Feeling worse after a week on cpap

[janet444]

Hi everyone,

I hate to bother you all yet again, but I'm actually feeling worse after a week on cpap. I've been adjusting really well. A couple of nights where I had problems and took the mask off. But I think I've had five full nights of cpap. I don't think I even woke up last night. I always wake up at some point in the middle of the night.

Today I feel like I'm coming down with something. Maybe I just am. I'm in New England and it's been cold and I'm really sensitive to the cold.

I searched for similar threads and did find one that seemed to say a large auto cpap range could be a problem. My DME has me on a range of 6 to 20. Could that be a problem?

Or is it possible that I'm just not feeling my best and need to wait it out? I see that it takes a few weeks to feel better, but I didn't think I'd actually feel worse.

Thanks!

Janet

[Pugsy]

The pressure range could possibly be a potential problem if you happen to be sensitive to various pressure changes or maybe the pressure minimum is having to go higher often or maybe it isn't even optimal.

Need to see a couple of your typical detailed reports to see what is going on to really be able to have an idea what might be going on.

Some people are real sensitive to the least little pressure variation in APAP mode. You might be one of them.
We would need to see the reports to have an idea what would be a more optimal range or even cpap mode setting.

And of course ...if you are indeed coming down with a little bug....all bets are off.

[janet444]

Thanks, Brenda. That was fast!

I don't know how to upload the reports - or even understand much of them for that matter. But I will go upstairs to get my SD card so I can get the latest Sleepyhead stats.

I know my pressure last I checked was at about 9 most days, but I don't really know what that means. Also, very few leaks, all happening when I first put on the mask. And very few apneas and hypopneas, yay!

Will be back with more info, and more current info.

[janet444]

Okay, sorry but I have no idea how you guys are all uploading this data. I did download Sleepyhead. I used to be computer literate.

How do I upload the data? And which data should I upload?

It does say my AHI is 0.76, which sounds pretty good to me, based on what little I know. It was 22 without cpap.

Thanks!

Janet

[cflame1]

and what's your leak rate and your max leak?

[Pugsy]

This thread explains how we get our reports to show up on our posts.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=81072&p=737779#p737779

[chunkyfrog]

Welcome to the forum.
All the data is on the SD card in the back of the blower, right next to the filter cover.
Most computers either have a slot for SD cards or you can use a cheap generic card reader.

[janet444]

Okay, I tried using the snipping tool and then photobucket. Couldn't get it to work, finally occurred to me to use good old-fashioned cutting and pasting:


Details Most Recent Last 7 Days Last 30 Days Last 6 months Last Year
AHI 0.44 0.65 0.76 0.76 0.76
Hours per Night 09:10 07:16 06:53 06:53 06:53
Average Pressure 7.71 9.09 9.10 9.10 9.10
95% Pressure 11.98 12.96 12.88 12.88 12.88
Average Leaks 0.48 3.35 4.19 4.19 4.19
95% Leaks 4.80 20.40 26.40 26.40 26.40

Sorry, I put spaces between and when I preview this it's fine, but when it shows up on the forum, it's a pile of data smooshed together. I need to get off the PC, will try again later.

Janet

[Pugsy]

The daily detailed report is more informative than just the summary numbers.

95% numbers just mean that for 95% of the night you were at OR below that number and people tend to forget the OR BELOW part of the definition.

Your AHI is obviously fine.
95% leak number for last night obviously great...for the prior nights...we would have to see the actual detailed leak line to really evaluate those numbers. Sometimes a big leak for a short time really messes with the overall 95% leak number and makes it look like the whole night was bad leak when maybe it was only a short term big leak.
Same thing with the 95% pressure numbers.
See this thread with examples of why the 95% leak number looks worse than it is.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=86705&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=45

Photobucket has redone their website and it sucks now.
Still yet if you get the image uploaded there is a box of url addresses and it is the last line in the box that lets the image show up on the post here.
You copy that url address and paste it into the body of your post...you only see the address at first...the actual image doesn't show up till you either click on preview or actually submit.

This detailed report is a better way to evaluate each night.

[Julie]

If your humidifier is set to a higher number, try turning it down or even off - you don't 'need' it for therapy unless you feel the lack of it and many don't. It can make you feel congested (does for me) and think you're getting something.

[johnthomasmacdonald]

i can't say i ever feel good from cpap and I've been on it since Aug and only missed 3 nights of Sandy power outages. On friday my ahi was 38 ( the highest ever by over 10 pts - 17 points higher than with no cpap) while last night it was 2.3. Everything the same as far as i can tell. And i feel the same today as I did yesterday, no more or less rested, but no more or less rested than before i started cpap. I do feel that the cpap has played havoc with my sinuses. I now perpetually feel like i have a cold and have a runny or stuffed nose which i never did before.

[janet444]

John, have you checked with your doctor about that? It seems like using the machine should make you feel better.

Julie, thanks. I had the humidifier down to 1.5 and that was okay at first, but for some reason, after a few nights, I suddenly started getting an ice-cold nose. I got a lot of good help here, and was told to put the humidifier up, so now I'm up to 2.5 or 3. I guess I'll keep playing around. And I may end up getting the Climateline hose. The cold nose was bad enough to cause me to stop using the machine the nights I had it.

Brenda, thank you. I'll keep plugging away at getting that data up.

[janet444]

I think I did it:

[Pugsy]

You got it.
You know that report looks pretty darn good but good on paper doesn't guarantee good feeling during the day.

Some common things to look at.
I see 2 breaks in therapy on that report..one short and one really long. Is this common for you?
Is your sleep often fragmented?
How many hours of sleep do you typically get and is it always fragmented like that one long break?
Do you take any meds...even OTC?
Do you wake up briefly during the night fiddling with the mask or whatever...even short lived little awakenings?
Any issues with mask fit and comfort?
Any issues with bed comfort? Bed pillow comfort?
How is your sleep hygiene in general? Got any bad habits?
Any issues with body aches and pains?

You are essentially using the APAP wide open..is there a special reason for that? Though it isn't coming anywhere near the maximum some people are particularly sensitive to the variations of pressure during apap mode...maybe a tighter range or cpap mode should be considered if you feel the pressure changes are a disruptive factor to your sleep.

Finally...if you are really coming down with something...gotta wait till it is done before getting all excited about what we see on the reports. If you don't sleep well due to illness we just can't make any accurate assumptions about anything.

[cobra4x4]

I'll also chime in here ....

Its very common for people starting CPAP to feel good at first then feel like hell (Worse than before being on cpap), Its your body adjusting. Stick with it! this is quite often when people fail and just give up.
You will usually find very subtle changes (improvements) starting around the 1 month mark until one day it just feels great day after day.

Details Most Recent Last 7 Days Last 30 Days Last 6 months Last Year
95% Leaks 4.80 20.40 26.40 26.40 26.40
Janet

Leaks could also be a bit of an issue (although most recent is good) as most masks have a max. leak rate of 24.00, anything above that is bad.