Always Sleepy......

[BCampbell]

I have been on cpap for 4 years with a pressure of 16. I use it every night all night. And i sleep great. But i am still always sleepy in the afternoon, i tried talking to my dr. But she either didnt understand or didnt believe me. She didnt really do anything about it. And it drives me nuts! I dont even drive if i dont have to i cant see for the tears from yawning running down my face. I have no idea what to do about it. I guess i just have to live with it........

[BleepingBeauty]

I have been on cpap for 4 years with a pressure of 16. I use it every night all night. And i sleep great. But i am still always sleepy in the afternoon, i tried talking to my dr. But she either didnt understand or didnt believe me. She didnt really do anything about it. And it drives me nuts! I dont even drive if i dont have to i cant see for the tears from yawning running down my face. I have no idea what to do about it. I guess i just have to live with it........

You might consider a prescription for Provigil. It's supposed to help keep you awake during the day. My ex-sleep doctor suggested it because I was still sleepy after over a year of compliance, saying that when we go undiagnosed for a long time, the part of the brain that regulates wakefulness may be damaged to a point where the drug is necessary to make us feel awake during the day. As I understand it, it's not a pill you have to take every day. My new sleep doctor said you take it when you need it, and don't when you don't.

Personally, I don't like taking prescription drugs if they're not absolutely necessary (and I'm not yet convinced that my therapy is working well for me), so I haven't tried Provigil. But after four years of compliance on therapy, maybe it's a viable option or solution for you. I'd encourage you to do some research on Provigil, though. It was originally touted as a non-addictive drug that didn't affect dopamine levels in the brain, but I think there's been recent research to indicate otherwise. Hope this info helps, and best of luck to you.

[3schnauzers]

I also get sleepy in the afternoon even with sleeping good at night with Cpap - somedays I make a pot of coffee, somedays I sew and quilt if I dont want to let myself nap. This week I have had allergy problems and feel really draggy with new medicine so 2 afternoons I have napped with my machine.I don't seem to sleep as long as when I fall asleep on the sofa. I just hate getting the bed messed up (not to mention my hair) but I do think I will try to nap with machine because I know I should.
Colleen

[BCampbell]

Thank you for the information for Provigil i dont know anything about it but i will check it out.
I am a dog groomer and i just found out last week we are going mobile starting in July! I have got to stay awake!!!!
As long as i keep going i seem to do ok. it is when i stop that i get so sleepy.....

[harry33]

another possibility is periods of mouth breathing with a nose only mask, this causes a dry mouth and tougue even with a humidifier in use and of course stops all CPAP benefits

I am a new member from australia, on CPAP since 1995

[BCampbell]

I use a full face mask and have very few leaks, but i still get the dry mouth thing YUCK!

[socks349]

Just a thought for your consideration, but there are many factors during the day that can result in mid afternoon tiredness - for instance if I eat bread, I'm dying for a nap and it's nothing to do w/how well my cpap worked. If the evidence is that AHI is under control then it may be worth taking another look at other factors (just my opinion)...

[zen]

I am sleepy all the time to especially after eating. In my case I have come to the conclusion that my diabetes
is partially to blame. I found out that 30 min. of fairly vigorous exercise cuts down on my daytime sleepiness.
to have another nap. Provigil does work very well but it's expensive at ~$380 for a month's supply if you don't
have insurance. And it can make you irritable, in my case I got very very irritable.

[kteague]

Are you using a data capable machine that confirms that the treatment you have been getting is effective? A whole lot of people who didn't sleep well enough for a thorough titration have found that their pressure needed to be adjusted to achieve optimal results. If your machine is not data capable and changing machines is not an option at the moment, you could ask the doctor to order a 2 week trial with an autopap at home to see if your prescribed pressure is effective.

If you go that route, I'd suggest before turning the machine in make sure they understand you want a full printout of all the data for each night for your files, and not just a summary report. Otherwise you may still have unanswered questions. The RT at my DME at first gave me a copy of the compliance report (hours of use). I told them I already knew how much I used it. Then they gave me the one page summary. Told them I'd seen most of that on the screen. They had to mail me the nightly data when someone came in that knew how to retrieve it.

It seems to me a bit premature to just accept this as as good as it's gonna get. If your cpap is therapeutic, I agree that other factors will need to be ruled out. There's already been good suggestions. I'd like to add if you're on any meds, see if they could be the culprit. I happen to have limb movement issues that contribute to my sleep not being restful. Hope you find answers that will make your days the best (and safest) they can be.
Kathy