Cannot sleep more then 6 hours on cpap

Hi,
For several months before cpap treatment, I was sleeping 8+ hours, sometimes 12-14 hours. Prior to cpap, if I slept 10+ hours, I was able to function the next day.

Does anyone know the reason why, it's so difficult to sleep more then 6 hours on cpap ??

I thought with cpap, I would be sleeping deeper & longer. I sleep solid for 6 hours, but never wake up feeling refreshed. I never wake during sleep, so why am I not feeling better ??

I still have visual issues, brain fog, tinnitus & non functional, I mean my energy level has improved, but I'm still tired most of the time.

I would try a sleep aid, to help me sleep deeper, but my sleep doc advised, no sleep aids.

Would love to be able to sleep 8+ hours, at least every few day's.

Let me re-ask the question.

Did sleep time improve, for those that slept 6 hours or less ?

Spirit wrote:Hi,
For several months before cpap treatment, I was sleeping 8+ hours, sometimes 12-14 hours. Prior to cpap, if I slept 10+ hours, I was able to function the next day.

Does anyone know the reason why, it's so difficult to sleep more then 6 hours on cpap ??

I thought with cpap, I would be sleeping deeper & longer. I sleep solid for 6 hours, but never wake up feeling refreshed. I never wake during sleep, so why am I not feeling better ??

I still have visual issues, brain fog, tinnitus & non functional, I mean my energy level has improved, but I'm still tired most of the time.

I would try a sleep aid, to help me sleep deeper, but my sleep doc advised, no sleep aids.

Would love to be able to sleep 8+ hours, at least every few day's.

When did you start your therapy? Was it about the time you joined the forum? That's been less than a month.
For most of us, this therapy is "baby steps".
It can also take several months (or longer) to pay back our sleep debt and to repair the damage that years of OSA has done to our bodies.
We're also getting BETTER sleep (and more oxygen) in the fewer hours we're sleeping.
I started my therapy in mid-May of 2005 and it was late June of that year before I got my first night of 8 hours of sleep. I had a five more nights in July that I hit 8 hours......and four nights in August. It was in July that my AVERAGE barely exceeded 6 hrs. of use. I've never had a year where my average hours exceeded 7.5. And, so far this year my average is back to just barely over 7 hrs again. But, I do pretty good on about 7 hrs.

You might want to go back and read this thread again. You posted it after your second night of therapy and were complaining about still being tired after only two nights on the hose.

viewtopic/t44708/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=44 ... 15#p392415

I think you need to adjust your expectations about this therapy. If someone gave you the impression that you would be miraculously rejuvenated immediately, they were wrong. There have been a few on this forum that claim that, but the majority is in the other category. In time, you may be able to get more sleep, but it may be next month.....or the next month.....before it happens.


Den

Wulfman wrote: When did you start your therapy? Was it about the time you joined the forum? That's been less than a month.
For most of us, this therapy is "baby steps".

Thanks Den, I've accepted therapy takes time. Only time will heal. Problem is, I have to much time to do nothing, cause I'm alway's too tired to do anything. It's like, I sit at my computer everyday, and watch the world go by, looking out my window. Eventually, I'm going to become a mental basket. Just get frustrated alot, cause I'm too tired to even provide support on the forums, it's like I'm brain dead.

I do experience small improvements, and it's those improvments, that make me feel impatient. I'm sure, many can relate.

Like for one hour, I'll have a burst of energy, run around town, then the next I'm wiped out. Just so tired of feeling tired. My apnea developed 3 years ago.

I do recieve alot of information & support at the forums, but it's very difficult for those that live alone, it truly is.

Well the good news is, I love my mask & cpap, it's working, not at the pace I would like, but it's working.

I'll try to be more patient, thanks for support.

But that's part of the problem for new users. Other people, including doctors, have implied that you should feel better in a couple of days, maybe a week. Well, it's been two years and 3 doctors later for me, and I still don't feel good. But I have a little more confidence in the new doctor. I got so sick of people telling me stories of how a friend/relative, whoever, felt so much better in days that I thought I might commit violence on the next person who said that.

I think this forum proves that an instantaneous recovery is the exception, not the rule.

I am new to this forum, but not to CPAP. I have been using a CPAP for over eight years and I still can not sleep more then five or six hours. It makes no difference if I go to bed early or late almost always the same thing. About five years ago I was retested and everything looked fine, they also checked to see if I was getting correct amount oxygen in my blood, that was also OK. My sleep doctor couldn't figure it out and all he did was to keep increasing my pressure which just made the problem worse. After sever visits I quit going to my sleep doctor as I was not getting any results. Some time ago I read a few articles about folks that have problems like ours. I can't remember what they called it (I think perhaps Complex Sleep Apnea). My understanding was that we may have more then one sleep problem, OSA and the possibility that our brain is shutting down the breathing process also. Check the internet about this, as I may be totally wrong, it's been a few years.
So like you I do not normally sleep well, do not feel much better and I am still tired although not as much as prior to CPAP usage and right now I can live with it. (perhaps I have just gotten used to getting up at three or four AM every day).


I am now trying to loose weight to see if it helps. I wish I could tell you that everything will get much better, but I can't.