Still waiting.....

I'm getting tired (ha, ha) of reading how much better everyone feels on CPAP.

I'm nearing 4 months now, and a good solid month with my awesome mask, and I'm still tired/yawning all the time.

I get lots of sleep, have zero leaks and my AHI is generally under 1.

So what gives? When will it finally happen??

Frustrated...

sounds like a visit to your PCP is in order

Maybe you have another health problem that is also making you tired. I sleep long hours with my machine, but I don't feel "great." I am still in pain from my fibromyalgia; I am still depressed due to my depression; I am still fatigued from my (just diagnosed) hipothyroid problem. I'm not saying that you have any of these conditions. Just saying that there might be another reason for your sleepiness. . . .

Well, then .. you really should have gotten a copy of not just the doctor's dictated results but also the full scored data summary report w/condensed graphs from each of your in-lab sleep studies and a copy of your prescription.

A new in-lab sleep study followed immediately that same morning w/a multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) might be in order.

Have you contacted your sleep doctor about your ongoing problems?

And have you and your family doctor explored other possible reasons for your fatigue, etc.?

Wonder if I should up my pressure a bit? It's at 7, per my titration. Should I go to 9 or 10?

IF your data is that good WHY do you think you should raise your pressure? What is predominant: apneas or hypopneas making up your AHI?

Each of us heals at our own pace. To compare your journey to others isn't fair to yourself because it denies your unique response to CPAP therapy. Now, that said, it can be very frustrating if not infuriating to expend great effort and see so little response. I saw slow but small, almost unnoticeable, improvements over my first 9 months of therapy, then my recovery accelerated. If I'd had data (I was quite literally fat, dumb, & happy to know I was treating a potentially fatal condition and didn't know data was available with the right machine), I'd have been able to optimze my therapy...but, even with data & the resultant optimized therapy, I might not have healed any faster.

scottjf8 wrote:Wonder if I should up my pressure a bit? It's at 7, per my titration. Should I go to 9 or 10?

I'd say yes without knowing anything else about you or your therapy but that wouldn't be right now would it.

see your doc - ask for an overnight pulse ox and lots of blood work and other testing -

your AHI might be fine but your O2 might not be - time to find out isn't it?

jules wrote:see your doc - ask for an overnight pulse ox and lots of blood work and other testing -

your AHI might be fine but your O2 might not be - time to find out isn't it?

Before starting cpap we did all the blood work... everything was fine, including things like my thyroid.

no one ever does all the blood work -

they have a package they test and don't do more unless there are more extenuating problems - the diagnosis of OSA was probably enough for the doctor not to order more at that time

Maybe the problem is unrelated to sleep apnea and the machine only fixes sleep apnea.

Time for the standard speech.
If you aren't feeling your good numbers as well as you think you should then perhaps some detective work is needed.
Good number of sleep hours? Yes. Do you have sleep fragmentation..awaken often?
Pain? Meds? Other health conditions? Thyroid? Bed comfort?
In short there are any number of other things that can make us feel like crap.

And finally... some people it can take a long time to see what they want to see in the way of improvement.
Some never do and have to accept the preventative aspects.

Has anything at all improved? Did you have frequent urination? Morning headaches? Those were my main improvements for about 18 months but then I had pain that was causing sleep fragmentation. Lots of tossing and turning and frequent awakenings.

I find I feel better when I increase my pressure a little above the level that gets my AHI to essentially zero.

Don't forget that even if you're not feeling better with CPAP, stopping and having apneas again will tend to do ongoing damage to your heart, brain and body.

scottjf8 wrote:I'm getting tired (ha, ha) of reading how much better everyone feels on CPAP.

I'm nearing 4 months now, and a good solid month with my awesome mask, and I'm still tired/yawning all the time.

I get lots of sleep, have zero leaks and my AHI is generally under 1.

So what gives? When will it finally happen??

Frustrated...

Join the club, you're not alone. I'm getting close to 5 months and I stlll have similar issues. I'll admit that I do feel far better than I did before I started....I'm able to function now, hold down a conversation, do work, etc. However I know I'm not near where I should be. It really takes me quite a while to get going in the morning and I yawn a lot.

I'm thinking there has to be another issue or issues. Prior to the discovery of sleep apnea, I was told I have 'emphysematic changes' in my lungs so my o2's are affected. My provider and my wife have both been pushing me to exercise and I think that is going to be my next step.

But yeah, there's got to be something else going on and it could be a number of things. Keep looking and hopefully we'll find them.

5 months after I started CPAP, my diabetes had worsened--a lot.
Health is not simple--anything can change. A recheck is probably in order.