newbie having difficulty adjusting

SleepyMon · Post by **SleepyMon** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 9:28 pm

I'm having a tough time adjusting to my CPAP. I've had my machine 2 weeks now.

For the first four days, I used the CPAP all night. My Activa mask is comfy and I get a good seal with it; the machine is quiet and doesn't bother me. Still, I had a hard time falling asleep and it seemed to me that I never got to a deep sleep. Instead of helping, I felt the groggiest I've ever felt during that period. And then I got a sinus and throat infection, so I skipped the CPAP for about 4 days. (CPAP related? Dunno.)

Now that I'm feeling better, I'm trying the CPAP again. I don't want to get as exhausted as I was after the first round, so I decided to wear the mask from bedtime until I wake up to use the bathroom sometime in the middle of my sleep. I've done the 50/50 usage for the last 3-4 nights and I'm not as exhausted as my first try. I still don't feel like I ever get to a deep sleep with the CPAP on and I only have dreams in the part of the night where I don't wear the mask.

I have watched the data on my ResMed S8 and my AHI indices are very low. Of course, I'm not surprised I don't have apnea if I don't really get to sleep with the darn thing on.

I really embraced the idea of using a CPAP because I'm often tired during the day, so I want this to work. What can I do to adjust better?

For the record, my pressure is 8, I'm a side/stomach sleeper, and I don't have a problem sleeping with my mouth closed to maintain the pressure.

Any ideas will be very much appreciated.

Monica

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:09 pm

Get out your User manual and find the Ramp or Setting feature. Which one you use depends if your S8 is the autopap version or not.

The idea would be to set a low pressure of 5 or 6cm as your low setting then use the Ramp or Settling feature to ramp up after the timer expires. This allows you to more redily fall asleep.

You can also take like a TylenolPM or something to help you fall asleep, a fan blowing on you at low speed also helps if it is warm.

Getting a sore throat is normal a few weeks after starting cpap, are you using the humidifier? If it is warm you may want the heat part off and just use it as a passover. This helps prevent the throat from drying out.

woozle · Post by **woozle** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:18 pm

I have been using for about 2 months now and after about 3 weeks, I started getting tired during the day - not like before cpap - kind of a different tired - like I was catching up on my sleep and not being deprived - it has gotten better and my ahi are at 2 or below every night - You may want to fup w/ your doctor, but if your ahi levels are good - then it could be your body just 'asking' for more and more real sleep after finally getting some! I have had all sorts of body reactions to this and they have all pretty much gone away - except for sinus probs' but that is a different story! anyway - sounds like you are trying hard - good luck!!!

sleepylady · Post by **sleepylady** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:44 am

Monica,

Some times it takes awhile to get used to CPAP. Using it for half the night is a good start. Try to increase that time as much as you can. You want to work towards being 100% compliant. In the beginning I had a hard time falling asleep, but it got better. For me it was a matter of getting some white noise in the room. Even though the machine is pretty quiet, the noise itself isn't soothing. Masking that helped a great deal. Also, I found a mask that allows me to NOT have any straps on my face. To me this helped a great deal. I have a nasal pillow mask that just butts up to the nose. You may want to try another lighter mask to see if this helps. I had the Activa and to me it was just too heavy.

Just remember...you're doing great!!!!

Melinda

SleepyMon · Post by **SleepyMon** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:20 pm

I guess I'm doing the right things...our ceiling fan is on, I've been taking a cough medicine that makes me sleepy at bedtime, and I've been using the ramp feature.

If I want to try a nasal pillow style mask, would I have to purchase it myself? When he set me up, my DME said I was entitled to new seals every 3 months and a new mask every 6 months. I don't know how these companies deal with people searching for the right style of mask.

Woozle: I know exactly what you mean when you talk about being a different kind of tired. So glad I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Thanks for the help everybody.

Monica

roster · Post by **roster** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:50 pm

Try turning your heated humidifier up one notch each night and observe what happens. Mine is set on the next to highest setting during the winter. I drop it down two notches during the summer because our climate is humid. After I made these settings my sinus problems cleared up, my lifelong allergies are greatly relieved and I have not had a cold in the six months of cpap therapy. I have joked that if they ever find a cure for osa I will still use cpap for the sinus/allergy benefits.

Good luck and keep us informed on your progress.

rooster

SleepyMon · Post by **SleepyMon** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 8:35 pm

Thanks for the tip, Rooster. I have terrible allergies, was using a setting of 2 out of 4 or 5 on the humidifier. I'll bump things up a notch and see what happens tonight.

Monica

SleepyMon · Post by **SleepyMon** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 5:57 pm

Turning up the humidity worked wonders! I slept through the night and had my first dreams, i.e. REM sleep, with the cpap on. I guess I was too cautious on the humidity setting before.

Thank you all!\

roster · Post by **roster** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 8:10 pm

Good for you!

kurtchan · Post by **kurtchan** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 6:11 am

Sounds like all the good advice you've received really paid off! I was very wary of setting the humidifier too high, especially having started with the CPAP in early June when the outdoor humidity is so high. Guess what? My humidifier is turned up to the next-to-highest setting and will remain there throughout the summer. After nearly a month, I finally had the first dream that I can remember in more than 10 years!

Keep up the good work and don't despair!

Kurtchan