Not sure its working, and anyone advise?

[chief900]

Hi all,

I have been on CPAP for almost a year now i think. I dont feel so much better to be honest with everyone. Or if i do I think its very slight, i do feel even worse when i dont use it but I am not feeling the full recovery I was expecting. I tend to wake quite often and I am wondering if this could be a factor? also, I have not once woken up and felt that I have had a great nights sleep. Is this normal, will I ever feel like i slept well?

am i doing something wrong?

Bob

[Pugsy]

I tend to wake quite often and I am wondering if this could be a factor?

Yes. This could be a huge factor. Fragmented sleep for any reason will impact how we feel. Hours of sleep in general will also. I have been down this road myself.

Do you know why you are waking? Do you go right back to sleep? How often do you awaken? How many hours of sleep using the machine do you average?

There can be any number of causes for frequent awakenings. Mine is pain. It kept me from getting truly restful sleep for 18 months (after cpap tx started) while I whittled away at contributing pain stuff.

[LSAT]

You have a data capable machine...what do your numbers show? You may be leaking through your mouth....if so you have substantial leaks and may need a Full Face Mask. Your numbers will tell.

[chief900]

Hello again,

I am not really sure why I wake, I guess its discomfort, after i pretty much get back to sleep.

The machine I have is a resmed S9, my apneas are generally below 2, and the machine gives tells me I have few leaks: i guess i should analyse the data in more depth?

[Pugsy]

I am not really sure why I wake, I guess its discomfort, after i pretty much get back to sleep.

The machine I have is a resmed S9, my apneas are generally below 2, and the machine gives tells me I have few leaks: i guess i should analyse the data in more depth?

Sure wouldn't hurt to look at the full reports to see what is going on. Maybe a leak is waking you.....Never hurts to look at the data to see if something there could be improved on.

Do you take any medications that might mess with sleep? You mention discomfort.. what kind of discomfort?
Wake up needing to urinate? Wake up turning over in bed? Sometimes it takes some detective work. Sometimes there is simply more to getting good restorative sleep than good AHI numbers. Cpap machine treats sleep apnea. It doesn't do so much for other problems no matter how much we wish it would.

[chief900]

Well i dont wake up to pee. I guess i am just moving about.

I have another question: Does the mask fill with CO2? is it possible that you are inhaling what you exhale and dont get completely fresh air? I though maybe this could explain feeling very drowsy in the morning?

Has anyone had this problem or known of it?

[LSAT]

The mask vents the CO2. While the CPAP is running you should feel the used air escaping/venting.

[robysue]

Or if i do I think its very slight, i do feel even worse when i dont use it but I am not feeling the full recovery I was expecting. I tend to wake quite often and I am wondering if this could be a factor? also, I have not once woken up and felt that I have had a great nights sleep. Is this normal, will I ever feel like i slept well?

am i doing something wrong?

Bob

As others have suggested, it could be leaks. The only way too tell is by looking at the data in ResScan. (You can find ResScan by looking for posts from Uncle_Bob.)

But there are many things that can cause you to wake up frequently and yes, the frequent wakes can cause enough disruption to your sleep to keep you from feeling the full benefit of the CPAP. In a later post you say:

Hello again,

I am not really sure why I wake, I guess its discomfort, after i pretty much get back to sleep.

In my humble opinion, you need to do some real analysis of how you feel when you wake up at night. Because "guessing" that it's "discomfort" is just not giving you enough to go on to fix the problem. If it's discomfort that's waking you up, then you need to figure out exactly what things are making you uncomfortable or triggering you to wake up.

Because the list of possible causes for multiple wakes is very long. Some common causes for CPAPers? They include: Pain? Leaks? Needing to move around in bed and still feeling trapped by the hose? Mask discomfort? Aerophagia? Allergies? Nasal Congestion? Worrying about things? Bad dreams? Or maybe just waking up after each REM cycle regardless of the quality of the dream? Does it vary from night to night? Too much caffeine during the day? Too much tv or computer time too close to bedtime? Too big of a dinner or eating too close to bedtime? Not eating enough and waking up a bit hungry? Rainlout? Dehydrated? (This last sometimes happens to me even when I have the humidifier set to 4 or 5 on my machine.)

And how many times do you wake up each night? How long does it take you to get back to sleep? How long do you lie in bed worried about the fact that you've woken up yet again? Do the wakes occur at the same time most nights?

And how's your overall sleep hygiene? Do you typically stick to a pretty regular sleep schedule---going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time each day?

Thinking about all these questions may help you pinpoint the causes of the wakes, which in turn will help you figure out what you can do about them. But until you have a better idea about what's waking you up, it's hard to figure out what to do about it. One way to do that might be to keep a sleep log for awhile. The point is not to cause more grief when you find yourself awake in the middle of the night, but rather to make some brief notes when you wake up for the day about what you do remember about the wakes during the night---as in roughly how many of them, whatever you can remember about them (i.e "woke up twice with aerophagia" is enough detail), the times you went to bed and got up, and an estimate of how long you actually slept each night. After a week or two of data some patterns might emerge that will help you identify the problem(s) and address them.

[archangle]

Well i dont wake up to pee. I guess i am just moving about.

I have another question: Does the mask fill with CO2? is it possible that you are inhaling what you exhale and dont get completely fresh air? I though maybe this could explain feeling very drowsy in the morning?

Has anyone had this problem or known of it?

Unless the holes on your mask are plugged up, or your machine is not delivering a pressure of 4 or so, enough air will leak out through the holes to vent CO2 and allow fresh O2 into the mask.

The mask and CPAP system is very carefully designed to make sure O2/CO2 exchange happens correctly. This is one of the reasons most machines won't go below a pressure of 4.

It's also why you don't want to hook up to the mask and hose if the CPAP machine is not running. And why you should take the mask off if the power goes off.

[chief900]

HI Robysue,

I really appreciate that you have taken the time to reply to me with such detail. Its given me a great deal to think about. I will try and keep a sleep diary and modify my sleep and eating habits, i knew many of the things you have said will affect sleep, but just seeing it written by someone else has hammered it home.

I will need some help interpreting my data, any ideas which graphs i should upload?

Many thanks again

Bob

[Pugsy]

any ideas which graphs i should upload?

Usually graphs that show a single night of data as opposed to summary of several nights.
Single night data would include the pressure used along with stated AHI and breakdown along with these graphs..pressure...leak....snores...event flags, etc.