First week was great...but not so much now!

I had a GREAT first week with my new CPAP. It was nothing short of miraculous! I woke up feeling rested for the first time in so many years. I was SO happy to finally feel great upon wakening!!! I had my follow-up appointment with my sleep doc and told her that I was SO HAPPY!!! Then, after about a week or so, BAAAM!... back to the same old feeling of waking up zombie-like tired! Like I did not sleep at all. Now I wake up with extreme back, neck and shoulder stiffness, I have weird dreams, dry mouth (using a humidifier), sticky teeth (I know, yuck and maybe too much info here!) and SOOOOO tired What is going on here??? I know I should get back to the sleep doc and tell her what is going on, but I have been under a lot of stress lately and just thought it was just the stress and not the CPAP. Has this ever happened to anyone else....great first week, then back to "normal"?? Boy, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired after 8-10 hours of "sleep". Maybe I need a higher pressure???? I have a good-fitting and mostly comfortable mask. Any suggestions would be helpful, and yes, I am going to make an appointment with the sleep doc tomorrow. Thanks!!

Your machine as listed offers no data to look at to see if there is any possible explanation as to why you don't feel so good right now. It only offers how many hours you have used it.

Some people do report a "miracle" initially then they seem to bottom out. Sometimes it is leak related, sometimes maybe pressure related. Sometimes can't find any reason.

It might be stress. I am having some awful nights lately and I have a known stressor in my life right now. But I also have the software to see that I am having more events than usual. Stress does affect us OSA or not.

Dry mouth usually means air exchange through the mouth. Using the Quattro so it should not affect your therapy but it might be enough to affect your comfort. Might increase the humidifier to see if it helps or add a moisturizing mouthwash at night to help retain moisture.

Its tough since you had a glimpse of the "good life" and now you are back to the not so good life. Talk to doctor. Consider lobbying for a machine that will show you full data to maybe give you an idea if something is less than optimal. Right now, you are driving blind.

Greetings, boyamitired. I only have four days on CPAP behind me, so I don't have any specific suggestions for you. Pugsy gave you some great advice. I just wanted to offer my encouragement. I hope you let us all know if the source of your "relapse" is figured out. It may help others going through the same experience later.

Best wishes to you....

~ DreamOn

you may now be opening mouth wide when asleep so breaking the mask airseal, and then breathing outside air thru your mouth
use a chinstrap to keep jaw closed, this wont stop mouthbreathing, if you need to do it

Maybe too much humidity. That can cause the user's nasal passages to close up and force them to mouth-breathe. Try turning the humidity way down or off and do nasal cleaning/rinsing before bedtime.


Den

Thank you for your reply...I should maybe try different humidity settings and see if that makes a difference. I know that I am a "mouth-breather" at night; that's why I switched to the full-face mask...that shouldn't matter, right?? I don't know much about these machines; should I upgrade to one that gives me data on how I am sleeping??? Do they indicate apneas, hypops, etc.?? I wonder why I wasn't given an option when given a machine...boy, do you have to be an educated patient!!! Yikes!

Guest wrote:Thank you for your reply...I should maybe try different humidity settings and see if that makes a difference. I know that I am a "mouth-breather" at night; that's why I switched to the full-face mask...that shouldn't matter, right?? I don't know much about these machines; should I upgrade to one that gives me data on how I am sleeping??? Do they indicate apneas, hypops, etc.?? I wonder why I wasn't given an option when given a machine...boy, do you have to be an educated patient!!! Yikes!

Shouldn't matter. You can still get reasonable therapy by mouth-breathing with a full face mask, but mouth-breathing in a full face mask will (most likely) still result in a dry mouth.

And, but all means, get them to upgrade (swap) you to an M Series Pro machine. They're fully data-capable and with the software, will show you all the events (apneas, hypopneas, snores, leaks, etc.).
They gave you the non-data-capable (cheaper) machine so as to maximize their profits.
You need to take charge of your own therapy. No one else will care about it as much as YOU will.

Den

I had a GREAT first week with my new CPAP. It was nothing short of miraculous! I woke up feeling rested for the first time in so many years. I was SO happy to finally feel great upon wakening!!! I had my follow-up appointment with my sleep doc and told her that I was SO HAPPY!!! Then, after about a week or so, BAAAM!... back to the same old feeling of waking up zombie-like tired! Like I did not sleep at all. Now I wake up with extreme back, neck and shoulder stiffness, I have weird dreams, dry mouth (using a humidifier), sticky teeth (I know, yuck and maybe too much info here!) and SOOOOO tired What is going on here??? I know I should get back to the sleep doc and tell her what is going on, but I have been under a lot of stress lately and just thought it was just the stress and not the CPAP. Has this ever happened to anyone else....great first week, then back to "normal"?? Boy, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired after 8-10 hours of "sleep". Maybe I need a higher pressure???? I have a good-fitting and mostly comfortable mask. Any suggestions would be helpful, and yes, I am going to make an appointment with the sleep doc tomorrow. Thanks!!

It does take time, and patience. Some people feel great immediately, and others do only after some strife. The stress aspect most certainly impacts upon it--I would not take that lightly. Cpap therapy itself can create stresses, as it is a new and sometimes uncomfortable process. As was said, yours isn't a user data capable machine. Can you get a data capable machine? (I assume you were brought a machine by your DME). This would be something to discuss on your follow-up appointment. Also, you might need a chin strap if you are mouth breathing. All things to take to your follow up appointment. It may well be a pressure issue, and that would need to be addressed. If you had user data, we here could give you better advice.