Second Night With ResMed S8 Elite - Exhausted

[dockaos]

I gave up after 2 hours with the Ultra Mirage Full-Face and a S8 Elite on the first night. Honestly can say that I woke up feeling a little better than usual. Last night I decided to tough the evening out; using the device for 6 hrs, 15 minutes. I woke up feeling like I haven't slept at all. My stats seem pretty decent:

Leak: .16
AHI: 1.9
AI: 0.1
HI: 1.8

My pressure setting is 13. I was having ~85 incidents/per hour during the sleep study, so it looks like the CPAP has made a definite improvement. Is it common to feel so lousy in the beginning?

Thanks!
Scott

[cflame1]

In a word, "yes" it is common.

[rested gal]

Welcome to the board, Scott!

I think for many people, the sleep disruptions (whether they wake you up "enough" to be aware of waking up) caused by equipment issues, especially the mask) can leave a person feeling more worn out and tired than before. Even when "CPAP" is doing its part of the job perfectly...keeping the airway open for breathing all night.

Sleep disruptions are sleep disruptions -- whether it's from apneas or from trying to sleep with a mask on. Early on in cpap treatment, a person may be trading off apneas for sleep disruptions due to trying to get used to sleeping this crazy new way. The apneas were doing more damage to the body, but ANY kind of sleep disruptions can leave a person feeling tired or sleepy the next day. It's very common for people to say, "I feel WORSE than I did before CPAP!" The mask is usually the culprit, imho.

The unfamiliar feeling of straps, plastic edges digging through the cushion, whole thing shifting when you move your head, hose tugging at the headgear, mask making bridge of nose or nostrils sore, exhaust making more noise if the venting air hits arm, pillow or bedcovers, condensation dripping on one's face....well, you get the idea.

That's why it's soooooooooooooo important, imho, to aggressively pursue getting a mask that suits a person in the first place. Use the message board to find hints for tweaking everything about the setup to be as comfortable as possible.

Here are three links that can help a person sort out some mask issues and suggest fixes for common problems:

LINKS to discussions about some masks - nasal mask, nasal pillows, nasal prongs
viewtopic.php?p=35284

LINKS to Lab Rat Trophy awards
viewtopic.php?t=15104

LINKS to Hose hangers and methods of managing the air hose
viewtopic.php?t=10640

LINKS to discussions about the Aussie heated hose - to prevent rainout
viewtopic.php?t=5305

[deglorious]

Hi, I felt like you did for the first six weeks, but I was determined to make it work. The best thing I did was switch to a full face mask. Now I sleep without sleep aids about 8 hours a night and I can't even tell I am wearing my cpap.
I feel good during the day and wake up feeling rested.

Rested Gal, thanks for all the links!

good luck, Deglorious

[Moby]

Welcome dockaos!

Well done for perservering! We will all give you all the help we can, and that is *a lot* especially with people like Rested Gal on board!

Keep asking questions, and keep persevering. You have a great machine there.

Di

[dockaos]

Thanks to everyone for the helpful replies! Glad to know that the "adjustment period" is pretty much standard operating procedure. All I can do is stick it out until my next visit to the sleep specialist in a month's time.

[Moby]

Your numbers are excellent so provided your mask isn't uncomfortable (yeah, its relative, I mean no broken skin/tender areas from pressure/) I expect you'll see a huge improvement in the month.


On the other hand, if your mask is uncomfortable, too uncomfortable to use, I suggest you somehow get fitted with a more suitable one as soon as possible. There are literally hundreds of masks. If you need to know more there's lots of info here and people to help.

Personally I need at least two masks because I haven't got a perfect one, and each one gives me discomfort if I wear it too many nights in a row.

regards

Di