Always headache when wake up with CPAP machine

[Julie]

Sleeping longer can mean you're having more apneas and your body is looking for more sleep to fight them. Lowering your pressure may not have been a great idea even if you feel ok now (one night).

[papzombie]

Sleeping longer can mean you're having more apneas and your body is looking for more sleep to fight them. Lowering your pressure may not have been a great idea even if you feel ok now (one night).

That's a point to keep in mind indeed

[papzombie]

So after 3 nights of reducing to 7.5, I need to come back to 9 because on 7.5 my AHI is 1.2 (while it was 0.7 on pressure = 9), and I feel more sleepy now on 7.5.

And 9 gives me constant headache, shall I change the machine into Auto airflow ?

[papzombie]

I do see that my headache is much increased if there is no water in my heated chamber. So one cause is found. Thanks everyone.

[Julie]

I don't understand why you reduced your pressure - less effective instead of more so, and I wonder if you're trying to find other answers for your headache apart from OSA or Cpap. Try a min. pressure of 10 and see how things go for a few nights.

[papzombie]

I don't understand why you reduced your pressure - less effective instead of more so, and I wonder if you're trying to find other answers for your headache apart from OSA or Cpap. Try a min. pressure of 10 and see how things go for a few nights.

I start to think that CPAP is not natural when it pumps a lot of air to my nose and airway. It requires constant cleaning which I am not good at: I forget or don't have time to do frequent cleaning. (My last time cleaning the hose was 2 months ago), further more using distilled water is expensive and requires extra effort to buy and stock that water in the house. Otherwise heated calcium in the heated chamber is not good for my lung.

May be an operation to enlarge the airway would be more natural ?

[Julie]

The last time I cleaned the hose was 9 years ago... and many of us are the same - no need to clean it unless it's visibly dirty.

You can use 'wipes' for babies on the mask a few times a week (if that) unless it's dirty.

You can also maybe grow up a bit and be mature - the machine may save your life... complaining about such small things is childish. I still believe you need psychological help and should definitely look into it.

And the surgery almost never works.

I don't know what you're talking about when you say 'heated calcium'. Distilled water (not some other kind of bottled water) has no minerals in it. But you can use tap water if you like, but then would have to clean the tank periodically to get rid of the pink (or other color) build-up in there.

[Grace~~~]

It is likely your cpap is working, but your headaches are unrelated.
Many different things can cause headaches.
Try to avoid anger when with health professionals.
They will avoid you out of fear.

+1!

Was this ever the the biggest lesson I have learned. I've had a rough three weeks in the hospital more than out and I have a "results" appointment at 8:50 tomorrow morning. I can never be reminded of this too much.

Even if you are planning on looking for a new doctor or hospital ... don't burn bridges.

... though every time I wake up from anesthesia I am taped to a board.

I can never get this combative issue under control in my 'unconscious self'.

...but I do my best when I'm conscious!

[papzombie]

The last time I cleaned the hose was 9 years ago... and many of us are the same - no need to clean it unless it's visibly dirty.
You can use 'wipes' for babies on the mask a few times a week (if that) unless it's dirty.

Good point I'll use "wipe" for the mask

You can also maybe grow up a bit and be mature - the machine may save your life... complaining about such small things is childish. I still believe you need psychological help and should definitely look into it.

Psychiaters say I have a personality disorder, and they are going to test if I have Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
But even with those psychological disorders, I don't see a good explanation for my headache and reduced cognitive functions (at least thinking speed and memory).

[Julie]

It's not complicated - you have sleep apnea which is not yet properly treated, and the fastest way to fix it could be to raise your minimum pressure setting (it's the one that does the work, not the max. setting), so why don't you just do that and see how you feel? And when I said 'wipes' I didn't mean to just e.g. take a towel and 'wipe' it, but to buy baby wipes at the drugstore and use them in between proper washes with soap and water.

[papzombie]

It's not complicated - you have sleep apnea which is not yet properly treated, and the fastest way to fix it could be to raise your minimum pressure setting (it's the one that does the work, not the max. setting), so why don't you just do that and see how you feel? And when I said 'wipes' I didn't mean to just e.g. take a towel and 'wipe' it, but to buy baby wipes at the drugstore and use them in between proper washes with soap and water.

I have raised my averaged pressure to be 9.5, and AHI is almost 0 now.

[papzombie]

There seems to be a link now between my physical symptomps (headache, chest pain) and my cognitive functions, together with sleep deprivation. It is about the blood O2/CO2 level

1) Doctor's diagnosis & treatment
Asthma was found, and "Budesonide + formoterol fumarate dihydrate" (e.g. Symbicort) was prescribed
Not sure about COPD: I have quickly a shortness of breath while running, but in daily physical work I look like normal.

2) My CO2/O2 measurement
- I have a Spirometry to measure O2, sometimes I see 93% when I feel tired, but normally it is around 94-96%
- CO2 measurement: I have never been aware of such one. From the hospital there were 2 sleep tests before and after CPAP, with some sensors attaching to my body. But the hospital has never told me enough on what was measured.

3) My sleep symptomps
- Short sleep of 30 min only gives me more headache and brain "strangeness". It used to be my power nap before age 20, now I am 40.
- Direct headache anytime waking up
- Always a chest pain as if my lung is "too dry" or "not enough oxygen"
- Waking up often or notice that I am dreaming chaotically.
- These symptoms (headache, chestpain and dreaming) are only reduced if window is open, even in winter.

4) My cognitive symptomps
- Bad concentration on computer: Very quickly distracted on computer, would switch between task very often. Examples: (a) Open the computer to do a certain task, but if laptop has already some tabs opened then I would read those tabs first and sometimes forget what I wanted to do, or even if I remember I don't have the energy or wanting to do that anymore.
(b) While reading an article I would click on links to read another article before finishing the first, and keep on wandering that way
- Lower IQ: I used to be proud of my IQ: good memory, high thinking speed including the ability to do mental math calculation very quickly, not anymore.
- Forgetting things: e.g. eveyday I need to find my phone at least once even if "it was just around 1 min ago"

5) What I do to improve my cognitive function
- Walk outside to think: Boost upto 300% of concentration: I can think deeply, can connect dots in my understanding of things, can have good overview of things to design things at helicopter view (I am a computer programmer).
- Breathing with awareness: it is either a slow but deep breathing (Taichi exercise) or a slow, deep and hard breathing (Sanchin exercise as in this video also incorporates a hard muscle contraction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kybxNOlnl20). Manytimes when I am stuck while trying to solve a problem, if I do a Taichi or Sanchin breathing I will come back to my desk and BUM, the solution arrives.
- Use CPAP while working: I can keep working up to 3 hours on this CPAP on one subject, comparing to 5-10 min without CPAP

6) Links
- COPD and headache: this seems very relevant to my symptomps, however I don't know if I have COPD https://www.healthline.com/health/copd/headache
- Asthma and headache: many links don't seem to be relevant to me.

[Julie]

If you leave things working as they are now, and come back in a while you might just realize you're feeling better in all respects - be interested to see that, but give it a chance and don't go running all over looking for answers otherwise... give it a good chance because your symptoms are classic for apnea but unless you first address them (as you apparently have) you'll never get to the end of things... you may have other conditions as well, but need to see what good Cpap therapy does and then see what might not be clearing up... and address those things at that time.

[papzombie]

So my headache problem is helped 50% by

- Using Budesonide + formoterol fumarate dihydrate
- Having water in the heated humidifier

Thanks for your help that triggered me into this finding.

PS: Yesterday's night was terrible, and it's easy to find: water is gone from the humidifier.

I wish my CPAP can contain water for 2 months, not 3 days like now.

[papzombie]

https://www.thecpapshop.com/blog/connec ... centrator/

"Many older adults who are on CPAP also may need supplemental oxygen. Supplemental oxygen is typically required for people who are diagnosed with some form of pulmonary disease such as COPD, Emphysema or lung cancer. It also may be the case that a CPAP user might need oxygen at night while asleep becomes of low blood oxygen levels. Whatever the case, if supplemental oxygen is needed, a new or veteran user might run into challenges when purchasing an oxygen concentrator and connecting CPAP to an oxygen concentrator"

I might need this oxygen concentrator, don't know why it's not prescribed.