insomnia HELP!!!!

[janell]

hi i'm new...have a question....i am so tired and when i try to go to sleep i have insomnia!!! i can't sleep for a hill o beans. why?? i am comfortable with my mask, have no issues with therapy, but why is this happening? i thought i would be sleeping like a baby but nooo!! been on cpap 1 month.. does it go away??? thanks

[Wulfman]

It would help us considerably if you would fill in your profile with your equipment and other settings......pressure, humidifier, Ramp, exhale relief (EPR or C-Flex if applicable), etc.


Den

[janell]

hello...i have a remstar pro c-flex w/humidifier, easy life mask. my pressure is 9. i sent in my data chip to my dme..i can't retreive info from machine, i don't know how!! anyway, they sent me a letter stating the download info shows i am "using" my machine an average of 7 hrs 49 min. a night. but i'm laying awake with the machine on.. they did say a copy of my report was sent to my sleep lab...should i call to get my info?? sorry so new at all this..a bit overwelming..

[SleepingUgly]

Did you have insomnia before you started CPAP?

[janell]

no insomnia really..just waking up gasping and snoring. maybe i just need to RELAX and have another cup of camomile!!!

[Wulfman]

hello...i have a remstar pro c-flex w/humidifier, easy life mask. my pressure is 9. i sent in my data chip to my dme..i can't retreive info from machine, i don't know how!! anyway, they sent me a letter stating the download info shows i am "using" my machine an average of 7 hrs 49 min. a night. but i'm laying awake with the machine on.. they did say a copy of my report was sent to my sleep lab...should i call to get my info?? sorry so new at all this..a bit overwelming..

Did they send the data card back to you.....or another one?

With it, the summary data can be viewed in the LCD screen. You just need to know what buttons to push.

You can find some instructions here:

http://www.apneaboard.com/CPAP%20Adjustment.htm

What you might try (that is recommended to most new users), is to hook up to the machine during the day or evening (sitting in your favorite chair or recliner) to get used to it.


Den

[janell]

thanks for your info. yes they mailed my card back..as for learning how to change pressures and all that, i am "renting to own" my cpap. after 13 months the machine is mine. so does that mean i can't tweek it if i learned how to?? don't want to upset the dme police!! or my insurance co. i will continue to read the apneaboard info. to all that have replied, thanks sooooo much, i feel welcomed and fuzzy inside!!

[Wulfman]

thanks for your info. yes they mailed my card back..as for learning how to change pressures and all that, i am "renting to own" my cpap. after 13 months the machine is mine. so does that mean i can't tweek it if i learned how to?? don't want to upset the dme police!! or my insurance co. i will continue to read the apneaboard info. to all that have replied, thanks sooooo much, i feel welcomed and fuzzy inside!!

It depends on how well you get along with your doctor or whether you have a close relationship with him/her. It also depends on how well your therapy seems to be going. Some users have never even met with their sleep doctor and others work closely with them.....and some in-between. We generally encourage users to take control of their therapy as soon as possible......particularly if their "medical team" is not appearing to be working with them. So, that's kind of a "your call". If they're reading your data card, they should be giving you a "FULL DETAILS REPORT" from the download of data.
There is software available to do it yourself for a very reasonable amount of money.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... eader.html

I would also recommend having your insurance provider (unless you're on Medicare) shorten up the "rental" time. At 13 months, you're probably going to cross over into another (insurance) "fiscal year" where your deductible would kick in again. That would significantly increase the cost you'd be paying for this equipment.

Usually, the insurance providers only monitor the patient's usage for a few months to make sure they're really going to use their equipment.

Welcome to the forum. Hang around here, read and ask lots of questions. There aren't very many "new" subjects here and many answers can be found using the Search option (above).


Den

[harry33]

I think sleeping pills are OK for a whlle
melatonin tablets help spme but not all and are used by sleep labs

[frapilu]

When I was first diagnosed with sleep apnea about 7 years ago, I went through this too. My doctor suggested that it was a sort of self-protection from my body. After all, every time I went to sleep before, I'd go into apnea and stop breathing so my body seemed to have decided to avoid that by not sleeping. I went though several weeks of therapy with a sleep psychologist learning tips and tricks to get my body back to sleeping. It helped me and most of the time I sleep ok now.

Good luck
France

[jazzer4]

I did the same as you, I layed awake most of the night on my machine. I looked very compliant, but I was not sleeping!
Not sleeping messed with my mind and made me just feel sick, which I was. I do know that my mind or my brain didn't want, or let me go to sleep.
I told my regular Dr. about it all and she felt it was anxiety. I couldn't believe that, as I was very relaxed all night while being on the machine, relaxed, but just not sleeping. I did take here perscription, and in 2 weeks I was sleeping like a baby all night long. I also changed my sleep habits...no TV in bedroom and going to bed at the same time each night. I'm sure others have gone through this also, but it never hurts to check with the doctor. Sometime we don't know when were feeling stress or were anxious, at least I didn't.

[kteague]

It is not unusual for it to take a while for the mind to retrain and learn how to sleep properly with the changes. That said, it is a good idea to be sure based on data that your treatment is effective with low AHI and leaks, as having it be substandard can be a cause of continued sleep problems. Also to consider would be any meds with insomnia as a side effect, thyroid dysfunction, or other sleep disorders like limb movements. Sometimes things just begin to fall into place, others it's a process of elimination. Hope yours resolves with minimal time and effort.

[janell]

thanks again everyone for feedback....i did get my report from dme about first 11 days on cpap..my AHI in sleep study was 50.5 now it's 2.6 average time in large leaks is 16 seconds. is this good? i started this journey going to a neurologist for headaches, everyday had a headache. after office visit went for sleep study. severe apnea. follow up with dr. was not good. i had very high blood pressure the day i saw him and ended up having to see another dr that day. i don't know.....anyway i still haven't really talked to neurologist about sleeplab results...just got put on cpap thru lab and dme. so my question is (probably silly) should i go follow up again with neurologist....or sleep lab dr?? find a sleep type dr or what?? thanks.