First night, no sleep, is this normal?

mtsarpilot · Post by **mtsarpilot** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:29 am

After dealing with many complications I finally got my CPAP setup yesterday. I am so so so looking forward to getting a good nights sleep and feeling good during the day.

So last night was my first night. But I got almost no sleep. The mask and system seemed to fit very well. There was no discomfort and at no time did I feel like I wanted to rip the thing off my face. I had no problem or discomfort laying in the positions I normally sleep in. I just had a tough time falling asleep, woke up more than slept, and basically just layed there most of the night. I normally fall asleep within minutes, just get horrible sleep due to the Apnea. But I could not even fall asleep last night

Is this typical when starting on CPAP? Is this just the brain trying to figure out what this pressure input is all about and how to sleep with it? I have heard there often is an adaptation period, but not sure what aspects of the sleep experience go through adaptation. If this is normal, how long should I expect before I start sleeping well?

If this is typical, I'm OK with that if I know it will resolve in a week or two. If it's not typical, I'd like to know how long to keep at it before flagging the concern to my DME or doctor.

Thanks for any insights and suggestions you might be able to offer.

Joel

winknblinknnod · Post by **winknblinknnod** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:49 am

congrats on getting on Cpap, I started 5/1 and can report it has really helped my quality of life. That said, the irony of the first two weeks is that they were the worst nights sleep I'd ever had! With the apnea, I thought I was sleeping, but during the adjustment period I knew I wasn't. Very tired! I would say it is going to be difffernt for everyone, but for me it was about one full week of terrible sleep, a second week of OK rest, I had some trouble getting used to the mask thing. After a month I was pretty much sleeping through until 4AM, and starting to feel rested. After two months I got a Cpap with EPR exhalation pressure relief, which I really love because it makes breathing seem more natural, no 'wall of air' to breathe out agaisnt.

So hang in there, it should get better soon!

_________________

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mister_hose · Post by **mister_hose** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:00 am

Over a week on CPAP here, and it gets a lot easier... in fact, it gets automatic and effortless, pretty much. If you have EPR or C-Flex, enable that and set it pretty high (for extra relief). But overall, just get used to it. It'll take a few days. It's worth it. But don't worry that "it won't go away", because it will. Just relax, that'll help. =)

kurtchan · Post by **kurtchan** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:18 am

I agree 100% with the earlier posters. Acclimation to the machine and mask take a different amount of time for each person, but the first few nights are almost always the worst. I spent the first two weeks on CPAP feeling exhausted, dragging myself around and wishing I could sleep as well as I thought I was before I started the therapy. Turned out I was breathing through my mouth and negating the benefits of wearing the mask. Once I got that solved, things improved slowly but surely. Happy to report that, now starting my third month with CPAP, the good nights far outnumber the bad ones and the few bad ones aren't nearly as severe as they were when I first started.

Keep us posted and keep up the good fight. Let us know if we can help in any way. That's what we're here for.

Best,

Kurtchan

krousseau · Post by **krousseau** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:54 am

Being hooked up to the machine, a contraption on your face-you bet its normal not to sleep. You are forming new sleep habits-you will get used to it. Would relaxation tapes/CD help??? You may get some new aches & pains in neck, shoulds, back from new sleeping position too-do you use tylenol or ibuprofen type medication?

ehusen · Post by **ehusen** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 2:09 pm

Yoh,

Just to throw another "me too" on the list. My first night with CPAP was the complete worst night of my life. Luckily I started on a Friday night so that I could just shamble through Saturday. I was not a happy person on that weekend.

But it got better pretty quickly. Now I can pretty much fall right asleep with this contraption hooked to my nose. I did wind up having to tape my mouth though.

As many have said, you will find it is an evolutionary process and does take time. For many people compliance can be really difficult. Not to be discouraging but a lot of people do give up on the treatment. Some numbers reportedly are at the 50% level of failure or higher.

To be honest, I'm not thrilled with having to deal with this medieval torture device every night. But it's been over a year and I think it has helped me. I never had the daytime sleepiness but did have other symptoms (headaches, High BP, acid reflux) which seemd to have been greatly alleviated or gone altogethor. Plus I don't snore and that makes my wife happy. So let's just say I don't "love" my machine but I recognize it as a necessary evil.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 2:46 pm

Even though I received my equipment (from CPAP.COM) earlier in the week (like Monday 05/09/05), I made a concious decision to wait till the following weekend to get acquainted with my new "sleeping partner".....and I'm glad I did. I slept SOOOO much that weekend, I started getting worried. I couldn't believe how much of a sleep debt I had accumulated and how good I was sleeping with my new CPAP.
It's definitely a learning curve, having to sleep with this stuff attached to your face. But, by the time I got into the next week, I was feeling pretty comfortable with the stuff.
My only limiting factor was my bladder getting used to me sleeping longer.
Some nights I barely made it past the 4-hour minimum for compliance. It also didn't help that I was putting in long days at work at that time, too.

Make sure you're sufficiently tired when you go to bed. No naps in the recliner or on the couch till you get the routine down and can easily fall asleep.

Hang in there.

Best wishes,

Den

littlebaddow · Post by **littlebaddow** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 5:48 pm

I still haven't worked out how to post a link, but if you want to take a look at how I felt for the first few weeks, do a search for a thread called "Diary of a new hoser"

The gist of it is, as everyone else has said, your experience is perfectly normal so stick with it and, however long it may take, look forward to the improvement that will come with perseverence

Good luck

NOSE · Post by **NOSE** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 9:28 am

Get the new LIGHT MASK that is now on the Market .

It looks something like my Avatar.

Of course what I did was take a Chin Strap

and split it and attached it to the nose insert

which made it very comfortable during sleep.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 10:18 am

"Diary of a new hoser" by littlebaddow

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 10:27 am

littlebaddow wrote:When I was first diagnosed, I found this forum invaluable and it helped me a great deal to learn from the experiences and support of others. Without the advice so freely given I'm sure I would have found it even harder to cope. Thanks to you all.

I kept a diary for the first few weeks and glanced back at it today. I'm now in week 10 and really beginning to feel the benefit, so the fear, uncertainty and discomfort of the first few weeks is becoming a more distant memory every day.

I thought it might give others some hope & encouragement if they could see a few extracts from my diary. The story shows that for me this wasn't easy at first, there were setbacks, but it has been worth it. I hope it helps someone to read it.

Day 1 What a horrible experience. Lay awake for hours, got about 2 hours of very disturbed sleep then took mask off. Very uncomfortable.

Day 3 Couldn’t stand the mask, took it off after 10 minutes. Bunged up nose, felt like I was suffocating.

Day 5 Managed about 5 hours sleep with mask on, still very disturbed.

Day 6 Lay awake for about 2.5 hours before taking off mask, unable to sleep, felt like it was a constant struggle to breathe through the nose, though when took off mask could breathe no problem.

Day 8 Did not use. Took off mask after a few minutes, nose bunged up as soon as lay down.

Day 9 During the day, used mask for an hour whilst sleeping in arm chair, not too bad, woke up a couple of times with sudden exhalation though mouth.
Night time, propped up on pillows to go to sleep in semi-sitting position. Slightly disturbed sleep for about 2.5 hours, then removed mask for rest of night. Mainly the noise keeping me awake.

Day 11 Just over 7.5 hours using mask. Sleep still a bit disturbed, especially early part of the night when still noticing the puffy cheek effect. Managed to lie down flat for part of the night. Had headache when I woke up during the night.

Day 12 Got the new mask today (Virage vista). 7 hours before removing mask, still disturbed, though mask noticeably quieter. Puffy cheek effect not noticed yet with new mask. Much easier to lay down flat. Headache when woke up during the night.

Day 14 Got to sleep OK, still disturbed sleep. Woke up after about 4 hours, took a long time to get back to sleep, woke up after a couple of hours with partially blocked nose, removed mask then slept another couple of hours. No headache, noticed a bit of air leakage from mask and from mouth.

Day 17 Reasonable, slightly disturbed sleep, 6.5 hours until alarm went off!

Day 19 7.5 hours, slightly disturbed sleep. Sore nose!

Day 21 6 hours with mask, only slightly disturbed.

Day 26 6.5 hours with mask then woke up & took it off, slept 2 more hours.

Day 29 8 hours, woke up 2 or 3 times

Day 31 Ouch, only 2.5 hours, then woke up with stuffy nose & coughing. Managed another hour then took mask off. Was a cold night and had heating on – perhaps too dry?

Day 32 New machine arrived today, autopap with heated humidifier. Wow, what a difference, 8 hours straight, no stuffiness.

I won't bore you with any more. I'm now in week 10 & still have setbacks & a disturbed night, but usually manage 6 or 7 hours undisturbed sleep.

mtsarpilot · Post by **mtsarpilot** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 5:57 am

Night 4 and I at least started to see a glimmer of hope. I fell asleep quickly like I normally do, and slept well for a while. Each time I got to sleep, I slept pretty well, but it is only for about 1.5 hours. Then I wake up because my throat and mouth are so dry it is painful. I wake up, down a glass or two of water, then fall back to sleep.

My humidifier is at it's highest setting. I appears to be working as it is consuming a good bit of water over the course of the night, and the heater plate in it is quite warm. Is the dryness something the body also adapts to, or do I have a problem that does not go away and I should be talking to the Doctor or DME about?

Thanks,

Joel

wolftracker · Post by **wolftracker** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 6:08 am

if you using a lot of water
and are still dry

you might be mouth breathing ... do you have a ff mask
or you might want to tape your mouth

my .02

mtsarpilot · Post by **mtsarpilot** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 7:30 am

How can one tell if they are mouth breathing? Of course we'are asleep so that's gotta be tough. What I can tell is that if I open my mouth intentionally I get a lot of flow back out my mouth, it is loud, and it is uncomfortable. Given this, wouldn't it wake me up if I were opening my mouth while sleeping? May be a dumb question. Is taping the mouth the best way to determine if you are mouth breathing?

Thanks,

Joel

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 1:26 pm

I would say it's 99% positive that you are mouth breathing.

It's a done deal since you are using so much water, have your humidifier set on 5, and still wake up with dry mouth and throat.

It's mouth taping or full face mask. At this point in time, you might be well advised to try the Hybrid mask.

First night, no sleep, is this normal?

First night, no sleep, is this normal?

Light Mask

using water?

Machine	Mask