I had a great night's sleep....

Tampa Tom · Post by **Tampa Tom** » Mon May 23, 2005 7:33 am

But, why am I still so tired? So, the past two nights on the CPAP I had a great night's sleep. No pain with the Swift. Humidifier doing its thing. It was great!

So, why am I still so tired? Could it be I am still paying back my sleep debt? I also - shesh, maybe this is the problem - helped a buddy of mine lay 1,200 sf of laminate flooring over two days at his house this weekend.

I go back to the RT Wednesday to download some data to see how well I am sleeping. Maybe some answers will come out of that....

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Mon May 23, 2005 8:46 am

I also - shesh, maybe this is the problem - helped a buddy of mine lay 1,200 sf of laminate flooring over two days at his house this weekend.

Yep, that could very well bring another factor into play.

If you want to be very scientific and recreate the same conditions for another test later, I just happen to have a space about the same size......

Tampa Tom · Post by **Tampa Tom** » Mon May 23, 2005 10:41 am

Oh, EVERYONE'S a comedian...

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Mon May 23, 2005 11:24 pm

ok, seriously...yes, it could be a matter of still paying off sleep debt. It also could be micro-arousals while you continue to get used to this very different way of sleeping, even though it sounds like you're taking to mask and machine very well. Nonetheless, it's all still an unusual way to sleep, so maybe your mind/body are still adjusting to it.

Then too, there can be other things that cause cortical arousals - wakups that we aren't even aware of. The poster nicknamed -SWS has pointed this out from time to time, and I think he was right on target. Aches, pains, GERD (acid reflux - heartburn), environmental sounds - think of a dog barking or neighbor slamming a door, tv sounds, squirrel scampering along the eaves - streetlight shining through window, a restless bed partner, a mattress that's seen better days, eating or drinking close to bedtime, too much caffeine....there could be many things keeping a person from truly restful sleep even though the cpap treatment itself is optimized and the person is taking to it well.

On the good side, at least with cpap treatment, the more dangerous aspects of disrupted sleep are being better controlled, but sleep disruptions are....sleep disruptions... even if we aren't fully aware of them. Cortical arousals.

Even though we joked about the laminated floor, all that work really could have had an affect on how you slept and how you felt the next morning.

I still think you should try to recreate the conditions.

Tampa Tom · Post by **Tampa Tom** » Tue May 24, 2005 11:41 am

OK, if it's in the spirit of science, I'll be there in a few weeks...

You are right - My sleep study showed many other types of disturbances. One thing at a time, right?

IWannaSleep · Post by **IWannaSleep** » Tue May 24, 2005 12:26 pm

Tom, for what it's worth my experience is similar to yours. I have been on treatment for 5 weeks now and still do not feel as good as I think I should. Partly I tihnk it's because I'm more aware of the symptoms.

The thing is I have been 100% compliant and my oxygen levels are remaining normal. But, I still feel the fog, the dull headache is still there, and I don't feel I have the energy level I should have.

I do see some improvement though, all the above seem less severe than before treatment and I do not have to fight falling asleep every day in the middle of the afternoon.

It may be that it's just going to take time for my body to heal from the years of damage caused by sleep apnea. There may also be some truth to this sleep debt concept others have mentioned. I'm not sure, but the bit of improvement I'm seeing is enough to give me hope and encourages me to keep working at it.

Maybe in a few more months...

be · Post by be » Wed May 25, 2005 4:58 pm

For what it is worth, I have been using my machine faithfully for over a year and I am still experiencing more exhaustion and brain fog than I would like.

On the upside, I have had marked improvement to where I was a year ago. I waited over four years for the diagnosis (first sleep clinic said I had SA, but I wasn't able to sleep LONG ENOUGH for them to make a diagnosis?!? Ya.)

In the meantime, I developed fibromyalgia, allergies and other autoimmune problems. When I started trying to get used to the machine, someone else with fibro told me it would take a long time to feel good again, but that she had seen and continued to see small improvements. That has been my experience. Some of us have gotten into such a bad state it really takes awhile to recover and the body to heal.

Hang in there--it really is worth it!!

mrhyak · Post by **mrhyak** » Thu May 26, 2005 10:36 am

So what happened with the data download - Are you actually getting the sleep you thought? I'm into this 2 weeks now and am finally starting to get what feels like some real sleep, but my insurance only rented a Remstar Pro (not the Pro2) so there is only compliance data. I still get tired but it's been a huge improvement over where I was. My limited experience is the more exercise, the better I sleep, the next day I feel less tired.

1200 sf of flooring sounds like sore knees to me! Any chance this had anything to do with it?

Jim

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Thu May 26, 2005 10:43 am

1200 sf of flooring sounds like sore knees to me! Any chance this had anything to do with it?

That's what I'm trying to help Tom find out.

Have ordered a load of flooring. Will keep it safely stored until he's ready to start the test. Oh, and in the interests of science, I think several others should also order flooring. The experiment really won't have much validity unless Tom can repeat it over and over.

mrhyak · Post by **mrhyak** » Thu May 26, 2005 11:14 am

To eliminate any possibility of a sore knee or aching joint problem, he will need to perform various test installations with and without kneepads / ibuprofin / etc. I think it may also require supervision (to insure the integrity of the test) by some "friends" who happen to be experienced at watching others work while enjoying an adult beverage. I'm not sure I'm up to the challenge (of the supervision part), but it's worth a try (in the name of science, of course)!! Keep up the good work Tom, remember to laugh once in awhile!

texan27028 · Post by **texan27028** » Thu May 26, 2005 11:57 am

I've been on CPAP for about a month now, and I'm glad that I found this site. It is good to hear about other's experiences. I was beginning to worry about the fact that I'm still tired, even though I do see some improvement over where I was before being diagnosed with OSA.

So, it looks like still being a bit tired is somewhat normal. I felt great after the first few days on the machine, but after that, there are some days I'm completely rested and some days that I'm still dead tired.

I go back for a follow up appointment tomorrow afternoon and I'm bringing this up with the doctor. Maybe I'm worrying about nothing.

mrhyak · Post by **mrhyak** » Thu May 26, 2005 12:36 pm

Make sure they download the data from your machine so you can find out how much sleep you're actually getting - it would not be unusual to require an adjustment in your Rx.
Jim

snork1 · Post by **snork1** » Thu May 26, 2005 6:31 pm

After a year and a half of CPAP and doing EVERYTHING and finally getting THAT all squared away, and STILL being a bit dozey during the day, NOW my sleep doc is going after my Restless Leg Syndrome with medication.

I shall see if that combination of treating Apnea and RLS gets me up to 100%.

Yes indeed, there can be several causes....unfortunately

Tampa Tom · Post by **Tampa Tom** » Fri May 27, 2005 11:50 am

rested gal wrote:
Have ordered a load of flooring. Will keep it safely stored until he's ready to start the test. Oh, and in the interests of science, I think several others should also order flooring. The experiment really won't have much validity unless Tom can repeat it over and over.

Yeah, but you have to provide all of my distilled water and AYR nasal gel to get me....

I had a great night's sleep....

I had a great night's sleep....

patience