DOES CPAP HELP WITH MUSCLE ACHES AND PAINS

DEANC · Post by **DEANC** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 12:21 pm

HI TO ALL, WAS DIAGNOSED WITH SLEEP APNEA, MAY OF LAST YR. 44 EVENTS PER HR AND O2 OF 84. HAVE HAD A RESMED FOR OVER A YR AND HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO SLEEP WITH IT SO FAR, MAYBE FOR AN HR OR TWO, THEN GET AGRAVATED AND TAKE IT OFF. CAN'T SEEM TO FIND A MASK THAT I CAN GET TO SLEEP WITH. I HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT KINDS AND TYPES OF MASKS AND HATE ALL OF THEM. HAVE LOTS OF SYMPTOMS, CAN'T CONCENTRATE, BAD MEMORY PROBLEMS, GASTRO PROBLEMS AND AS I SAID MUSCLE ACHES AND PAINS, EXHAUSTED ALL THE TIME AND JUST GENERALLY FEEL AWFUL. I AM VERY UPSET THAT I CAN'T GET ON THIS MACHINE AND JUST SEE FOR MYSELF IF IT WILL HELP ME TO FEEL BETTER. NEED HELP AND ENCOURGEMENT FROM SOME OF THE OLD TIMERS AND THEIR EXPERIENCES. ANY REPLYS ARE VERY WELCOME. NEED HELP!!
DEANC

Jan in Colo. · Post by **Jan in Colo.** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 12:43 pm

Hi, I'm not an old-timer exactly, but I'll try to help...but what exactly is it that you can't abide with your CPAP? Are you claustrophobic? Can you not get a good seal? Is that Remstar of yours equipped with C-flex? That would help make it easier to breathe with your Cpap, specifically to exhale more comfortably. What pressure setting are you at? Exactly what masks are in that pile of yours?

Give us that kind of information and we can be more specific as to what kind of help you need.

But it definitely sounds like you need to USE that Cpap of yours. Yes, I've found that Cpap helps with aches and pains. I'm thinking that may be because of the higher oxygen levels with Cpap usage. And it most certainly helps with the memory problems, fatigue and just awfulness you are experiencing.

One thing I did in the beginning to get used to the masks was to just wear one and watch TV in it for awhile. Go do the dishes wearing your mask, that kind of thing. Just MAKE yourself get used to it. And if you acclimate BEFORE you try to sleep in the thing, your sleep is a little bit smoother.

Do you have the Swift? That is a favorite of a lot of people. Not much to it, only a little piece that goes under the nose...a nasal pillows system. It is pretty easy to get used to.

Anyway, tell us specifics and somebody here will be able to help you adjust your masks properly, figure out the best equipment, and anything else that would help you begin to be compliant with therapy...
So you will start to FEEL BETTER.

Jan in Colo.

DEANC · Post by **DEANC** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:04 pm

HI JAN AND THANKS FOR THE REPLY, ITS NOT THE AIR BLOWING THAT BOTHERS ME, ITS JUST HAVING SOMETHING ON MY FACE THAT IRRITATES ME. MY NOSE GETS TO ITCHING AND THAT KIND OF THING. I JUST CAN'T GET COMFORTABLE WITH STUFF ON MY FACE AND HEAD. ALL I HAVE TO DO TO GO TO SLEEP IS TAKE IT OFF AND I AM GONE. I GUESS I NEED MORE DETERMINATION. I JUST KNOW THAT IF I STAYED UP ALL NIGHT TRYING TO GET TO SLEEP WITH IT, I WOULDN'T GET ANY SLEEP AT ALL AND THAT IS BAD. I GUESS I NEED TO HEAR PEOPLE'S STORYS OF HOW MUCH IT HAS HELPED THEM IN THE WAYS I HAVE MENTIONED. ONE WOULD THINK THAT IN THE LENGTH OF TIME I HAVE I HAVE HAD THE MACHINE, THAT I WOULD HAVE ADAPTED TO IT BY NOW. I GOT SO UPSET WITH THE WHOLE IDEA, I PUT IT UP IN THE CLOSET FOR ABOUT SIX MOS. ABOUT A MONTH AGO, MY DR. HAD ME SLEEP WITH A PULSE OX MONITOR OVER NIGHT. TOOK IT BACK TO HIS OFFICE THE NEXT AM AND HE DOWNLOADED THE INFO AND TOLD ME THAT MY OXY LEVEL WENT IN THE LOW 80'S OVER FORTY TIMES THAT NIGHT. HE IN SO MANY WORDS SAID THAT I HAD TO COME TO TERMS WITH THE MACHINE AND GET ON IT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. I KNOW I WOULD SURE LIKE TO FEEL BETTER AND HAVE SOME ENERGY AND GET UP AND GO. I HAVE BEEN THIS WAY FOR SEVERAL YRS AND WAS JUST DIAGNOSED WITH OSA LAST YR, SO I AM THINKING THAT THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR ME FOR A LONG TIME. NEEDLESS TO SAY I HAVE BEEN TO EVERY KIND OF DR YOU CAN THINK OF AND HAD MANY DIFFERENT TESTS FOR ONE THING AND ANOTHER AND CAME UP WITH NOTHING. GUESS I NEED TO HEAR SOME SUCESS STORYS AND MAYBE THAT WILL GIVE ME MORE DETERMINATION TO KEEP TRYING. THANKS
DEAN C

Jan in Colo. · Post by **Jan in Colo.** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 2:00 pm

Okay, Dean, just keep reading this forum. Just read and read and read. You've come to the right place. You'll find lots and lots of success stories here.

I've been 100% compliant since I got my machine. I don't even lie down period without hooking up to it, just in case I dose off. But I have an arousal rate of 77 times per hour, an AHI of 85 (over 30 is "severe") and my oxygen levels go into the 50th percentile range when I sleep. It sounds overly dramatic, but I really think I was dying slowly before cpap. My husband, an MD, thinks it would have been 5-10 more years tops. And I'm 52 years old and healthy in other respects anyway. I was becoming dramatically less functional, sleeping more and more only to wake exhausted, my car insurance is unbelievably high because of all the accidents, speeding tickets and whatnot, I was just a walking talking mess.

I mean, really, if you are going to be "aroused" 77 times per hour, every hour, what's the point of going to sleep AT ALL without CPAP?

And it sounds like you are in a similar situation in many respects. OSA is certainly impacting your life anyway.

Well, I've only had CPAP for a couple of months now, but I already feel WAY better. My foggy brain is coming back to life. I can think beyond just basically trying to get through each day. Right now I'm concentrating on getting my life back on track..just simple things like going to bed at a regular hour, waking up at a regular time and having a schedule for getting things DONE around here, which I wasn't able to do before. Stupid stuff, I know, but it was impossible for me to get a handle on even the most mundane tasks before. And yes, my aches and pains are much better and I rarely have to take Ibuprofen, etc., anymore.

But keep reading the forum, you'll find lots of good stories here.

Jan in Colo.

FJC · Post by **FJC** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 5:32 am

Definitely keep trying! As another poster suggested, read, read, and read some more on these forums. Read the humorous posts, read the serious ones. We're all in the same boat here.

Certainly try one of the nasal pillow systems like the Swift - with that one, you'll be able to scratch your nose if it itches. What pressure were you prescribed? Do you have a machine with c-flex to make exhaling easier?

Just try to accept it as something you NEED to do for your overall health. It's like dental work - no one LIKES to go to the dentist, but we know we need to do it. No one would choose to wear a mask blowing air up their nose just for fun, but us sleep apnea sufferers KNOW that we need to do it.