Dizzy

[Sleepyheadgirl]

Hello. I just finished my fourth night trialling CPAP machine. Slept pretty good from 11:00 till 8:00. When I tried to roll over to switch machine off, I felt dizzy and feel back on the bed, like I almost fainted. Then same thing when I tried to get out of bed. Had to sit there for a bit. Still was feeling it in bathtub, and even now a little, 1.5 hours later. Anyone experienced this? Is there a specific reason? My pressure is set at 7, and I have adjusted pretty well to it.

[Julie]

Two things could be going on (3 actually...) - one is that you inadvertently blocked the vent holes where CO2 escapes. This can happen with a blanket or pillow, so make sure you're 'arranged' in bed to keep that from happening in future. The second thing could be that your pressure is too high and your blood pressure is bottoming, something you need to ask your MD about (what is your cpap pressure set at - we can help you to change it a little if it seems high) - I think this is the most likely reason. The third thing is really reaching - and that is that you coincidentally have 'caught' a balance problem, but I think that's so remote as to not be a factor.

[Yoda]

I had a similar problem. I still fight it some. This may be your sinuses. Try sinus irrigation to relieve any fluids behind your ears. Also, you may want to play with your humidification. Some find more humidity increases sinus swelling, some find less works better.

Keep at it!

Cecile

[RipVW]

Hello & Welcome, Sleepyheadgirl! Glad you found this forum—SO much useful info and everyone here is so willing to help!

You're lucky to have found this forum as you begin CPAP—took me almost year before I found this place and, with the help of folks here, got my CPAP therapy working as it should. Regarding that dizziness, I really think you should let your doc know, since there might be issues unrelated to OSA/CPAP causing this.

"You are getting sleepy . . ."

[Jason S.]

Hello. I just finished my fourth night trialling CPAP machine. Slept pretty good from 11:00 till 8:00. When I tried to roll over to switch machine off, I felt dizzy and feel back on the bed, like I almost fainted. Then same thing when I tried to get out of bed. Had to sit there for a bit. Still was feeling it in bathtub, and even now a little, 1.5 hours later. Anyone experienced this? Is there a specific reason? My pressure is set at 7, and I have adjusted pretty well to it.

Sounds like benign positional vertigo. My guess its unrelated to CPAP itself, but due to your head position to accomodate CPAP. I've had bouts of vertigo my entirely life.

[Sleepyheadgirl]

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions and advice. This forum is amazing; so much knowledge. Compared to what I have been reading here, I was told relatively little about CPAP machines, types of them, things you might run up against, etc. I'm so glad I found it.