Sleep ?

jcobb607 · Post by **jcobb607** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 10:23 am

Just wondering how many cpap users sleep the night through without waking several times. I am relatively new to cpap, as I have officially been on one for a week now. I know its very early early in my treatment, and although I know I am responding well to the treatment (I feel a LOT better), I was curious as to if I can ever expect to sleep the night through.

Any thoughts?

mikemoran · Post by **mikemoran** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 10:54 am

Based on my experience the longer you are on it the less interruptions. I have been on it for 6 months now and do get a few all night sessions. At first it was just getting used to the mask. Any errant stream of air or sound would cause me to wake up and adjust. Now I tend to ignore minor leaks and just keep sleeping.

When I had a good night I would wake after 4 hours and be raring to go. I attribute this to the fact that I was getting more sleep in those few hours than I was getting without therapy through a whole night. I had to force myself to go back to sleep, this coming from a guy who could usually go to sleep at the drop of a hat. Eventually the sleep periods got longer and longer. My average is 6 hours now.

You just have to keep at it and remind yoruself you really need this.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 11:22 am

I not only sleep through the night, after a few years I reached a point that I am more uncomfortable WITHOUT my machine than I am with it. Moreover, when I put the mask on, I go out like a light. If I'm watching TV and put the mask on when a commercial comes on, I'm gone before the commercial ends, and, except when nature calls, I stay that way until morning.
BTW, I assume when you wake up it is not for a visit to the bathroom. If it is, there might be another culprit, ie, the usual suspects of diabetes, prostrate etc that often are fellow travelers with apnea and obesity.

jcobb607 · Post by **jcobb607** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 11:43 am

I very seldom wake up for a call of nature. I "think" I wake up changing from different stages of sleep, but can not be sure. I will awaken, look at the time, and go back to sleep. I have noticed that this is not as frequent on weekends as during the week, so maybe it is a subconscious thing of not wanting to be late for work. I am just hoping that eventually with the CPAP, I will sleep the night through.

On another note, do most of you go to bed at set times, or do you go when you get sleepy? I have noticed that since on the CPAP, I cant wait to go to bed, and have been going to bed earlier, but when I do, I lay there for a good while before going out. Would I respond to treatment better if I waited until I was sleepy before hitting the sack?

Thanks in advance for the information!

Jay

Guest-Ramona · Post by **Guest-Ramona** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 11:45 am

I've been on APAP with a full face mask for a week and a half and have slept through the night since the very first night. Last night I woke up once when my dog snuggled so close to my feet that she almost pushed me out of bed, but that's it!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:35 pm

Anonymous wrote: Moreover, when I put the mask on, I go out like a light.

I have definitely noticed that same thing, and I've only been on CPAP a little over 2 weeks now. I used to feel like it took me 45-60 minutes to fall asleep at night - now I put on that mask, kiss the wife goodnight (umm, well, ok, TELL the wife goodnight), turn off the light, and I'm out within a minute it seems.

In retrospect, I think what was happening before is that I'd start to fall asleep, have an apnea, and wake up almost completely since I wasn't really out yet. I'm sure the soothing white-noise of the mask/machine doesn't hurt, either.

DrainedDad · Post by **DrainedDad** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 1:06 pm

I find that I have stretches where I will sleep all night uninterrupted and then go through periods were I will be more fitful. If I am congested before bedtime, I find that I will wake a few times during the night. For the most part, though, I have very little trouble sleeping.

I try to go to bed at close to the same time every night. I think that you can train your body to adjust to a schedule. Normally I start to get ready for sleep around 11:00. Wash my face, decongestant, chin strap, kiss the wife goodnight, put on the mask, fluff my pillow and I am almost always out before 11:30. Just a matter of getting used to the ritual!

Snoozie · Post by **Snoozie** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:55 pm

I put my swift on and watch a little TV to adjust to it and then fall asleep within about 20 minutes. I do wake up but it is mostly because I have to adjust something or flip over and then adjust something. Stll checking to make sure there are no leaks as I tend to push on the swift lying on my side or stomach and sometimes the air blowing out is mistaken for a leak. But then, I have only been on it for about a month. However, I am not lying awake for an hour or two several times a night like I used to. My DR. said to give it 6 months to feel optimal and get used to it.

Jere · Post by **Jere** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 8:52 pm

I am sleeping through the night nearly every night. I sleep so deeply I am not moving and finding the sheets making interesting patterns on my skin. This did not happen before CPAP (which I started a few months ago).

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 8:57 pm

J,
Don't want to sound negative but I still wake up a couple of times a night. But on the positive side, I feel so much better for the quality of the sleep I do get. I'd take this way of sleeping over the old days any time. Maybe I'm just one of the ones who it will take awhile to get to the sleep all night stage or it may never happen for me. Either way, as long as I don't dwell on what I "can't" have and drive myself crazy and still feel great, that's fine by me.

Snoozie · Post by **Snoozie** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 6:34 pm

After bragging yesterday about how I am sleeping better, I woke up at 1 and was up until 3 am. Back up at 5:30 for work. For some reason, everything bothered me last night. The headgear hurt, the pillows bothered me, felt like I couldn't breathe, kept checking for leaks, etc., etc. Don't know what my problem was. But after all of that, I still felt more alert and productive than before CPap.

Pad A Cheek · Post by **Pad A Cheek** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 6:39 pm

I have been using CPAP for over a year now, and still sometiomes have that kind of a night.

I tell my husband, "I fought the mask, and the mask won."
He knows because it affects his sleep too, he is alight sleeper relatively speaking.

FJC · Post by **FJC** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 5:11 am

Snoozie wrote:After bragging yesterday about how I am sleeping better, I woke up at 1 and was up until 3 am. Back up at 5:30 for work. For some reason, everything bothered me last night. The headgear hurt, the pillows bothered me, felt like I couldn't breathe, kept checking for leaks, etc., etc. Don't know what my problem was. But after all of that, I still felt more alert and productive than before CPap.

And one thing to keep in mind (that a longer-term CPAP user reminded me of recently) - even "normal" sleepers have a bad night now and then.

jcobb607 · Post by **jcobb607** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 6:27 am

Last night was a good night for me. I only woke up twice, but fell right back to sleep and slept pretty deeply too.

My wife likes a soft, mushy,sink down into type of mattress and bought one of those comfort memory foam mattress toppers. I toss and turn on it all night. Last night, I took the topper and folded my half of it over onto her half off it and re-sheeted the bed. Looked funny, with her half of the bed a good 6 inches higher than mine. She loved being able to sink down into it, and I loved the firmness! I think tonight I will place a piece of plywood between my side of the mattress and the box spring to give it more backbone.

I also tried my humidifier again since it was getting colder at night. Set it on 2 and ran the hose under the covers with me. My unit is set up even with the height of my bed, as close to the bed as I can get it. This allows me to only have maybe 4 inches of hose exposed attached to the unit, about 8 inches exposed attached to my mask. Do you think this will help prevent rainout when it gets colder and I turn the humidifier up higher? I hope so because this time I did not feel like I was suffocating at all with it.

Maybe with a few more adjustments, I will be set!

Thanks for all the advice!

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:10 am

J,

Sounds like for someone who just started this month, you're making great strides in getting where you need to be. I have kind of resigned myself to if I have to wake up a few times a night, it's okay. I don't fully wake up at all and I go immediately back to sleep. So what? In the grand scheme of things, it's not too awful. If you're feeling the benefits of the therapy, that is all that counts. If you're not, then that's a different story.

If I were you, I'd feel pretty good since it seems you've come pretty far in such a short time. And if your hh still causes you to have the rainout, just order the Aussie heated hose that everyone swears by and you just won't have to deal with that discomfort. I say as long as it's fixable, it's a beautiful thing.

Sleep well.

Sleep ?

Sleep ?

Sleep

Trouble sleeping