Can’t sleep

[Dgriffin333]

Hi I’ve been on apap for 3 weeks now wear my mask during the day wear it as much as possible but still can’t sleep more then 2 hours with it on at night I fall asleeep pretty quick but wake up after a hour or 2 and can’t go back to sleep does it get better ???

[Guest]

Hi I’ve been on apap for 3 weeks now wear my mask during the day wear it as much as possible but still can’t sleep more then 2 hours with it on at night I fall asleeep pretty quick but wake up after a hour or 2 and can’t go back to sleep does it get better ???

Are you using software (like Sleepyhead) to evaluate your nights of sleep?
If you're not, you should be and the clues or answers should be in the reports.
Could be your "setup" is not optimal for good sleep.

[Julie]

A little info would help us to help you - what machine (specific model) and mask are you using? What are your pressure setting(s)? Do you take any meds? Drink too much coffee? How about problems with acid reflux? And do you overtighten your mask to avoid leaks?

[dgriffin3333]

i am using a res med air sense 10 full face mask pressure setting at 6 to 15 and yes i do use sleepyhead but i feel the hour or two of sleep i get is not deep sleep and is not enough time for good data.

[Guest]

i am using a res med air sense 10 full face mask pressure setting at 6 to 15 and yes i do use sleepyhead but i feel the hour or two of sleep i get is not deep sleep and is not enough time for good data.

It's possible that the changing pressures during the night are disturbing your sleep.
Suggest either trying a narrower pressure range or straight pressure to see if that helps.

[Julie]

6 is a very low setting, so whether you wake up just because you're not getting enough air or for another reason, unless you bump your pressure to something better overnight (7, 9) and still have trouble, it's hard to guess what's wrong. What about my other Q's?

[dgriffin]

i do not drink caffeine or have acid reflex my leaks are very minimal and AHI for the time asleep is usually about 6 or 7

[dgriffinn33]

also when i wake up i have no clue why i feel fine no racing heart or night sweats just wake up for no reason

[nicholasjh1]

Hi I’ve been on apap for 3 weeks now wear my mask during the day wear it as much as possible but still can’t sleep more then 2 hours with it on at night I fall asleeep pretty quick but wake up after a hour or 2 and can’t go back to sleep does it get better ???

This happened to me too, I'd sleep great on it, and wake up feeling totally recharged after a few hours. It was especially "bad" the first week. I think it's because the body is all geared to survive the night of suffocations and panic (that you usually can't remember due to the black outs), and so when you wake up you have a lot of energy because your body has it all stored up, but didn't have to use it like it expected too. It does take a while for the metabolism to "normalize" even after 8 months I still deal with higher than normal energy levels if I wake up in the middle of the night, but it's definitely better than when I started. Much easier to just go back to sleep now.

You can see this effect if you exercise on a regular basis too... Like I go to fitness classes at lunch usually, but even if I don't I always feel up around lunch. The body anticipates the energy usage. Since with apnea you've basically been "exercising" (in a really bad way) all night..sometimes for years... there is a very ingrained pattern of what I call energy queueing. It has shown up in some scientific studies through elevated Creatine levels at night for apnea sufferers.

[Julie]

If your Cpap is working, don't expect to sleep as many hrs as you did before using it!

[dgrriffin333]

also as soon as i take the mask off after waking up i fall asleep with in a couple minutes so it seems that i still need the sleep but for somreason i cant sleep with the apap on

[AMESS]

Digrrifin--same thing here. Two and half months in and still have bad sleep. Husband just got his set up and has not slept at all since it arrived two days ago. Old story--must take time and lots of it. Some folks here never adjust. Know that is not what u would like to hear--but just sayin'.

[AMESS]

Takes a lot of time and patience. Two and one half months into treatment--still waiting for a good night to come. Husband on cpap as of yesterday--two nights did not sleep at all.

[TedVPAP]

Hi I’ve been on apap for 3 weeks now wear my mask during the day wear it as much as possible but still can’t sleep more then 2 hours with it on at night I fall asleeep pretty quick but wake up after a hour or 2 and can’t go back to sleep does it get better ???

By looking at the data via sleepyhead, you may see a reason (a cluster of apneas, leak, pressure increase, pressure decrease). Post your data; see the three links below.

[kteague]

i do not drink caffeine or have acid reflex my leaks are very minimal and AHI for the time asleep is usually about 6 or 7

That's not an AHI conducive to good sleep, but we don't know how much can be ruled out as happening while awake. Even though it's only a couple hours, you data still might show things like if events happened right before waking. It can be hard to fall back asleep if your brain is sensing impending suffocation. Unless you are prone to centrals, I'm with those who are thinking increasing the lower end of your pressure range might prove helpful. Without much to go on, it's all just a guess, but that's generally a first step to reducing events when using an APAP.