Why am I still tired?

sybert1ger · Post by **sybert1ger** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:23 pm

The few threads I've started here have all had this same theme. More time passes and yet I'm still tired all the time.

I've been on CPAP for 14 months now. At no point during these 14 months have I felt any improvement in my day time fatigue.

My AHI consistently hovers around 2.0. My leak late is consistent with my mask. I average 8 hours of sleep a night. I don't have problems falling asleep and I rarely wake up once sleeping.

In my quest for answers I've been treated for depression, anxiety, and ADD. While their have been some improvements in my quality of life there have been no improvements in my fatigue. I've been on doses of Adderall that should have had me bouncing off the walls yet all I wanted to do was take a nap. Provigil has had no affect either.

I've had my blood tested for common causes of fatigue and some not so common causes. Nothing has come back that should cause the symptoms I've had.

I've had follow up sleep studies where nothing unusual was seen.

So here I am asking for advice again. Has anyone been in similar situation? What other causes of fatigue have any of you dealt with? Anything out of the ordinary?

I still have a positive outlook on all this but it gets harder every night putting the mask on when I just keep getting more tired.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:56 pm

How is your machine configured? APAP?.....CPAP? Pressure(s)?

Den

bap40 · Post by **bap40** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:06 pm

The only thing that comes to mind is that your pressure is not correct for you. Knowing whether you are using straight CPAP or Auto makes a difference also. I just switched my auto back to straight pressure, because my numbers were all over the place and I was not feeling the greatest. I just did this last night and I feel a huge difference in just one night.

LavenderMist · Post by **LavenderMist** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:07 pm

What settings are you using on your machine, pressure, set to straight cpap or auto? What was your titrated pressure?

Everybody is different, but I do better with straight cpap and found that my titrated pressure wasn't enough to eliminate enough events to make a difference in the way I felt, so using the software I am 1 cm h2o above last titrated pressure and get consistent ahi under 1 most nights. Everyone feels differently, but I can tell a difference if my ahi gets over 1.0. I drag the next day.

kteague · Post by **kteague** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:11 pm

Hi. That's rough to still be feeling so bad when trying so hard.

A few questions - Have you tried a FF mask just in case you are mouth breathing? Did your sleep study give any indication of limb movements? Do you fall asleep a lot during the day?

Regardless of what else might be going on, if your sleep study diagnosed you with OSA, the treatment is needed for that aspect of what ails you. Seems either your treatment is ineffective or something is yet undiagnosed. Have you searched your sleep studies for any clues, or was the "nothing unusual" a general verbal report?

Sorry to ask so many questions.

Kathy

Kenv · Post by **Kenv** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:30 pm

I have exactly the same problem as you. I'm pretty sure my cpap therapy is working OK - but I am still tired - some days a bit better, some days really really bad. But I know what my problem is - I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - you should really check that out. What you have described in your post is a perfect CFS scenario.
Ken

BarryKaraoke · Post by **BarryKaraoke** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:54 pm

sybert1ger wrote:The few threads I've started here have all had this same theme. More time passes and yet I'm still tired all the time.

It is also possible that your not getting better because your fatigue is not related to your CPAP use and being caused by something else.

Have your doctors checked you out for other ailments that cause chronic fatigue?

jomac30 · Post by **jomac30** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 7:12 pm

Same here. 14 months on cpap and still tired. In 14 months, I've had 2 days where I felt wide awake and energetic. Wish I knew how to reproduce those days.

MrGrumpy · Post by **MrGrumpy** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:04 pm

[quote="sybert1ger"]The few threads I've started here have all had this same theme. More time passes and yet I'm still tired all the time.

I've been on CPAP for 14 months now. At no point during these 14 months have I felt any improvement in my day time fatigue.

My AHI consistently hovers around 2.0. My leak late is consistent with my mask. I average 8 hours of sleep a night. I don't have problems falling asleep and I rarely wake up once sleeping.

In my quest for answers I've been treated for depression, anxiety, and ADD. While their have been some improvements in my quality of life there have been no improvements in my fatigue. I've been on doses of Adderall that should have had me bouncing off the walls yet all I wanted to do was take a nap. Provigil has had no affect either.

I've had my blood tested for common causes of fatigue and some not so common causes. Nothing has come back that should cause the symptoms I've had.

I've had follow up sleep studies where nothing unusual was seen.

So here I am asking for advice again. Has anyone been in similar situation? What other causes of fatigue have any of you dealt with? Anything out of the ordinary?

I still have a positive outlook on all this but it gets harder every night putting the mask on when I just keep getting more tired.

papoose · Post by **papoose** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:51 pm

sybert1ger,

I, too, expected to feel better after starting cpap therapy nearly a year ago. I was doing everything right and my numbers were great, yet I kept feeling more and more run down. I blamed my tiredness on waking up several times a night for no apparent reason.

Reading this forum convinced me that my therapy was not quite right. Was it the pressure? Was it the machine? Was it central apnea? When I complained to the pulmonologist who interpreted my sleep studies, she told me to "get used to it" because she didn't want to prescribe sleep medication.

I sought a second opinion from a certified sleep doctor and asked, "Is this as good as it gets?" After a recent sleep study, I learned that it was.

Now here's the shocking part: Just days ago I discovered that my body is being ravaged by a leech-like parasite that I apparently ingested when I worked abroad nearly ten years ago. Something very rare and virtually unheard of in the states. I have yet to confront the damage it's caused and have it eradicated. It is all very complicated and overwhelming, but at least it's knowing what's been wrong all these years.

I'm telling you this not to scare you, but to agree with Kathy, Ken, Barry, and Grumpy that you may need to look beyond cpap therapy for what is causing your tiredness. Whatever the cause, it could be sub-clinical, as my condition was, so don't let them tell you what I was told: "It's all in your head."

Good luck, and God bless you.

zorrro13 · Post by **zorrro13** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:53 am

Me to similar numbers but then changed machines and wamo! its not always about the mask

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:34 am

I too continue to experience fatigue, even when my numbers are good. I have fibromyalgia, (whatever that ends up being), and it has lots of fatigue associated with it.
As Papoose has suggested, perhaps you should see an infectious disease doc? And Papoose......may I ask what your parasite is?
If you are a female anywhere between 35-55, you could be experiencing perimenopause. Many of us have severe fatigue during that time of fluctuating hormones.
Something not mentioned yet is perhaps a food allergy/intolerance. Sugar and carbs can cause some of us alot of fatigue. You could also try to eliminate dairy for 2 weeks and then wheat for 2 weeks and see how you feel. Sometimes we forget that what we put in our "gas tanks" can really affect how our engines run!
Good luck to you. I can certainly empathize with you about fatigue.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:06 am

I would like to say I feel better now that I see other people that are going through the same thing that I am..But I dont. I am still tired, all the time, cant do much more than go to work and sit at my desk, then go home and watch tv until ambien thirty..

shardebhow · Post by **shardebhow** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 11:24 am

[quote="sybert1ger"]The few threads I've started here have all had this same theme. More time passes and yet I'm still tired all the time.

I've been on CPAP for 14 months now. At no point during these 14 months have I felt any improvement in my day time fatigue.

My AHI consistently hovers around 2.0. My leak late is consistent with my mask. I average 8 hours of sleep a night. I don't have problems falling asleep and I rarely wake up once sleeping.

In my quest for answers I've been treated for depression, anxiety, and ADD. While their have been some improvements in my quality of life there have been no improvements in my fatigue. I've been on doses of Adderall that should have had me bouncing off the walls yet all I wanted to do was take a nap. Provigil has had no affect either.

I've had my blood tested for common causes of fatigue and some not so common causes. Nothing has come back that should cause the symptoms I've had.

I've had follow up sleep studies where nothing unusual was seen.

So here I am asking for advice again. Has anyone been in similar situation? What other causes of fatigue have any of you dealt with? Anything out of the ordinary?

I still have a positive outlook on all this but it gets harder every night putting the mask on when I just keep getting more tired.

sybert1ger · Post by **sybert1ger** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 12:29 pm

Thanks for all the advice. Let me elaborate a little and answer some of your many questions.

I'm currently using the hybrid mask set as I do mouth leak. My pressure is set at straight at 10. I started initially on APAP but didn't like it. My doctor had me set at 9 and after my last sleep study suggested increasing it to 13. I tried that but subjectively I felt worse than ever and the readout from my Auto M it should a higher AHI than when I was set at 9. I backed off slowly to 10 and seemed to find the best results there.

I brought printouts from Encore Pro to my doc and he says the CPAP is successfully treating the Apneas in his opinion. The second sleep study found no other abnormalities. He even gave me full copies of all the reports for me to go over.
We've tested me for lots of conditions. Interestingly the only outstanding result was a low testosterone level which I just started treatment for. I had been treated for this initially before CPAP with no real improvements. Maybe with both of them it will be the 1-2 punch that's needed.

Any other advive/suggestions appreciated. I never feel rested. Getting out of bed is a struggle. I wake up tired and just get worse from then on.

Why am I still tired?

Why am I still tired?

Still Tired

Re: Why am I still tired?

Re: Why am I still tired?

Feeling tired

Re: Why am I still tired?