Did you feel instantly better?

adrianne wrote:I am! Here I am up and wide awake at 5am - one hour before my alarm.

Just put my data into sleepyhead and I think I had a successful night. I did wake up a couple times and go back and forth between the S and the XS pillows, but I slept for 7.5 hours with an AHI of 0.81.

JHZR2 wrote: Are you sure you dont rely upon your mouth when breathing/sleeping?

I am pretty sure I'm not relying on my mouth. I was conscious of mouth breathing the first night - I had some interesting dreams - but since then I believe it's been a non-issue as I haven't experienced the same things plus I'm not waking up with a dry mouth.

Way to go. It's all uphill from here.

NO! I definitely did NOT feel instantly better!

After over a year, I can't say I've felt like leaping out of bed full on instant energy, HOWEVER I do wake up most mornings without waking up once during the night, my data tells me I slept well, with an AHI of under 1.0 every day since my sleep study and areas of my health have improved in that year.

Cheers,
xena

I think perhaps I might be one of the fortunate ones. I had very severe OSA, and the situation got much worse approx 15 months ago. I finally got on CPAP using the FP Ikon+ and Resmed nose only mask this monday. I felt immediate improvement in my energy, ability to concentrate, and general wakefulness. After the fourth day, I noticed a transformation in my mood and energy, and also noticed that my senses were sharper. Food tasted better. Music sounded better. Exercise was easier and the endorphins felt stronger.

I do still wake up a couple of times when the air pressure gets a little too much and I have to press the bridge button, and I seem to be grinding my teeth a little, but I am going to monitor this over the next few weeks to see how it goes.

Morning after my first night on the machine I woke up 30 minutes before my alarm clock, something that had not happened for me in many years. I didn't feel overall especially better right away. But that single effect on day one told me immediately this was something I really needed to be doing every single night. It took a few months of adjusting to "normal" sleep patterns before I would say I felt better in the course of everyday activities. However, while I was getting to that point I noticed some things changing:

1. I did not fall asleep for 10-15 minutes sitting in an upright position on the edge of the bed (yes, this had happened to me several times when my apnea was at its worst)
2. I did not fall asleep within 5 minutes of sitting down on my train ride to work
3. I did not fall asleep at my desk (co-workers later told me that the several times this happened I would be out for up to 5 minutes, I never though it lasted more than 5 seconds when it happened, I was pretty surprised it was that long)
4. I could read a book again without falling asleep.
5. I could go to a movie and watch the whole thing rather than waking up for the credits with an elbow in my side.

If you feel better after one night, it may be a "placebo effect" . Just my guess.

In my case it took a few weeks to get used to the equipment and to actually sleep with it. I would put it on every night, toss and turn, and end up pulling it off. But when I finally settled in with the therapy, the benefits started to accrue:

better moods including stress management
I could get up easier in the morning, even waking up before the alarm
lots more energy and focus
less need for coffee all the time
more comfortable in the driver's seat (seriously, I never had any accidents but always felt I had ADD behind the wheel)
overall, a better, fuller existence

It wasn't instantaneous, but kind of amazing to realize these changes over time. Good luck to you. If I can do it, you certainly can, but it does take some determination,

All the best to you!

The night of my sleep study was the best nights sleep I have had in years. I have had not been able to replicate that night. But I have had many good nights sleep since my therapy started in January. I am suppose to have another sleep study in 1 month. My insurance provides 100% coverage. Otherwise I would probably tell them they should just use the data on my sdcard. They used 1L of O2 during my original study. I suspect that is why improved my quality of sleep?

My apnea "beatings" occurred every night; up until my first night on cpap.
Heck YES, I felt better right away. Not wonderful, amazing, "like a teenager" better,
but finally, "OK"! Like I actually got to rest, okay. OK was a big improvement.
And enough for a while; as more improvements came along in their own time.

I've been using mine for a year now. Since the very first night I noticed results. No, I wasn't feeling completely better, but I did sleep through the night, and I didn't wake up, choke, snore, or have heart burn anymore. It took a few weeks to a month before I started feeling less tired, but I still wasn't feeling too much different. After maybe 4 months I was no longer falling asleep at work/school and I was able to make it through the day like a normal person. I didn't lose weight or anything but I also didn't change my lifestyle habits. I noticed that when I had bad habits such as eating a lot or not working out I gained weight much slower or not at all, where as before I would gain 10 ibs in 2 weeks if I accidentally ate too much ice cream. It was really bad. Overall my muscle weakness has decreased, I feel stronger, and I feel MUCH more awake and alert than I did before cpap. It took time to feel the full affects and sometimes when it takes time you don't even notice when they happen, because it is gradual. But I promise this thing changed my life. Don't get discouraged if you feel like it isn't working, trust me. You are giving your body the sleep it deserves and it will thank you later.

davep700 wrote:If you feel better after one night, it may be a "placebo effect" . Just my guess.

I felt amazingly better the first night... except for my sore arm.

I'd gone to sleep with my tucked under my head, or something, I don't remember now, and I woke up in the exact same position 8 hours later, feeling more awake and alert than I had in ages.

except my forearm hurt for *weeks*.

I warn people to find a good position for their first night, they might just do the same thing...

I have been on APAP for only 25 nights. I was diagnosted because my Pulmonologist was concerned about my restrictive lung capacity in a SPiro test. My wife indicated that I often ran out of air when I talked. She felt that I ran out of air at night but only mild snore and I was unaware of any problem. My split study result w/o CPAP AHI=83, W/ CPAP AHI=29.

However, with regard to the topic of this thread ... I never felt bad, not tired, was mentally alert, got up at 6-6:30 and felt fine. In July 2015 we went on a Parks tour of over 3600 miles, two days at 500-600 miles per day, two days in a park, then repeat for next park. DId not get sleepy driving for 7-9 hours. So was very surprised to learn of the OSA issue. Fact is until the last week, I felt considerable worse on CPAP when I woke up. This last week I seem to have gotten the mask leaks, etc. under better control and now feel about the same as before APAP... good. I guess the jury is still out. My only observation is that with the AHI I had w/o treatment I think waking up feeling good, fair, or worse ... waking being the operative word ... waking no matter how I feel is far, far better than the alternative. A stroke would just ruin my whole day.

Yes, I felt better pretty much right away but that makes sense with an AHI of 80. Initially, the biggest problem was getting leaks under control with the default nasal mask. Once I switched to nasal pillows, things went much better. For each person, finding the mask that works best for them is the biggest obstacle.

Hello, I was just diagnosed after several doctors denied I could even have sleep apnea because I'm not overweight which I think is being prejudice & ridiculous. Anyway, tonight is my first night & iim actually excited because I am so literally tired of being tired of waking up all night long gasping for air. Will let you know how it goes & if I feel better!

And I suggest that you then post in a new thread... this one's old and we'd rather not plow through the whole thing to get to yours... but good luck, hope things go well for you.

Was just diagnosed and on CPAP for 3 weeks. Found this forum and I have to thank all those people who have posted. Believe me, I read these posts over every night and it gives me strength to go put on the mask and keep at this. Feeling a little better. Guess I thought I would be "cured" immediately and have had to deal with the fact that this could take a while. Please keep posting your stories because they are a life line to those of us just starting this journey.