Advice for a newbie

[yellow99]

I was wondering if you can give me some advice. I'm only in my teens and I was recently diagnosed with mild sleep apnea. I'm always tired and have no energy during the day. I've tried CPAP for about a month and the AHI is now below 5 but I still don't feel any different at all. My weight is normal and all my blood tests are normal so I don't understand why I have this condition. Know anyone in a similar situation? Should I continue with CPAP?

Any feedback is welcome. Thanks in advance!

[trish6hundred]

Hi yellow99, First of all, Welcome! to the forum.! I would encourage you to continue using your CPAP machine; you have only been on it for a month and sometimes it takes a while to get caught up on your sleep. I know it's hard but, CPAP therapy can take LOTS OF PATIENCE,! but hang in there and keep checkin' back into this forum as others will have suggestions for you. Good luck and don't give up.

[zonk]

Should I continue with CPAP?

Any feedback is welcome. Thanks in advance!

Everyone is different. Some folks are helped right away but for most it can takes weeks. If you don't use it, it won't help at all.
If you want encouragement and help with problems, this forum is the most helpful.
Proper sleep and oxygen are essential for your well-being. Consider yourself lucky been diagnosed at early age.
I encourage you to continue using your CPAP and stay with it.

[cbramsey]

Welcome to the forum!!! We are glad you joined us!!!

Like others have said, some are helped right away. Others may take awhile.

My thoughts to you would be to keep using the CPAP and follow up with your sleep doc if you have one.

[zimlich]

yellow99. Hang in there, it takes some of us longer than others to feel better. I think there are two basic components to therapy. The first is using the machine 100% of sleep time. The second is to make sure you're getting good quality, unfragmented slleep. It's always helpful (though boring) to review and work at your sleep hygiene to make sure you're geting good sleep. The machine can't help if you're not sleeping well. Good luck- hang in there. Use the machine all the time you sleep, don't stop or you will never feel better.

[mjbearit]

I was wondering if you can give me some advice. I'm only in my teens and I was recently diagnosed with mild sleep apnea. I'm always tired and have no energy during the day. I've tried CPAP for about a month and the AHI is now below 5 but I still don't feel any different at all. My weight is normal and all my blood tests are normal so I don't understand why I have this condition. Know anyone in a similar situation? Should I continue with CPAP?

Any feedback is welcome. Thanks in advance!

Hi Yellow99!

Everyone has already said it....it takes time. We've all been through what you have and we can all understand. There are nights that it is all I can do to put that mask on to go to sleep, but then I remember how bad I felt before and it helps. You just need to get to the point where you punch through that fog and get some quality sleep and you will understand as well. I hope that is very soon for you!
Did you get a sleep study done in a sleep lab where they could look at other potential sleep issues? I have RLS as well and it really does a number on me getting a good nights sleep sometimes. On those nights you would never know from the numbers my machine shows that anything is wrong. You may wish to revisit this whole thing with your sleep doc. Maybe you have a combo of issues that are working against you. Good luck!

[jdireton]

Yellow,

Welcome. Just as everyone else has said, the treatment can take time to be effective. Even then, you will likely have good days and bad days, or good weeks and bad weeks.

If you think you have unresolved symptoms (still excessively tired during the day), make sure you doctor is aware. You could have other underlying issues that are causing these. CPAP is not a cure all for everything.

One thing I hope you've picked up if you've read some of this forum. Whatever your issues, take control and be active in your treatment! Don't just go with whatever the doctor says after his five minutes exam with you. Ask about any medication or treatment your doctor prescribes. Take charge of your health!

Best of Luck!

[Sleepy Mama]

Do you know if you have obstructive sleep apnea or central sleep apnea, or both? If the majority of your apneas are obstructive in nature a regular CPAP should be fine for you. But, if the majority of your apneas are central apneas then a regular CPAP would not be the proper machine to treat you. It's been found that traditional CPAP does not treat central apneas adequately and will leave you feeling tired, even you are compliant with wearing it every night. I don't know what the results of your sleep study were, but it would be worth looking into and asking your sleep provider the question. If you take nothing else away from all the replies to your post know that you are not alone. A lot of people struggle with this issue!

[yellow99]

I have obstructive sleep apnea from my sleep study results. However, when using CPAP, I get mostly central sleep apnea. Is there a different way to treat CSA?

[Sleepster]

I have obstructive sleep apnea from my sleep study results. However, when using CPAP, I get mostly central sleep apnea. Is there a different way to treat CSA?

If you have more CA's than OA's but your AHI is below 5, I doubt your doctor would be interested in adjusting your pressure. The usual remedy is to lower the pressure a bit, but that can cause your OA and hypopnea indices to increase, which would raise your AHI.

If I were you I'd discuss the situation with your doctor.

Which S9 do you have? Is it the autoset or the elite?