still tired after 1 week

I am new at this, but I have been using my machine for the entire night just this past week, and have been sleeping thru the night. My wife says I am not moving around like I use to, and I seem to be sleeping OK. My question is how come I am still tired when I wake up. I wake up, and seem to be awake, and take my mask off, and then fall asleep, again, or if I don't fall asleep, I am really tired when I wake up and stay tired for awhile. I have heard from most people that you feel great as soon as you start using the cpap, so my question..........is what I am experiencing something that other new people also experience when they start out or is there something else I need to know..................Mike

People speak of a "sleep debt" ... That we are so depleted by living with untreated apnea, it can take a while to turn things around and feel rested. But sleeping through the night is a good start.

Can you add your equipment to your profile so members can advise you better?

Hi Mike -- you're not alone. I've been using the machine for just two months, and still find myself tired at times. You've got the sleep debt Randy mentioned, your body is still getting used to having air blowing through your respiratory system. All the other systems of your body that were affected by the apnea are just starting to heal.

Look for the small improvements. I can get up when my alarm goes off, when I couldn't before. I don't doze off at my desk in the middle of the afternoon. At the end of the week, I don't have to sleep 12 hours plus take an afternoon nap on weekends just to recover from the previous week.

And spend some time reading through the threads on this board. The great people here have answered questions before I knew I had them, and let me know that what's going on for me is in the range of normal, and I'm moving in the right direction. Welcome!

Actually most people do take some time to see any marked improvement. The people who see improvement right away are really in the minority. They are extremely lucky. I turn pea green when I read about another overnight miracle. It took me much longer.

Please add your equipment to your profile. Hopefully you will be using a machine that offers full data and we can point you to some software so that you can make sure that your therapy is as optimal as possible so that all you have to do is use the machine and let time take care of things. With the software we can see if leaks are impacting therapy and see if the events are well controlled.

15 years of use here and I can say that there are times when I go through what feels like the "old days" My diagnosis was for severe OSA and moderate CSA with some 200+ events a night and so really not getting good rest. I think my body was just adapted to it.

I took right to cpap however and the gear never really bothered me.. (was that worn out I think) I can honestly say that I never really had that spring out of bed on my toes feeling all the same.. I found that I just felt generally better throughout the day and my productivity got better when it came to getting my "to do" lists done..

I still have those days where I Go to stop for a few minutes and become overwhelmingly tired and sleepy.. I might have this happen for a few weeks every year and really have no rhyme or reason to it (could just be normal issues anyone has related to work stress etc) I can say that a twenty minute nap is the greatest thing ever

Others I have met over the years had that dramatic change in feeling so not sure how that all shakes down.. Gotta give the program time and stay compliant.. The distraction of the machine does take a bit to get used too so just hang in there..

Great forum for info here... I have spent hours reading here and learned a lot from the contributions here..

I thank everyone for there input

second question_ is it real important to take your machine with you when you travel, so you can use it consistently, or can you skip a night every so often

Easy answer: you never skip a night, ever.

sunshineman68 wrote:I thank everyone for there input

second question_ is it real important to take your machine with you when you travel, so you can use it consistently, or can you skip a night every so often

That depends on the severity of your OSA. My body doesn't do well without oxygen. It is best for your brain and other organs if you use it consistently. It also causes bad habits to skip. You start thinking that it is ok.

you might look on this therapy as like an ACL knee tear in football.

It takes months of tough rehab to restore performance.

Some people fly through it, but most struggle. They are never "completely better like before" but they can function.

Yet a small minority never completely find satisfaction, but thats very few.

Change your thinking from a week to a year and see where youre at.

Mike, some people wake up after one night on cpap and feel better, the rest of us it takes longer. Some longer than others, so don't get discouraged at least you are sleeping through the night.

I did find that some exercise during the day actually helped me even if it was walking. I also lost some weight by doing that.

sunshineman68 wrote:I thank everyone for there input

second question_ is it real important to take your machine with you when you travel, so you can use it consistently, or can you skip a night every so often

It is terribly important to use your machine consistently. It doesn't take but that first slip to begin a bad habit and those, as we know, are hard to break. This cpap stuff is really a test of self-disclipine and maturity. So believe me when I say, if I can do it, you can too.

I've been doing it for three weeks now and can now be up and active until around 3:00 PM where prior to beginning therapy I worked like a demon in the morning because I always crashed and burned around noon. I mean, day is done, lights out! So I'm pleased with the progress that's been made and am looking forward to better days ahead. I wish the same for you!

Suz

sunshineman68, hang in there- keep using the machine 100% of sleeptime. It takes most of us longer that one week to feel better. In the interim, if you are not apposed to drugs, Provigil or Nuvigil will help you stay awake during the day. It is a wakefulness drug- does not give energy, just helps you stay awake. Also make sure you are getting good quality sleep or CPAP will not be as effective. Also, as much trouble as it is, take it on vacation. Also when you wake up and are laying there for awhile liable to fall back asleep, keep your machine running. Good luck.

sunshineman68 wrote:I thank everyone for there input

second question_ is it real important to take your machine with you when you travel, so you can use it consistently, or can you skip a night every so often

If you want to skip a night, try it at home for a night or two. That might answer your question. I've gone without mine due to power outages. I know better.

Hi, my experience is that changes in how I felt were subtle - they were slow and not real obvious, especially at first. I could not see or tell any signficant changes in energy, tiredness, etc, for at least a couple weeks. Over the course of a couple months, I did end up with very significant changes... No more falling asleep on the couch or anytime I had to read things, for instance. I can concentrate better ( that was even slower to notice), and I have more physical stamina than I did 9 months ago.

The hypertension that the doctor hoped would be cured by using a CPAP, well, it had no effect at all. I still don't know the cause of my BP and heart rate spiking.

I would suggest going to bed earlier and allowing yourself more overall sleep time. It certainly can't hurt you

Tell you what about skipping a night - I'm still adapting, and a week ago I "accidently" fell asleep and napped for 2-3 hours without the mask. Woke up feeling like my worst night ever pre-'pap, with a hangover on top. That's all I need to know. Has me looking at various options right now for backup power in case of an outage - don't want to go without it even for a short time.