I'm frustrated + Just venting

Hi All,
I started cpap treament approx 2 wees ago, got leaks under control, AHI 0.0-3.8, AI is alway's 0.0, HI alway's has values, but I'm still frustrated I slept 9 hours straight last night, and still feel tired

I go through life, as If I am spaced out !! My vision is still abnormal, mentally feeling better, but still difficult to concentrate.

What bothers me most is, activities that used to take me an hour takes 5 hours now, such as building a computer, writing an email that took minutes takes hours, cause my brain is so slow !! It's even difficult to post questions.

I know it's going to take time to recover, but even feeling somewhat normal, would give me the motivation to keep going.

I put on a mask each night, and wake up feeling no different, it's a lose/lose situation, reason alot of people probably stop treatment.

Thanks to anyone that reads.

You will get there. With numbers like that, I promise, you will get there. I know you don't want to hear that it will take a few months but it will and it will have been worth it. Just hang in there.

Keep at it! I know that's easier to say than to do, but relief WILL come.

I was lucky. I dreamed my first night...something I hadn't done in YEARS. I still felt like crap in the morning, but it was enough incentive to keep at it. The fatigue and "fog" took longer to go away, but I already had a taste of the carrot.

Trust me, with numbers like those, it will happen. Achieving ZERO OA's consistently is already pretty amazing...and healthier. It would be worth that even if you never feel better (but you WILL!)

Unless you are using the software - how do you know your leaks are under control? Resmeds are more confusing in this regard bc putting the wrong mask in the machine settings can throw off your results.

That said - I have to ask how long do you think your sleep apnea went undetected and untreated?
Do you have any other medical conditions you have not mentioned?
Take any medications?

Spirit wrote:...still frustrated...

Ah Spirit, it's a long journey back...don't lose hope. The duration most likely reflects how long we've gone undiagnosed. You stop more brain damage and set the stage for recovery with effective CPAP therapy (air going into lungs not leaking). Eat well, exercise as energy returns, avoid stimulants, take omega 3 EFAs esp DHA to enhance brain cell recovery -- they all help. Celebrate the small improvements. Try to laugh about those resistant to change & come up with creative ways to help yourself cope as you heal -- I stuck yellow stickie notes on my chest to remind myself of things to do/retrieve/remember at my worst 'cause it made me smile at the absurdity of it and it worked for me

Keywords here: patience and persistence...oh, and coming here to vent when necessary...we can relate, at least one of us has been there at some time.

If you have begun breathing with your mouth open when sleeping (sometimes a result of Cpap though could have been present before) then you need to look into a full face mask so the Cpap air won't be lost. You can't know on your own if it's happening, but maybe someone could tell you.

Spirit, it does take awhile to pay the sleep debt. Hang in there with this and push yourself to believe that this is absolutely a task you are going to successfully accomplish, and that it will take a bunch of experimentation, adjustments and effort. But also regard the effort as small stuff and keep your frustration under control if you can. It just does take some time to fine-tune things.

It is important for you to know that the Swift LT pillow has been found by many to be defective and unable to hold up for any length of time without leaking over the past year or so. (see viewtopic/t41729/MIRAGE-SWIFT-LT-QUALIT ... ARADE.html

It is also really important in the beginning to check your mouth-breathing/leaking, as noted above. Regardless of whether you mouth-breathed before, the pressure of air going into your nose can create this issue. I am a believer now that a FFM should be the first step for any cpaper. But the next thing would be to tape your mouth for several nights (search "mouth-taping" to help with this) and check your data to determine whether this will resolve your current problems.

You'll get lots of help here if you keep checking-in and provide as much detail as you can about your data and experience.

Hi,
Thanks to all those, whom replied. Thanks for words of encouragement & inspiration. I do mouth tape, and got my leaks down between 0.0 - .36, I have another appt for mask change Sept 10, possibly to ff,. My data is looking fantastic, buy my over all health is still poor.

I live alone and denied disability, cause I own a home, car, property etc...... So I stress out alot, not being able to work, get frustrated with treatments etc.... My savings is nearly gone. So, I just desire to feel well enough to work again, take care of myself. I have no one to depend on, no assistance through cpap therapy.

I'll figure something out.

In the meantime, hope everyone continues to improve, sleeps well, and live a happy, healthy life.

You could have other issues such as nutritional deficiencies or who knows what. Get in to see your primary doc and see if there are other things that may be causing the fatigue.

Spirit wrote:Thanks to anyone that reads.

viewtopic/t44322/Thanks-Newbies.html

Spirit wrote:...live alone and denied disability, cause I own a home, car, property etc...... So I stress out alot, not being able to work, get frustrated with treatments etc.... My savings is nearly gone. So, I just desire to feel well enough to work again, take care of myself. I have no one to depend on, no assistance through cpap therapy.
I'll figure something out...

I'm glad you're here! We care! I am currently unemployed and that started at the same time my apnea therapy lost effectiveness due to loose lips (puffs of therapy like smoke rings out thru my lips )...until I joined here I had no idea what was happening as I was also recovering from central nervous system side effects from a drug I'd been taking. The toll in my short-term memory, abillity to think clearly, mood, and breathing-sleeping was huge and many of my pre-CPAP symptoms returned...it's has made dealing with the backslid as difficult as dealing with the lack of jobs. My savings are running out too & that's scary as I too do not have a fallback resource...my mom & I co-own our home but her job is ending at the end of the yr when my medical coverage ends. With apnea, I've been told I'm uninsurable...just lovely . No one should be in this mess...no one. Disability is a challenge, they almost always deny the first claim. Have 3 friends on disability: all denied first go round. My best wishes for rapid abatement of some of your apnea symptoms...I'll add ya to my prayers for recovery.

DreamStalker wrote:You could have other issues such as nutritional deficiencies or who knows what. Get in to see your primary doc and see if there are other things that may be causing the fatigue.

Hi Dreamstalker,
Thanks for suggestion. But I've been tested from head to toe, going on 3 years, every test returned normal, diabetes, thyroid, adrenal fatigue, the list goes on. Only abnormal study was sleep.

Spirit wrote:Hi,
My data is looking fantastic, but my over all health is still poor.-Quote

Hi Spirit

My AHi has been good since day 1, and with tweaking it is now averaging AHi around 2 every night. But the point is that only in the last week or so have I been getting the benefit, and I have been on the machine every night since March 2009.

It reminds me of stopping drinking, it took months before my mind cleared, and I started thinking better. It seems the same can happen with sleep apnea recovery - it takes time. Just stick at it, check the data, and improve the therapy where you can. To paraphrase what I heard then - you did not get that sick in just 2 weeks, and you will not get better in just 2 weeks.

Quote - My savings is nearly gone. So, I just desire to feel well enough to work again, take care of myself. I have no one to depend on, no assistance through cpap therapy.

Sounds very familiar to me. I am now looking to doing some work again, the first intensive work since 2005. And I thought I never would. So you are not on your own. If you take responsibility for your own welfare, you will find plenty of support here. I did, and still am.

cheers

Mars

Here we go - the proof is in the pudding - spell check reveals no errors - 6 months ago this post would have been full of errors.