6 week update and a concern!

Hi all, thought I'd check in to report on my progress with my APAP. Well, it's been 6 weeks now that I've been on the machine, and I've managed to ramp myself down off of all of the sleep medication I was taking to stay asleep throughout the night with great success! I'm completely off of it all, and sleeping comfortably through the night...most nights...tonight seems to be an exception for some odd reason...probably because of end of the semester grad school stress that's starting to mount. Tonight aside, I've been sleeping great since starting APAP therapy on my own...some of you may remember that I didn't have a sleep study as my insurance wouldn't cover it nor the DME fees....it's been the best $1100 I've spent in a long time! I have had a few nights were I didn't use the APAP, and if there were any questions as to whether I had OSA they have been eliminated. On the nights I use my APAP I wake in the morning feeling great and ready to start the day. However, on the few days that I didn't use it I woke up feeling like a train wreck...felt horrible for the entire day...I think I had almost forgotten what it felt like to wake up feeling good and ready to start the day!

So, all seems to be going well so far....only one concern on my part. I'm in a unique position where I can adjust my sleep hours to when and however long I want...I'm in Grad school and have pretty flexible hours right now. What I've been doing up until this point is to go to bed and let myself sleep until I wake up in the morning by not using an alarm clock. Without fail, I sleep 10 hours each and every night!!! This just seems like too much to me!? I wake up feeling completely refreshed and all, but that is a lot of time to spend in bed sleeping! What do all of you think? Should I start setting an alarm clock and try to slowly ramp the amount of time I spend sleeping down until i find a lower threshold value that I am comfortable with and feel awake with during the day, or do you think that my body possibly actually needs a lot of sleep like this? ...man, this sure does cut into productivity, but it sure does feel great being completely refreshed and awake...it's been years since I've felt so good! So you see, I'm torn between feeling like I shouldn't sleep for so long due to the other things I could be doing, whereas, on the flip side I say screw it, I feel great when I sleep 10 hours and not change anything! Anyway, I'd love to hear opinions from all of you before I make any changes to my sleep cycles...Thanks!



Tired-in-Tenn

Hi Tired,

Thanks for the update. I was wondering how you were doing. What you have is an enormous sleep debt that can't be repaid in 6 weeks. You had accumulated such a large sleep debt over the years that it may take time to repay it. The only way to pay back sleep debt is by sleeping. So, if your body needs the sleep, and your schedule allows, I would sleeep as much as your body needs it. That's my opinion anyway.
I am by no means an expert.

It's great feeling alive again, isn't it?

Jen

I think that Jen is right: if your body wants to sleep for 10 hours AND your scheldule allows you to sleep that long, do it.

I'm in a similar position in that my job has some flexibility regarding start time. So, I tend to sleep until I wake naturally or get wakened by the four-footed alarm clock. Either way, giving your body the sleep that it wants can't be a bad thing.

I would love to be able to sleep for 10 hours, but that would mean going to sleep before my 7 year-old. Somehow, don't think that is going to happen.

If your schedule allows you to get that much sleep and your body can handle it, go for it.

Howard

Listen to your body!

Tina

Amen to all of the above!

Sleep as many hours as you have the luxury to sleep and your body wants to. You're walking up rested and refreshed. That's what matters!

And as a fellow (woman, actually ) Tennessean who did exactly the same thing you did -- spent that $1,000 on top notch equipment rather than on a sleep study -- it goes to show that in some cases, some of us uninsured people can get great affordable treatment from autopaps exactly as a sleep doctor (Dr. Barbara Phillips) recommended:

Powerpoint presentation at a meeting of the American Lung Association of the Central Coast - November 2004

Glad it's worked out as well for you as it has for me.
WTG!!

There wrote:Listen to your body!

Tina

You listen to my body, and I will listen to yours!!! But seriously folks...I am just barely averaging 6 hours a night. I would love to make at least one night a 10er. But, my 4 year old girl thinks it's fun to get up at 6:00 a.m. on the weekends.

I am glad at least my 6 hours are quality sleep now!!

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I guess I'll follow your lead and continue to allow myself to sleep as long as I need. It's kind of disconcerting to sleep 10 hours each night, but I'll tell you what, I absolutely feel great when I wake up the next day...it's been a long time indeed since I've felt so good. I guess I should remind myself that even though I am sleeping 10 hours, and losing a couple of hours of work time each day, I am a lot more productive during the time I have now as compared to what I was like before APAP.

One of the best moves I've made was getting my APAP. I'm glad I was persistent in following through in what needed to be done to get one. I am also glad that I spent the extra money to get the best equipment and mask I could from cpap.com. I couldn't really afford it living on grad school pay, but now after having it, I see that I really couldn't afford not to have it!

Thanks everybody for the words of encouragement, both now, as well as back when I first posted and was so frustrated with my doctor. It seems to have all worked out. Also, thanks you know who, for the behind the scenes help, I appreciate it!



Tired-in-Tenn
(maybe I should change my username, as someone suggested a while ago, to Not-so-Tired-in-Tenn!)

Tired-in-Tenn wrote:*snip* I guess I should remind myself that even though I am sleeping 10 hours, and losing a couple of hours of work time each day, I am a lot more productive during the time I have now as compared to what I was like before APAP.

*snip* I am also glad that I spent the extra money to get the best equipment and mask I could from cpap.com. I couldn't really afford it living on grad school pay, but now after having it, I see that I really couldn't afford not to have it!

Tom, I think you've written some of the "heart of the PAP matter" in your post. I've snipped a bit to retain the meat of the post. A couple of my thoughts:
1. Yep, even though you may be "losing a couple of hours of work time each day", productivity and output as well as quality is probably better than it's been in years. I know it sure is for me (although I don't have the luxury of sleeping 10 hours a night. *sigh*)
2. "I couldnt really afford it......I really couldn't afford to not have it" Boy, did you ever hit the nail on the head with this one!!! How many of us bemoaned the cost, but when the benefit kicked in were real darn glad we did it.
3. You also stuck with the process and stood up for yourself (recalling earlier posts). We, in the end, are all responsible for OURSELVES and to get ourselves the treatment we need AND deserve!

Well done, Tom! Congratulations and many happy nights' sleep.

This therapy WORKS!! (But only if you USE it!)

It sounds like such a wonderful thing to be able to sleep so many hours and wake feeling rested and refreshed. I'm in the middle of my 2nd week and typically, even with the machine, sleep between 4 to 6 hours and then wake. I usually am unable to fall soundly asleep again but lay in bed usually for a couple more hours trying.

After rising I still do not feel rested and by mid afternoon i'm feeling sapped of energy and have to fight the urge to nap. Last night I set a new bench-mark and was able to keep the mask on for 7 straight hours, even though I woke as usual after 5 or 6. I seem to be able to tolerate the therapy for more hours each night.

I have to admit after a week and a half of this, and still feeling tired and beatup all the time, I'm wondering if this is really going to work.

IWannaSleep wrote: I have to admit after a week and a half of this, and still feeling tired and beatup all the time, I'm wondering if this is really going to work.

...but do you feel better with using it than without? Give it time. I know of people who have experienced close to immediate relief such as I did as well as people for whom it took 6 months before they started to experience some relief...but they finally did and use it every night.

Another thing that I think is helping me, is that now that I am feeling much more alert, I've undertaken an exercise program...I couldn't do it before as I was too exhausted all of the time. I am positive this has to be helping somewhat as well with my ability to sleep...heck, I'm genuinely tired by bedtime now from the exercise I've been doing... YMMV

-(Not-so)-Tired-in-Tenn

I have heard that everyone's sleep needs are different. As long as there is no other underlying condition, 10 hours of sleep should be fine.
My biggest problem was after I finished the graduate school and started working It was so hard to switch my sleep/wake cycle from 4-12 am to 12-8 am, so watch out
Best of luck

I tried the sleep as long as I could routine and it didn't work for me personally. I am much less tired if I get up after 8-9 hours then if let myself sleep for 10 or more hours. It is so hard making myself get up instead of just sleeping a little bit more but that little bit of extra time haunts me the rest of the day. Try out some different schedules to see what your body needs & wants. Don't be surprised if you go through strange phases throughout the first year on xPAP- I went through a couple months were I woke up at 5 am no matter how late I went to bed. No matter what I couldn't get back to sleep so I got up and started my day...my dog thought it was neat for the first week and after that I got a dirty look when I disturbed her beauty sleep.