how long to feel effects

I have just been on a cpap for two days and so far so good. A recent sleep study, my first, showed an average of 103 interruptions and hour. Severe and surprising....my o2 levels went down to %63 which I found unbelievable according to stuff I have picked up on various blogs. I basically feel like crap most of the time and seem to be in a fog all the time. I double-checked the %63 with the DME that did my in-service and he confirmed that. That means I should be dead. no concerns from him or my doc but the both said I would benefit greatly from this therapy. I cannot remember the last time that I did not wake up everyone with my snoring. YEARS.....and I have felt like this since 1992...I can even remember the day. Yesterday was my first night on my machine and I was even more tired then the day before. My machine did tell me that I only had 1 arousal and I did feel like I slept well. Last night my dumbass turned the humidity up by accident and that was my only issue. I do feel better today and I will keep using of course but was wondering how long most folks take to really start feeling better. Thanks in advance,

vic

I wish I had a dollar for every time I see this question...how long...

It takes as long as it takes. Some lucky people see marked improvement right away but most of us see only a very gradual improvement.

If you broke your arm and put it in a cast...would you expect it to be healed in a day? A week?...of course not.
Your body has been under this stress for quite a long time. It needs some time to heal and get used to not being oxygen starved and dumping adrenalin into the blood stream all night long and all the other negative stressful things that happen to the body when the sleep apnea events stress the body as a whole.

So give yourself some time and be patient. If after a month or so you still feel like total crap with no reduction in any of the negative symptoms of OSA..then we get to have a chat about other things that impact how we feel that might not be directly related to OSA.

Hours of sleep is the most common thing...sleep fragmentation is another...meds, pain, comfort, leaks ...etc..lots of stuff can affect how we feel.

Do you have the software to monitor leak and therapy events?
If you would add your equipment to your profile like I have mine then someone can point you to software if you don't have it already.

Yeah, ... what Pugsy said.

Thanks Pugsy,

I certainly do not want to come of as impatient or negative in my new therapy. It is just that I am very curious as to others experiences and very excited to move forward. One more reason for my post is so that I may be able to read about observations that have happened recently……most of the blogs are from 2006 or so and time is limited as to how long I can read peoples blogs. Thanks for the advice and I look forward to feeling my progress.

Heck, I was impatient. I am the first to admit it. Read all the overnight miracle stories and thought for sure I would be right there with them. Boy did I get a rude awakening.

It actually took me a couple of weeks to see the 2 main improvements that I saw.
The killer morning headaches went away and the nocturia went away.
So I knew the therapy was working but the other stuff like general energy levels and daytime sleepiness and stuff....those thing the improvements were very, very gradual and not really noticeable because they sneak up on you so gradually...kind of like how the bad signs and symptoms of OSA sneak up on you.

Anyway last summer I made a little trip to Las Vegas and forgot to include my long hose and didn't realize it until 10 PM...so no way to get one till the next day. So I "slept" without my machine for the first time in over 3 years for 1 night...I got a rude wake up call as to how bad things were without the machine.

If you are reading the success stories at the top.. go to the last page and work backwards...those are most recent. It will save you some time and get you a newer perspective.

Now, Thanks again. I will never claim to be the smartest person you will chat with. I just signed up today but I will update my profile as best I can. I do have what i think is a nice machine and keeps track of a lot of info and in fact has an RFI the transmits right to my provider. I know why that is though. If I dont use it, they wont pay.

Also, yes, 63% is alarmingly low, but we've seen lower. One patient scored mid 40s, and the therapist doing that test WAS alarmed.

You've been oxygen deprived for years. I would guess that as therapy continues you'll begin to feel more energetic. It might take a little long for the fog to fully lift, but everyone is different.

There's a LOT of very helpful people with a LOT of experience here, so if you encounter any problems, including (but not limited to) issues around comfort using the system, this is the place for answers. Also, if you start capturing data (and I am assuming you have a machine that can do so) you can learn how well your treatment is working. People here can help with that as well.

You've already been hinted at about adding your equipment ... it helps us help you.

After several weeks using my CPAP machine I feel worse than ever. If a mouse breaks wind in the garden I wake up so the noise of the CPAP machine is quite disturbing until I become used to it. My spouse is also still kicking me every time I appear to have stopped breathing and it will probably be a while before that habit stops. Due to the family obligations I can only be in bed for a maximum of 6 hours a night anyway so that also limits my recovery. My brain likes to over analyze everything so I wake up constantly to see what is happening with the machine. Etc. etc excuse after excuse.......

Having said all that my CPAP machine has immediately changed my outlook and given me a renewed belief that it will eventually lighten some of the load my body endures through multiple other illnesses. Hope is a wonderful thing.

Welcome, Vic! You've come to the right place for support and answers. Been on the hose for 4 weeks tonight and it's getting better. I struggled with mask issues/leaks the first three weeks, but finally found the right mask for me and now I'm starting to see some real improvement. Good luck.

Hang in there and have faith on the machine's treatment. I've been on the PAP for two months now. Nothing has been easy. Between battling my mask leaks and a cheap ass DME there is a novel of my stories in my thread. But I was lucky on two things: the first was Pugsy as me CPAP mentor. She has made the most difference in my treatment more than any of the doctors combined. The next thing I was lucky was I noticed an improvement in couple a couple days of the PAP. But I was also at an AHI of 131. So getting my first REM sleep in a decade was very noticeable.

Lugus wrote:After several weeks using my CPAP machine I feel worse than ever. If a mouse breaks wind in the garden I wake up so the noise of the CPAP machine is quite disturbing until I become used to it. My spouse is also still kicking me every time I appear to have stopped breathing and it will probably be a while before that habit stops. Due to the family obligations I can only be in bed for a maximum of 6 hours a night anyway so that also limits my recovery. My brain likes to over analyze everything so I wake up constantly to see what is happening with the machine. Etc. etc excuse after excuse.......

Having said all that my CPAP machine has immediately changed my outlook and given me a renewed belief that it will eventually lighten some of the load my body endures through multiple other illnesses. Hope is a wonderful thing.

Gotta stop feeding those mice beans!

Have you tried ear plugs? I guess if the CPAP bothers you, a white noise generator isn't going to be an improvement...

Just stick with it and you should feel the effects I the time frame 'your body' sets. Depends on how long you've had OSA & how severe it is. I won't repeat what everyone has said, just wanted you to know my hubby started in Dec 2012, saw good results in a few weeks & is now seeing seriously reduced blood sugar that I think is due to the CPAP treatment. He was pre-diabetic and now has normal blood sugar results & his A1C is considered normal. I truly think this is due to his CPAP. This treatment works in many ways to help our bodies - the getting oxygen at night makes a big difference, whether we see results right away or over time, your therapy should be helping your body soon.

Just give it time & hand in there.

Jen

I felt better from the get-go, but as the weeks and months have gone by, I feel better and better after a good night's rest. Some nights are better than others, which I think even 'normal' people have, but overall, I feel so rested and so much more alert mentally. I'm rediscovering my former self, and that's a good thing. In addition, I have lost 33 pounds since using the machine, not because I'm using the machine per se, but because I now have the energy to exercise. Using the machine has given me a new lease on life.

I think each individual person has different reactions to using the therapy, but I believe one commonality is that you feel better and better the longer you use it.

khauser, I will be putting the air conditioners on soon so the noise of the CPAP machine will be drowned out. Then, later in the year, by the time I stop using the AC. I will be used to the relatively quiet CPAP machine. It is just a matter of my subconscious recognising the CPAP noise is friendly.

I've had it for 5 months and feel zero difference in my energy level. I'm still generally exhausted all of the time, I'm irritable. I sleep about 10 hrs. a night now that I'm unemployed, and I never really feel "rested." Dr. says "everything's working right."