Anyone That Doesn't Feel Any Better After Treatment

[this_is_nascar]

I was diagnosed with AHI of ~31 during my studies and it was determined that my machine needs to be set a "9". I've been using the machine for well over a month so far. The machine shows my AHI to be in the 1.5-3.0 range now, versus my 31 during my test. Anyway, I had expectations of feeling so much better during my waking hours now that I'm using the machine, but I can't say that I do.

Am I the only one that doesn't feel any better after starting on a machine?

[Pugsy]

Am I the only one that doesn't feel any better after starting on a machine?

No you're not the only one and you will soon find out that there are many who will join in. I am coming on 2 years in May and still can count on one hand the number of "hallelujah" days. After a month on the machine I could say that the only improvement was the dozen trips to the bathroom within the 5 hours of sleep I sort of got. Took me a long time to gradually increase length of time to just the 7 hours I usually get now. The nocturia stopped. Everything else has been very slow despite "good numbers". There are just so many other things that affect our sleep and/or how we feel. We can't expect cpap to fix things unrelated to OSA though it sure would be nice if it did. I just was happy to know that I was preventing further damage to my body and then started sorting through my other issues and accepted the small victories I had.

Improvement can be so gradual that you hardly see it.

[robysue]

I'm now one week shy of being 5 months into xPAP therapy. First three to four months, every single day I felt like a hairball upchucked by a cat.

Physically, I am now slowly beginning to feel more-or-less as well as I did before starting CPAP.

Cognitively, I still feel like there's a ways to go before I regain all of my pre-CPAP functioning.

My most recent update on my adjustment is here: 1000th post: Update on my insomnia and xPAP therapy

robysue

[robysue]

this_is_nascar,

In addition to finding out that there are others who don't feel better shortly after starting CPAP, you need to also look at your own work on making CPAP work for you. Here are several questions you need to ask yourself:

• 1) How often do you use your CPAP machine? And how long each night do you use it?
  
  2) Do you have specific problems with therapy that need to be addressed such as mask fitting, leaks, aerophagia, insomnia, etc? If so, what have you done to try to address those problems?
  
  3) Have you called your sleep doctor's office and asked to speak to a nurse, a PA, or the doctor about the problems that you've encountered in trying to get used to therapy?
  
  4) Are there other things going on in your life or with your health that are causing problems with your sleep? As pugsy points out, CPAP only helps prevent the apneas and hypopneas from occurring. It can't possibly "fix" problems that are not directly related to the OSA.

The answers to these questions may provide some insight into why you're not yet feeling better and what you might be able to do to make CPAP work better for you.

[jbn3boys]

I'm almost at 6 months, and I'm still not feeling all that great. But, I know I am doing what is best for my health. I do hope to feel better, but I'm in this for the long haul, no matter how I feel. Besides, my husband feels better now that he is getting more sleep due to me not snoring.

[this_is_nascar]

this_is_nascar,

In addition to finding out that there are others who don't feel better shortly after starting CPAP, you need to also look at your own work on making CPAP work for you. Here are several questions you need to ask yourself:

• 1) How often do you use your CPAP machine? And how long each night do you use it?
  
  2) Do you have specific problems with therapy that need to be addressed such as mask fitting, leaks, aerophagia, insomnia, etc? If so, what have you done to try to address those problems?
  
  3) Have you called your sleep doctor's office and asked to speak to a nurse, a PA, or the doctor about the problems that you've encountered in trying to get used to therapy?
  
  4) Are there other things going on in your life or with your health that are causing problems with your sleep? As pugsy points out, CPAP only helps prevent the apneas and hypopneas from occurring. It can't possibly "fix" problems that are not directly related to the OSA.

The answers to these questions may provide some insight into why you're not yet feeling better and what you might be able to do to make CPAP work better for you.

My machine get used religiously, every night, for 7-hours. The mask fit fine, with no leaks. I sleep through the entire night, just like I did without the machine. The only reason this entire journey started with me was because I continued to feel very tired during the day. It was suggested I get the sleep test and that got me to where I am now. I was so looking forward to "feeling more awake" with "more energy", just like everyone had hyped. For me, that just hasn't happened. Yes, my numbers (AHI) are much better now, which is supposed to be a good thing, but simply having a lower AHI is not something I "feel" the benefits of during my waking hours.

[DocWeezy]

Hi Nascar.....I had dreams of feeling better after the titration study night. Hooo boy, was I mistaken! It's really great that you seem to have adapted well and are sleeping through the night--that feat alone took me about two months.

I'm at a little over three months now and just starting to notice some differences. Some speculate that it may take a while for a body to heal and recuperate from years of sleep deprivation, and that may be what you are going through now. How long this process may take obviously depends on the individual body, how many years it was sleep deprived, age, etc. etc. etc. etc. Don't know if this is true or not, but it makes sense, and now after having had about 6 weeks of actual sleep using the machine (the first couple months don't count for me because I didn't sleep well at all), I'm slowly starting to notice the differences. I still have more tired days than not, but I have had a few spectacular days and the hope of more keeps me going.

The other thing to think about is to look back: overall, are you starting to feel a little better? Sometimes the changes can be so small that they are not noticeable on a day-to-day basis, but when looking back over a longer period of time, small improvements are noticeable.

Hang in there....this is a long journey for many of us, but one that is well worth it in the end.

Weezy