Average time it took CPAP to begin working for you

Sheriff Buford · Post by **Sheriff Buford** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 6:20 am

It took me right at 20 days to wake up with that ah-ha feeling. We are all different and respond to therapy different. Keep going. You are adding years to your life!

Sheriff

BlackSpinner · Post by **BlackSpinner** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 9:41 am

surf_rower wrote: Yes, BlackSpinner, it was flip and dismissive - "it's usually called 'healing' " - gosh thanks so much - and you're compounding it. I was asking a serious question: healing what? What was damaged? Can someone point me to a source that talks about "damage" that has occurred over our years with untreated OSA? My doctor never mentioned it. I usually slept better before CPAP, wasn't tired during the day, didn't have headaches, etc. so I have no sense of what needs to "heal." If I didn't have a husband who noticed the apneas, I wouldn't have any idea anything was wrong. Has there been damage at a cellular level to certain organs, and if so, what exactly happens to them? Thanks for any insight...

A simple google for sleep deprivation will get you thousands of pages of studies going back 100 years.
and here are hundreds of medical studies:
]http://www.plosone.org/search/simple?s ... =&volume=&

As you can see lack of sleep and O2 deprivation is a complete body issue and it differs for each person depending on your weaknesses. So basically every system in your body needs to heal including your brain so you can use it effectively, in fact your brain functions are the first to be effected by simple lack of sleep, never mind O2 deprivation.

Seattleboy49 · Post by **Seattleboy49** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 11:31 am

Pugsy, I agree that patience is a virtue and I also agree with what you said about sinus/septum surgery. The fact that those who have that type of surgery are told it's not a one-time fix and additional surgeries will probably be required in the future makes me even less excited about that option.

I know AHI is not the only think to pay attention to, but mine has been slowly, but surely coming down, which I assume is a good sign. The last days my numbers have been 4.9. 5.1 and last night was my lowest yet, 4.0. I am either in the early stages of a cold or am dealing with a possible sinus infection so needless to say, it's hard to evaluate how something new is working when you are already feeling blah.

I will stick with it though as you said. Maybe the most pressing question in my mind when I began this process was whether I would be able to get used to sleeping with the mask and now I know that answer is a resounding yes. I did notice my nose was feeling just a little bit sore last night due to the pillows so I am going to try loosening the straps just a bit and will maybe put some vaseline on the pillows as well

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 11:58 am

Seattleboy49 wrote:Pugsy, I agree that patience is a virtue and I also agree with what you said about sinus/septum surgery. The fact that those who have that type of surgery are told it's not a one-time fix and additional surgeries will probably be required in the future makes me even less excited about that option.

I know AHI is not the only think to pay attention to, but mine has been slowly, but surely coming down, which I assume is a good sign. The last days my numbers have been 4.9. 5.1 and last night was my lowest yet, 4.0. I am either in the early stages of a cold or am dealing with a possible sinus infection so needless to say, it's hard to evaluate how something new is working when you are already feeling blah.

I will stick with it though as you said. Maybe the most pressing question in my mind when I began this process was whether I would be able to get used to sleeping with the mask and now I know that answer is a resounding yes. I did notice my nose was feeling just a little bit sore last night due to the pillows so I am going to try loosening the straps just a bit and will maybe put some vaseline on the pillows as well

I can't find where you've posted what your machine settings are. It would help if you would put them in your profile. Are you using software to "see" the data or are you getting the numbers from the LCD screen?
I also see you're using an APAP. Are you using a range of pressures or single pressure? If your range is too wide or if your breathing doesn't have snores or flow limitations, the machine can't increase pressures to respond to events. NO APAP will respond to an Apnea once it occurs. So, with certain breathing characteristics or wide pressure ranges, the machine can't properly respond and the events occur......which increases the AHI and other event numbers.
It's also been advised in the past NOT to use Vaseline. There are other things that are recommended for nasal comfort.

Den

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Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 12:13 pm

A few other thoughts........

"Baby steps".
"One night at a time".

Don't look to far into the future. Take it a night at time and review the reports to see what's happening.
Also, too much humidity can cause nasal congestion and could affect the numbers of events like AHI.

From a personal standpoint, I started noticing immediate results......less daytime sleepiness. The "recovery" took much longer......like months. How long a person has has OSA, other medical issues and their age can also be a big factor.

Den

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kteague · Post by **kteague** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 12:52 pm

For me it was several months - I got worse before I got better. I think the better question for me to answer is how soon after settling in to consistent and effective treatment did I begin seeing improvement. My first several months I was plagued by too low of pressure, misuse of the ramp feature, and mask woes, all while dealing with limb movement issues that worsened and caused chronic agitation at night. Once I did begin getting therapeutic treatment the other factors still were problematic, but using CPAP boosted my ability to cope and piece by piece things fell into place taking me step by step down the path to improvement. Had I not had other contributors besides OSA and had I received good treatment from day 1 I'm guessing I'd have begun seeing changes in how I felt really soon, but doubt I would have considered myself recovered for at least several weeks or months. I just say that knowing how long standing my OSA was, how totally depleted I was, and how much I needed to heal. There are so many variables in our stories, it surely isn't one size fits all.

Seattleboy49 · Post by **Seattleboy49** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 1:03 pm

Den, thanks for the info. I wasn't aware vasoline is not a good idea so I will look at the other remedies. As for machine settings, I am somewhat new to all this so I didn't realize there was a place to include my settings in the profile. I will do so soon, but yes, my pressure setting range is 7cm-20cm. My initial prescription was 4-20, but my doctor gave me permission to raise to 7. Does that range suggest anything negative or positive?

As for humidity, when I first got the machine it was on level 3, but I read here that a higher humidity level can make sinusitis (which I have) worse so I lowered to level 2.

Seattleboy49 · Post by **Seattleboy49** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 1:06 pm

Forgot to answer your question regarding my readings. I have been checking my AHI on the LCD screen though I did get Sleepyhead up and running. I just haven't reached the point yet where I understand what I am seeing.

jaybeem · Post by **jaybeem** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 1:34 pm

I have been on CPAP 6 months. All my numbers have been terrific since day one. But I am one of those who has struggled. Solving dry eye problems, getting a hose hanger, finding a way to use my preferred sleep position, and finally finding a mask that works well have eliminated total exhaustion. But I am still sleeping longer and am more tired than I would like. Not instant-relief...more like this is a process, not an event. Looking at my data in SleepyHead has reassured me that even though I am not feeling at my best, the numbers don't lie: my throat is no longer closing once a minute!

Good luck!

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 1:36 pm

For one thing, you need to look at your "90%" number to see where your pressures are going a good deal of the time.
The "90%" figure means it was AT or BELOW that number for 90% of the night. An insufficient minimum pressure means that it takes longer for pressures to get where they need to be. If you "need" a pressure of 12 (or higher) and it's sitting at 7 or 8, it can take some time to get to where it needs to be......and the events will occur without the needed pressure to prevent them.
Get familiar with SleepyHead and/or get the Encore software to see the details. If you have both, you should be able to make sense out of SleepyHead by looking at the Encore reports. My machines are too old to use with SleepyHead and consequently I'm not very familiar with it. But, I have used Encore Pro for 8 1/2 years to see my data and it tells me what I need to know.

Hang in there. Patience is a virtue with this therapy.

Den

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Seattleboy49 · Post by **Seattleboy49** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 3:33 pm

Ok, good to know, thanks. I'm not sure what my 90% number has been so I will check tonight and report back! thanks again for the heads up

surf_rower · Post by **surf_rower** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 7:04 am

Seattleboy49 wrote:Den, thanks for the info. I wasn't aware vasoline is not a good idea so I will look at the other remedies.

Lanolin cream or Lansinoh (for breastfeeding mothers) works great. You only have to use a tiny bit each night on upper lip and edge of nostrils. I find it really helps keep the pillows seated, and reduces chafing.

surf_rower · Post by **surf_rower** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 7:16 am

zoocrewphoto wrote:
surf_rower wrote: Has there been damage at a cellular level to certain organs, and if so, what exactly happens to them? Thanks for any insight...

Sleep apnea causes oxygen deprivation. Lack of oxygen means that your cells aren't receiving enough oxygen. So, that leads to damage to all organs - brain, kidneys, liver, heart, etc.

There are lots of studies shows a connection to heart attacks and strokes due to untreated sleep apnea. I actually started treatment because I saw a segment on the news about sleep apnea causing strokes. I had known for years that I had sleep apnea, but I thought it was just lack of sleep. My doctor had been treating me for high blood pressure for 2 years and telling me that I was at a higher risk of stroke (at age 39). It all made sense. I had my sleep study, got my cpap machine, and watched my high blood pressure go down.

Another problem with sleep apnea is all the awakenings, most of which we never remember. Before cpap, I felt I slept pretty well, maybe 3-5 awakenings a night. My ahi turned out to be 79+. I say + because I never reached REM during the sleep study, and a lot of people are worse during REM. I sure don't remember waking up 79 times an hour, but basically, I spent my whole nights waking up constantly to stay alive. And the brain does this by releasing adrenaline, which isn't good constantly like that. It can cause damage to the heart.

You should be able to find a lot of discussions on this forum regarding damage caused by sleep apnea as well as on the web in general. I'm sorry that your doctor didn't tell you much about it. Many doctors seem to ignore sleep problems and how dangerous they are long term. Sleep deprivation (from any reason) can cause a variety of problems as well as making it much harder to heal and stay healthy.

Thanks, Zoo, appreciate the details. Sounds like there could have been damage to my organs that didn't show up on any test. I've never had abnormal blood pressure or EKGs, anything like that, and didn't feel tired or fog-headed, so it is hard to understand that there has been cellular damage from which I have to "heal." (Writing this with a bad headache from CPAP last night... didn't have those before CPAP. Sigh.)

zoocrewphoto · Post by **zoocrewphoto** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 2:27 pm

Is your mask on too tight? What kind of headache are you having?

I found that my headaches pretty much disappeared with cpap treatment. I do occasionally get a weather related headache, but the normal ones are gone.

echo · Post by **echo** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 5:50 pm

I didn't notice any difference until I fixed the mouth breathing. After that, I noticed I was waking up feeling a bit better pretty quickly (I used to snore heavily and always woke up with a dry mouth/throat and slight headache), but the big changes in sleep quality were subtle and took longer.

In fact I didn't realize how much CPAP was actually helping until I accidentally fell asleep without it one night, and didn't really sleep at all the whole night, and woke up feeling like something the cat dragged in, stomped on, ran through the garbage disposal, and then tarred and feathered. Or similar.

Average time it took CPAP to begin working for you

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