2 Months In, Still Exhausted?

I still feel like a newbie, even though I can put my mask on in the dark and it's all become second nature. Some days, I noticed a difference. But, still nothing to write home about. Lately, though, I'm almost more exhausted than I was before and I'm sleeping with the mask on for 7-8 hours a night. my AHI is always below 1.0. And 100% mask fit. Based on my Sleep Mapper App that came with the machine I have.

I know my OSA diagnosis wasn't as bad as some people, but I also know it was bad enough to rush to get me on a mask. I wish I had more info, but I can't remember much from the testing. Especially today. I feel so sleepy and foggy. I do know that my pressure is a 9.

Last bit of info, I was diagnosed minor ADD in high school (I'm now 27) and I was off of medicine for the last 4 years. A doctor tried Provigil to help me while I was in the process of getting the mask because I couldn't stay awake and my work was severely affected. It made me feel like I was having a heart attack, so it was discontinued. I am now on 20 mg of vyvanse to help with the ADD and double as possibly making me feel more awake. (I only take it mon-fri) My heart still races sometimes, or I should say if something small makes me anxious, it's multiplied by 5. Doc suggested Lexapro at night to offset the anxiety. I've been taking it in the early evening. Say, 7 o'clock. I also take nexium in the evening and my BCP.

I guess it should also be noted that I didn't take anything but Nexium and my BCP before really getting on the mask and I was still exhausted all of the time.

Sometimes I feel like I want to say screw all of this medicine and just see what happens. I'm not sure what to do. I feel as hopeless as I did before I got the mask. Like I can't function. And I have a substantial amount of weight to lose which feels impossible when most nights I'd rather go to bed than work out.

Any advice?

Can I suggest that you see a nutritionist or dietician? Working out isn't always the best thing for everyone and help with diet can go a long way. You said your pressure is 9, but you have an auto machine... what about the 'other' pressure setting or are you using it only in Cpap mode? And have you downloaded (free) SleepyHead software from the forum so you can see more of what happens overnight? If you post some graphs on Imgur.com and then link those to this thread in a new note, we can get an idea of what's happening.

Julie wrote:Can I suggest that you see a nutritionist or dietician? Working out isn't always the best thing for everyone and help with diet can go a long way. You said your pressure is 9, but you have an auto machine... what about the 'other' pressure setting or are you using it only in Cpap mode? And have you downloaded (free) SleepyHead software from the forum so you can see more of what happens overnight? If you post some graphs on Imgur.com and then link those to this thread in a new note, we can get an idea of what's happening.

I believe the highest pressure is 9. I know when I first started, I could lower it to 4 and it would grow slowly but I don't need that option now.

Also, I have been to a dietician several times throughout the years, and diet isn't really the issue. It's quantity. And when I'm tired, quantity rules go out the door. It's hard to want to cook eat healthy when I'm exhausted. But, almost always, Monday through Friday I eat very healthy. I splurge a little more on weekends.

Hi - it's the low pressure that matters the most (if you're on Apap, which you didn't really confirm), so could you try again please . We want to help, but need something to go on.

PS - the trouble with working out is that you end up hungry afterward, more so than you would otherwise, and it can definitely defeat the purpose if you're not careful (and are tired).

When I am on overload, it really helps me to deal with hard facts in black and white. It can be too much to be sleep deprived, exhausted, and trying to manage information in the head. I would suggest you get a copy of any testing you've had done. There may be clues in the details. Do not count on the doctor having told you if there was anything significant in your report. Things fall through the cracks. See for yourself. And at times like this it's extra stress relying on our memory as to what was said. Besides your sleep studies, your nightly machine data can be revealing. At this point your are wandering around in the dark, and that in itself is exhausting.

Once you determine that your CPAP treatment is indeed optimized, if you don't start to feel better it's time to have your doctor look for other possible causes. CPAP can fix our breathing, but cannot fix other things that might be happening at the same time. Good CPAP treatment can give you the best foundation from which to address other issues. I had limb movement issues in addition to OSA, and the CPAP couldn't fix those. I was still exhausted, but treating my sleep apnea seemed to pierce the veil of oblivion and enable me to have the energy to apply to the other issues. Good luck going forward. Hopefully you can uncover some issues to address regarding your symptoms rather than hope for medication to make your symptoms tolerable. Don't give up hope. Getting the facts may end up being all the help you need.

I"m a newbie too and don't really have that much to offer with cpap information. I'm still figuring it out myself, but I could relate to your comments about exhaustion.

In 1999 I had a terrible time sleeping. I had a sleep study that confirmed numerous arousals. They had no idea why it was happening. I just lived with it. Later, I continued to have problems and became very exhausted. Often I could not get off the couch or out of bed. Eventually, I was placed on medication for my thyroid. It REALLY made a huge difference. I can't say it helped me sleep much better, but I wasn't as exhausted.

Also, depression could be the culprit. You said you saw a nutritionist, but have they checked your Vitamin D, B12 and Iron?

I wasn't going to post here anymore; I don't think there's anything else to try cpap-wise; but just letting you know you are not the only who isn't getting the rush of energy that others do. I'm in over a year now and still feel fatigued everyday.

Good luck.

morgandonor wrote: Sometimes I feel like I want to say screw all of this medicine and just see what happens.
Any advice?

Yes! (There's more wisdom in your "scew it" idea than you may be giving yourself credit for. )

Taking a med holiday doesn't sound like bad idea at all. Here's why:

You know how you feel without the extra meds (Vyvanse and Lexapro) but also without good cpap therapy.
You know how you feel with the extra meds and with good cpap therapy.
But you don't yet know how you feel with good cpap therapy and without the extra meds. This seems like a good next step to me. Work with your doc, of course, but ask about tapering off these extra meds to see how you feel and function now that you're adjusted to the cpap machine and getting good results (at least according to the AHI and other cpap data ).

The most compelling reason to try a break from the extra meds, in addition to the fact that you haven't had a chance to see how you feel now that you're on cpap, is that both Vyvanse and Lexapro can impact sleep quality in negative ways. This might be part of the reason you feel even worse now, despite the number of hours you're sleeping and despite that your AHI is nice and low.

And keep this in mind too -- try not to think of these medication decisions as all-or-nothing propositions. I see this a lot in my work, where people start to feel like they're making a lifetime commitment, an irreversible decision, to try a new med or to try taking a break. Makes the decision a much bigger deal than it needs to be. I've been there myself too. You can always go back on those extra meds if you find you did better on them.

I hope this helps. And welcome to the forum.