short energy burst then crash

Hi all,

I am new to cpap on it for a week. I am getting a short burst of energy in the morning then in about an hour and a half later, crash. Has anyone else had this problem? Do you think this will just go away in time? All comments are welcome and appreciated!

pbsd, I don't think this is so unusual in the beginning. You may have a sleep debt to pay off. Do you have a data capable machine so you can check your AI and AHI? Still, I would not be concerned at this point. If after another week or two I still felt this way, I'd contact my doc for suggestions. Good luck,
Mary Z.

pbsd, I've been at this a little over 4 1/2 months... it took me about 4 months to finally feel those "bursts" of energy, and probably the hardest part was being careful to not overdo it at first. Before you know it, the crashes will be fewer and farther between. Hang in there, it does get better.

pbsd wrote:Hi all,

I am new to cpap on it for a week. I am getting a short burst of energy in the morning then in about an hour and a half later, crash. Has anyone else had this problem? Do you think this will just go away in time? All comments are welcome and appreciated!

For years you have been running on empty - it will take time to regenerate. At least you are feeling the that it is working by getting those first burst of energy. Good sleep and adequate O2 will rebuild your body and mind over time.

Beware the tendency to overdo during those bursts of energy--I found that I was more physically tired overall because I was using up all that newfound energy. But I was less sleepy--suddenly I could watch a movie all the way through or stay awake during a ride in the car.

Gradually your body will adjust and you will feel better for longer periods. I don't think I gained a huge amount of energy overall (I'd aged many years and have other medical issues to contend with since the SA had been a problem for many years), but I can stay awake a lot easier AND I'm much calmer throughout the day.

Besides the sleep debt matter, I am convinced that adrenaline dependence can be a problem--maybe not for everyone; but that's the way I felt. Thank goodness it seems to be gone now--I actually feel younger now.

My expectation of how I would feel on CPAP was I would feel great and full of energy after a week on the machine.
The reality was: in the first month of therapy I only had 3 days where I felt like my former self. In the second month there were a few more. By the end of month three I wasn't sleeping 10 hours a day and still feeling like crap. Instead I felt like doing things on weekends and found myself zipping through the work day, getting more done with less effort.
In that third month I began to over do and burn myself out...again. I'm 3 years away from retirement and finally got it into my head to pace myself.
A suggestion: Listen to your body and treat yourself kindly! You may have years of sleep debt to recover from. I've been at this for 8 months and my body is still slowly healing. But at least it is healing!!!
Hang in there....hope it gets better for you!
Cindy