4 months into cpap, experiencing a lot of emotions.

[cichyb]

41 year old male, married 20 years, severe obrstructive sleep apena with hypona. 105.6 times per hour, oxygen dropping to 75%. Been on Cpap for 4 months now. I have 5 children. Ive always been the rock in the family, sometimes not the best Dad or Husband but Ive always tried to do whats right and fair. Dad was in military for 30 years, grew up in that mentality. Well 4 months in I am experiencing emotions Im not used to, or never knew could come out of me. Im more emotional, I cry at normal stuff people would, that I would never. I find myself saying sorry, I understand, or yes you are right. Spending more time doing stuff outside. Reminiscing about the past and things I wish I would of done better, areas I wished I could of been better at but refused to care about it. What Im trying to say is that my mind is becoming something Im not used to. I know my doctor told me that I would feel like I would be getting my life back in 4-6 months, but what does that mean? Who knows how long Ive had sleep apnea? So what would I deem as getting my life back?

confused.---but I feel great.

[Sleeprider]

Well, it's pretty cool you're busy and getting in touch with your inner self, but I'm not sure how related the emotional discovery is to apnea. Come-on man, why do you think the rest of us ride motorcycles or drive sports cars? This is mid-life crisis crap, and it's our job as men to suppress, hide and otherwise not let on the fact we might have emotions and vulnerabilities. Now you come in here and spill the beans? Jeeze, that tear at the movies was just a passing sneeze that didn't happen.

I don't know. Raising five kids, and living life might allow an occasional grip on the emotional front we put up. Wait until parents and close family start to die. You're allowed this luxury to have regrets, and miss those you love. If it's something you're uncomfortable with, some real one on one with a friend or counselor is probably better than a forum, but I don't think you're alone. Do you really think this is about CPAP, or have you been too tired to feel?

[kteague]

Everyone's comeback is unique to their own situation. Untreated sleep apnea can deplete our physical and emotional resources. To me it was like being the living dead - going through the motions of living but not feeling much. It took everything I had to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. The only emotions strong enough to pierce the fog were usually negative ones. When I began to recover a bit, I remember the first time I heard myself laugh - really laugh - and it sounded foreign. It had been a long time. I would call what you describe a sense of coming alive, reawakening. If your sleep apnea was long standing, maybe you are just now beginning to discover the real you. The only time I might consider these emotions a problem is if the emotions are to the point of interfering with life. One who was already on a mood medicine might want to consider if their meds need adjusted. Otherwise, enjoy!

[sthnreb]

RANT. I agree with you kteague

[49er]

41 year old male, married 20 years, severe obrstructive sleep apena with hypona. 105.6 times per hour, oxygen dropping to 75%. Been on Cpap for 4 months now. I have 5 children. Ive always been the rock in the family, sometimes not the best Dad or Husband but Ive always tried to do whats right and fair. Dad was in military for 30 years, grew up in that mentality. Well 4 months in I am experiencing emotions Im not used to, or never knew could come out of me. Im more emotional, I cry at normal stuff people would, that I would never. I find myself saying sorry, I understand, or yes you are right. Spending more time doing stuff outside. Reminiscing about the past and things I wish I would of done better, areas I wished I could of been better at but refused to care about it. What Im trying to say is that my mind is becoming something Im not used to. I know my doctor told me that I would feel like I would be getting my life back in 4-6 months, but what does that mean? Who knows how long Ive had sleep apnea? So what would I deem as getting my life back?

confused.---but I feel great.

Sounds what you are experiencing is very normal. After one of my rare good nights of sleep on the pap machine (long story which no one should be alarmed by since my situation is unusual), I had the energy to replace a light bulb closet which had been neglected for months. I started crying because it was so depressing to me that lack of sleep could cause me to have so much difficulty with routine tasks.

I think what I am trying to say is when you have been in a daze with lack of sleep and then start seeing the world in living color, your emotions come back to life and may seem extreme for certain situations. But things do eventually get back to normal.

49er

[Julie]

Want to make something clear - the great majority of people whose 02 sats drop below 90 on testing do NOT go on to use supplemental oxygen with Cpap! I think it's important to understand that once you're on Cpap you should be fine, even if you have the occasional low 02 drop, so please do not assume you'll need 02 anytime soon. I also think that for whatever reason (midlife or more personal) you've had crying spells, etc., they're a sign of depression and you might talk to your MD about those... keeping in mind that any meds you get for it need to be checked carefully for their effect on OSA and/or Cpap. You don't want to get caught up in a meds vs sleep mess as others have.

[chunkyfrog]

Welcome to the light! Getting enough, useful sleep can change your life.
Dragging along, barely functional, is no fun at all.
You can ignore little pains that increase so gradually that you never notice them until
they are suddenly removed, and the relief is so intense you weep. Been there.
So happy you are climbing out of the pit!

[sthnreb]

RANT

[Julie]

Actually it's 88 or above, but my point was that whatever you're tested at (or even whatever you get at home with an oximeter on occasion) is not an automatic go-to for 02. There are people who need it for various reasons (concomitant COPD, etc.) but most of us had 02 desats when tested and don't use ongoing 02 with our C or Apaps.

[chunkyfrog]

We are all different. I know of an individual whose O2 was so low the EMT's freaked,
yet she was barely symptomatic.

[sthnreb]

RANT...Ridum Pale

[palerider]

Want to make something clear - the great majority of people whose 02 sats drop below 90 on testing do NOT go on to use supplemental oxygen with Cpap!

I was never put on oxygen Julie, it was just a drop at the time. However my point was mine dropped below 90, his was down to 75% which is more dangerous and needed attention. You are expected to have 92% or above.

Julie's statement is completely correct.

it doesn't matter if your o2 drops into the 50s without cpap, or even worse. for most people, their o2 levels are fine once they're properly treated on cpap.

[sthnreb]

RANT....Hoss, Hoss, Hoss.

[Pugsy]

I think the reported 75% was pre cpap and the results shown during the diagnostic sleep study only and doesn't mean that someone has been on cpap for 4 months and still has desats to 75%.
Unless someone has some major lung issues and the desats were unrelated to sleep apnea then in most situations once effective cpap therapy is started the desats no longer happen. Usually this is documented and/or looked at during the titration sleep study.
Now of course if the titration study showed a problem with oxygen levels even with effective cpap therapy then further investigation is needed as to what might be going on.
But just because someone goes to 75% without cpap doesn't always mean a major big deal once someone has initiated effective cpap therapy. My sleep study pointed to 73% desats without cpap but the titration study showed no significant desats and follow up overnight pulse oximetry testing confirmed that as long as I use a cpap machine my oxygen levels are quite normal.

[palerider]

SpO2 ... arrest."

well, you've proven your ability to cut and paste something off the internet without attribution, bravo... though I think that might, in some circles, be called plagiarism.

I believe I've heard that generally medicare won't provide supplemental o2 until your levels are below 88%.

regardless... Julie's statement was completely correct.