How long?

Pudd · Post by **Pudd** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:07 am

Just wondering how long everyone has been on a cpap machine? For me, its been 3 months and I don't notice any change yet.

DJ_Boxer · Post by **DJ_Boxer** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:14 am

Pudd: It can vary depending on the person and how long they have had Sleep Apnea: it could take days, months, and yes even years. Your body is rehabilitating to a better sleep. Are you going to bed and waking up at a consistent time:closer to 10/11pm not 12am on You should also post what your settings are for your machine.

DJ

KatieW · Post by **KatieW** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:20 am

I've been on cpap just under 2 months. For me, it has made a huge difference. But everyone's different.

Perhaps you could post your settings and results, so others could make suggestions.

SleepyT · Post by **SleepyT** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:34 am

Pudd wrote:Just wondering how long everyone has been on a cpap machine? For me, its been 3 months and I don't notice any change yet.

Are you sure you aren't seeing any improvements? They S-L-O-W-L-Y come about. For example, have you noticed you don't have to urinate 5 times in the night anymore? That's usually the first thing people notice. Has your blood pressure number improved? You may be having tiny changes....

If not, hang in there. Patience, Grasshopper...

T.

Gerryk · Post by **Gerryk** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 11:15 am

I am just starting 16 months. And you may not notice improvements they just sneak up on you and one day you wake up and say OH! Think back at the problems you had before you started and what led you to get tested. Have any of them improved?

Gerry

tattooyu · Post by **tattooyu** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 11:20 am

They do come about slowly. I had a great improvement in the beginning and then plateaued. Recently, another improvement came on quite suddenly, which is nice. I've been on for about 9 months now.

Llama · Post by **Llama** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 11:33 am

Two months for me, but I have yet to really notice anything. I slept great most every night before CPAP and never woke up tired or had difficulty getting up - I would go from asleep to wide awake like flipping a switch. I did not feel tired or drowsy during the day or anything; I went to humor my wife so that she would get the study I had been asking her to get for a couple of years.

I expect that any improvements in my situation will take quite some time to become apparent to me since I had few complaints going in. Actually, I know one thing for certain that has changed, I remember dreaming now. I have been a very infrequent dreamer my whole life so having them come back to me almost nightly has been interesting.

BTW, why do people get up a bunch of times to go to the bathroom? I almost never went to the bathroom during the night.

woodg · Post by **woodg** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 11:59 am

I've been on CPAP for about 2 weeks now. For me the noticeable change started with the first day. I've also been fortunate that I took to it immediately.
In fact, on my Titration study, I slept through the whole night for the first time in I don't know how long.

rubymom · Post by **rubymom** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 12:06 pm

I've been using CPAP/Bi-Pap for eight months now (wow how time flies!). I absolutely have seen improvements. I took about a month or so to get adjusted and to switch to the Bi-Pap which has been wonderful for me because I was titrated at 20 and I felt like my face was gonna blow off. I also switched to my Liberty Mask which I like alot better than the other FFM I had because I like not having my nose enclosed in the mask. I still go through rough spots mainly dealing with leakage, but I'm really happy with my probless.

I no longer am sleeping (and falling asleep at my desk, in meetings or behind the wheel) during the day.

I no longer need (though still enjoy occasionally) naps almost every day.

I no longer get up for the bathroom once every hour or two at night. Now I do pretty regularly get up one time, usually about 5 or 6 hours after I've fallen asleep.

I still get tired (not sleepy) but have concluded that's normal! You're supposed to get tired by the end of the day.

My blood pressure is at the best level it has been in years and years.

I've lost about 20 pounds.

And though I don't feel amazingly more energetic, I can look around my house and see the fruits of my labors--taking care of things that had been neglected for years and years, and I know that's due in part to my treatment.

Now if only I could get my memory back!

All in all, things are good!

thewetlizard · Post by **thewetlizard** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 12:18 pm

I been temping to use mine for 4 months. I see no difference at all. I still go to the bathroom about the same amount. Matter of fact, I sleep worse with my cpap on the I do without it!

Sleepy Taz · Post by **Sleepy Taz** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 3:22 pm

thewetlizard wrote:I been temping to use mine for 4 months. I see no difference at all. I still go to the bathroom about the same amount. Matter of fact, I sleep worse with my cpap on the I do without it!

Sleeping with a C-Pap takes some getting used to! Things like Finding the right mask and developing a can-do attitude will go a long way towards success as well as educating yourself on the effects of untreated OSA. I have a pressure of 17 which took a little getting used to and there have been many nights of frustration but after many years I lead a pretty normal life and have reached the point where I cannot fall asleep without that blast of air. Before giving up ask yourself if you have been positive about this therapy or are you looking for an excuse to quit. If the latter describes how you are dealing with therapy then you are on the road to failure, but there is still time to accentuate the positives, and turn around your results!

DreamOn · Post by **DreamOn** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 3:47 pm

I've been using CPAP for 47 days now. I had immediate positive results, from the very first night, especially increased energy and a much clearer mind. My brain felt like mush before. I couldn't think well or concentrate on tasks. I now sleep soundly most nights and wake up feeling refreshed, which wasn't the case before CPAP. I wasn't able to view machine data for the first two nights because I had a non-data-capable "loaner" machine. But when I received my Elite II on the third day and checked my numbers, my AHI was 1.6. Not a bad start!

My journey hasn't been problem-free, however. I've worked on mask-fit issues, like nose bridge soreness. By checking the leak numbers on my machine, I figured out after a while that I was leaking therapy air through my mouth, making therapy less effective. A chin strap took care of that, and now I have leak numbers of zero consistently. I made a hose cover to prevent rainout. I just bumped my pressure up to see if that makes any difference. I've played around with settings such as EPR and Inhale to see what works best for me. I'll continue to tweak things, but I'm feeling great.

Llama wrote:BTW, why do people get up a bunch of times to go to the bathroom? I almost never went to the bathroom during the night.

Most people who have sleep apnea syndrome have high urine production during the night due to secretion of the hormone "atrial natriuretic factor". This increases urine output during sleep, thus necessitating frequent nighttime bathroom trips. With effective CPAP therapy, there should be a reduction in urine volume at night. If there isn't, then there may be another cause or your CPAP therapy isn't optimal and needs adjustment.

Interestingly, my nightly bathroom trips completely stopped at exactly one month into CPAP. I haven't had to get up even once since that time.

~ DreamOn

DreamOn · Post by **DreamOn** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 4:38 pm

thewetlizard wrote:I been temping to use mine for 4 months. I see no difference at all. I still go to the bathroom about the same amount. Matter of fact, I sleep worse with my cpap on the I do without it!

thewetlizard,

What kind of machine and mask are you using? It would help us to help you (assuming you want that) if you would fill out your equipment profile (via the User Control Panel at the top left of the page).

If you have a machine that's capable of reporting full data, are you checking the numbers on the LCD screen to see what kind of results you're actually getting? That would help A LOT in determining why you're not getting good results! It is entirely possible that you may need some adjustment to your pressure. They don't always get that perfect during the titration sleep study. It's important to know your "leak" numbers from the machine too, as you could be losing the pressurized air through an open mouth, especially during REM sleep. That was my problem for a while, and I was sleeping right through it most of the time. The leak numbers on the machine and dry mouth in the morning helped me to discover that was the problem. A chin strap completely solved that for me.

Are you having problems with your mask? Does it fit well? What is your prescribed pressure? Do you have the "ramp" feature set on your machine -- if so, what is the starting pressure?

I have read in numerous posts from you that you aren't doing well with CPAP, and that you sleep better without it, but I don't recall that you've provided any specific information. IF you do want the other forum members to offer suggestions that may help you make this work for you, please give us something to work with. There are many people here that are happy to help. Post a new thread asking for assistance, and see what happens. The more specific information you can provide, the better.

CPAP can be a hassle, that's for sure. But every night you spend without it, the repeated oxygen deprivation due to sleep apnea is doing more and more damage to your body and brain and can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, memory problems, among other consequences. I know that I don't want to become an invalid or die younger than I have to. It's your choice, of course. Sometimes it does take a while to figure out what's wrong, but in most cases things can be worked out, step by step, with patience and perseverance.

~ DreamOn

yamdigger · Post by **yamdigger** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 5:12 pm

I've been using mine for a month shy of 2 years. It's very difficult for me to sleep without it now.

my pressure is 8.5 cmH2O

JanSaysHi · Post by **JanSaysHi** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 6:13 pm

Dear Pudd
I have been on the CPAP for one and a half months. (Fisher and Paykel)
I realized that half the time I didn't have the thing hooked up correctly and was likely not getting the proper pressure.
You may want to check that everything is correctly hooked up and your mask is sealed.
Perhaps you want to return to the doctor and ask for another sleep study to see if your pressure is enough.
On the positive side, what I have noticed is that I don't have to get up and urinate through the night and also that my blood pressure has come down.
I did wake up one morning last week with so much zest and energy the whole day I felt like I was on cocaine.
I am hoping this feeling will come back!
But all in all, I have felt like I have had some energy returning most days since I have used the cpap.
They say it is a gradual thing.
Good Luck.
Jan

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