please sign in if you were never tired or sleepy before cpap

elena88 wrote:

djr1215 wrote:I didn't have the sleepiness and tiredness until January though I did snore.
End of Dec, and throughout January I had several health issues and among all that got sent for a sleep study and diagnosed with OSA. Didn't start cpap until May though.
I don't have a problem with the mask, my therapy is "appropriate" according to the sleep doctor (AHI under 2 most of the time and O2 sats are normal), but the sleepiness and tiredness haven't gone away.
Just had A1C, TSH, CBC, CMB, etc checked and all okay (except cholesterol).
Now investigating whether the BP med I'm taking is causing the sleepiness/tiredness - my GP says the most common complaint about that med is fatigue.

So you werent tired before cpap... but now are tired starting in january... is that when you started the bp meds?
My husband is on some, and we ran out a couple days ago.. I noticed that he was not falling asleep every where he sat the days we didnt have that
bp med, so Im going to ask his doctor about that.. since he works at home, he can get away with doing that, but I know he would much prefer not
falling asleep all the time.. If the cpap is making you better, but the meds are making you tired, it will be hard to tell how refreshed you would
have been because the cpap was doing its job..

before the beginning of this year I wasn't tired/sleepy. Then I had pancreatitis, atrial fib, was diagnosed with OSA, pancreatitis again. The BP med was changed because of the pancreatitis. I was on cardiac meds for a brief while (digoxin, coumadin, rhythmol) and I thought those were causing the tiredness but it didn't go away when they took me off them. Then I started cpap and thought it would go away, but it hasn't, so we checked for diabetes, thyroid and other health issues. The only thing left is the BP med. The sleep doc says that I'm probably just one of the 10% of people on cpap that continue to be sleepy. He gave me a prescription for Nuvigil but because of the a-fib I can't take it until I talk to the cardiologist (next month).

before the beginning of this year I wasn't tired/sleepy. Then I had pancreatitis, atrial fib, was diagnosed with OSA, pancreatitis again. The BP med was changed because of the pancreatitis. I was on cardiac meds for a brief while (digoxin, coumadin, rhythmol) and I thought those were causing the tiredness but it didn't go away when they took me off them. Then I started cpap and thought it would go away, but it hasn't, so we checked for diabetes, thyroid and other health issues. The only thing left is the BP med. The sleep doc says that I'm probably just one of the 10% of people on cpap that continue to be sleepy. He gave me a prescription for Nuvigil but because of the a-fib I can't take it until I talk to the cardiologist (next month).

gosh you had a lot of stuff hit the fan all at once.. that must have been very rough..

So the doc said ten percent of people CONTINUE to be sleepy on cpap? But you werent sleepy before, so I wonder what percentage of people

who werent tired before, become tired on cpap.. I bet its less than ten percent..

I hope you get all this sorted out, and if its the meds, get those all situated, and just maybe, maybe the cpap will make you feel better in the
next couple of months, I hope so!

I was not terribly sleepy before CPAP. Can't remember my Epworth score, but let's say that after filling it out, I was encouraged to consider whether I had underestimated. I don't think I would ever fall asleep while driving or while talking to someone, though I've become a bigger fan of naps lately, which I never used to like.

I have had feelings of cognitive decline for a while though and I'm only 36. In the last few years, I've felt a lot less smart than I did in college. And I've found myself becoming more forgetful, anxious, unable to make decisions, and irritable in recent years. But I probably would have chalked that all up to aging, stress, etc. and not done anything about it if not for the facts that:

1. My snoring had gotten noticeably louder lately, to my wife, who recently started sleeping downstairs on occasion; something which never happened before. This had to be fixed.
2. My Dad uses CPAP. My uncle uses CPAP. One of my cousins used CPAP. My sister doesn't use CPAP, but snores like a freight train and can fall asleep with a conversation going on around her (probably a very high Epworth score).

I was diagnosed not too long ago with OSA with an AHI of 27.3.

I've been on CPAP for about 5 days and tolerating it pretty well (although my S9 AutoSet keeps shutting itself down because of a "heated tube fault" but that's another thread...). I don't know if I feel absolutely, unbelievably, amazingly better, but I do think that I have more energy and can think more clearly, so that's good. And I'm not snoring, which I think my wife is very happy about.

elena88 wrote:everyone said I would feel better on cpap, but its had the opposite effect for me.. so its all assbackwards.. I cant function at all if I wear it all night.
My sleep doctor is consulting with another sleep doctor. I decided to quit about two weeks ago.. and I took my nose pillows off at three am, and
said, IM DONE! Then I went to sleep for four hours and woke up feeling like a million bucks.. so I started a half and half plan, and so I didnt end
up quitting all the way..

elena88,

I have read some of your other threads and you certainly have my sympathy and respect for having to fight so hard at this but keeping up the fight.

It's funny you mention 3:00am, because when I first started that was the exact time I would wake up every morning and take my mask off because I couldn't stand it anymore! I felt worse than before and after a couple hours without I started feeling better.

(please do not think I am commenting on you or your situation I am way too new to all this to give advice. )

I realized for me though, it was a combination of mental rebellion and environmental conditions. I HATED the idea that I had to wear this bleepin mask every night for ever! It didn' t help that I live in the Phoenix, AZ area and the nightly lows were in the high 80's when I started. It sounds funny considering where I live, but I HATE THE HEAT! Being the stubborn S.O.B. that I am, I eventually realized that I could not let my mental state dictate what I had to do to stay healthy for my wife and daughter. I made a conscious decision to wear the thing all night every night even if it took me a long time to relax at 3:00am and get back to sleep.

Good luck to you and know that you are never alone. There are a few of us "asymptomatic" people thtat know your frustration.

Zeke351

t's funny you mention 3:00am, because when I first started that was the exact time I would wake up every morning and take my mask off because I couldn't stand it anymore! I felt worse than before and after a couple hours without I started feeling better.

Ah 3:00 AM. In the six days I've been on CPAP I've seen more of that hour in a week than any time except for grad school and when my kids were newborns. But I've got the opposite problem: Most nights I can't relax enough with the mask on to get to sleep until it's pushing 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning. If I try to go to bed at a reasonable hour, no matter how hard I try to get to sleep, I can't. Brain seems to wake up when I put the mask on.

robysue wrote:

If I try to go to bed at a reasonable hour, no matter how hard I try to get to sleep, I can't. Brain seems to wake up when I put the mask on.

I know that feeling all too well! I had to almost be completely asleep and my wife would roll over and remind me to put my mask on. Once I got to where I could put the mask on almost asleep it got easier from there.

Good luck and don't give up!

Zeke351

I never would have guessed that I had OSA. I always felt like I slept good and always woke up happy and feeling rested. I had started having severe sleepiness in the middle of the day and when driving. I drive a lot for business (approx 1,500 business miles a month) and it was becoming a serious problem for me. I would have to leave early so I could take time to stop and rest on a two hour drive. I even called a customer one time and made up an excuse about running late because I had to pull over to rest. I'm a psychologist and know all to well that driving while fatigued is very dangerous. I was certain that I had narcolepsy and made an appointment with a sleep specialist. He recommended that I do a sleep study to rule out OSA and if I didn't have OSA I'd stay and do the multiple sleep latency test. After reading about the treatment for both OSA and narcolepsy I was so relieved to be diagnosed with OSA as the treatment is straight forward. Been on CPAP a month now and it has made a world of difference.

robysue wrote:

t's funny you mention 3:00am, because when I first started that was the exact time I would wake up every morning and take my mask off because I couldn't stand it anymore! I felt worse than before and after a couple hours without I started feeling better.

Ah 3:00 AM. In the six days I've been on CPAP I've seen more of that hour in a week than any time except for grad school and when my kids were newborns. But I've got the opposite problem: Most nights I can't relax enough with the mask on to get to sleep until it's pushing 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning. If I try to go to bed at a reasonable hour, no matter how hard I try to get to sleep, I can't. Brain seems to wake up when I put the mask on.

A few ideas (BTW, I only started CPAP on 2010-09-23 and I haven't had much trouble falling asleep, though I wake up a fair amount):

1. Put the mask on and read, watch TV, etc. so you get used to it. Though I guess this might also reinforce the association mask = awake, but maybe worth a try.
2. Try a sleep aid such as Ambien, Valerian, Melatonin, etc. Maybe after a few restful nights, you'll break the association and be able to sleep better with the mask.
3. Wake up a bit earlier so that you're more tired earlier.

few ideas (BTW, I only started CPAP on 2010-09-23 and I haven't had much trouble falling asleep, though I wake up a fair amount):

1. Put the mask on and read, watch TV, etc. so you get used to it. Though I guess this might also reinforce the association mask = awake, but maybe worth a try.
2. Try a sleep aid such as Ambien, Valerian, Melatonin, etc. Maybe after a few restful nights, you'll break the association and be able to sleep better with the mask.
3. Wake up a bit earlier so that you're more tired earlier.

1) Many others have suggested putting the mask on and wathcing TV or reading. I cannot read in bed nor watch TV without triggering insomnia. Banned my hubby's tv from the bedroom many years ago. I also think that dragging the set up out to the living room won't work: Can't see either the TV nor a book without my glasses and they don't sit right on my nose with the mask on. Moreover, I think dragging the mask out to the living room would indeed strengthen the unfortunate association my brain is making between Put on mask and Time to be awake. Besides, my bedtime problem is NOT learning to tolerate the mask being on my face: I never pull it off at night even when something (including a mask leak) wakes me up: I just tug on it a bit to fix the leak (if that's what's bugging me) and then get right back to sleep in no time. Likewise, if I want to spend some time dozing in bed after the alarm goes off, I usually leave the mask on since taking the mask off is more work than leaving it on and the mask doesn't really bother me once I'm comfortable in the bed.

2) I am very, very reluctant to try even a short term sleeping pill/aid due to family reactions to such things, including me own. Suffice it to say that they trigger really severe rebound problems that I'd much rather not deal with. The current insomnia is much easier to deal with than rebound-induced insomnia. I am using yoga and deep breathing relaxation techniques to make sure I'm good and sleepy when I finally climb into bed.

3) For the most part, I'm waking up around my usual wake up time. I really can't function on less than 4 or 5 hours in bed (and 3 1/2 hours of sleep). I'm absolutely dead by the middle of the afternoon and struggle mightily to get through teaching my 3:00--4:30 and 6:15--8:45 classes on MW. Fridays are my easy day and right now, TR are being used to recover from the exhaustion of dealing with my 12 hour days on MW.

My problem is simply that as soon as I have to start fiddling with the hose and the blankets and the pillows and finding a good spot for the exhaust flow of the Swift FX where it doesn't whistle too loud and doesn't blow on me in order to get comfortable in bed, my brain is wired up and more alert than it's been in several hours.

robysue wrote:

My problem is simply that as soon as I have to start fiddling with the hose and the blankets and the pillows and finding a good spot for the exhaust flow of the Swift FX where it doesn't whistle too loud and doesn't blow on me in order to get comfortable in bed, my brain is wired up and more alert than it's been in several hours

oh boy, do I get you there!

I totally understand.. any type of stimulus like that and YOURE UP! I used to tell my husband I had a five minute window of sleepiness, and
if I missed, I was screwed for at least another couple or three hours..

It doesnt take much to get stimulated out of a "sleep window" just messing with the curtain, forgetting to put the tape on my mouth,
even fluffing pillows.. just gets me all hyped up again.... and I dont touch a bit of caffeine as my normal state some people say is like
Ive had a half dozen red bulls.. just naturally hyper i guess..

I also cant take sleep meds, so its taken a long time to figure all this out.. still working on it, but I hope youre transition is a little smoother..

I used to tell my husband I had a five minute window of sleepiness, and
if I missed, I was screwed for at least another couple or three hours..

It doesnt take much to get stimulated out of a "sleep window" just messing with the curtain, forgetting to put the tape on my mouth,
even fluffing pillows.. just gets me all hyped up again....

elena88, we must be long lost twins or something. 'Cause I know exactly what you mean by the five minute window. Worst thing about my adjustment so far is that getting into bed with CPAP is easy enough, but getting everything else just right---particularly that dang exhaust flow on the FX is real work.

Yoga and deep breathing right before bed has been helping me: I actually went to be last night at the "early" hour of 1:30 and was asleep by a bit after 2:00. [Of course the way I know that I remember looking at the clock at 2:00 and my first apnea event shows up at 2:06 in the ResScan software.]

Good luck on your own quest for a good night's sleep

I agree, we must be twins!

I dont know of anyone else who has that five minute window.. it really is just that..

and how many times can you accomadate it when it happens? not very often! total dumb luck, because there is always something to do that
takes longer than a few minutes before you can get ready to go to bed..

get the cat in, brush teeth, settle the dogs, jammies.. get the bed ready, and mask up... .. and then if you rush you are wired, and if you dont
rush you miss the friggen WINDOW! and, you never know when its going to hit! thats the clincher..

Ill tell ya, tossing an apap into that mix aint easy... hope you are going to have an easier time... but if you dont you have a buddy!

I would read in bed with the mask on and CPAP running, so that everything was adjusted before I turned the lights out. It skewed my data, as it always thought I was having events when I was awake, but I would just discount the first part of the data. Ask me how someone with 20-400 vision reads with a full face mask on... VERY close, out of ONE eye! I would literally hold what I was reading to one side of my face and read like that, oh, and in dim light so I wouldn't wake up too much. And only boring stuff. Gee, I can't wait to do all this again. It was such fun.

I would read in bed with the mask on and CPAP running

If I could read in bed without it triggering my long existing "get to sleep" insomnia, I'd be happy enough to stick the book in my nose with my Swift FX on. But if I read in bed, I don't get sleepy for literally hours. Had to give up reading in bed in order to get to sleep in a timely fashion.

At least I'm lucky in that once I'm asleep, I don't have the "I can't stay asleep insomnia": When I do wake up in the middle of the night, I can get back to sleep pretty quickly. I have a friend with really bad "I can't stay asleep insomnia": Without her sleeping meds, she not only had trouble getting to sleep, she also wakes up after about an hour of sleep and then can't fall back to sleep for two or three hours.

robysue wrote: But if I read in bed, I don't get sleepy for literally hours.

Even if you're reading very boring stuff, very boring?