Question I have been on a cpap for a month now

[Mark649]

I would just like to clarify something. I have had my resmed s9 cpap for about a month now. Anyone I talk to says they sleep like a baby the whole nite thru. Not the case for me. I still wake up tossing and turning a few times and nite and sometimes I have the need to take the mask off for a few minutes and just regroup. Should I feel that much better in the morning like everyone says. Is the a getting used to the mask time period. I just feel a bit antsy during the nite.

Thanks
Mark

[Pugsy]

Mask fit and comfort are the hardest part to this therapy I think.

Which S9 machine are you using? Which mask are you using? Could you please add your equipment to your profile so we can see at a glance what you are using.

It is hard to become adjusted to having all this "stuff" attached to our face but it does get easier and better with time.

Regarding "when will I feel better"...gosh, that is hard to say because we know nothing about what else might be a factor. Like hour many hours of sleep a night? Do you ever cheat and take the mask off and sleep? We already know you have fragmented sleep and that in itself is going to prolong feeling better. Once we know which machine you are using hopefully you will have some data available to see if the therapy is even optimal. If leaks are bad and AHI is high...you don't stand any chance of ever feeling better. Lots of potential road blocks to slow down "feeling better".

And finally, even with optimal therapy and lots of hours using the mask and machine and minimal sleep fragmentation it can take months to see any improvement. There are often other things messing with how we feel the next day that are totally unrelated to OSA and the mask and machine can only fix the things related to OSA.

[Pugsy]

Are you this same Mark? What have you been doing for the last 3 to 4 years?
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31646&p=270620#p270620

If you don't know how to add your equipment to your profile..here's how..please use text because the images all look alike.
wiki/index.php/Registering_Equipment_in_User_Profile

[Sleepygirl2]

Hang in there and allow yourself plenty of time to acclimate. The first couple of weeks I was on the CPAP I slept GREAT. Of course, I was exhausted. Then it seemed like I hit the wall, and struggled some with the mask, got antsy, too. Then it abated. Got used to the mask, slept really well. Back and forth that went for a while. I have been using the cpap for over a year now, and am sleep really well. However, I have been really on top of things as it relates to trying new masks, working closely with my respiratory therapist, who is wonderful, by the way. Stay with it. You'll see, you will feel better. Give it time.

[robysue]

I would just like to clarify something. I have had my resmed s9 cpap for about a month now. Anyone I talk to says they sleep like a baby the whole nite thru. Not the case for me.

Not the case for me either. I've been PAPing for close to 16 months now. I now do wake up feeling rested and even somewhat refreshed each morning, but I'd hardly describe myself as "sleeping through the night." And if I'm sleeping like a baby, it's like a newborn who wakes up every two or three hours or so .... But I am now finally sleeping with machine rather than fighting with the machine during the night.

I still wake up tossing and turning a few times and nite and sometimes I have the need to take the mask off for a few minutes and just regroup.

That happens to some of us---particularly in the early going and particularly if we're having trouble getting comfortable with the mask. The important thing is to keep on regrouping and putting the mask back on before returning to sleep. Eventually your body will learn to tolerate or ignore all the new sensory stuff coming from the machine. It might not stop the nightly wakes, but eventually they will become fewer in number and shorter in length and no longer seem so disruptive of your sleep.

Should I feel that much better in the morning like everyone says. Is the a getting used to the mask time period.

It takes some of us several months to start feeling a positive difference from the machine. And the improvement can be very slow and gradual: Many of us never experience waking up one morning and suddenly feeling full of energy and saying, "WOW! That's what a good night's sleep is supposed to feel like!" But over the course of time our sleep slowly improves and as it improves, our definitions of what a "decent" night's sleep and what a "bad" night's sleep change. And it's only when we stop and critically think about how we actually felt pre-CPAP that we begin to realize that we're more demanding now: That what we would have called a "decent night" pre-CPAP is now "bad" and what we would called a "bad night" pre-CPAP is now "Horrible". And that what we NOW call a "decent night" was so rare pre-CPAP that we would have called it a "good or great" night back then.

I just feel a bit antsy during the nite.

You are still getting used to the machine. Some folks get over the "ansty" feeling really quickly and some don't. To help the process along, you might want to learn some conscious relaxation techniques that you can use when you are masked up and beginning to feel antsy. Learning how to relax enough to be comfortable enough to fall into a deep sleep was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

Thanks
Mark[/quote]