling sleep is a WHOLE LOT WORSE). It worked for me. We avoided heavy topics, more like gossip, talk about movies & TV & eateries; they understood the goal was to keep me talking or engaged in back n'forth talk. I called my cell phone company explained what I was doing and asked how to buy extra minutes...surprise, they gave me some (helped that I was a long-time customer). There are others here who've used the same cell phone chat tactic to stay awake...gotta make sure it's interesting enought to keep you awake; someone here used to call office co-workers and discuss business on the drive to work. Until your therapy starts reducing this tendency, you might try this tactic.

[bdp522]

It can take 6-8 weeks just to adjust to the mask + machine. Once you are more or less comfortable sleeping with the mask on and machine going AND have the pressure at the level you need, sleep with the machine every time you sleep for the entire time you sleep...then you may start to see improvements. Some do get great results from the first night, most need time to catch up on sleep debt, and yet others see only very small improvements over a very long time. Everyone is different.
If you fell asleep driving, you shouldn't be driving! You need to wait until you can make the drive fully awake before you attempt it again. Start with small trips and increase the driving time a little at a time as you see you can stay alert. How sad it would be if you got into an accident because you fell asleep and were injured...even sadder that you may injure someone else! Can you make other arrangements for a ride to work? Bus?Taxi? Maybe a couple weeks vacation, or a leave of absence?
Please DO double check your equipment to be sure it is accurate. Then we can help you with getting any data from it. The data will tell you if you are at the needed pressure and if you are having leaks or not.

Brenda

[WindFlyer]

The most important thing is to just give it some time.
I'm in sort-of a separate camp on this board with respect to the fact that I use a straight CPAP and I don't go poring over data all the time. As long as you have your pressure set to the point where you are no longer snoring you should be fine. It does take a couple weeks, on average, before you start really noticing a difference in how you feel energy-wise throughout the day. You really shouldn't be nodding off at the wheel anymore if your therapy is working correctly, though. If that keeps up for more than a week or so I would call your doctor.

[BlackSpinner]

Just because your body is getting the air doesn't mean your brain has accepted that you won't die if you sleep deeply.

My doctor warned me that it might take a month or more for your brain to accept the therapy and that it is save to sleep. Be glad - that is why you are still around to post instead of a stat and in a grave. Try telling your self over and over as you are falling asleep " It is safe to sleep deeply"

[Alabama Girl]

Yes, my machine is correct, except for the # 2. The drop down box didn't give an option without it.
I asked my DME when he delivered the CPAP if I would be able to see what was going on each night. He said "no", but you'll send in your smart card about once a month, we'll analyze it & give you a report on it. I'll check my manual to see if it gives instructions.
I have tried everything I can think of to stay awake driving to work in the morning, & the only thing that has helped is if my husband is able to talk me in to work. He can only do this when his work schedule allows. I can't call my friends, because they are either on the way to work or already there. Another thing, is it doesn't happen every day - it's unpredictable.
No buses, except school buses, come to the small city we live in. I've never seen a taxi, so I'm not sure about that.
I've thought about taking a leave without pay or asking to come in to work mid-morning. I haven't done so, because I've been sick a lot in the 1 year & 8 months I've worked here (25 days). I've had various health problems. The only negative remark on my annual evaluation was my attendence. I don't want to take a chance of losing my job.
Thank you for your help.

[cflame1]

Does it maybe say Mseries on it as well?

[Pugsy]

Does your machine just say Remstar Pro with CFlex?
Remstar Pro 2 with CFlex?
or by chance Remstar Pro M series with CFlex?

It makes a huge difference. I don't think Remstar Pro (without the #2) will give you anything but hours of use.
I could be wrong. The Remstar Pro 2 will give more than hours of use data.

Someone with knowledge of the old Remstar Pro please clarify if I am wrong. Did the old Remstar pros even have CFlex??

[mars]

.

[Alabama Girl]

Yes, I have the M Series. The machine is RemStar Pro with C-Flex ( one of the buttons has 'C-Flex' on it).

Reply to an earlier response: I am getting about 7 1/2 hours sleep & waking up usually once during the night.

Thanks again!

[Pugsy]

There is an option for the M series Pro in equipment profile thing. Just keep looking, it is there so that you can clarify for anyone reading your posts exactly which machine you have.

The M series Pro with CFlex is indeed data capable offering AHI, leak, etc data. You will need the software to see any details other than AHI and leak numbers.

To get to what you have now, just open the lid and push the left < button and scroll till you see the data.
If this feature is not turned on, you will find out how to turn it on here. Be careful, this is the clinicial menu.

http://www.cpap-supply.com/Articles.asp?ID=130

From the LED screen you can only get 7 and 30 day averages.
You can reset these to zero so you can have a better idea what each night's results were.
==========Resetting LCD Display Data====================

To reset LCD Therapy data (does NOT erase any data from SmartCard):

1. Hold down the (<-) (->) buttons while plugging in the power on the back,
wait for 2 beeps or 5 seconds, release buttons.
2. Press the (->) key and navigate to Therapy screen.
3. Press and HOLD down the (-) minus key for 5 seconds and/or until therapy data is reset to Zero.
4. Press the (->) key to scroll back to main menu, press (+) key to enter Setup or
On/Off button to exit.