How long does it take to get less tired?

[Twentysix]

Hi all, I'm new here. Been using a rental CPAP machine for about 3 weeks now. The first week was a bit of adapting and a little stressful at times, but now sleeping at least 6 whole hours a night soundly. Sometimes even more. The little memory card showed that the nose thingies work fine, no leaks, and that I'm actually deep sleeping now (which I apparently never did before). Yay!

I'm probably very impatient, but I wondered how long it will take (approx) before I start feeling fitter etc? Regardless of the good quality sleep I'm now getting, I'm still tired and having trouble getting out of bed in the morning? Would be happy with any experiences from the more advanced CPAP sleepers here.
cheers,

Twentysix (my lucky number)

[Breathe Jimbo]

Everyone is different. Some people feel better right away. Some feel worse at first and then feel better later. It sounds as if you are in-between. If you stick to it, you will feel better in time.

[williamco]

My experience is that if you are tired then the treatment is not optimal right away
because you should feel better rightaway
you need to check your AHI

[Emilia]

You are showing a machine that is not data capable in your profile. You say you are renting that.... wonder if you can turn it in and get an upgrade to one that will show you the efficacy data so you'll be able to monitor your therapy better. Are you required to pay a co-pay monthly as part of your rental on the machine? If so, you may wind up paying many times more than that machine is worth... it isn't even available on our host's site anymore. You need to do the math on this..... especially if you have a deductible and copays. If you have lousy insurance, as I did, it may be better to just buy a good, data capable machine out of pocket than to accept the bottom line ones they give you. On the other hand, it may be that you just need to be assertive and demand a better machine!

There is so much to learn about this therapy, and you will find that this forum contains the best information, the most caring and helpful members, and support to guide you through the rough times. You will benefit greatly by reading and reading the threads of interest as well as going to the wiki at the top of the page to educate yourself.

If you have been fatigued for many years, 3 weeks is not enough to recoup your energy. You have a lot of sleep debt to pay off first. I am 7 weeks into it, and I have wonderful sleep and low AHI readings, but I am still not fully energized. Just enjoy the sleep and know you are slowly repairing the damage done to you brain and other vital organs that were deprived of oxygen for a third of each day.

[kteague]

Hello and welcome. It sounds like you are off to a good start, to be able to get that much sleep early on. I do wonder, though, if you wake up to an alarm clock or if that's when you just wake up. If this is not a natural wakeup, you might want to try to allow more sleep time, especially until you begin to feel rested. That's borderline on being enough for maintenance sleep, and I personally feel that when recovering from the effects of untreated sleep apnea, that healing process could benefit from some extra sleep for a while. While you may be improved, I think you'll be able to reasonably expect to feel rested when both quantity and quality of sleep are adequate. If you're just not sleeping any longer yet, it may take time to learn to sleep longer. Knowing which is your situation will play a part in what you can expect (barring other influences).

[Tielman]

I'm probably very impatient, but I wondered how long it will take (approx) before I start feeling fitter etc?

This is very dependent on the person, some people feel better right away, and some take longer. For me, it took about 6 months before I could really feel the differences in a good night vs a bad night with my CPAP.

Be patient, you WILL feel better the longer you use CPAP.

[Guest]

Thanks for starting this thread, Twentysix, I was just wondering the same thing this morning, and as I've just had my 5th sleep since Dx, I'll try to be not so impatient.

What I WAS hoping for was better glucose numbers in the morning though - I guess this won't happen overnight either oh, well......

[ched03]

I don't know how long it took for me. I just remember one day realizing that I was up cleaning the house, was not falling asleep in on my drive to work, was able to play with my son and could sit through an entire movie without falling asleep. It was an awesome feeling!!!

[Twentysix]

Thanks heaps for all your reactions. Regarding the machine: I don't think the picture looks anything like the machine I'm using, so that may give a false impression. I'm hiring it for 5 weeks, to try it out and when I'll buy one, they give me back 2/3 of the rent, so I thought that was reasonable. I think it is quite good, considering i'm sleeping for hours at the time instead of 1 at the most, just not tech savvy enough to read data myself. I must admit that I have no idea what the AHI exactly is, but when I went back to the sleep guy he checked the memory card and it said (as I remember) that I went down from having 6 complete obstructive apnea blocks in 5 mins to 1 an hour? That sounded alright to me. Will try to get a bit more tech stuff mastered a.s.a.p.
Thanks again, happy with the support.

[du_dragon]

I woke up at 5:30 am this morning. It's still dark out. Usually, this would be a sign that I need more sleep. But, this morning I feel like superman. I was hungry so I made myself breakfast. I never eat this early. Thinking about this made me want to go to this site and report how I felt. I saw your original post which was apropos.

I have been on CPAP for around 6 months now. (Actually, longer but it took time to find the right Doctor, equipment, pressure settings, ...) My situation had turned bad with me having nervous tremors during the day because of sleep deprivation. After a short time, the tremors disappeared but I was still a little tired during the day. My DR told me it would probably take 6 months before I started to feel more alert during the day. He may be right.

I'm extremely optimistic at this point. I struggled with CPAP in the beginning but now that I've found success, I take it everywhere (even on planes) because the benefit is so great. I haven't felt this good since I was a teenager (I'm 53).

I hope this helps.

[roster]

I must admit that I have no idea what the AHI exactly is, but when I went back to the sleep guy he checked the memory card and it said (as I remember) that I went down from having 6 complete obstructive apnea blocks in 5 mins to 1 an hour? That sounded alright to me. Will try to get a bit more tech stuff mastered a.s.a.p.
Thanks again, happy with the support.

There is a way when you get your own machine to greatly improve your odds of having a good therapy. Get a machine with software which will produce a daily report with a time line showing all events during the night - apneas, hypopneas, snores - and mask leak and pressure. With data, you can take the steps to make sure your therapy is working well. Without data, you are guessing.

[pratzert]

For me.... the positive impact was instantaneous.

After ONE night on CPAP, I woke up and felt like I had been reborn. Sooooo much energy and new outlook on life.

Of course, I had unknowingly been suffering with severe OSA for who knows how long ?

I wish I could tell you you should feel great after one night, but I've read many differing results stories, some like mine and others where it took some time.

I'd say if you don't see any results after a couple of months, consider a follow-up with your sleep Doc or if your machine has a data card, get the stats and post here for some comments or suggestions.

Good Luck.

[torontoCPAPguy]

I must admit that I have no idea what the AHI exactly is, but when I went back to the sleep guy he checked the memory card and it said (as I remember) that I went down from having 6 complete obstructive apnea blocks in 5 mins to 1 an hour? That sounded alright to me. Will try to get a bit more tech stuff mastered a.s.a.p.
Thanks again, happy with the support.

There is a way when you get your own machine to greatly improve your odds of having a good therapy. Get a machine with software which will produce a daily report with a time line showing all events during the night - apneas, hypopneas, snores - and mask leak and pressure. With data, you can take the steps to make sure your therapy is working well. Without data, you are guessing.

The Rooster is, of course, right on the button with his comments. I would add that a pulse oximeter that is rechargeable and records overnight at least is also of critical clinical value (from experience). The object of the game is to get your numbers in line; AHI, AI, etc. Make sure you have a mask that fits, is comfortable, nominal leakage, etc. You have made an outstanding start as some of use take 6-12 months to get the mask part squared away (I have gone with a Mirage Quattro Full Face Mask due to stuffy nose at times). You must then, if you want the fastest possible upswing in your condition, LEARN what the numbers all mean and LEARN as much about your condition as possible. I was at my GP yesterday for my regular monthly checkup - he had received the report of my new pulmonologist stating that I knew as much as the sleep doc and she did about my own condition and potential resolutions. She was impressed and THIS FORUM is where I learned. My AHI is generally close to zero most nights and I still felt tired. I have been working on sleep hygiene and have added 2-3L/M of Oxygen to my APAP line to boost my blood oxygen saturation during deep sleep and keep it up around 95% most of the time. It rarely drops below 90% now and if you obtain THAT clinical data (I use a Contec CMS50E pulse oximeter and some blue tape to make sure it doesn't fall off at night) it will help you with the final touches to the mechanical portion of your affliction. Your SpO2 MUST be kept above 90% all night, even when you drop into REM sleep. The alternative is that your SpO2 drops below 90% (considered respiratory DISTRESS by most medical circles) and your body attempts to arouse you to breathe more deeply as the CO2 level in your blood is rising and your autonomic nervous system is not triggering deeper breathing for whatever reason (in my case it is compromised lungs from life support last summer). Once all of this is achieved, including and especially the sleep hygience part, you have a shot at feeling better. I am coming along slowly in terms of being rested but I can tell you that a minor change to my sleep hygiene has disasterous effects. My body's circadian rhythym is all messed up and has been for four decades. It is not going to resolve itself overnight and neither will yours. It is going to take time for your body to heal itself, to repay that sleep debt, to reach a state of equillibrium (remember that your liver is now working well and any medications you are taking are probably interacting entirely differently than they did before... and some meds are working much better than they did before; your body's chemicals and enzymes are being put to better use and even glucose is being stripped from your red blood cells better, etc.) Once your body reaches equillibrim and all your meds are in order you then need to get your body's natural rhythm back into shape and that in itself will take some serious effort. I used to wake up at least 4 times a night and never slept deeply enough to consider putting the alarm system on... I was wide awake, eyes wide open if the floorboards so much as creaked during the night. Now I have to turn on the alarm system and make sure the dog is in the bedroom in order to sleep confidently. I am sleeping so deeply that I can sleep through the night excepting for arthritic pain from not budging all night. So I get up ONE time generally, take a Tylenol and pay a visit and then climb back into bed and drop off to sleep immediately. I am dreaming for the first time in 40 years. Thanks to getting my ship in order, drugs lined up or eliminated in some cases (my BP is now generally normal for instance) and working on my sleep hygiene. Read up on sleep hygiene.... you have likely dropped into a set of bad habits over the years as I did. You should not be eating after dinner unless you are diabetic as I am... and even then, the snack is always a cup of yoghurt and some berries as they do not bloat and do not require your body to work overtime to digest. I do not drink within an hour or two of bedtime and eliminate before going to bed. The room is cooled down a few degrees for comfort and all light is shut out as is all noice. God help anyone that pays a visit to the kitchen for a midnight snack. The deal is that I go to bed between 11 and 11:30 and after that time all must be dead quiet in the home. So far, so good for the most part, although #1 son came to me late last night as the internet was offline and he needed to finish a physics lab report. Today I am feeling it big time. In the end I think that most, knowingly or otherwise, find that getting the body's natural clock back on track is the most difficult part of the process. One of the reasons, asides from general health considerations, to get this affliction we have diagnosed early and treated immediately. The longer you screw around with your body's internal clock the longer it is going to take to get it back on track.... and without this seemingly minor thing you will never, ever in a million years get a good night of sleep except by fluke.

So there you have it as I see it and I am NOT a medical person although two of my MD's have suggested I would be a great physiologist (sic). You have to get all of your ducks lined up in a row and progress GRADUALLY towards that golden bullet - a great night of sleep. It takes time. You have a great start if your mask is doing its job so hang in there, be your own advocate and be as tenacious as a pit bull when it comes to medical care and discover/research. Get a data recording XPAP machine and a recording oximeter of some quality like the Contec CMS50E. And learn to read and interpret the numbers. Start fixing your sleep hygiene immediately, lose weight if you are obese, get referals to the best specialists that you can find to ensure that all the moving parts are working to peak efficiency (MAN, I got the "Presidential". And I am getting the "Presidental in a few days yet again to see where I stand. Top to bottom, bottom to top, inside out, pulmonary function test series, GI series, arterial blood tests, the whole 9 yards including, this time, a full set of allergen testing (3 days before attending a wedding in New York). This is, unfortunately, what we MUST do in order to attain the solution in some cases. Remember, I have compromised lungs from almost a month on life support following H1N1 and the only reason I survived, apparently, is that unlike the male members of my family, I have a heart as healthy as an ox. It is the only reason I am here to tell the tale and I have just completed my first YEAR of rehab on top of my OSA/etc. issues.

So keep at it. The results you seek are like a carrot being dangled before your nose but eventually that carrot will come into reach and I wish you the best of success in making that happen sooner than later. Remember to be an advocate for yourself (screw the 20 minutes... your time is up... next! doctors that you may meet along the way. Drop them like a hot potato!). Be as tenacious as a pitfull but politely so. In other words, do not stand up at the MD's office if your questions are not ALL answered or if a game plan is not quite in place. YOU HAVE THE ABSOLUTE RIGHT to know what the game plan is. And you MUST demand it. Make sure that you know what your numbers are and what they mean at all times and watch for trending... it is that trending that will be a pretty good giveaway as to what course of treatment you need. It took me several months of play in order to arrive at AHI=0 and I need supplemental O2 at night. Good luck.

[biguysez]

I'm one of the lucky ones. First night was like a magic wand had been passed over me. Falling asleep at the wheel in broad daylight is what finally prompted me to see the doc and schedule a sleep study. Two hours into it the nurse sent me home telling me she had more than enough data already. I asked if I could stay since I had paid for the whole night. The cpap had put me into the deepest most refreshing sleep I'd had in a long time that I really didn't want to go home! A few days later I had my own. I had oxy with it for awhile since I was registering in the low 80's but went off it after a year and have always been in the upper nineties since. The only drawback is that now I couldn't take a nap at work if I wanted to! I've never had leakage problems and I even have a beard and mustache. As they have said already, we are all different and patience will prevail. I've had a lot of bad breaks so I was due I guess. Geez, I really ran on didn't I. Too much energy I guess! 8o)

[adksleepygal]

I'm one of the lucky ones. First night was like a magic wand had been passed over me. Falling asleep at the wheel in broad daylight is what finally prompted me to see the doc and schedule a sleep study. Two hours into it the nurse sent me home telling me she had more than enough data already. I asked if I could stay since I had paid for the whole night. The cpap had put me into the deepest most refreshing sleep I'd had in a long time that I really didn't want to go home! A few days later I had my own. I had oxy with it for awhile since I was registering in the low 80's but went off it after a year and have always been in the upper nineties since. The only drawback is that now I couldn't take a nap at work if I wanted to! I've never had leakage problems and I even have a beard and mustache. As they have said already, we are all different and patience will prevail. I've had a lot of bad breaks so I was due I guess. Geez, I really ran on didn't I. Too much energy I guess! 8o)

Really nice to hear how well you are doing - congratulations! I am still working on it and hope to have success someday - I really need energy bad! Thanks for sharing the positive report!