How Many Hrs Sleep is Typical for a Newbie

[fishy]

I'm a newbie and just started cpap a week or 2 ago. I feel I am doing well, but only manage about 4 hrs/night sleep (with the mak, but cannot fall back asleep with or woithout the mask). Is this "Typical" for starting out? Prior to cpap I was getting 6-8 hrs/night but it probably wasn't great quality. I still feel tired during the day like I need an extra 3 hrs. I'm hoping with time, my sleep will increase on cpap. What do the "Experienced" cpap users think? Is starting out with low hrs sleep typical? Don't be afraid to hurt my feelings

[MyIdaho]

There is considerable variation between individuals. I took to my cpap like a duck to water! The first night, I slept 9 hours straight with full face mask and a pressure of 15 cmH2O!

[tattooyu]

At first? Maybe 3 or 4. Everyone is different. If you are ripping off your mask unknowingly... keep at it. If you are taking your mask off on purpose... keep at it. If you are not using your CPAP for whatever reason... keep at it. See a pattern forming here?

Remember, your body has been used to sleep deprivation for a while now. It is adjusting to new, and possibly uncomfortable (for now), sensations. Your body is learning to sleep properly again.

I'm going on my fourth year on PAP therapy, and I still get frustrated here and there. Some nights my mask won't seal or my PAPcap won't tighten enough, even though the previous night was fine. It happens. All I know is that without my machine, I would probably be dead or in a very bad state. I sleep 7.5 hours on average. Once in a while I still need a nap.

[dwrek]

Hi fishy,
I'm a newbie too and can tell you I had a similar experience the night after the sleep study and my first couple of nights on the machine. Its like all the sudden you forgot how to sleep. Mine seems to be getting better as at least I can sleep for a few hours in or out of the mask. Not sure if it made a difference but to break the cycle I took a night off and went to sleep without the machine. Snored the paint off the walls but getting back to sleep hasn't been a problem since. It didn't set me back as my specialist suggested but actually helped me leap forward to sleeping with the mask on (or off) for longer.

Reading around to other posts and from my own experience it seems as if no one tells you it might get worse before it gets better. It's a lot to get used to and I suspect that our bodies and minds feel as if they are under assault and try to keep us awake as some sort of basic defense system.

Hang tough and drop me a line if you need another newbie to bounce things off.

[fishy]

Thanks for the posts! I definitely will keep at it. I also think a big part of it is my meds. I take 2 mg klonopin at night which I think I have gained tolerance to and is now mucking things up. Add cpap to that and things are kinda messy. But I figure for now I will try to optimize the sleep I can get with cpap, then look to taper the klonopin.

[KylaManhattan]

Hi, Fishy. I've been lurking around here for several months, and your post finally prompted me to make my own first post.

I was diagnosed almost a year ago and started on CPAP a few weeks later. Frankly, I was exhausted for the first month or so -- I wasn't getting nearly as much sleep on CPAP as I had been without treatment. But I persisted, in large part because of all the posts and articles I read around here, and little by little, I started sleeping more and freaking out less. Some people clearly take to it more easily than others, but I am persuaded that with sufficient motivation and effort, almost anyone can adjust eventually.

I'm not claiming that every night I get as much high-quality sleep as I want or feel I need, or that I love my machine. CPAP isn't a panacea, and apnea isn't the only condition that can disrupt sleep. But on balance, I have seen steady -- if sometimes maddeningly slow -- improvement. And there are days when I awake up before the alarm clock goes off, having slept soundly for several hours, when I feel so well-rested and energetic that I almost can't believe it. I swear I haven't slept as deeply or as well since I was a child!

I hope your experience is as satisfying. Happy New Year!

[chunkyfrog]

My first few nights were partial nights, like many new pappers; but I believe now, it was because of horrible mask fit;
and the fact I was started with a straight cpap. I am now convinced that, with a better fitting mask and an
Autoset to begin with, I would have adapted even faster than I did.

[DeepBreath]

I'm new to CPAP as well, only been on one for a few weeks. I have slept as long as 11 hours over the holiday break (guess I needed it!). I certainly don't have the experience of others on this forum, but Original Poster I wouldn't put too much emphasis on how it's worked out for others initially. It seems that it varies quite a bit. If you are waking up because of an issue (leak...) then I'd say figure out a solution, otherwise I'd give it a little time for your body (and mind) to adjust to the program.

[cosmo]

Probably 6-8 hours. I can sleep in for more than 8 hours if I wanted to but I don't allow myself to sleep more than 8.5 hours. Before CPAP, I would get 6-7 on the weekdays because I always went to bed late. On weekends, I did 10-12 hours.

I will let myself sleep in with no alarms this weekend to see how I feel. I will try to get as much sleep as I can.

[johnthomasmacdonald]

I seem to be able to sleep as many hours as i want in total - but i wake up about every hour or two - I don't know if it is the cpap or my severely arthritic hip pain waking me - i think the longest i've slept in one go is probably about 3-4 hours - but i don't feel particularly fatigued during the day even though my ahi numbers are rarely below 5

[2kittymom]

In the beginning of my therapy, I'd mask up and lay down, and no matter how tired I had been, I'd be wide awake! I began listening to relaxation apps to help me go to sleep. Sometimes it took at least 3 times. Using a Cpap machine is foreign to our bodies in the beginning. But, you have to keep at it, and eventually your body will come to accept it as normal. Now I listen to talk radio (usually Coast to Coast) in 40 minute shows, then it shuts off. If I wake up and the mind starts to get busy, I turn on another one. I find that the more I think, the more wide awake I become. Listening to a boring talk radio program lets me drift off to dreamland. It may not work for everyone, but it works for me. With my husband, it's soothing music.
I don't know that there is a typical amount of hours for a newbie. Before Cpap, I was sleeping 8-9 hours a night. But, I had apnea so bad that I really wasn't getting any quality sleep. Starting Cpap, I got between 6-8 hours. Even 6 good hours of good sleep is better than 8 or more of bad.

[cosmo]

You people need to learn how to zone out. I'm a jedi master at it

Once I'm in bed, I'm in a relaxed mood, don't care about anything and don't think about anything. I can fall asleep within 10 mins. I wear earplugs so no sounds could wake me up either. I don't care if the building catches on fire or if a robber comes and shanks me in my sleep. At least I had a good sleep

Before CPAP, I could fall asleep in minutes. I used to wake up to pee a few times during the night and I could instantly fall back asleep. Probably because I was so tired all the time.

All that gets thrown out the door if I ate some sweets during the evening or medication that might have kept me up. Then I can't sleep for hours. Happens once every few weeks.

[raptor5150]

The first month was rough for me, I gave it time to adjust and made my own adjustments and now i sleep all night, feeling much better too Give it time:)

[fishy]

Cosmo...you make me laugh!
I used to be like that when I was young. Now I'm almost 44 and have the body of an 80 year old.