How to reverse dark circles and eye bags?

[Iseestars]

Hello friends of this forum, don’t forget to extreme cautions with this virus. I’m a male on my mid fourties with wide neck and generally good healthy habits.

My story is not good as many I have seen here. Since my start on cpap, two months ago, I have only had a slight improvement on my condition. Currently my biggest concern is that I have developed dark circles under my eyes and also eye bags, prior to cpap I rarely and temporarily had dark circles when sleeping less than 8 hours, and eye bags never in my life. Now they have become permanent and seem to increase every day, what can I do?

The benefits of using cpap for me have been minimal: around 15% of physical condition, I can run a little bit better, and headaches produced by hypopneas have lowered a lot. On the other hand, the cons of cpap teraphy have been: growing dark circles and eye bags, also I feel my eyes and eyelids pretty heavy all day long, foggy mind is the same or even worse than before treatment, bad mood has worsen, tiredness almost not improved.

Cpap therapy lowered my obstructive events (before I had 14.7 and now I’m around 1.5), considerably lowered my hypopneas (before treatment I had 6.7 and now I have around 2), however it increased my centrals 200% (from 1 to 3). In a common night sleep my AHI are: centrals 3, obstructive 1.5, hypopnea 2, giving a total of 6.5 AHI on average. How can I feel almost the same if my numbers are bad but not that bad and I have improved my AHI? I think centrals are affecting me a lot.

The doctor I was seen told me that dark circles and eye bags were caused by not reaching deep sleep for long periods, and because the machine was a foreign body to my sleep. And that I was on stage of adaptation to treatment as well. With him, I have tried apap and cpap and results are generally the same, my current titration is 9.2 cmH20 on cpap. I asked him about possible solutions and he didn’t say much, and had not very convincing answers. He told me maybe you could need a Vpap machine because air was triggering some central events (idiopathic) on me but improvement was not guaranteed, also told me that I had complex apnea but numbers were not that bad to use a Vpap.

Soon, I will be seeing another doctor in my country Chile, please give me your opinion in any of these points.

1. - About dark circles and eye bags, have any of you had the same problem? How did you improve? How long did it take you to improve?

I don’t think dark circles and eye bags have to do with the mask blocking blood circulation; I use a Resmed Quattro FF mask. I agree with the doctor but I’m not sure. Do you have any experience if using a Resmed AirFit F-30 mask that keeps nose and eyes clear could improve this issue? Sleeping with mask has been uncomfortable because I used to sleep on my stomach with my face on the pillow, and now I sleep almost on my side which is not natural for me.

2. - I’m also a mouth breather, have a slight deviated septum and allergic rhinitis. Do you know if improving this condition could lower my AHI?, have you had any experience on that? I think part of my AHI could be related to that, breathing with my mouth kind a stress my sleeping. I have discovered that when my nose is blocked sometimes I don’t switch to mouth breathing immediately, I have discovered this when I’m half sleep. Don’t know if centrals are related to this.

3. - I have the feeling that I cannot tolerate the air much, not even with EPR -Resmed S9 autoset- enabled. Do you have any idea if a Vpap ASV machine could significantly improve my complex apnea and my central events?

I recently saw a video on youtube of the guy that review masks, thelankylefty27, showing the case of a guy who had like 40 of AHI with many centrals, and after switching to an ASV machine his AHI become less than 1.

Thank you folks

[Hypno]

Who gives a shyt about eye bags . try loving yourself how you are . It just make you more unique . Much more things to worry about like what if you were using your pap and you got electrocuted now that is a serious matter

[chunkyfrog]

Invest in a good qualty concealer.
And take better care of yourself.
There is a limited quantity of YOU.

[Goofproof]

Who gives a shyt about eye bags . try loving yourself how you are . It just make you more unique . Much more things to worry about like what if you were using your pap and you got electrocuted now that is a serious matter

In reality they are equal, neither really matter.

For the Vain... .

Under Eye Circles:
Do a tea bag compress. The tannin in tea bags has been proven to reduce swelling (baggy under eyes) and discoloration (dark circles). Either put your used tea bag in the fridge or let it cool down for a half hour. Then damp the tea bag over your eyes for 10-15 minutes.

Drink the Tea First with Real Honey, it might help your health, and will help your mood. Jim

Two Birds, one Stone

[Miss Emerita]

Hello, Iseestars. I'm afraid I don't have any ideas about the bags and circles, but I'm concerned to hear that your AHI hasn't come down more and that you continue to have symptoms of disrupted sleep.

Can you download Oscar to a laptop or desktop? (See information at the top of the main forum page.) If you could do that and then post a daily chart, that would really help people learn more and give you advice.

[DreamDiver]

...
My story is not good as many I have seen here. Since my start on cpap, two months ago, I have only had a slight improvement on my condition. Currently my biggest concern is that I have developed dark circles under my eyes and also eye bags, prior to cpap I rarely and temporarily had dark circles when sleeping less than 8 hours, and eye bags never in my life. Now they have become permanent and seem to increase every day, what can I do?
...

Welcome!

Lot's to unpack, but most prominently for you:

How tight is your mask? You may be constricting key lymph vessels if your mask is too tight. Alternatively, maybe your sleep debt is really big and you're actually getting sleep that's paying off the debt quickly. Maybe it will resolve as you get further into treatment.

Either way, it may be worth trying a different mask.

Chris

[Iseestars]

Dear folks thanks for your replies. Last month, I have been searching in this forum about cases involving dark circles and eye bags -in not very old people starting the treatment-, but didn't find much. I don't look good this way, this is a ugly side effect. I have read that some swelling on your cheekbones could be normal in the morning -like a winner boxer after a boxing match-, but not what I'm enduring right now which I hope is temporary.

Hi Dreamdiver, I think the tightness of my resmed quattro is normal, in the middle, I agree with you I feel the lymph vessels around my eyes are constricted so probably a different mask could help, an amara or airfit f-30; I don't understand much about sleep debt but I do think is related to those dark circles.

Hi Miss Emerita, I'm using the older program sleepyhead, I will download Oscar soon, however I do believe my AHI average shows a solid trend of 6.5 AHI, with 3 of centrals which are not false positive centrals (when awakening or starting sleep). Hi Goofproof I like your photo, thanks for your tea and tea bag compress recommendations, much appreciated. Thank you hypno and Chunky frog as well; I agree with Chunky frog, investing in a good concealer is necessary for me.

Good evening to everyone.