The honeymoon is over!

[DrainedDad]

I have been on my cpap for a week now. The first 4 days were great; I had no problems sleeping and felt more energetic than I have in years. The past three nights have gotten progressively worse. I felt like I was at war with the stupid thing all night and it got the better of me. I tried adjusting straps and repositioning the mask but nothing seemed to work. I even went from my mask to nasal pillows! At about 3:30 I put the mask back on and finally feel asleep until 5:00, but then work was calling! I am bracing myself for a long day of fighting off the nods and feeling miserable !

I have found after 23 years of marriage that every relationship goes through times of ups and downs. I would never dream of getting rid of my wife; she brings too much joy to my life. I guess I have to take that same attitude with cpap. If I am faithful to her she will bring me the joy of feeling better. But there will be those times when we don't get alongvery well!

[Newsgrouper]

I too seem to have problems wearing a mask through the night. What I have found helpful is changing masks during the night. I usually need to visit the bathroom midway through the night. When I do I also change masks. I use full face masks (ResMed Ultra Mirage and F&P HC431). The "new" mask touches different parts of my face and it actually feels good to put on the new mask. It only takes a few seconds as I have the alternate mask all ready to go.

[texan27028]

Yeah, that's exactly what the doctor told me when I went in for my follow-up after being on CPAP for a month. He said, "The honeymoon is over" when I asked him why I was still tired. After adjusting covers, straps, thermostats, humidifiers, etc... I'm finally back to sleeping well with the CPAP. It just takes time. And even now that I think I have things set the way they need to be, I still sometimes have less than perfect nights. And I think that is probably expected since I'm trying to sleep with a hunk of plastic strapped to my head.

Keep with it, and don't give up! I think you have the right attitude, and I believe that the good nights will out weigh the bad nights in the long run.

Richard

[Sleeping With The Enemy]

I have been on APAP since January 24th. I struggled to get used to all of the equiptment.

Just to let you know....it does get better and you will learn to sleep with all of this on. It would nicer if we didn't have to, but it does get better.

Just hang in there.

Heidi

[DrainedDad]

I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised how well today has gone ! After waging the battle all night and feeling worn out when I got out of bed this morning (see my earlier post), I have been surprisingly alert and dare I say it even a little energetic. I have had a very productive day. It is now past the time when I usually start having my greatest case of the nods and I haven't nodded once. I haven't had that strong urge to take a nap, nor am I suffering from the brain fog and headache that I get toward the end of the day.

Hooray! for cpap. This treatment must be working. I wanted so bad to throw the whole thing against the wall last night and be done with it. I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. As William Wallace said, in "Braveheart", "Hold the line!"

[loonlvr]

Maybe you caught up on your sleep and now need less. I find that now that I have adjusted to mask I need less sleep. Sometimes I find that if I have a few great long nites of sleep, I wake up at 4am ready to go. A pleasant surprise actually. lol

[DrainedDad]

I don't mean to be such a newbe, but could someone tell me what "lol" stands for? I've seen it many times but have not figured it out yet.

[loonlvr]

lol means Laughing Out Loud

[DrainedDad]

Makes perfect sense now. Thanks for letting me in on the secret.