not noticing too much difference from CPAP.

[H4X0R46]

To me it seems like I don't feel too much different while using the cpap machine. I don't get morning headaches, but that's about it. I've been on it for 4 or 5 months now, does it take longer? My doctor told me that it was because I was years behind sleep. Is that a thing? Thanks guys! My AHI is down to about 1 to 2 a night, so it must be doing SOMETHING.

[saltydawg2]

Sometimes I think it is important to remember where you came from, before deciding if you are there, yet. I kind of feel like you; no measurable point of reference. Still don't sleep all through the night, wake with dry mouth, and enjoy a nap when it works out. I have a 13 year old granddaughter that sees us weekly. She has seen me exhausted after work, wanting no more than to sit down, and not interact with her much. The other day, she commented I seemed happier, and stayed busy doing stuff when I got home. Guy at work accused me of whistling. Even my wife has noted more "honey do" things are being done. That list will never end. My overall attitude is better. If I can just get that sleeping thing, down... You might be doing better than you think.

[Pesser]

I’ve been on therapy for a year now. The only difference I have found is at waking up in the morning. I feel I have more energy. But I am still tired because I only get about 6 hours of sleep. Still need my naps but I don’t get them either. I rest with the machine on and then I can operate my business. It seems that my brain doesn’t want to sleep more than 6 hours and therapy is robing me of my naps! I think once I’ve made it to 7 hours I might be OK.

[Sleeprider]

To me it seems like I don't feel too much different while using the cpap machine. I don't get morning headaches, but that's about it. I've been on it for 4 or 5 months now, does it take longer? My doctor told me that it was because I was years behind sleep. Is that a thing? Thanks guys! My AHI is down to about 1 to 2 a night, so it must be doing SOMETHING.

Who promised you'd feel different? Do you feel tired, rundown, lack of energy? Different from what?

[BlackSpinner]

To me it seems like I don't feel too much different while using the cpap machine. I don't get morning headaches, but that's about it. I've been on it for 4 or 5 months now, does it take longer? My doctor told me that it was because I was years behind sleep. Is that a thing? Thanks guys! My AHI is down to about 1 to 2 a night, so it must be doing SOMETHING.

Yes it is a thing. Your organs have been starved and damaged for years. It takes time to repair them. It is not just about sleep or being tired. You don't have morning headaches because your brain is now getting cleaned up and no longer getting damaged. Your risk for dementia is reduced.

http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_iliff_one ... ht_s_sleep

[Wulfman...]

To me it seems like I don't feel too much different while using the cpap machine. I don't get morning headaches, but that's about it. I've been on it for 4 or 5 months now, does it take longer? My doctor told me that it was because I was years behind sleep. Is that a thing? Thanks guys! My AHI is down to about 1 to 2 a night, so it must be doing SOMETHING.

A great deal of the "recovery" has to do with how well a person's therapy is optimized (and that takes in the whole range of settings and options). The sooner the tweaking is perfected, the sooner the person feels the benefits.

It can take weeks to months. Can be somewhat instantaneous or come gradually and in stages. Everybody's different.


Den

.

[H4X0R46]

Thank you all for the quick responses, all great input! So more or less you guys are saying it may take more time of use before noticing a difference? And Sleeprider, I don't feel different in a sense that I'm always WASTED just sitting idle. Like, I always feel drained of energy and even dizzy at times.

[Julie]

That definitely sounds like something else going on, whether anemia, thyroid or other hormone problems, etc. etc... so get checked out.

[Sleeprider]

My original questions were to find out a little more about your success in controlling apnea and sleep disturbance to either work on improving that, or eliminate it as the most likely cause of ongoing problems. I think if you have controlled AHI to reasonable levels and you still lack energy, it's worth looking at other possibilities. I was feeling the same way and blood testing showed a problem that let me get some different therapy.

That is neither here nor there for you, but if you plug your symptoms into a search, a lot of possibilities come up that you might want to discuss with your regular doctor. It could be related to sleep disturbance, but it looks like that should be mostly resolved. Blood pressure, hormone deficiencies, Lyme's Disease, chronic fatigue syndrome and many other conditions can have the same symptoms.

[Drowsy Dancer]

Also, it might be worthwhile to see if anyone around you has noticed a difference. My husband said (in an unguarded moment) that the change in my disposition was like "night and day."

[tan]

To me it seems like I don't feel too much different while using the cpap machine. I don't get morning headaches, but that's about it. I've been on it for 4 or 5 months now, does it take longer? My doctor told me that it was because I was years behind sleep. Is that a thing? Thanks guys! My AHI is down to about 1 to 2 a night, so it must be doing SOMETHING.

Low AHI is only a necessary but not sufficient condition of feeling better. Can you post your sleephead charts here? Maybe it is not about AHI, maybe there is something else, like snoring or flow limitations.

[zoocrewphoto]

Thank you all for the quick responses, all great input! So more or less you guys are saying it may take more time of use before noticing a difference? And Sleeprider, I don't feel different in a sense that I'm always WASTED just sitting idle. Like, I always feel drained of energy and even dizzy at times.

It sounds like you have some improvements, but it may require some tweaking to get more improvements as well as more time. I feel a ton better than I used to before cpap, but I still struggle to sleep more than 4 hours straight. Most nights, I get 2-3 hours, a bathroom trip and 2-3 hours more. If I get to sleep more than 6 hours, it may be 2-3/3-4 split or 3-4/2-3 split. I was thrilled the night before last to have 6 hours straight. Then, last night, I went to bed at 7:30am, past my normal time of 4-6am. I slept until 3:00pm, and i feel great today. A rare really awesome night for me. I have found that while I have many improvements since cpap, the difference between a good night an awesome night is sleeping 6 hours or more straight. And I don't know what causes me to wake up sometimes. I do think I sleep much better when I go to sleep later. But then I usually get shorted since I can't normally sleep in as late as want. so, to get the hours of sleep, I have to go to bed before I am truly ready for a good night of sleep. I think this causes me to sleep too lightly when I go to bed too early.

Everybody has different things that disturb their sleep. It could be timing, temperature, sounds, light, leaks (sound and/or feel), congestion, etc. And they could also be other non sleep apnea things complicating your sleep as well. It is time to be a detective.

But first, I would suggest posting some graphs from your machine. There might be some patterns that will show some possible changes to help you.

[novatom]

I've been on CPAP for a little more than a month now. When I had my titration and was fitted for CPAP at the sleep clinic, I had trouble sleeping with the mask so I took a sleeping pill (which I thought was "cheating" but the clinic was fine with it). 6 hours later I woke up and as the effects of the sleeping pill wore off, I began to feel better than I had in years. It was almost like a natural high. It was the first time I had actually had some deep sleep in years and I'll never forget how I felt- like I could run a marathon.

Since then, I've had that feeling maybe once and I still keep hoping for that feeling again. It took me less than a week to be able to fall asleep with my nasal pillows. It's been up and down since then but I am feeling better in the morning and sleeping more hours. And friends are noticing that I'm not as irritable as I used to be.

It's funny, I have only really thought about how I feel as the ultimate goal. I didn't really think all that much about the damage that OSA was doing to my body until I watched a video of someone having a hypopnea. It was eye-opening to say the least. Once I saw that, I realized that it's not just how you feel that matters, it's the realization of how dangerous the condition really can be.

[musculus]

To me it seems like I don't feel too much different while using the cpap machine. I don't get morning headaches, but that's about it. I've been on it for 4 or 5 months now, does it take longer? My doctor told me that it was because I was years behind sleep. Is that a thing? Thanks guys! My AHI is down to about 1 to 2 a night, so it must be doing SOMETHING.

Most likely CPAP addressed the hypoxia so you don't have morning headache. However, your sleep quality has not improved much to make you feel better.

[Laurora]

I'm only about 3 weeks in and will confess that I definitely hoped to be springing out of bed each morning, feeling fully rested and ready to start the day. But most people are still a bit tired when the alarm goes off, even with a good night of sleep. My fiancé (a normal sleeper) confirmed that he normally still feels disinclined to leave the bed in the morning.

I'll say that the only difference I notice so far is my mood. But I'm very happy for this difference--usually I was able to be cheerful and positive at work, but completely drained and cranky by the time I arrived home. The fiancé, daughter, and dog all report that I am pleasant and even fun to be around in the evenings. I'm not saying I'm happy 100% of the time now, but little things like the traffic on the drive home, a mess in the house, annoying co-workers, all seem a bit less traumatic.

Start trying to pay attention to things like mood, memory, concentration, etc. You might notice a difference there! Noticing a difference is helpful I think, to encourage people to continue using the therapy. Good luck!