cpap anxiety

New to this forum.

Couple of questions:
Has anybody experienced increased anxiety after better sleep with cpap?
and
If air leaks through my mouth during cpap therapy, does this reduce the effectiveness of the therapy? My machine is recording 8-9 hours of sleep...

Thanks!

One thing I noticed is I don't tolerate caffeine as well as I used to. Down from five cups of coffee to two a day. The only additional anxiety I have is the hoops I may have to jump through to get my therapy maximized.

Air leaking out of your mouth CAN cause your XPAP treatment to be less than effective, it can also make gum and tooth damage worse. A FULL Face mask can retain the treatment air in your airway so it will work. Jim

tryingtosleepwell wrote:New to this forum.

Couple of questions:
Has anybody experienced increased anxiety after better sleep with cpap?
and
If air leaks through my mouth during cpap therapy, does this reduce the effectiveness of the therapy? My machine is recording 8-9 hours of sleep...

Thanks!

The first question doesn't make sense to me. I would think increased anxiety would come from ineffective therapy (worse sleep).

The second question is a "no brainer".........of course it would reduce the effectiveness.


Den

.

well lets see increased anxiety, you have a plastic thing on your face with a blower connected to it by a hose. yep it does indeed take some getting used to. Try and relax and remind yourself that this is good for you and may take a while. It may also be that your just not so dog tired anymore.

Sleep is really not that simple and has a major effect on most of your life. If something needs adjusting then adjust it, but relax and get used to the new you.

tryingtosleepwell wrote:New to this forum.

Couple of questions:
Has anybody experienced increased anxiety after better sleep with cpap?
and
If air leaks through my mouth during cpap therapy, does this reduce the effectiveness of the therapy? My machine is recording 8-9 hours of sleep...

Thanks!

Anxiety doesn't care if you are doing well with CPAP Therapy! Anxiety is here to cause worry and angst and if you can get distracted with some good old fear and stop doing good things for yourself, well Anxiety will throw a party and then blame you for letting yourself get sick.

I battle with anxiety everyday. Anxiety isn't something I experience just sometimes. It is pecking away at me constantly. It is a challenge to look for the positive and keep focused on good self care. You must find your support team and learn to be your own biggest advocate as well to win.

HOW TO WIN AGAINST ANXIETY and KICK IT IN THE B&@*%Z a List by Getting Better

[1] Know your enemy. Anxiety can manifest as a panic attack or is oftentimes irrational thinking, dressed up and costumed as rational or sometimes abusive self criticism. Anxiety will say, "Hey, you don't need to wear the mask. You aren't even sick! You are just doing this for attention." (I've had this thought about myself, even though I was very sick with chf.) Know that your CPAP therapy is ON GOING and not a once and done kind of therapy. You are doing good things for your body and your well being.

[2] Keep a Journal. I keep a journal of my therapy. For the last three days, my AHI has been under 3. When I started, my sleep study AHI was 134.8; my first night was 53.42. You don't have to have a paper journal, SleepyHead has an area for notes and your daily weight, which for me is important for the chf so I can track any fluid retention.

[3] Celebrate your victories appropriately. I have only been using the CPAP 47 days. My goal is to reach 100 days with 100% compliance and AHI under 3 for at least 7 consecutive days. I plan to reward myself with some new sheets.

[4] Treat yourself like a Best Friend.

Hope this helps!

Mouth breathing: you can breath thru your mouth with a full face, total face, hybrid or a oral face mask(s). You cannot breath thru your mouth with nasal masks or pillow masks. The machine will pump air thru the nose and the air will escape thru the mouth (and not in your body). This causes improper therapy.

Anxiety: we normally try to help folks with their cpap problems and help them achieve proper therapy. Anxiety is a different beast. Cpap therapy may increase your anxiety.... so helping you to obtain proper cpap therapy may reduce your anxiety. A lot of folks here unfortunately have other health issues and may help you with your situation. But... proper cpap therapy can reduce or eliminate a variety of health related issues. Hopefully proper therapy will help you deal with your anxiety.

Best wishes, Sheriff

One way to try to deal with cpap anxiety is to watch some good tv/movies or play some exciting computer games or read a book while having you cpap machine at partial or full therapy mode during the day. This accustoms your subconscious mind to the fact that you won't die while wearing it.

Also remember that for years sleeping deeply was trying to kill yourself, and your subconscious is not just going to sit back and let you do that just because you think some piece of plastic over your face makes it safe. You have to teach it that it is a good thing and that it is safe to sleep this way. Acknowledge that it has done a great job for years, standing on guard for you to keep you alive in that deep dark night where the monsters and the grim reaper roams..... and now you have a new champion to help it out.