Still Really Tired

[nats57]

I have been using CPAP now for over 3 weeks consistently for over 3 weeks now. I am up to over 5 hours a day on average. I use the S8 with humidifier and the Comfortlite 2. What I am finding is that I feel just as tired during the day as when I started. Has anyone else had this experience and have they seen improvement?

[Emilia]

Hi nats.... welcome. Please take a minute to go up to the User Control Panel in the top left and then to Profile.... choose Edit Equipment and from the pull down menus, select your gear. Choose to show them in TEXT, not icons. This will put your equipment automatically at the bottom of each post you write. It helps us help you better.... and those with the same equipment can offer better advice.

I am at just about 8 weeks into my therapy. I probably had suffered from the extreme fatigue of OSA for 13 yrs before I started so it will take me some time to pay back my sleep debt. I am feeling remarkably better, but I still don't have the big energy kick yet. It is comes faster for some, longer for others. Three weeks is about when some folks also experience sleep rebound and you need to plug on through that.

Can you give us some more information about your sleep study results? What pressure(s) were you given to start out with? What kind of mask are you using? Are you experiencing any leaks with the mask? Do you have a fully data capable machine, and if so, do you have the software with which to monitor your efficacy data?

You have plenty to read and learn here.... and a community of very helpful folks who will guide you through the rough spots and commiserate with you when the times get tough. We will also cheer you on and send virtual hugs as needed. Best of luck... keep us posted. Answer the questions above and get your profile filled in....then we can help you effectively!

[nats57]

Hi Emilia and thank you for your reply and the advice in how to set things up with the user control panel. I wasn't aware of this as I am a total newbie here.
I did post some of my information now but am not totally sure of the humidifier or software yet.
My Respiratory Disturbances in the sleep study showed up as 14 per hour. My lowest supersaturation during an RD was 83 and my mean saturation was 93.5. My machine was set at a pressure of 10 but is now back on automatic. I don't think I am having any real problems with leaks since after 2 weeks the data was analyzed and I was told that I had very little leakage happening. I don't have software myself.
I am renting right now to see if this is working for me and will likely look at the S9 Auto based on what I have learned so far.

I hope this helps and thanks again for giving me some direction.

Kind regards.

[Emilia]

My machine was set at a pressure of 10 but is now back on automatic. I don't think I am having any real problems with leaks since after 2 weeks the data was analyzed and I was told that I had very little leakage happening. I don't have software myself.
I am renting right now to see if this is working for me and will likely look at the S9 Auto based on what I have learned so far.

You list your rental as an S8 Elite CPAP and then say it was set at 10 and is now "back on automatic"... this is not possible with an Elite Capap. Only an AutoCpap can be in automatic mode, and the machine you list can only be run in straight cpap, single pressure mode. Please clarify this.

I am happy to hear you may get the S9 as you can easily obtain the software for this to monitor your own therapy. The rental you have....S8 is difficult to find the card reader for as it is a special one that has become almost impossible to find. The S9 AutoSet is what you really want to get. Don't mention the software to your insurance, Dr., or DME as they will only tell you it is not for patient use. We can help you get it here and become pro-active in helping yourself.

An AHI of 14 puts you at the top of the 'mild' category, and a pressure of 10 is pretty common and not hard to deal with. I am glad you having an easy time with your mask! This is 90% of the adjustment to therapy!!

You seem to be off to a good start.... Keep reading and asking questions!

[brazospearl]

nats, welcome to the forum! Some people feel better right away, others take much longer to FEEL better, even though they are benefitting from therapy in ways they can't feel. Could you tell us your pressure settings in auto mode? Do you know your leak rate? Tell us more so we can be more help!

[adksleepygal]

I have been using CPAP now for over 3 weeks consistently for over 3 weeks now. I am up to over 5 hours a day on average. I use the S8 with humidifier and the Comfortlite 2. What I am finding is that I feel just as tired during the day as when I started. Has anyone else had this experience and have they seen improvement?

I am still quite the newbie to this but just to share and encourage - I am feeling better now for 2 days in a row - I have had 3 nights with pretty good sleep in a row and I am rated as severe with AHI 40+ so I guess its pretty bad and I now realize its been years since I have slept this well. Yesterday was the 1st day I have not needed a nap or been dragging the whole day. I think I may be catching on to this - hopefully. On Tues they are changing me over to Auto and I am trying some new masks to see if this is the best. They have to look at my machine I understand to evaluate my stats. I do not do any of that yet myself and that is fine right now - hoping to learn more about that in the future. One thing at a time for me! Just hang in there - we will try to keep doing this together and catch up on a lot of sleep ( I hope and pray! ) This from someone who threw in the C-pap towel 10 days ago and just resumed it 4 days ago - I am so surprising myself, but people here have reached out and been so wonderful and are playing a huge role in supporting me.

[nats57]

Thank you to all who have commented. It really does make me feel supported.
Just to clarify bit and fix some errors with my previous information. My RDI is actually 16, not 14 and the machine is actually the S8 AutoSet™ II CPAP Machine. I was trying to quickly get the profile in quickly and tried to go by memory. Sorry about that.

Yes, originally my machine was set for auto between 6 and 14. After the DME checked the data, they set it the the 95th percentile which was about 10. She asked me to try that and see what I preferred. I decided to try the auto again after about 3 days just because it seemed a bit easier to get back to sleep if I woke up in the night. Does that make sense?

Also, you mentioned that the S9 is the one I want to get. Is it better in other ways as well, i.e. quieter, easier to breath with, etc?

Thanks again to everyone who commented and for the encouragement. It was very informative to hear that many people experience a sleep rebound after about 3 weeks. That makes me want to plow on to see how it goes.

To sleepygal, you hang in there too. I actually tried this whole thing about 7 years ago and gave it up but now am trying it again based on hearing about so many health problems if I continue to let it go. I have had much more success this time around and hope to stay with it. I too had a much better sleep the last couple of nights and am feeling a little less tired. I also am noticing that I am less shaky and my memory seems to be improving a bit. I can't quantify this just yet but that is my perception so far.

Kind regards.

[Emilia]

I suggested the S9 since you are using an S8 now...which indicates your DME probably uses ResMed machines. There are other brands that would be great, too, and I certainly love my Intellipap Auto with Smartflex. Those who use the S9 will tell you it is so quiet it is hard to know if it is on, and it has excellent data available via the LCD window on it. The software is easy to come by and uses a standard SD card for reading the data. Others will tell you the S8 you have now is an excellent machine, however, for you to take charge of monitoring your own therapy, you will need a the special card and card reader for that machine. These are proving to be difficult to find for purchase anymore unless you buy them from an auction site. The S8 is phasing out since the S9 came to market.

Best of luck!! Keep us posted on your progress.

[nats57]

Emilia,
Where does one find the software for the S9 and how much does it cost? I will be making a purchasing decision soon regarding the actual machine. I have heard a lot of good things about the S9.
nats

[Emilia]

The software can be had for free if you follow these 'secret' directions: Do a search on here for Uncle_Bob.... when you open one of the posts he has made, you will see links to the clinician's manual as well as the software download in the left under the area of his Avatar (usually a picture of some high cholesteral meal). Shhhhhhhh, this is all very covert!

[Janknitz]

Three weeks into this isn't very long, and from the sound of it you are not sleeping all night with your APAP on, so you are not getting the full benefit and it also sounds like your sleep is disturbed from the machine.

But, you have the right attitude. The best thing you can do for yourself is set some goals. One goal should be to keep the mask on all night, and then you can work on gradually increasing the length of time you sleep without waking up disturbed by the machine.

In order to accomplish these goals, you have to knock out the things that are bothering you one by one, and to do that you have to identify them first. Most likely you are waking up when the pressure goes up in deep sleep, possibly your mask is leaking as the pressure increases? If that's the case, the S9 has this cool feature called "mask fit" which puts the pressure up to the highest setting so you can fit your mask at that pressure. Then you return to regular operational mode, and the theory is that your mask will not blow a leak when the pressure increases.

So you can take things step by step to eliminate the sleep disturbances, and you should start to gradually feel better.