Newbie here!

[Triadz]

Hi everyone. New cpap user here from the SF Bay Area. Got my equipment March 1st and am up to about 3.5 to 4 hrs per night. No more going to work foggy headed and no more pulling over to nap on the evening commute. No complaints so far and grateful for this group. Wow..what a relief to find you guys.
I have been lurking so far and will keep lurking and learning and sharing anything that might help. Tons of good stuff here. Thanks for having me..

[Greg6657]

Welcome Triadz,
You look like you are off to a GREAT start. Keep it up and dont give up.
If you havent listed your equipment yet, it would be a good idea just in case you have any questions or concerns it gives the Sleep Gods here a head start to help you.
Anyway welcome to the land of Oz.

Greg

[jweeks]

Got my equipment March 1st and am up to about 3.5 to 4 hrs per night.

Hi,

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on getting started with your treatment. Feel free to post any questions that come to mind.

I'm curious if you are only sleeping 3.5 to 4 hours a night, or if you are having difficulty using the machine and mask throughout the whole night? I wonder if you can elaborate a little more. If your usage is being monitored for insurance company or Medicare purposes, they are going to want you to average at least 4 hours a night most nights. In general, you probably don't want to attempt to sleep without the machine because any blood oxygen level drops can cause long term brain and heart damage, and put stress on other organs. Sleep is one factor, but preventing damage to your body is another essential component to treating OSA.

-john-

[Sir NoddinOff]

Congrats on getting better sleep. Regarding your 4hrs plus or minus sleep pattern, I wouldn't worry too much about it at this point, especially if you are feeling good. I suppose it could be considered heresy to say this on CPAPtalk, but I believe some folks just need less sleep than others and that can only be discovered over time by trial and error. I've been on CPAP almost a year and when I analyze my Sleepyhead flow lines, I can see that I usually feel great with about 5.5 to 6 hours of real sleep. That is, I sleep about 8hrs total, but after I toss out my SWJ segments (Sleep Wake Junk including sleep transitions etc, according to Delta Dave), I tend to average about six hours a night and I always feel fine the next day: no headaches, no AM stoned feeling and never any afternoon naps. As a matter of fact, if I try to sleep 9-10 hours total, I usually don't feel as good in the morning. This is all my personal observation, so don't take it as the Gold Standard or anything. If you can increase your hours of real sleep, all the better. Also: Somebody mentioned the compliance issue, which is a good point to consider.

[Triadz]

Thanks for the replies and good wishes. I bought my machine outright. Insurance paid 80% and I paid the rest. No one mentioned compliance to me so I think I'm ok there. I do have a follow up with my pulminologist in 90 days.
The first few nights sleeping with the mask was weird. Took forever to fall asleep so I was getting only a few hours of sleep. Still felt better though. Then I started falling a sleep but would somehow rip the mask out at night, or I would wake up to pee and not want to put the mask back on. Last night I slept all the way through with the mask. Got up once but put the mask back on. Got 7.5 hrs logged last night. Falling asleep faster and wanting to use the therapy now. Think I'm getting used to it and the benefits are great. So far its been positive. ( knock on wood ) thanks again.
Craig

[jweeks]

Got 7.5 hrs logged last night. Falling asleep faster and wanting to use the therapy now.

Craig,

That is good to hear. I usually look at this as a series of goals. Goal #1 is to just be able to fall asleep using all of this stuff. A second goal is to get through a complete night. Then the next goal is to just get as much sleep as you can for a week to 10 days, even if you have to adjust your schedule or take some time off of work. Once you get over these humps, which you are mostly through already, then it is time to start looking at data and seeing if there is anything to optimize.

Pulling the mask off is a pretty normal thing that a lot of people go through. If that becomes a problem for you, please post back...there are some tips on how to get past that issue.

Depending on your age and physical condition, it is hoped that good CPAP treatment will eliminate the bathroom trips. If your number of trips has dropped down to just one, then you are on the right track. If the number of trips hasn't decreased, then you will want to have your doctor check your data downloads. The mechanism here is that when you have a breathing event, your blood oxygen level drops. Your body wants oxygen, so it tries to wake you up. The way it does that is by sending a chemical signal, which just happens to be the same signal that tells you that you need to use the bathroom. While the chemistry behind it is a little more complex than what I described, the end result is pretty effective. The concern that I have is that this bathroom trip might possibly be triggered by some events that are not being completely treated by your current machine settings. Since you are feeling better, it probably isn't too serious, but it might be something that can be tweaked and made even better.

-john-

[Triadz]

Great info John. I am 59 decent shape, maybe 10lbs belly fat. Have COPD from smoking. Quit smoking 4months ago and away went ER visits for asthma. I have benign enlarged prostate which I believed was causing me to get up 4 or 5 times a night. But now, maybe once. Huge improvement. Your explanation makes perfect sense and I'm guess I'm proof.
I am monitoring my prostate issues but that's a whole 'nother story.
You guys are sharp...love this place...

[Pugsy]

Hi,
Welcome to the forum. I don't have anything special to add to what the others have said.
Just wanted to say hi and tell you that it will get easier and better with time and experience.
You are already ahead where I was almost 4 years ago....It took me a month to work up to 5 hours and even now if I get 7 1/2 hours I do the happy dance.
Good job, keep up the faith and even if you have a bad night...remember we all have them from time to time.
Heck last week I had a night with AHI 0.66 and the very next night AHI 6.07...stuff happens. Just a bad night in general that I can't blame on sleep apnea.