Getting frustrated.

[Dangar]

I have been using my machine for almost 3 months. I am still feeling tired, sluggish and mentally foggy.
I have read many post of people reacting right away to therapy.
I am feeling more tired than before.
I have been using the hose every night. I am sleeping better but I am waiting for the light at the
end of the tunnel.
How long before I can get some energy back?

[Pugsy]

When people aren't feeling as good as they expect to feel we usually tell them to start evaluating multiple possible factors.

First being the therapy itself using software. Do you have the software? If not get it and use it. Sleepyhead will work with your machine.
Pugsy's Pointers...software install tips viewtopic/t88972/Pugsys-PointersSoftwar ... hints.html
Pugsy's Pointers... understanding your data viewtopic/t88983/Pugsys-PointersSleepyH ... nding.html

Assuming Windows computer...
Make sure you get the files dated May 19, 2013 Beta version 0.9.3 at this link
http://sourceforge.net/projects/sleepyhead/files/

If you have a Mac...get Jimbo's Mac build.

ResScan is available which is ResMed's software...send me a private message if you want it. Windows only software though.

So evaluate therapy first....does anything scream out "fix me"...post your reports here for someone to explain them if you need help.
If you look good on paper then we start looking at other stuff and there is a long list of things that can impact how a person feels or doesn't feel.

Hours of sleep...is it enough to even expect to feel better assuming the software reports are looking good? I see people only getting 5 hours of sleep and wondering why they don't feel like superman...that's simply not enough hours of sleep for the restorative powers of sleep to do their job.
The hours of sleep you do get...is it fragmented with a lot of wake ups for any reason? If so, that can and will make us feel awful the next day even if we didn't have OSA.
Do you take any meds? even OTC because often side effects from meds make us feel not so great the next day and the best cpap therapy in the world can't fix a problem that is unrelated to sleep apnea.
Other possible factors impacting quality of sleep....mask issues, leaks, bed comfort, bed pillow comfort and so on.
Other possible factors impacting how a person feels that are unrelated to sleep apnea.....general health issues, pain, hormones, etc.

So lots of detective work is sometimes needed.

How long does it take? Unknown because we don't know what might be going on. It might just be a thing where it takes whatever time it takes...that's a frustrating one I know....but while you are giving it time you can use that time to make sure that something else isn't also messing with how you feel.

[MagsterMile]

Lately I've been avg about 5-6 hrs of sleep until last night. Only 2 hrs. First time happened in quite a while. With the 5+ hrs, I've really felt rested. But today, feeling a little 'slow' on the uptake. For some, it's going to take a long time to start feeling better. I did have Pizza for dinner last night. Perhaps digesting too much fat has taken a toll.

[DreamDiver]

You've probably already heard this from someone else before, but sleep hygiene considerations can help.

• No large meals just before bed.
• Wind down your day before bed. (No horror flicks, no double latte mocha java 'foo foo' coffee.)
• Turn off all lights. Tape over or cover as many LED's on electronic gadgets in your bedroom as possible, especially blue LED's.
• Use ear-plugs if noises wake you. Or listen to a story you are familiar with on CD if you do better with a little noise. I get Books on CD/MP3 from the local library. You'd be surprised how soporific A Tale of Two Cities can be. (Or maybe not.)
• Use the same routine for bedtime every night.

What you eat during the day can effect your sleep at night, even showing up in your AHI.
Booze, sugar, fat, all the sinful delicious stuff comes with a sleep cost for some of us, so moderation can be key.

It takes some of us longer to get there. I'm one of those.
Someday, hopefully soon, you will be out of the woods.
Take it from someone who is already here. Hang in there.
One day you'll wake up and realize you're in the clearing.
Persistence is key.

[Dangar]

Thank you for your words of encouragement. Hopefully I will feel better soon.
What I cannot understand is how come I feel more tired if I am sleeping sounder.
I sleep about 7 - 8 hours a night. It baffles me that I wake up feeling worse than before
I started using the machine. It is illogical that having better sleep results in more tiredness.

[Papit]

Thank you for your words of encouragement. Hopefully I will feel better soon.
What I cannot understand is how come I feel more tired if I am sleeping sounder.
I sleep about 7 - 8 hours a night. It baffles me that I wake up feeling worse than before
I started using the machine. It is illogical that having better sleep results in more tiredness.

Yep, it does sound 'illogical'. You're getting good advice here. Have you thought about maybe also talking with a doc about this?

[Pugsy]

No, it doesn't make sense that you should feel worse but you aren't the first to have this happen.
How about we take a look at the software reports just in case something shows up there that might be a possible factor???

Gotta start somewhere .... let's make sure that the therapy part of things is optimal.

[Stormynights]

I remember when I was young and some nights when I was really tired I slept hard. I'm not sure how to describe it exactly. As I have gotten older I became a light sleeper. Now I have an occasional night when I sleep hard and it isn't easy to get going in the morning. It isn't like a bad night but more like I really needed deep sleep sound sleep. I hope this makes sense. I am not good at describing things.

[DoriC]

+1 - What Pugsy said about software. IMHO having data to analyze is essential to successful therapy. Sometimes it takes only a small adjustment to find your "sweet spot". Or your mask may be leaking so you're not getting optimal pressure. Looking at the data can tell you what's going on and how to correct problems. It takes some patience but you'll get there.

[Dangar]

+1 - What Pugsy said about software. IMHO having data to analyze is essential to successful therapy. Sometimes it takes only a small adjustment to find your "sweet spot". Or your mask may be leaking so you're not getting optimal pressure. Looking at the data can tell you what's going on and how to correct problems. It takes some patience but you'll get there.

what do you look for in the data? Just pressure , leaks ans episodes?

[Sir NoddinOff]

Welcome to the forum Dangar. When I first arrived at CPAPtalk I had some problems feeling rested and people here suggested I get tested for thyroid function, diabetes, auto-immune diseases, neurological function related to night time breathing and so forth. My point is that maybe it's not your CPAP therapy but some underlying physical problem. I hope that's not the case but it doesn't do any harm to check all the possibilities. However before you resort to that, as Pugsy mentioned, be sure to get your software usage up to par and let some folks here on the forum look it over. If that doesn't eventually solve your daytime drowsiness problems after a few months have elapsed, then consider talking to your doctor about getting a series of basic blood work panels done. The human body is complicated and it can take a while to get all the issues sorted out. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress. Also: My problem turned out to be that it took me a long time to 'trust' the machine to help me breath. By long time I mean months and months. I also had some thyroid issues related to sleeplessness, however they all went away when my sleep patterns improved.

[zoocrewphoto]

+1 - What Pugsy said about software. IMHO having data to analyze is essential to successful therapy. Sometimes it takes only a small adjustment to find your "sweet spot". Or your mask may be leaking so you're not getting optimal pressure. Looking at the data can tell you what's going on and how to correct problems. It takes some patience but you'll get there.

Or you amount of sleep and low number of apnea events looks good, but the events you are having are very long. That is what happened with my mom. Everything seemed fine, but it wasn't doing enough, and she didn't know it.

[Pugsy]

what do you look for in the data? Just pressure , leaks ans episodes?

This is what I look at in SleepyHead.
I first look at the AHI and the breakdown of event categories. Then I look at the events graph on the upper right side to get an idea as to when the events happened...I look for any clusters of events. If there are clusters of obstructive nature events often...maybe the pressure is not quite optimal. There could be a sleeping position component going on or REM stage sleep or even combination of both.
Remember Centrals (Clear airway events) we don't treat the same way as obstructive events...so if mainly centrals are what compose the AHI..we can't fix those with more pressure.

Then I look at the leak line itself. A quick glance to see if I spent much time in large leak territory...with your S9 machine that would be above 24 L/min.
Sometimes the leak line bounces all over the place but doesn't ever really spend much time in large leak territory...so technically the leaks are considered within acceptable limits but sometimes the bouncing around all over the place could point to poor sleep quality...maybe some arousals.

The pressure line is useful when using auto adjusting pressure mode....is it being maxed out?
If fixed pressures are being used then the pressure line will be boring...nothing to really gain from it with the straight lines.

I look at the Flow limitation graph to see if it shows a lot of activity and the same thing with the snore graph. If they are boring and not showing much activity...not much to look at. My own personal FL graph...never shows very much activity no matter if I used the S9 or the PR S1 (which flags Flow limitations differently than your S9).

It takes time and experience to be able to quickly evaluate what you are seeing. There's no need to go worrying about all those other graphs that SleepyHead is showing. Most of them are not going to be showing anything exciting because there's a wide range in normal values in every one of them. They can overwhelm a person.
Just stick to the basics for now.
Events, pressure, leaks, pattern to events, and FL or snores if they are showing activity....and hours of sleep...

Once we establish that the therapy looks good at least on paper...then we start investigating other possible factors in not feeling so great. The list for those possible culprits is very long.