Is it normal to feel like crap after night 1?

phorts · Post by **phorts** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 1:18 pm

My setup is listed below in my profile. I just started CPAP therapy again and was not successful w/ the Liberty mask. I got my Hybrid mask in yesterday and was much more successful in terms of seal and comfort.

So my pressure Rx was 7. I have an auto titrating machine but set it to CPAP as prescribed. I feel asleep relatively quickly at about 11:30-12:00. I woke up at about 2-2:30am (not normal for me) and again at 6am (normal). At this point I took the mask off and dozed until 7:30am. I normally dream very vividly and this did not change last night. In fact, i think i dreamt more but am not certain.

When I woke in the night i did not have to adjust the mask
and the seal was as tight as it was when i fell asleep. There's no other obvious cause for me waking. This has happened in past attempts w/ CPAP and i'm afraid this will continue to happen and interrupt my sleep.

I'm more tired today than I am w/o CPAP and I'm worried because I cannot afford another night like last night. Even w/o CPAP i feel better than this. I'm wondering does it get worse before it gets better? Is my body just trying to play catch up after all these years of getting no sleep? I've read so many testimonials of people saying that even after the first night or even 4 hour sleep study that they feel better than they could ever remember. Not only is this not the case for me, it's actually worse.

I beleive my AHI (or whatever the #) is during my last sleep study was 35. The fit me w/ a mask halfway through the night and it went down to about 5.

I don't have a copy of my latest sleep study and I dont have the cable/software needed in order to get the data off my machine to tell if i had any events. I remember someone saying i could see minimal data via the machine's LCD so i'll check that out tonight.

If anyone could get back to me about their first night/week/month's experience and how long it took them to feel the benefits of CPAP I would be grateful. I've been longing for a restful night's sleep for many years now, i'm 28, and can ill afford to waste any more precious years.......

i feel like i'm so close...thanks for your help

TxStarDiesel · Post by **TxStarDiesel** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 2:33 pm

It has been a couple of months for me and I am just now starting to actually sleep through the night! YEA!!!

In the beginning, I would wake up about 6 times per night. Felt like death. Keep doing it every night and one day, you will wake up and notice the difference.

good luck

LyleHaze · Post by **LyleHaze** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 2:45 pm

Welcome.

I've been on the hose for about 4 or 5 weeks, I think.
I still wake a few times on most nights. I've had two "bad" nights where I felt like I was fighting the mask all night. Most of the time I just fall back to sleep.
I feel MUCH better than I did before CPAP. But I was pretty rough when I started, so getting any sleep is a big improvement.

You mentioned that you usually have vivid dreams. I'm no expert, but I have heard that we can't dream while snoring..??
I don't know for sure.

For myself, I look forward to trying a different mask in a few months when my insurance will allow me to get another one. I like my Swift, but I'm going to try something that better suits a side/belly sleeper, maybe a twilight NP.

In any case, I'll do whatever it takes. My "general health" is better right now than it has been in at least ten years. For me CPAP is survival.

Good Luck,
LyleHaze

TXKajun · Post by **TXKajun** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:12 pm

phorts, sorry to hear you had such a sad start your first night. But things WILL get better!

One thing that kind of stood out to me in your post was that you slipped off the mask and slept for another 1 1/2 hours. Do you realize that with an AHI of 35, in that 1.5 hours, you quit breathing somewhere around 50 times!!! You may well have undid all the good from the entire rest of the night. Yeah, I know, not news you wanted to hear, but something to consider.

Keep at it!

Kajun

DeltaSeeker · Post by **DeltaSeeker** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:19 pm

Phorts,

I've been on CPAP for 2 months now. It was only last week that I woke up one morning singing "I feel good....."

I have other issues as well - like Restless Legs/PLMD that keep me awake so I'm probably not the best one to judge by. I, like you, was ready for that "wake up the next day, never better" feeling. It was more like a creeping up on you experience. One night a couple weeks ago I fell asleep on the couch watching TV and felt TERRIBLE the next day! It was a reminder of pre-CPAP feeling.

One thing, you shouldn't take the mask off and go back to sleep. Whenever you are sleeping (even napping) you should wear the mask. If you don't, you are depriving your brain/body of oxygen again and undoing any good the CPAP is doing for you.

I also believe with your machine that you have to read the LCD prior to noon in order to get your information. Not sure. But I believe it resets at noon every day. Someone else will chime in here and let you know.

oceanpearl · Post by **oceanpearl** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:19 pm

You probably have a large sleep deficit to catch up before you will really see the benefits.
One night you will go to bed, put on your mask and forget that you are sleeping on a machine. that's when things get much better.

phorts · Post by **phorts** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:20 pm

Thanks kindly for the replies. Yeah, not sure why i ripped off the mask at 6:00. I guess i felt like i did good my first night and pulled it off as a "reward". Not the right mindset, i know, so tonight i'll stick it out and sleep w/ it until it's time to actually get out of bed.

For me, it's good to hear that for some people it does take some time to feel the benefits of the therapy. I'm gunna hang in there and keep the mask on throughout the night. Hopefully i won't wake up at all/as much and i'll feel more rested.... cuz if i'm not feelin any better, then there's no point in a silly mask

As far as the dreaming is concerned, I've always dreamt. I did have UPPP surgery 2 years ago and i don't snore as much as i used to. I think it has less to do w/ snoring and more to do with apneas for long periors of time. I wonder if there's any correlation between people who have long apnea events and those who have short ones. Maybe one can remain in a dream state during those events?

Sleep is cool.

Craig-Tx · Post by **Craig-Tx** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:25 pm

I will say, it did take me a couple of weeks. The first week, was probably the worst. That Sunday, I ended up taking about a 4 hour nap and still went to bed at my usual time. After a couple of weeks, I began to feel about like I was pre-pap. After about a month, I began noticing improvements. Now I'm about 6 months on the hose, and I definitely notice when I miss a night.

For some it takes very little time. For others, it may take months before the benefits are realized. But it will come. I just hope you have an understanding employer that will work with you through the adjustment phase.

Good Luck,

-craig

darthlucy · Post by **darthlucy** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:33 pm

I think I read something somewhere about "REM rebound," meaning that with CPAP you're spending more time in REM sleep. Since REM is when you dream mostly, you're likely to have more dreams if you have more REM. Not sure if this is true or not, but it made sense to me.

jennmary · Post by **jennmary** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:12 pm

I havent removed mask in the middle of the night. But I tend to take it off in the morning then sleep for another 1 and 1/2 hours.
Last night I woke up and my face hurt so bad I couldnt bear it. I was in tears and I honestly tried my hardest to keep the mask on. It ended up coming off. It isnt on that tight, just enough to keep it from leaking. My pressure is at 14. So last night I only logged just over 4 hours.
I can not afford to get another mask right now, so am pretty much stuck with mine at the moment. I really liked it until the past few days. After last night I am almost scared to put it back on.
Plus....I still havent had a single dream. I keep hearing how others are dreaming for the first time in years. This is not the case for me. I also feel like crap. I woke up the morning after sleep study feeling great. I havent managed that at home. I feel like a CPAP failure. lol
I will have to save up for a few months and see if a different full face mask will make a difference. I am using the UMFF right now.

Snoozing Gonzo · Post by **Snoozing Gonzo** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:23 pm

If it helps… I woke up the other night in a panic. I had briefly fallen asleep reading and hadn't put my mask on. It was actually a relief to get it strapped on. Another night recently, after our puppy had chewed up my Activa, I decided it was too late to look for parts to put a back up and went to bed. I couldn't go to sleep without the mask and pressure so after a half hour I got up, rigged up my old Swift – uncomfortable as it can sometimes be - and slept for six hours.

Habits take a few weeks (or more) of persistence to engage. I also believe that "sleep debt" is real and takes some time to "pay off". See it through and you'll be glad you did.

Chris

tangents · Post by **tangents** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 6:00 pm

Welcome, Phorts,

Hope you have a better night tonight. Keep in mind that your body is in a healing stage. Just because the effects of OSA build up slowly, your body can still go into a tailspin once it starts getting sleep again. Give yourself as much TLC as you can for the next few months, and try not to put yourself under too much stress (if you can help it).

Take care, and let us know how you make out,
Cathy

Lea · Post by **Lea** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 7:17 pm

I've been on CPAP for a couple of months. At the beginning I would wake up and try to leave my mask on as long as I could tolerate it. For awhile I took it off the last hour or two. I used Ambien a little bit at the beginning to help me sleep while I adjusted to wearing the mask. I try really hard to leave it on all night, but there are those off nights where it's causing discomfort to the point where I can't sleep and will remove it. That's only happened a couple of times.

I've seen some improvements, but like you, I wish it was quicker. I'm still very fatigued. As someone else that replied to you suggested and what I try to remember is that it probably took a long time to get this way and it will probably take awhile before one is feeling better. My GP said that apnea sometimes changes our sleep cycle.

If you continue to feel fatigued, you might want to consider discussing Provigil with your doctor. I tried it and wasn't able to take it, but it works well for some people.

Good luck! Hope you feel better soon!!

ZZZzzz · Post by **ZZZzzz** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:53 pm

Is it normal?

I thought it was a requirement!

-Bev

andyomega · Post by **andyomega** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:04 pm

i had a cpap for a while and it was not alot better like i was hoping.
Anyway, I got an Auto Pap and the "heath care" person set it on default pressure of 4 to 20. well, I felt horrible and kept waking up worse than I sleep without anything at all.
Turns out, autopap starts low and does not adjust very fast but rather gradualy so for a while you dont get air like you need.

I figured out that APAP should have its minimum pressure set to your tritated pressure and with Cflex , well on my machine i have cflex which is like a bi-pap, anyway, its been better than my old CPAP.

So, check your pressure and dont be afraid to play around with it because those health care dummies dont know anything.

Mask

Mask

Is it normal to feel like crap after night 1?

Is it normal to feel like crap after night 1?

Feeling like crap