Newbie one night in with headache -- coincidence or not?

[CCDelaney]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum, I found it last night as I was dreading my first night with my CPAP and reading the posts helped me realize it's going to be a process and I need to be ok with that!

My question today is that I woke up with and have had a sinus type headache all day. Typically I am prone to tension headaches but I usually don't wake up with them. Has anyone had problems with headaches using their CPAP? I know it's only been one night so I'll see if this problem continues or not, guess I'm just worried this could be due to the therapy.

On a good note, while I was dreading last night, it actually turned out ok. At first it was difficult to adjust but once I fell asleep I slept the whole night!

Thanks, and I look forward to participating in the forum in the future!

[irishgranny]

Have you got a humidifier? I also have headaches occasionally. The humidifier that is attatched to the machine helps. Also I found that I had to be careful about making the straps too tight especially on the bridge of my nose.

[Rogue Uvula]

Do you have AHI data from last night?
How does it compare with your original (before CPAP) study?

[CCDelaney]

Yep, have a humidifier. I'll check the straps and see how tight they are, thanks for the suggestion!

I did not look at my AHI yet -- I need to get more familiar with the numbers and what the machine can tell me, but I'll definitely check that when I get home tonight!

[Julie]

Sometimes the humidifier needs to be turned down as it can cause congestion.

[Hawthorne]

What is/are your pressure(s) set at?

Is your vent on your mask being blocked by a pillow or a blanket during the night?

[CCDelaney]

Sometimes the humidifier needs to be turned down as it can cause congestion.

So I realized that my humidifier was off the first night (the tech who trained me on my device showed me that it was set to a certain number but didn't show me how to actually turn it on - figured that out last night!). I turned it on last night and this morning I'm feeling ok, still a small headache but not as bad as yesterday. Downside last night was the inside of my nostril was hurting so I had to take the mask off at about 4 am. But I've read that can happen at first with the pillows so I'm hoping that is a temporary thing.

What is/are your pressure(s) set at?

Is your vent on your mask being blocked by a pillow or a blanket during the night?

My pressure is set to 7. No blocking of the vent.

Hoping that it was just the humidifier being off, perhaps I'll fiddle with the settings if I have issues with congestion. What do people do when they have a cold and it is hard to breath through your nose?

[Hawthorne]

Sounds like your pressure is high enough not to be a problem and you are not blocking the vent on the mask with pillows or blankets. That's good.

Glad to hear it was better this morning. It may well be the humidifier situation.

I've been on cpap for almost 8 years. I have not had as many colds on cpap as I had before. While I have a full face backup mask, I have never used it. When I have a cold I up the humidity a bit and I sleep well. I feel better sleeping with a cold and cpap that I did when I had a cold and was not on cpap. I seem to get over colds much faster with cpap therapy.

I am not able to use nasal pillows when I have a cold but can use a nasal mask very comfortably.

Of course, everyone is different.