Chances of Sleep Returning to Normal?

[KarD786]

Hello all. So I was diagnosed with sleep apnea a week ago with an AHI of 14 and just had my titration study yesterday. Although I slept a lot better during the titration study than I did during the initial diagnosis study, I still woke up once at 1AM and once at 5:30AM in which we ended the study early. Even with my apnea, while at home I am able to sleep through the night and am usually awoken when it becomes light outside. My question is about returning to my old sleep habits once the treatment gets effective. I used to be an extremely deep sleeper, often using the snooze button 3-4 times before waking up. This deep sleep is what I became used to, and allowed me to feel refreshed every morning. Once the treatment does get effective, should my sleep habits return to the way they were before? I am hoping that I initially am able to get through the night with the CPAP mask once it does get in. Fortunately, although it was a discomfort, it is something that I believe I will be able to tolerate. I still felt pretty crappy this morning, but I am sure I need about two-three weeks of good sleep before I start feeling like normal again. I am 21 years old and am in the final semesters of obtaining my finance degree, and right now I have lost all motivation, concentration, and drive for life. I was hoping to hear some experiences on if people were able to return to their sleep patterns before apnea after treatment. To my knowledge, I have have had apnea for under a year, but it was masked by a thyroid condition. Thanks for any insight.

[KylaManhattan]

Hello. It didn't happen right away, but eventually, I found that I was sleeping both longer and more deeply than I had in quite a while. (I suspect I was suffering with apnea for several years before diagnosis.) I'd estimate it took me two to three months to get to that point. YMMV

Good luck, and let us know how you do.

[archangle]

Welcome to the board.

Unfortunately, your mileage may vary.

Some people almost immediately reach sleep nirvana after starting CPAP.

Some people have trouble sleeping with the strangeness of the mask and pressure for a while.

Some people, even though their CPAP is "working," have a period of adjustment where their body has adjusted to being strangled during the night. When you start breathing well all night long, your body is sort of out of balance for a while, and you have to readjust. You may feel funny, or feel tired all the time, or need a lot of sleep. This usually goes away in a few weeks.

Some people don't get their CPAP adjusted right and don't eliminate their apnea right away. Some have problems like leaks, gas, etc. Sometimes, you have to do some tinkering. You may find the doctor and DME aren't really that helpful and you have to take charge of your own therapy and fight with them to solve your problems.

A small percentage of the people are never able to get it right. Some because they don't get the right help, and don't learn how to fix their problems. Some people just don't adapt. I think most people can get it to work if they try hard and learn what to do.

You should be able to get yourself back to "normal" non-apnea sleep. However, even non-apneacs sometimes have sleep problems. It sounds like your odds are good if you do it right.

Important: Read through the links in my signature line to improve your odds of getting your therapy done right, and most importantly, not let yourself get screwed by getting the wrong equipment and poor treatment. You need to get the right machine that records full data to allow you or your doctor to monitor your apnea in your home. Many DME's will try to screw you with a machine that doesn't record treatment data. They'll also lie to you and tell you the machine is data capable when all it does is record on-off times.

If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go check for yourself.

[kteague]

For you to remember only a 1:30 and 5:30 wakeup on your titration night is impressive. With all the wires, new sensations, and being in unfamiliar surroundings, you did very well. Hopefully that's an indicator of your ability to adjust fairly quickly. If your apnea was disrupting your sleep before CPAP, I suspect you'll experience even deeper sleep once you settle in. Your sleep study should show you how many arousals you were having before, but we don't usually remember them. If you have persistent wakings on CPAP, there are some general things you can consider to optimize your sleep, so let us know if it becomes a need.

[KarD786]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm really hoping I can get my deep sleep back. The sleep architecture from the first study showed 4.9% in delta sleep and 10% in rem sleep while the deficit was given to stage 2 (80%). from my understanding, my delta and rem should both be at 20% as I'm a young adult (21 years old). They said it takes about three weeks to get the CPAP which I find ridiculous but I can't complain. I was hoping to get it sooner since I begin school again August 18th and want as much time prior to adjust. I am reaching my final semesters of my finance undergrad and the last thing I can worry about during that time is if I'll be able to sleep

[archangle]

You might get some temporary partial relief by sleeping on your side or stomach or sleeping in a recliner, but you need the CPAP for real relief.

[kteague]

Just a reminder to do your homework so that 3 weeks to get the machine doesn't turn into longer if it's an unacceptable machine. Ask them the full and exact model name they plan to give you so you can check back to see if it's one that will meet your data needs. In the 2 major brands, in regards to data, you do NOT want anything with the word Plus in a Respironics or the word Escape in a ResMed.

[Pugsy]

http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/

http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/what-y ... me-part-i/

http://adventures-in-hosehead-land.blog ... -with.html

Use your waiting time for education. Start reading about machines and what to expect from your insurance and DMEs.
Some really good information in the blogs above created by forum members Janknitz and RobySue.