Feeling worse on cpap.

[katestyles]

So last night was my first night of getting more than 4-5 hours sleep. Just over 7 hours all on the machine. Sleepy head said in the 7 hours I had only one event all night, but I up this morning with really bad headache, dizziness, fog, nausea and blurred vision... Feeling worse than days I get a lot less sleep. I dont understand.

This is how I would feel before cpap if I slept this long. Generally pre diagnosis the more I slept the worse I felt and the doctor said this was because the longer I slept the more my brain was deprived of oxygen because of the apnea

But I'm on the machine wouldn't this not be happening as bad as before???


EDIT: my wife thinks maybe I feel like this because my brain/body is not used to all the oxygen air etc. That I got since this is the longest use of the cpap yet...

It does sound as if other things are contributing to your issues. However, at least WITH your CPAP, you know that your apneas are controlled. Now you can start to deal with other causes of your symptoms - BUT DON"T STOP WITH THE CPAP.

[palerider]

That reminds me, add 'mogy' to the 'things to put on the foe list', list.

[palerider]

Mogy is a person best put on the foe (ignore) list.

Thinks cpap is evil, advises against it, full of BS.

Do you have a recording oximeter to compare your oxygen levels when sleeping with and without your machine?
CPAP helps lots of people with severe OSA, but it helps very few with mild OSA. At CPAPtalk the majority of the posters are people with severe OSA that CPAP has helped. They will push CPAP even when it appears that it is not helping.
You probably have something else going on that is making you feel poorly. There are many other things that can affect the quality of your sleep besides OSA.
With an AHI of 11 your sleep apnea is mild. They have compared the quality of life of people without sleep apnea to those with mild OSA and found that there was no difference.
There are many studies like this one:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4163952

They conclude:
"Individuals with mild OSA in this cohort do not have worse sleepiness, mood or quality of life in comparison to those without OSA."

And yet, I know multiple people that had 'mild' apnea, and with *proper* cpap treatment, have determined that they *feel better* now than before, as one put it "I'm not such a raging bitch all the time".

With some effort, one can find petty much anything in the NIH archives, there's an oft cited opinion piece from 2007 that says it's nor worth treating mild sleep apnea (written by one person, not a study). Then when you look at some of the "Cited by other articles in PMC", you find that they refute that view, stating that they find *in practice* that people benefit from effective treatment.

Go pedal your anti-cpap crap elsewhere, mogy.

[Mogy]

I am not anti CPAP!
It has helped lots of people. It doesn't help everyone though. When my OSA was moderate it helped me feel better, but when I reduced my OSA to a mild level I couldn't tell the difference between using my machine and not using it.

And yet, 'the baker' is one of the people who is saying he feels worse on CPAP. More than 50% of people don't tolerate CPAP, many of them with severe OSA, but you still push it on people with mild OSA with very little chance of it helping.

[palerider]

I am not anti CPAP!

manure. you're in here posting anti cpap crap all the time.

CPAP is bad for sleep hygiene, especially if you have a low arousal threshold... I am not saying that CPAP will not help you: there is a small chance that it might.

And yet, 'the baker' is one of the people who is saying he feels worse on CPAP. More than 50% of people don't tolerate CPAP, many of them with severe OSA, but you still push it on people with mild OSA with very little chance of it helping.

More that 50% of people "don't tolerate" cpap, bull, more than 50% of people FAIL at cpap, because they don't get proper settings and treatment from their doctors.

If you weren't so anti-cpap, you'd notice that the vast majority of people that come here *because their doctors failed them* end up having success.

Take them out of that 'more than 50%' number.

[the baker]

I'm hoping I'm one of the successful ones....but after 3 weeks of getting worse...I'm a bit less hopefull

[Julie]

Three wks is nothing in your journey here... others have taken much longer (not to scare you off) because they know quitting won't help and they'll still feel like crap, but won't go the extra mile (block?) to get it fixed. You may not end up with just a standard Cpap affair, but there's still a lot to try out before giving up... give yourself another few chances anyhow, and you'll at least be able to live with yourself honestly if things don't work out in the end. But being frantic, trying this and that for just a couple of nights at a time is not the way to go - spinning is a circle, not much good in the end. Slow down, you're not here because you felt so great before you showed up after all.

[the baker]

Three wks is nothing in your journey here... others have taken much longer (not to scare you off) because they know quitting won't help and they'll still feel like crap, but won't go the extra mile (block?) to get it fixed. You may not end up with just a standard Cpap affair, but there's still a lot to try out before giving up... give yourself another few chances anyhow, and you'll at least be able to live with yourself honestly if things don't work out in the end. But being frantic, trying this and that for just a couple of nights at a time is not the way to go - spinning is a circle, not much good in the end. Slow down, you're not here because you felt so great before you showed up after all.

It's not that I don't feel better yet, that's not my complaint.... it's that every week that goes by i feel worse and worse, and the doctors etc. Tell me over and over that it's not normal and by 24 days I may not necessarily feel better.but at least my numbers are good. ( they tell me) ..but I should not be feeling worse ..... At least before cpap I had the ability to get something done.. Now it's dam near impossible to function....

I don't intend to give up just yet.. ( I'm a Taurus very stubborn)

Thanks for your words of encouragement ..

[Julie]

Where's Dr. House (the real one) when you need him!

[Miss Emerita]

Baker, it sounds like you’re now using Sleepyhead, which is great. Why don’t you post a chart from a recent night so the experts here (not me!) can offer you some tailored analysis and suggestions?

There’s information about how to prepare a chart for posting here:
wiki/index.php/Sleepyhead:Organize

I’m sure everyone on this thread feels concern for you, and I really do think the more information you provide, the more the community here can help you.

All my best.

[zoocrewphoto]

It's not that I don't feel better yet, that's not my complaint.... it's that every week that goes by i feel worse and worse, and the doctors etc. Tell me over and over that it's not normal and by 24 days I may not necessarily feel better.but at least my numbers are good. ( they tell me) ..but I should not be feeling worse ..... At least before cpap I had the ability to get something done.. Now it's dam near impossible to function....

Have you posted ANY sleepyhead graphs yet? There is more to sleep apnea than ahi, and we might see something that will help you. Keep in mind that the doctors are not experts about cpap machines and data. Most just look for compliance and ahi below 5. We can help you with more detailed info.

Give us a chance to actually help you.

[palerider]

It's not that I don't feel better yet, that's not my complaint.... it's that every week that goes by i feel worse and worse, and the doctors etc. Tell me over and over that it's not normal and by 24 days I may not necessarily feel better.but at least my numbers are good. ( they tell me) ..but I should not be feeling worse ..... At least before cpap I had the ability to get something done.. Now it's dam near impossible to function....

Have you posted ANY sleepyhead graphs yet? There is more to sleep apnea than ahi, and we might see something that will help you. Keep in mind that the doctors are not experts about cpap machines and data. Most just look for compliance and ahi below 5. We can help you with more detailed info.

Give us a chance to actually help you.

At least one, in another thread ?????

[the baker]

Posted this the other day

That morning I felt the worse that I have so for...headache, dizzy, nauseous the worst brain fog I've experienced in months

A little background, I've noticed the more sleep I get the worse I feel, ie: I feel like cpap with 4-5 hours sleep but feel far worse 7-8 hours sleep
This was even before the machine .DR said because the longer I slept the more events I had thus i felt worse.
But it has happened with the machine a few times already. It happened the night of the screen shot.


I will put last nights into the thread when I'm a little awake more.


viewtopic/t175164/First-sleepy-head-screen-shot.html

[Pugsy]

Have you had your oxygen levels at night tested lately with using the machine?
Maybe get an overnight pulse oximetery test done to make sure that there isn't still something going on with O2 levels just to rule out.

While we don't expect immediate improvement we certainly don't expect to start feeling worse with cpap use and especially markedly worse unless people simply aren't able to sleep using the mask and machine.

[the baker]

Have you had your oxygen levels at night tested lately with using the machine?
Maybe get an overnight pulse oximetery test done to make sure that there isn't still something going on with O2 levels just to rule out.

While we don't expect immediate improvement we certainly don't expect to start feeling worse with cpap use and especially markedly worse unless people simply aren't able to sleep using the mask and machine.

I haven't had my oxygen test at home on the machine, I did bring it up in the beginning the Dr said that during my initial test I did show mild oxygen desaturation but I never went below 91%. And the average during the recorded respiratory events 92%

At the titration with the machine at 10 my oxygen was 95%....

He said that was good..