It's been a month. The good the bad and the ugly.

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement and for all the information on this site that helped me realize how important it was to get the cpap out of the closet.

I've used it every time I've slept for a month now. Leaks are under control for the most part and my AHI is less then 1 most of the time with the highest being 1.4. My blood pressure has dropped enough that I went form 2 pills twice a day down to 1 pill once a day and the only reason I'm still taking that is for migraine management. Aches and pain are less, headaches have eased up, nightly trips to the bathroom are down from 3-4 to 0. Physically I feel much better.

My only gripe right now is that I'm still extremely tired during the day. Probably more so then before. I've used to sleep 7-8 hours a night and very rarely slept more then that. Since starting cpap I'm sleeping a minimum of 9 hours and often as much as 11. What is up with that? No matter how much I sleep I just want to sleep more. About once a week I wake up with energy and feel great all day. The rest of the time I just feel completely exhausted.

Any ideas? Will this get better or should I be talking to the doctor about this?

thanks
Angie

The body works in strange ways. It might take a few months for you to retrieve all the past 'lost' sleep. It took me about 2-3 months of 7-8 hr daily therapy before I felt better. Now I get up 6 am each morning, without alarm clock, just like the old days! Be patient, give it a little bit of time.

My only gripe right now is that I'm still extremely tired during the day. Probably more so then before. I've used to sleep 7-8 hours a night and very rarely slept more then that. Since starting cpap I'm sleeping a minimum of 9 hours and often as much as 11. What is up with that? No matter how much I sleep I just want to sleep more. About once a week I wake up with energy and feel great all day. The rest of the time I just feel completely exhausted.

I'm having the same experience, not sure why. I can't really sleep longer and I wake before I have to nowadays, but I'm still pretty tired during the day. Not "sleepy, can't stay awake" tired, but more like just tired and I could easily go to sleep if I had a chance to take a nap. I'm still taking naps on the weekend, but I don't use my CPAP for those naps and I find the quality of sleep is not good when I take those naps (just too lazy to move the machine to the t.v. room and my kids will laugh at me).

I wake up feeling so wonderful in the mornings (calm and comfortable instead of stressed and panicky) that I almost feel like I'm addicted to that good sleep. I'm happy to go to sleep knowing I will wake feeling so good

It's always worthwhile to check with your doctor and make sure there aren't any medical conditions that were masked by the SA that now you can see are there since the SA is treated.

Congratulations on getting consistent with your therapy. You are already reaping the benefits. Hopefully you'll gradually increase your energy as well.

Hi there,
sorry you are still feeling tired..

Im at three months, and feel the same, (tired after cpap, but not before.. )
however, I think I will work through it, maybe its the adjustment period..

like the new car "break in" period, you cant go over fifty..

of course other medical issues might be in play too,
you might need to do some more sluething around..



good luck!

elena

Have you tried a full face mask, or taping, just in case you're mouth breathing once asleep (unknowingly) and losing all the Cpap air that way? It's the usual problem, and fix(es).

Thanks for the replies. I had wondered if I was sleeping so much because I've not slept a good nights sleep in 20 years. Now a bomb could go off and I wouldn't wake up. I can definitely see the health benefits already and I'm sure my body has a great deal more healing to do.

Julie wrote:Have you tried a full face mask, or taping, just in case you're mouth breathing once asleep (unknowingly) and losing all the Cpap air that way? It's the usual problem, and fix(es).

I had considered this because I was having leaks at first. I tried a chin strap and it didn't really help much. Right now what I'm seeing in the software is one or two times a night for about five minutes it looks like I'm probably mouth breathing. However, 6 out of 7 nights a week my 95th percentile leak rate is 0.0. I will continue to pay attention to that and perhaps try taping.

Janknitz wrote:
I wake up feeling so wonderful in the mornings (calm and comfortable instead of stressed and panicky) that I almost feel like I'm addicted to that good sleep. I'm happy to go to sleep knowing I will wake feeling so good

I can understand that. I used to wake up aching from head to toe and feeling like I've been hit by a truck. I hated going to bed at night because I knew how I would feel in the morning. Now I look forward to going to bed. Before cpap I woke up feeling stressed and angry. I always woke up in a horrid mood. Now I wake up in a good mood and relaxed. Mentally I feel more alert and more relaxed in general. My overall mood is much better. Now if I could just get my body to fall in line.

Janknitz wrote: I'm having the same experience, not sure why. I can't really sleep longer and I wake before I have to nowadays, but I'm still pretty tired during the day. Not "sleepy, can't stay awake" tired, but more like just tired and I could easily go to sleep if I had a chance to take a nap. I'm still taking naps on the weekend, but I don't use my CPAP for those naps and I find the quality of sleep is not good when I take those naps (just too lazy to move the machine to the t.v. room and my kids will laugh at me).

Jan,
I'd definately encourage you to use the mask and machine when you nap... any time you sleep is when you should be using it!

cflame1 wrote:

Janknitz wrote: I'm having the same experience, not sure why. I can't really sleep longer and I wake before I have to nowadays, but I'm still pretty tired during the day. Not "sleepy, can't stay awake" tired, but more like just tired and I could easily go to sleep if I had a chance to take a nap. I'm still taking naps on the weekend, but I don't use my CPAP for those naps and I find the quality of sleep is not good when I take those naps (just too lazy to move the machine to the t.v. room and my kids will laugh at me).

Jan,
I'd definately encourage you to use the mask and machine when you nap... any time you sleep is when you should be using it!

How old are the kids? One of my friends laughs and call me dumbo because of the elephant look of the FX mask. If they are young maybe you could convince them it's funny with some make believe story. If they are older then you are probably doomed to just being picked on and laughing with them. I've decided I want a spare machine to keep near the couch. Some nights I can't sleep so I want to lay on the couch to fall asleep like I used to prior to cpap. However, I know if I brought my machine in the living room and feel asleep I would never take it with me when I woke up to go to bed. Therefore, I stay off the couch.