A general question from a new CPAP user

[loghouse]

I've been on CPAP now for just over a week. With help from some folks here I believe I have my machine dialed in pretty well. Been sleeping like the dead, and average AHI has dropped from 54 on the first night of my sleep study to averaging just over 2 over the last week. haven't had any significant issues with nose pillows fitting, leaking, or coming off. and I've gotten from 6 to over 10 hours of undisturbed sleep per night (average of about 7-1/2).

My question is, about how long does it take to start seeing real energy boosts and recovery from decades of insomnia/apnea/sleep deprivation? I've noticed some very positive things already (not yawning all day long, not getting up at night at all to pee - as opposed to my usual 1-3 trips, feeling more alert). I'm not looking to run a marathon next week or anything, but would like to "get going" with exercising again and being active. The Doc has given blessings, but after work all day - which is a desk job, I'm still pretty burnt out. Am I expecting too much, or is this a weeks/months recovery and I just need to be patient a bit longer? I had high hopes going into this . . .

[49er]

I've been on CPAP now for just over a week. With help from some folks here I believe I have my machine dialed in pretty well. Been sleeping like the dead, and average AHI has dropped from 54 on the first night of my sleep study to averaging just over 2 over the last week. haven't had any significant issues with nose pillows fitting, leaking, or coming off. and I've gotten from 6 to over 10 hours of undisturbed sleep per night (average of about 7-1/2).

My question is, about how long does it take to start seeing real energy boosts and recovery from decades of insomnia/apnea/sleep deprivation? I've noticed some very positive things already (not yawning all day long, not getting up at night at all to pee - as opposed to my usual 1-3 trips, feeling more alert). I'm not looking to run a marathon next week or anything, but would like to "get going" with exercising again and being active. The Doc has given blessings, but after work all day - which is a desk job, I'm still pretty burnt out. Am I expecting too much, or is this a weeks/months recovery and I just need to be patient a bit longer? I had high hopes going into this . . .

Hi loghouse,

The answer is it varies for each person as to when you will start seeing the energy boosts you refer to. So yes, patience is called for. Hang in there.

49er

[Goofproof]

That is something that has too many variables to compute, it takes what it takes. All we can do is get our treatment the best we can, eat healthy, exercise if we can, and get on with our life. For most of us, the problem was found after many years of damage, as we age it gets harder to repair the damage, at least we can make the best of the rest of our lives.

We also need to realize we are still aging, that causes more problems, and not all our problems are Sleep Apnea related. Jim

[Pugsy]

Ahhh...you were wanting the overnight miracle that you hear about.
That little elusive miracle is actually fairly rare and not common.

If you broke your leg and had a cast put on it do you think it would be all healed in one week?
Of course not...the body doesn't heal that way and the same thing applies to healing the damage done by prolonged periods of sleep apnea.

One week is way too soon to except the miracle.
When will it happen to you? We have no way of knowing because this is another one of the many things regarding cpap that comes with a really big YMMV sticker.
It takes time to heal and often there are other issues going on that may not even be related to sleep apnea.
Some people it can take weeks...some months...some years and some never get the miracle. I know it's not what you wanted to hear but it's the truth. I have been on cpap for over 7 years now and I can count on one hand the number of "miracles" that I can say I felt.
But I am still HUGELY better than I was pre cpap even without the "miracle".
I tell people that while I still don't wake up rearing to go run a marathon...at least I don't wake up feeling like I just ran one and got run over by a bus at the end of it.

Most people report a more gradual improvement over a period of time and that period of time varies widely.

[SewTired]

The most dramatic improvements seem to be done by about 3 months, but lots of posters have reported subtle improvements beyond that. In my case. The thing is, at about 3 months, if you are STILL having a lot of problems, you may need to start searching for other causes beyond apnea. For instance, restless legs or simply not sleeping long enough. What about sleep hygiene? What does Sleephead tell you about your sleep patterns? That sort of thing.

That's GREAT that you are seeing immediate improvements. I also found that I went from bathroom visits 4-5 times a night to once or none. When I started visiting the bathroom more times at night months after improvement, it took me awhile to figure out that it wasn't the cpap issue, but my blood sugar. It was all sorts of out of whack at night, so I'm on insulin now.

[loghouse]

Thanks, everyone, for the insights. I'll give it time and stick with it. Keeping fingers crossed that the last few nights are a good indicator as to what a typical night will be.
Pleasant Dreams . . .

[D.H.]

I felt immediate and dramatic improvement the second morning. However, This is fairly unusual, it takes most patients longer. For some patients it might take six months or more. If it comes gradually, it's less noticeable, but just as real.

[Sheriff Buford]

I had my "ah-ha" morning around day 17. I've been around here long enough to know that it was an exception. I can't explain how grateful I was for that morning. I suspect most folks get a gradual improvement, and to me, it appears that you are already experiencing the gradual improvement. Anyway, keep it up!

Sheriff

[Okie bipap]

I never had an aha moment as such. For me, it was a gradual change over two or three months. One day I noticed I could sit and work the crossword puzzle in the news paper and not fall asleep. I could sit and read for an hour without falling asleep. I could actually watch a movie on TV and not fall asleep. My energy level was quite a bit higher. I could cycle ten miles a day on my terratrike. I was 73 when I started treatment.

[ichitumi]

My changes were pretty subtle. There were the lifetime of non-quality sleep to catch up on after all.

I started having vivid dreams around month two or so. It's not entirely nightly, but it happened way more than "normal" for me. Around month 3-6? I started having some mornings where I woke up feeling refreshed. Mind you I have yet to experience the level of great that I had after the night of my sleep study, but I also know I can't expect a dedicated person to watch and monitor me sleeping and manually tweak my cpap therapy every night either.

Stick with it. You WILL feel better.

[Guest]

For most the improvement will be just as gradual as the decline was.

[SleepyMcgee]

I've been on CPAP now for just over a week. With help from some folks here I believe I have my machine dialed in pretty well. Been sleeping like the dead, and average AHI has dropped from 54 on the first night of my sleep study to averaging just over 2 over the last week. haven't had any significant issues with nose pillows fitting, leaking, or coming off. and I've gotten from 6 to over 10 hours of undisturbed sleep per night (average of about 7-1/2).

My question is, about how long does it take to start seeing real energy boosts and recovery from decades of insomnia/apnea/sleep deprivation? I've noticed some very positive things already (not yawning all day long, not getting up at night at all to pee - as opposed to my usual 1-3 trips, feeling more alert). I'm not looking to run a marathon next week or anything, but would like to "get going" with exercising again and being active. The Doc has given blessings, but after work all day - which is a desk job, I'm still pretty burnt out. Am I expecting too much, or is this a weeks/months recovery and I just need to be patient a bit longer? I had high hopes going into this . . .

I think I initially underestimated the time it takes to re adjust to sleeping after a pressure change. Slow and steady.

If the apneas are under control then it's a sleep quality issue....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk