Fifth week into therapy

Hello everyone. I'm into my fifth week of cpap therapy. I have cpap induced insomnia and I have been getting two hours of sleep a night. Three days ago I went to the local quick care clinic and got a prescription of Zolpidem 6.5 controlled release, and now I sleep for about three hours and then take my mask off in my sleep. I was ready to throw in the towel and return my equipment, until I stumbled across this website and realize that some people are going threw the same thing that I am, and that there are several techniques to improve cpap problems.

Doug42 wrote:Hello everyone. I'm into my fifth week of cpap therapy. I have cpap induced insomnia and I have been getting two hours of sleep a night. Three days ago I went to the local quick care clinic and got a prescription of Zolpidem 6.5 controlled release, and now I sleep for about three hours and then take my mask off in my sleep. I was ready to throw in the towel and return my equipment, until I stumbled across this website and realize that some people are going threw the same thing that I am, and that there are several techniques to improve cpap problems.

Try using your equipment when you're watching TV or something like that. Too often users just try to only use it in bed and haven't become acclimated/conditioned to it. Then, they focus on their breathing, the air flow, sounds and other things which keep them awake.
Did you have insomnia BEFORE you started this therapy? If not, you need to feel more accustomed to it and need to figure out what works for you. At some point, this will become second nature to you.

It would also help if you would fill out your profile with the exact equipment and settings you're using.


Den

.

I have never had insomnia before. I updated my profile. Thank you for the advice.

Doug42 wrote:I have never had insomnia before. I updated my profile. Thank you for the advice.

Thanks for filling out your profile.
Your profile shows that you are using a bi-level machine. What are your settings?
If you're using a high EPAP or IPAP or wide pressure support, the pressure variations may be what's contributing to your "insomnia" and therefore using it while you're awake (like watching TV) may help with the transition. If the settings are too high, it might be "reasonable" to use some lower settings while you're trying to get accustomed to it.
Do you have the clinicians/setup manual for the machine? There are many links to the manual in the threads.


Den

.

Welcome Doug. At this point it's likely your interrupted sleep is primarily due to all the new sensations your brain hasn't yet accepted as your new normal. Have you ever had dental work done, and in the beginning you can't stop running your tongue over the area because it feels so... different? Soon the new sensations stop feeling new. Same kinda thing with CPAP use, except there is the added element of sensations surrounding breathing (life) so it makes sense the brain would be on alert. That said, it is a good idea to check your machine data to make sure there isn't a problem with subpar therapy. That can cause mask removal too. As far as removal during sleep, a bandaid or piece of tape across a strap onto skin was a good preventative for me. The discomfort of removal woke me enough to realize what I was doing and stop.

[quote="Wulfman..."][quote="Doug42"]I have never had insomnia before. I updated my profile. Thank you for the advice.[/quote]

Thanks for filling out your profile.
Your profile shows that you are using a bi-level machine. What are your settings?
If you're using a high EPAP or IPAP or wide pressure support, the pressure variations may be what's contributing to your "insomnia" and therefore using it while you're awake (like watching TV) may help with the transition. If the settings are too high, it might be "reasonable" to use some lower settings while you're trying to get accustomed to it.
Do you have the clinicians/setup manual for the machine? There are many links to the manual in the threads.


Den

.[/quote]
My pressure numbers are 5/10 ramped up after thirty minuted to 15/20. I just moved my machine next to my recliner and I am wearing as I type this. I don't have a setup manual, but I would definitely like to look into lowering my pressures. Thank's.

Doug42 wrote:Hello everyone. I'm into my fifth week of cpap therapy. I have cpap induced insomnia and I have been getting two hours of sleep a night.

and

Doug42 wrote:I have never had insomnia before. I updated my profile. Thank you for the advice.

As the unofficial president of the CPAP-induced Insomnia Club, I bid you a sad welcome. May your membership in the club be short and may you quickly resolve your current issues and start getting some real sleep!

More seriously, there are a lot of things that you can try to get over the hump. Since you've never had insomnia before, the most likely cause is that as Kteague says, there's a lot of new sensory stuff coming from the CPAP that can take a while to get used to. It will (eventually) get better if you stick with it and work on both the insomnia and the CPAP adjustment.

You also write:

Three days ago I went to the local quick care clinic and got a prescription of Zolpidem 6.5 controlled release, and now I sleep for about three hours and then take my mask off in my sleep.

I know it doesn't seem like much, but I'm glad to see that the zolpidem is helping at least a little.

Did the quick care clinic only give you a zolpidem script for something like 10-14 days and is the script written with no refills?

Regardless of how the quick care clinic wrote the zolpidem script, it's definitely time for you to report the fact that you were only sleeping 2 hours a night to your sleep doc's office (if you have one) or your PCP's office (if you don't have a sleep doc) and that after visiting the quick care clinic, you were given a script for the controlled release zolpidem. You need to be very honest about the insomnia and if you can figure out what thing(s) about PAP therapy are causing you to have so many problems getting to sleep and staying asleep, let them know that. A sleep log might help.

You should also let the sleep doc know that the controlled release zolpidem is letting you get to sleep ok and is helping keep you asleep for the first 3 hours. But that it's not preventing you from taking the mask off.

Some questions:

Are you putting on the mask at the beginning of the night, sleeping all the way through the night without any wakes that you remember, and waking up in the morning without the mask on? And then figuring out from the data that you took the mask off in your sleep?

Or are you waking up sometime in the middle of the night without the mask on?

Good luck!

kteague wrote:Welcome Doug. At this point it's likely your interrupted sleep is primarily due to all the new sensations your brain hasn't yet accepted as your new normal. Have you ever had dental work done, and in the beginning you can't stop running your tongue over the area because it feels so... different? Soon the new sensations stop feeling new. Same kinda thing with CPAP use, except there is the added element of sensations surrounding breathing (life) so it makes sense the brain would be on alert. That said, it is a good idea to check your machine data to make sure there isn't a problem with subpar therapy. That can cause mask removal too. As far as removal during sleep, a bandaid or piece of tape across a strap onto skin was a good preventative for me. The discomfort of removal woke me enough to realize what I was doing and stop.

Hi, I have never had dental work done. Thank's for the explanation, that makes perfect sense. Great idea about taping the ends to the mask, I will be doing that tonight.

robysue wrote:

Doug42 wrote:Hello everyone. I'm into my fifth week of cpap therapy. I have cpap induced insomnia and I have been getting two hours of sleep a night.

and

Doug42 wrote:I have never had insomnia before. I updated my profile. Thank you for the advice.

As the unofficial president of the CPAP-induced Insomnia Club, I bid you a sad welcome. May your membership in the club be short and may you quickly resolve your current issues and start getting some real sleep!

More seriously, there are a lot of things that you can try to get over the hump. Since you've never had insomnia before, the most likely cause is that as Kteague says, there's a lot of new sensory stuff coming from the CPAP that can take a while to get used to. It will (eventually) get better if you stick with it and work on both the insomnia and the CPAP adjustment.

You also write:

Three days ago I went to the local quick care clinic and got a prescription of Zolpidem 6.5 controlled release, and now I sleep for about three hours and then take my mask off in my sleep.

I know it doesn't seem like much, but I'm glad to see that the zolpidem is helping at least a little.

Did the quick care clinic only give you a zolpidem script for something like 10-14 days and is the script written with no refills?

Regardless of how the quick care clinic wrote the zolpidem script, it's definitely time for you to report the fact that you were only sleeping 2 hours a night to your sleep doc's office (if you have one) or your PCP's office (if you don't have a sleep doc) and that after visiting the quick care clinic, you were given a script for the controlled release zolpidem. You need to be very honest about the insomnia and if you can figure out what thing(s) about PAP therapy are causing you to have so many problems getting to sleep and staying asleep, let them know that. A sleep log might help.

You should also let the sleep doc know that the controlled release zolpidem is letting you get to sleep ok and is helping keep you asleep for the first 3 hours. But that it's not preventing you from taking the mask off.

Some questions:

Are you putting on the mask at the beginning of the night, sleeping all the way through the night without any wakes that you remember, and waking up in the morning without the mask on? And then figuring out from the data that you took the mask off in your sleep?

Or are you waking up sometime in the middle of the night without the mask on?

Good luck!

Hello, they gave me a one month supply with one refill. I have a follow up appointment with the sleep doctor on 3/15, I will make sure to tell her everything that is going on. I will tell the doctor that I have no trouble falling asleep, but problems with waking up after two or three hours. I want to also ask her about lowering my pressures some.

To answer your question: I am putting the mask on at night and then waking up in morning with my mask laying next to me and two or three hours of documented time on the machine.

Guest wrote:My pressure numbers are 5/10 ramped up after thirty minuted to 15/20. I just moved my machine next to my recliner and I am wearing as I type this. I don't have a setup manual, but I would definitely like to look into lowering my pressures. Thank's.

You should be able to download one (for the Airsense machines) from this link.

https://sleep.tnet.com/home/files/resme ... -guide.pdf

It probably won't cover the settings for the bi-level machines, but be sure to go through the menu and write down the settings before you go changing things. They're not that difficult once you get familiar with them, but can be a little intimidating the first time. Once you go through them a few times, they'll become "old hat".

Den

.

Doug42 wrote: Hello, they gave me a one month supply with one refill. I have a follow up appointment with the sleep doctor on 3/15, I will make sure to tell her everything that is going on. I will tell the doctor that I have no trouble falling asleep, but problems with waking up after two or three hours. I want to also ask her about lowering my pressures some.

To answer your question: I am putting the mask on at night and then waking up in morning with my mask laying next to me and two or three hours of documented time on the machine.

That's quite common for many users in the first months of therapy. You just need to get over it and keep putting it back on.


Den

.

Doug42 wrote:

robysue wrote:

Doug42 wrote:Hello everyone. I'm into my fifth week of cpap therapy. I have cpap induced insomnia and I have been getting two hours of sleep a night.

and

Doug42 wrote:I have never had insomnia before. I updated my profile. Thank you for the advice.

As the unofficial president of the CPAP-induced Insomnia Club, I bid you a sad welcome. May your membership in the club be short and may you quickly resolve your current issues and start getting some real sleep!

More seriously, there are a lot of things that you can try to get over the hump. Since you've never had insomnia before, the most likely cause is that as Kteague says, there's a lot of new sensory stuff coming from the CPAP that can take a while to get used to. It will (eventually) get better if you stick with it and work on both the insomnia and the CPAP adjustment.

You also write:

Three days ago I went to the local quick care clinic and got a prescription of Zolpidem 6.5 controlled release, and now I sleep for about three hours and then take my mask off in my sleep.

I know it doesn't seem like much, but I'm glad to see that the zolpidem is helping at least a little.

Did the quick care clinic only give you a zolpidem script for something like 10-14 days and is the script written with no refills?

Regardless of how the quick care clinic wrote the zolpidem script, it's definitely time for you to report the fact that you were only sleeping 2 hours a night to your sleep doc's office (if you have one) or your PCP's office (if you don't have a sleep doc) and that after visiting the quick care clinic, you were given a script for the controlled release zolpidem. You need to be very honest about the insomnia and if you can figure out what thing(s) about PAP therapy are causing you to have so many problems getting to sleep and staying asleep, let them know that. A sleep log might help.

You should also let the sleep doc know that the controlled release zolpidem is letting you get to sleep ok and is helping keep you asleep for the first 3 hours. But that it's not preventing you from taking the mask off.

Some questions:

Are you putting on the mask at the beginning of the night, sleeping all the way through the night without any wakes that you remember, and waking up in the morning without the mask on? And then figuring out from the data that you took the mask off in your sleep?

Or are you waking up sometime in the middle of the night without the mask on?

Good luck!

Hello, they gave me a one month supply with one refill. I have a follow up appointment with the sleep doctor on 3/15, I will make sure to tell her everything that is going on. I will tell the doctor that I have no trouble falling asleep, but problems with waking up after two or three hours. I want to also ask her about lowering my pressures some.

To answer your question: I am putting the mask on at night and then waking up in morning with my mask laying next to me and two or three hours of documented time on the machine.

Hi Doug,

As Den said, it is pretty common for newcomers to unintentionally take the mask off at night. But I did want to ask if the mask was comfortable as discomfort can be a reason for unintentionally ditching it.

49er

Did anyone mention tape? A little bit of tape from the mask to your face may make it complicated enough to remove the mask that you will wake up enough to realize you are removing the mask and give you a chance to keep it on. You won't need to tape it on very long.
Jim

49er wrote:

Doug42 wrote:

robysue wrote:

Doug42 wrote:Hello everyone. I'm into my fifth week of cpap therapy. I have cpap induced insomnia and I have been getting two hours of sleep a night.

and

Doug42 wrote:I have never had insomnia before. I updated my profile. Thank you for the advice.

As the unofficial president of the CPAP-induced Insomnia Club, I bid you a sad welcome. May your membership in the club be short and may you quickly resolve your current issues and start getting some real sleep!

More seriously, there are a lot of things that you can try to get over the hump. Since you've never had insomnia before, the most likely cause is that as Kteague says, there's a lot of new sensory stuff coming from the CPAP that can take a while to get used to. It will (eventually) get better if you stick with it and work on both the insomnia and the CPAP adjustment.

You also write:

Three days ago I went to the local quick care clinic and got a prescription of Zolpidem 6.5 controlled release, and now I sleep for about three hours and then take my mask off in my sleep.

I know it doesn't seem like much, but I'm glad to see that the zolpidem is helping at least a little.

Did the quick care clinic only give you a zolpidem script for something like 10-14 days and is the script written with no refills?

Regardless of how the quick care clinic wrote the zolpidem script, it's definitely time for you to report the fact that you were only sleeping 2 hours a night to your sleep doc's office (if you have one) or your PCP's office (if you don't have a sleep doc) and that after visiting the quick care clinic, you were given a script for the controlled release zolpidem. You need to be very honest about the insomnia and if you can figure out what thing(s) about PAP therapy are causing you to have so many problems getting to sleep and staying asleep, let them know that. A sleep log might help.

You should also let the sleep doc know that the controlled release zolpidem is letting you get to sleep ok and is helping keep you asleep for the first 3 hours. But that it's not preventing you from taking the mask off.

Some questions:

Are you putting on the mask at the beginning of the night, sleeping all the way through the night without any wakes that you remember, and waking up in the morning without the mask on? And then figuring out from the data that you took the mask off in your sleep?

Or are you waking up sometime in the middle of the night without the mask on?

Good luck!

Hello, they gave me a one month supply with one refill. I have a follow up appointment with the sleep doctor on 3/15, I will make sure to tell her everything that is going on. I will tell the doctor that I have no trouble falling asleep, but problems with waking up after two or three hours. I want to also ask her about lowering my pressures some.

To answer your question: I am putting the mask on at night and then waking up in morning with my mask laying next to me and two or three hours of documented time on the machine.

Hi Doug,

As Den said, it is pretty common for newcomers to unintentionally take the mask off at night. But I did want to ask if the mask was comfortable as discomfort can be a reason for unintentionally ditching it.

49er

Hello 49er, actually the mask is very comfortable. Thank's

I have been a CPAP user for the past ~6 years and I have noticed that even now, after I'm used to the machine and the mask that I take off the mask about once every week. Usually at night, and usually with no recollection that I had done so while I was asleep. I was kicking around the idea of an smartphone app to warn the user in the middle of the night if the CPAP machine has been turned off by the patient? The app would listen for the constant whirl sound from CPAP and triggers a audible alarm when the CPAP is off for more than 10 minutes.. Can I get a sense how many CPAP folks out here have this problem and would us such an app?