More questions

I almost titled this thread "Night Two down and I have questions", but I thought that might be too much!

I didn't sleep as well last night, I don't think. Is that normal? Am I still getting used to the machine?

I know that one reason I woke up was that, at one point, I started choking on the fluid coming into my nose. I guess the humidifier was set a tad too high, and there was condensation. So, I backed it down a bit, and I think that problem was solved. But, that did mean that I was awake again.

I think I woke up several times just in order to adjust the mask on my face. It slipped a little and wasn't really blowing into my nose. Is that normal? Do you stop having to do that?

I just don't know that I slept really soundly. Maybe the sleep I did get was better than usual, though? I don't know.

Do you get to the point that you really do sleep through the entire night and don't really notice this thing on your face?

I still feel more rested than I did before I started using the machine. But, I do wonder why I didn't sleep completely through the night.

Oh, and the kittens didn't seem to bother anything that I could tell. That was one good thing.

Oh, and is it ok if I sleep on my stomach? It seems to still be blowing into my nose, so is that ok to do?

Yes, you can sleep on your stomach. Hurts nothing, I do it often.
Yes, you will eventually "not notice" this stuff on your face so much.
Some nights will be good, some great and some awful... regarding fiddling with the mask and headgear. Some nights you will just wake more easily than other nights for whatever reason.

In some ways your "great" first night spoiled you already. Even the long seasoned pros have less than perfect nights from time to time.

It took me almost a month to find the headgear fitting that seemed to be the one that lasted all night. Always seemed to be a little something off...

Patience... which I myself am notoriously short of.. Some nights I can only sleep 4 hours, some nights I get 7-8 hours. Some nights I wake often, some nights I don't wake up at all. Just remember that even non cpap users will have sleep disturbance issues from time to time.

Hang in there! you'll get it! You were right about the fluid going into your nose--it's called rainout and may be from having the humidifier set too high--try turning it down a little and see if it helps. A hose cover can also help sometimes. FYI I didn't sleep that good either and had lots of leaks last night--couldn't figure out why until i got concious enough and did some flipping around and found one of my straps had come unhooked--i wondered why the mask wasn't as tight as it usually was LOL--once i got it hooked back on it was great but unfortunately it was almost time to get up.

DottyG wrote

Do you get to the point that you really do sleep through the entire night and don't really notice this thing on your face?

I started my CPAP journey in March '09. In the early weeks, I was getting up more than 4X/night (weekly avg) for a "bathroom" break, very similar to my "up" times pre-CPAP. Having read on this forum that successful CPAP therapy lowers blood pressure which was enabling many users to sleep longer between "bathroom" breaks, getting up less often became one of my key objectives. Now, 6 months later, my weekly "up times" average was 1.2X, 1.3X, and 1.4X for the past three weeks. My sleep times before getting up have been increasing. Initially, they averaged between 1 - 2 hours. After a few months, I experienced a few 3 hour durations. In the past month, I have experienced one 6 hours, multiple 5 hour, and many 4 hour sleep durations before having to get up for a "bathroom" break. I now believe that I will reach my objective before my one-year anniversary. At that time, I may, being an optimist, set a new goal of not getting up at all during a night's sleep.

Other members of this forum have gone from many ups/night to sleeping through the entire night without a single "up", and achieved this within a few weeks of starting CPAP therapy. Its taking me longer but I am very pleased with my progress to date in only six months of sleep therapy. Good luck in your journey and your quest for fewer up times.

BTW, I still notice, most nights, the mask on my face. There have been a few nights, however, where I woke up thinking that my mask was off but it wasn't, I just wasn't feeling it. I wear a FF mask which, likely, makes its presence known more than a nasal mask or nasal pillows do!

Dotty,

Didn't sleep as well - some folks have an immediate boost from the machine, then slip back a little. That is not uncommon. There is a lot of new stuff going on, and your body will need some adjustment time.

Rainout - others suggested a hose cover and reducing the humidity a bit. Another thing is to lower your machine below the level of your head so the water runs back into the water tank. Adjusting the temperature and humidity in your home can also help.

Adjusting your mask - over time, you will do that in your sleep without even being aware of it. It will take a little time to get used to doing it.

Mask slipping - hose management can be a trick to get sorted out. You don't want the weight of the hose to pull on your mask. I found that I can tuck my hose in between a pillow and the headboard, and it will stay put. There are hose hanger that can help.

Sleeping through the night - again, it takes some adjusting. Your body has been trained from years of not sleeping well that it should get up fairly often. It still wants to do that. You essentially have to learn to sleep through the night all over again. I went through a phase where I would sleep for 2 hours, then I was awake for 2 hours, then I could sleep another 4. That faded, and I can now sleep 7 hours without hardly evening moving.

Kittens - I wish I could have a cat. I have asthma and allergies, so a house cat wouldn't work out well. Maybe I could rent one for a while every so often. There used to be a hotel near where I live where you can get a cat when you check for the night, and return the cat when you check out. It was called the Anderson House, and was near the Mississippi River in Wabasha, MN.

-john-