Poll On Changes In Energy/Well Being After CPAP

[Heart Jumping]

The poll title says it all. To clarify, I'm not expecting that one day people just wake up and feel full of energy for 16 hours, well, at least not most people. I'm asking how long it took before you started noticing changes in your energy or well being, which I might expect could progress over a period of time.

Thanks!

[ChicagoGranny]

Oh, for god's sake.

[grayghost4]

Hay .... Goofproof ... here is the pole you were looking for

[Heart Jumping]

Oh, for god's sake.

And what in the world is wrong with this poll?

[BlackSpinner]

Poll is no good because it is not an either /or question.

For me from the first day there was a progression of changes in energy and mood and mental ability that lasted at least 4 -6 moths. No switches were thrown.

[chunkyfrog]

I did not notice increased energy until about the four month mark.
It kind of sneaked up on me.
Up till then, I stuck with it because it let me, finally, sleep.

[Julie]

You can't measure (or at least I doubt very much if anyone does) 2 vs 4 wks etc... it's all very subjective and so much depends on many other factors in your life on a given day... and in the end what's the point? Either you feel better relatively soon (weeks) or you don't, in which case, figure out what's not working - may have nothing to do with Cpap/OSA - and look for fixes.

[Heart Jumping]

Poll is no good because it is not an either /or question.

For me from the first day there was a progression of changes in energy and mood and mental ability that lasted at least 4 -6 moths. No switches were thrown.

Thanks. I'll see if I can update the poll/post to clarify that's what I meant, I wasn't thinking that on day x people suddenly feel full of energy, I was asking how long it took before they started to notice some changes.

I did not notice increased energy until about the four month mark.
It kind of sneaked up on me.
Up till then, I stuck with it because it let me, finally, sleep.

Perfect, thanks.

You can't measure (or at least I doubt very much if anyone does) 2 vs 4 wks etc... it's all very subjective and so much depends on many other factors in your life on a given day... and in the end what's the point? Either you feel better relatively soon (weeks) or you don't, in which case, figure out what's not working - may have nothing to do with Cpap/OSA - and look for fixes.

Agreed, like I said above, I was less asking about a "switch" turning on then when people started to noticed differences.

[Goofproof]

Hay .... Goofproof ... here is the pole you were looking for

Not got time, I still have to vote on that really good 2004 poll, got to keep all them POLL LINKS happy. They tell us so much, about our health, I'd probably be dead without all the worthwhile polls. Jim

[Lucyhere]

Oh, for god's sake.

And what in the world is wrong with this poll?

Not a thing, Heart Jumping. If you got the response you were looking for, it's all good. Keep in mind that people frown on polls, which is why you got some of the responses you did. Why the same people have to comment on polls, and instead just not respond, I don't understand.

[blownaway]

For me it was the 7th week before I belatedly noticed that I was a bit more alert, clearheaded and that falling asleep when sitting was reduced. The morning fog and hangovers are gone.

I was suffocating while I slept. If I'd looked in the mirror I'd a prolly seen blue lips.

[Heart Jumping]

... and in the end what's the point?

I think there's a pretty huge point actually, and that it could even be a fascinating area of scientific study. I've seen some people report waking up feeling amazing after their first nights sleep. I've seen other people reporting experiencing dreams as they had not done in years.

I've seen other people say it took weeks or even months and then they started to notice differences. That's pretty incredible if you think about it, that it could take months and a person starts seeing improvement, and would bring up all sorts of questions. Is something happening incrementally every single night that suddenly starts to benefit the person after a month or two? Or is it taking that person longer for whatever reason to truly adapt to CPAP and sleep well with it and it wasn't so much incremental as much as it was sleeping well with it? Or could it be related to other factors such as how long the person had been fighting apnea pre treatment?

From a treatment standpoint, I think it would be very useful to know that x% of users see results in x days, and if you don't, maybe that tells you to see your doctor and find out why not or get another sleep study. Whether this already exists I don't know. But this is exactly what I've encountered with other conditions, the doctor will say "for this condition most people resolve within x months, if you don't we should look at additional alternatives".

I'm certainly not expecting to discover any of this with a forum poll, but it's something I'm interested in because of my personal treatment and intellectual curiosity. And it's inspiring to read and maybe I'd like some inspiring.

[Heart Jumping]

Not a thing, Heart Jumping. If you got the response you were looking for, it's all good. Keep in mind that people frown on polls, which is why you got some of the responses you did. Why the same people have to comment on polls, and instead just not respond, I don't understand.

Thanks Lucy .

For me it was the 7th week before I belatedly noticed that I was a bit more alert, clearheaded and that falling asleep when sitting was reduced. The morning fog and hangovers are gone.

Thanks. So far I'm still tired but I noticed something the other day that was pretty neat, I woke up once in the night and again in the morning and both times felt what I can only describe as mental alertness. Not energy, but no fog. One of those things you get so used to you just forgot what it felt to wake up alert. Hasn't happened again but it was an exiting little event. I also seem to be noticing more dreaming, and remembering them a little better.

[Sonnyboy]

... and in the end what's the point?

I think there's a pretty huge point actually, and that it could even be a fascinating area of scientific study. I've seen some people report waking up feeling amazing after their first nights sleep. I've seen other people reporting experiencing dreams as they had not done in years.

I've seen other people say it took weeks or even months and then they started to notice differences. That's pretty incredible if you think about it, that it could take months and a person starts seeing improvement, and would bring up all sorts of questions. Is something happening incrementally every single night that suddenly starts to benefit the person after a month or two? Or is it taking that person longer for whatever reason to truly adapt to CPAP and sleep well with it and it wasn't so much incremental as much as it was sleeping well with it? Or could it be related to other factors such as how long the person had been fighting apnea pre treatment?

From a treatment standpoint, I think it would be very useful to know that x% of users see results in x days, and if you don't, maybe that tells you to see your doctor and find out why not or get another sleep study. Whether this already exists I don't know. But this is exactly what I've encountered with other conditions, the doctor will say "for this condition most people resolve within x months, if you don't we should look at other alternatives".

Either way it's something I'm interested in for personal reasons and intellectual curiosity. And it's inspiring to read and maybe I'd like some inspiring.

The first 3 months the only change I noticed was less trips to the bathroom.
Somewhere between 4 and 6 months I noticed more energy, not great, but improved.
At just past one year, I am better still, but hope there will be more improvement.

I feel it is a mistake for anyone to say there will be definite improvement the first night, first month, after 6 months, etc.
We are all very different in terms of overall health, age, length of time to be diagnosed, lifestyle, stress, and the list goes on.

I would hate to see anyone stop CPAP treatment or become discouraged because their response to treatment is not consistent with the results of this poll, the opinion of an uninformed MD, friend, etc.

Likely research has already been done and if you want to read the research you will take the time to find the studies.

Per Medicare, if a patients physician does not document improvement of symptoms and the data report does not show the required usage, Medicare will cease to cover the (PAP) device after 3 months.

In my opinion it would be a shame if Medicare stopped CPAP coverage at 3 months due to a lack of improvement of symptoms particularly since Medicare's required usage is likely not sufficient for some to show improvement.

[Lucyhere]

[quote="Heart Jumping"I think there's a pretty huge point actually, and that it could even be a fascinating area of scientific study. I've seen some people report waking up feeling amazing after their first nights sleep. I've seen other people reporting experiencing dreams as they had not done in years.

I've seen other people say it took weeks or even months and then they started to notice differences. That's pretty incredible if you think about it, that it could take months and a person starts seeing improvement, and would bring up all sorts of questions. Is something happening incrementally every single night that suddenly starts to benefit the person after a month or two? Or is it taking that person longer for whatever reason to truly adapt to CPAP and sleep well with it and it wasn't so much incremental as much as it was sleeping well with it? Or could it be related to other factors such as how long the person had been fighting apnea pre treatment?

From a treatment standpoint, I think it would be very useful to know that x% of users see results in x days, and if you don't, maybe that tells you to see your doctor and find out why not or get another sleep study. Whether this already exists I don't know. But this is exactly what I've encountered with other conditions, the doctor will say "for this condition most people resolve within x months, if you don't we should look at other alternatives".

Either way it's something I'm interested in for personal reasons and intellectual curiosity. And it's inspiring to read and maybe I'd like some inspiring.[/quote]


You make a lot of sense to me -- all interesting points. I do think with sleep apnea especially that we are so individual as to when and if we start to feel more energy and all that goes along with it, that it's almost impossible to get the answers you are looking for. I don't believe studies have been done along those lines, but with sleep apnea no longer being a hidden issue in the way it was 25 years ago, it is probable that we will start to see more studies.