How long till you feel better (less sleepy, more energetic)?

aussiefilo · Post by **aussiefilo** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:36 pm

Hi guys. I'm a 27 year old male who got recently diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea. I started using my CPAP machine close to 3 weeks ago but I still haven't felt miraculously better as some people in this forum and elsewhere have described. I have been 100% compliant with CPAP. My current AHI is <5, 0.9 on some days, and according to the provider, my leaks are minimal and within the acceptable range.

I really need some inspiration here. Any success stories from people who didn't feel better immediately after they started CPAP, but eventually started feeling better after a few months or so?

Looking forward to your stories and thanks in advance to all that reply!

Krelvin · Post by **Krelvin** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:55 pm

Took me around 3 months which had me change machine, try a couple masks and figure out how to once again sleep on my stomach, how I have slept all of my life.

Julie · Post by **Julie** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:07 pm

Hi, can you give us your pressure settings - on which machine please - and what kind of mask do you use? Do you have software to track sleep overnight?

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:11 pm

aussiefilo wrote:Hi guys. I'm a 27 year old male who got recently diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea. I started using my CPAP machine close to 3 weeks ago but I still haven't felt miraculously better as some people in this forum and elsewhere have described. I have been 100% compliant with CPAP. My current AHI is <5, 0.9 on some days, and according to the provider, my leaks are minimal and within the acceptable range.

I really need some inspiration here. Any success stories from people who didn't feel better immediately after they started CPAP, but eventually started feeling better after a few months or so?

Looking forward to your stories and thanks in advance to all that reply!

I wish I had a dollar for every time this question has been asked.

It's "baby steps". And, everybody's different.

Read this to start. Lots of similar threads in the archives. Might search on the word "recovery" or something similar.

viewtopic/t106780/What-are-you-supposed ... ke-up.html

For me, the daytime sleepiness was the first to subside (within a few weeks). From then on, it was gradual and took months. I had sub 1.0 AHI numbers in the first week. But it depends on how long one has had OSA, how old the person is and how much damage it's done to the person's body (including other medical issues). The person's therapy needs to be optimized and they need to get a sufficient amount of sleep at night. I believe that at least 7 hours to be the bare minimum (average). My first year, my average was only about 6 1/2 hrs., but I had lots of projects going on at work which took lots of my time. But, I diligently worked at it and kept increasing it over time. Each year has averaged more. It's all about averages, too. One night or a few nights doesn't mean diddly squat.

Den

.

aussiefilo · Post by **aussiefilo** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:38 pm

I use Fisher & Paykel ICON PREMO with a setting of 5. Humidity is set around 4-5.

BlackSpinner · Post by **BlackSpinner** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:54 pm

Write a journal.. Before you star sit down and try to put youself back to a week before you got your cpap. Write out what a day was like, include your emotions and attitudes to everything. Be very detailed, include what you ate, what exactly you did and how you felt about each thing. Put it aside and don`t look at it again for two weeks.
Now everyday write something about your day, what you did and how you felt about things. In two weeks read your original document and compare it. Do the same thing in a month.

And remember it can take 3 to 6 months for the damage to your organs, including your brain, to be repaired. A lot of the brain healing will be reflected in subtle emotional and intellectual shifts.

SewTired · Post by **SewTired** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:23 pm

aussiefilo wrote:Hi guys. I'm a 27 year old male who got recently diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea. I started using my CPAP machine close to 3 weeks ago but I still haven't felt miraculously better as some people in this forum and elsewhere have described. I have been 100% compliant with CPAP. My current AHI is <5, 0.9 on some days, and according to the provider, my leaks are minimal and within the acceptable range.

I really need some inspiration here. Any success stories from people who didn't feel better immediately after they started CPAP, but eventually started feeling better after a few months or so?

Looking forward to your stories and thanks in advance to all that reply!

I'm only slightly ahead of you. I still have interrupted sleep and don't sleep long enough. Today I have dark circles under my eyes because my current mask leaked for a long time last night. So, right now it's a struggle. My AHI has been below 1 for all but 2 days since the first week. However, I am no longer taking 2 naps a day. It's more like 2 naps a week (except today when I'm too tired to nap). So, I know it's helping, but I think I'm a long way from feeling 'refreshed'. Anyway, hang in there. You read enough on the forum and you will find a lot of people that didn't feel GREAT the first few months. Hopefully, both of us will be in the refreshed group soon.

Julie · Post by **Julie** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:10 pm

I will say that your 5 setting is pretty low, just barely above the default machine setting of 4, and if you know how to bump it by a couple of #'s to e.g. 7 and see how you feel then it wouldn't hurt and could possibly help.

Kakkles · Post by **Kakkles** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:14 pm

IM feeling like I am MORE tired during the day than ever before! I sleep ok at night...still not the best sleep...waking a few times with slight mask leak....I sleep 8 hrs average...AHI around 0.6

I feel so exhausted during the day...i don't want to nap, because then I won't sleep at night...and daytime napping makes me feel sick....

Is it normal to feel more tired than you did before you even started? I am only about 4 days in....

BlackSpinner · Post by **BlackSpinner** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:29 pm

Kakkles wrote:IM feeling like I am MORE tired during the day than ever before! I sleep ok at night...still not the best sleep...waking a few times with slight mask leak....I sleep 8 hrs average...AHI around 0.6

I feel so exhausted during the day...i don't want to nap, because then I won't sleep at night...and daytime napping makes me feel sick....

Is it normal to feel more tired than you did before you even started? I am only about 4 days in....

Yes for some people. Sometimes it takes time for your body/mind to trust the thing on your face and let you sleep deeply and well. Also for the first 4 weeks I slept like a log for 10-12 hours, I craved sleep, my body needed it to rebuild.

If you do take a nap, wear your cpap machine. I have never been able to nap either - I feel groggy and sick if I do.

Kakkles · Post by **Kakkles** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:33 pm

Thanks BlackSpinner...

I guess its all adjusting eh....I am trying to keep positive..I know i NEED to have this...so I'm determined to make it work.....

aussiefilo · Post by **aussiefilo** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:56 pm

Yesterday I took an hour nap without the machine. Felt worse!!!

BlackSpinner wrote:
Kakkles wrote:IM feeling like I am MORE tired during the day than ever before! I sleep ok at night...still not the best sleep...waking a few times with slight mask leak....I sleep 8 hrs average...AHI around 0.6

I feel so exhausted during the day...i don't want to nap, because then I won't sleep at night...and daytime napping makes me feel sick....

Is it normal to feel more tired than you did before you even started? I am only about 4 days in....
Yes for some people. Sometimes it takes time for your body/mind to trust the thing on your face and let you sleep deeply and well. Also for the first 4 weeks I slept like a log for 10-12 hours, I craved sleep, my body needed it to rebuild.

If you do take a nap, wear your cpap machine. I have never been able to nap either - I feel groggy and sick if I do.

aussiefilo · Post by **aussiefilo** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:57 pm

Is there a point to increasing the pressure if my AHI is really low?

Julie wrote:I will say that your 5 setting is pretty low, just barely above the default machine setting of 4, and if you know how to bump it by a couple of #'s to e.g. 7 and see how you feel then it wouldn't hurt and could possibly help.

aussiefilo · Post by **aussiefilo** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:59 pm

The very first night I had the machine at home (and also during the sleep study) I didn't wake up feeling refreshed, but I did feel refreshed after being awake for a few hours. However after that I would say I feel pretty average.

Kakkles wrote:IM feeling like I am MORE tired during the day than ever before! I sleep ok at night...still not the best sleep...waking a few times with slight mask leak....I sleep 8 hrs average...AHI around 0.6

I feel so exhausted during the day...i don't want to nap, because then I won't sleep at night...and daytime napping makes me feel sick....

Is it normal to feel more tired than you did before you even started? I am only about 4 days in....

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 10:27 pm

aussiefilo wrote:Is there a point to increasing the pressure if my AHI is really low?

probably not, but I think that sleepyhead reads the data from your machine, having a look at the data would eliminate a lot of guesses.

How long till you feel better (less sleepy, more energetic)?

How long till you feel better (less sleepy, more energetic)?

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Re: How long till you feel better (less sleepy, more energetic)?

Re: How long till you feel better (less sleepy, more energetic)?

Re: How long till you feel better (less sleepy, more energetic)?

Re: How long till you feel better (less sleepy, more energetic)?

Re: How long till you feel better (less sleepy, more energetic)?

Re: How long till you feel better (less sleepy, more energetic)?

Re: How long till you feel better (less sleepy, more energetic)?