Can't Stay Asleep

Fenway3199 · Post by **Fenway3199** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:10 am

I have faithfully been using my CPAP for the past 10 weeks. I have no problem falling asleep. However, 1 - 1.5 hours into my sleep I wake up. This has happened each night for the past 10 weeks. No matter how hard I try, what position I am in or what mask I am wearing I can not get back to sleep with the CPAP. I then take it off and have received virtually no benefit from this life saving device. I am still very fatigued, can't think straight and have a lot of the other problems associated with sleep apnea.

My Doctor prescribed a sleep aid but this has not helped me with this problem.

I need help, does any one have any idea's what to do?

Would a dental device help? How do they work?

Is surgery an option? What is the down time associated with this?

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:22 am

Hi Fenway,

Yes, there are a lot of things which can cause the problem you described so far. More info is really needed to narrow down the possibilities.

Could you help us out with a few additional clues. If you could provide as much of the following as possible, it would sure make the guessing a lot easier:
- equipment you use (e.g. machine, mask, humidifier)
- mode (CPAP, BiPAP, APAP)
- pressure
- how you feel when you wake up

Odds are that somebody here has already gone through what you're going through now. Hang in there.

Regards,
Bill

bluegrassfan · Post by **bluegrassfan** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:45 am

I'm going thru the same thing. I think I know what my problem is. Tell the folks on here how you feel when you wake up....what woke you...what feeling? That mite help...also do your profile up at the top of the page. There are some great folks on here who can help....bob

Fenway3199 · Post by **Fenway3199** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:11 am

After 1- 1 1/2 hours when I wake up I feel like I never really fell asleep and
then change positions many time in an attempt to fall back asleep, without success.

gerry · Post by **gerry** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:24 am

I have had the same problem for the past six months. Only my awakening is usually after 3 hours. After a trip to the toilet, which may be part of the problem, I put the mask back on, but can't fall asleep again. I take the mask off after an hour or so and then fall asleep on my stomach, in a position impossible with the mask (ComfortLite 2) However my wife no longer complains of my snoring and stopping breathing. A sleep MD once told me that there is a residual effect and that apnea incidents may not again occur for some time after stopping therapy. I did use the swift and didn't have this problem, but feel the CL2 is more comfortable. Perhaps I should go back to the Swift. I am now eligible for a new mask under Medicare rules. Any suggestions as to the new masks now on the market?

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:25 am

Fenway, you are one of the few folks here who has reported being able to get any sleep at all on CPAP at a pressure of 20 cm. Few folks here seem able to tolerate that pressure at all, much less get sleep with it.

Have you discussed with your sleep doc the possibility of changing to a BiPAP machine? At 20 cm pressure, folks report BiPAP is much more like natural breathing.

Regards,
Bill

Rabid1 · Post by **Rabid1** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:33 am

NightHawkeye wrote:Have you discussed with your sleep doc the possibility of changing to a BiPAP machine? At 20 cm pressure, folks report BiPAP is much more like natural breathing.

Bill's right. At that pressure, you should go for all the comfort-giving solutions available.

Keep us posted.

Fenway3199 · Post by **Fenway3199** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:55 am

The odd thing is that the pressure does not appear to bother me, I have no idea what the BIPAP is, can you fill me in. I go back to the doctor in a few weeks.

Thank you for your help.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 12:44 pm

I have a similar but somewhat different problem. I sleep about 2 hours, wake up, go to the bathroom, and then either I can go back to sleep only to wake up again in about 2 hours (which is okay by me, I don't even count that as an arousal).

OR my mind is so busy there is NO going back to sleep so I find something quiet to do until I get sleepy again, usually about 2 hours, and then I can lay down and go right back to sleep - only to wake up in 2 hours again.

Generally if this happens, it then becomes a 2 hours asleep, 2 hours awake, 2 hours asleep, 2 hours awake ... cycle all night long and TIRED the following day meaning fighting the need to take a nap about 3 PM. I can usually fight off the nap for 2-3 days but then by the 4th day or so I HAVE to cave in and take that nap! Which will only last for 2 hours.

And then it becomes a vicious 2 hour cycle that lasts for days and even weeks until I get so exhausted I finally sleep a straight 7-8 hours. But that will only last one night, 2 at the most, and then the 2 hour cycle gradually begins again. One wake up and back to sleep. Maybe 2 wake ups and back to sleep. Within a couple of days there will be a 2 hour wake up where I can't get back to sleep, maybe just once that night, but within a couple of nights of this I'm into the full 2 hours asleep, two hours awake cycle thru the entire night again.

Rabid1 · Post by **Rabid1** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 12:58 pm

[quote="Fenway3199"]The odd thing is that the pressure does not appear to bother me, I have no idea what the BIPAP is, can you fill me in. I go back to the doctor in a few weeks.

Thank you for your help.

Kaloke · Post by **Kaloke** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:49 pm

going in for desensitization at sleep clinic on the 23rd for same prob... will keep you posted...

TGregg · Post by **TGregg** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:57 pm

2listless has posted some ideas that might be of interest:

viewtopic/t3427/Insomnia-Treatment-1.html

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 7:43 pm

Fenway3199 wrote: I have no idea what the BIPAP is, can you fill me in. I go back to the doctor in a few weeks.

Like Rabid1 said, the BiPAP provides two pressure levels. The higher pressure keeps your airway open while you breathe in, the lower pressure allows you to breathe out easily. (Pretty simple, really.)

Fenway, the machine you want to ask for is the BiPAP-auto. Since you've had problems with CPAP at 20 cm pressure, your doc should have no problem providing a new prescription for you. Be sure to ask him to write it for the BiPAP-auto. It's no more expensive than a standard BiPAP (so your DME won't complain about providing the BiPAP-auto), and it provides you with many options in your treatment. In my opinion, the BiPAP-auto is the best standard BiPAP machine available. (I have one, by the way, which I have used in my own treatment.)

Just call your doc first thing Monday, and request a new prescription the same day, if possible. Then, trade your existing machine in as soon as you get the prescription.

Regards,
Bill

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