Feel OK but not great

[ndynamics]

Hi all,

I started using a BiPAP about 45 days ago after a failed attempt at CPAP in 2008 (I ended up with Pnuemonia just after I started). The doctor says my results are impressive. I'm averaging 7.41 hours a night on therapy and not having any problems or discomfort. Untreated my AHI is something horrible like 58 but according to SH it is now averaging 0.95. No LL events (although my leak rate is around 30% all the time which the doc tells me is normal). Almost all other stats are under 1.0 except VS and VS2. VS is 4.27 and VS2 is 7.83. My flow is lit up with red VS events every night.

Here's the issue: I feel ok during the day but not *great*. I would say I feel 20% better than before therapy. I still feel like falling asleep in the afternoon. I don't shoot out of bed ready to go in the morning, but it takes me 45 minutes to wake up instead of the two hours it took before.

Since I'm pretty new to all this data analysis, can anybody help me make sense of it and see if I can do any better? I'd like to feel *great* every day!

Thanks!

[Mosquitobait]

Well, I'm still a newbie and have to rely on others to help me with data, so I'm just going to welcome you to the board!!

Are you sure you don't have something else going on besides the apnea? I'm thinking of Restless Leg Syndrome or something else that could still keep waking you up even with really excellent AHI values. My first study didn't show any leg movement, but the second one showed that RLS actually woke me up (I thought it just kept me from falling asleep!).

[ndynamics]

Are you sure you don't have something else going on besides the apnea? I'm thinking of Restless Leg Syndrome or something else that could still keep waking you up even with really excellent AHI values. My first study didn't show any leg movement, but

Thanks for the welcome! Yes, my sleep study showed mild RLS. Before therapy I would toss and lot and sleep on both sides or my stomach (BUT never my back). Since therapy started I have only slept on my back, and my wife tells me I don't move at all during the night (so much so it freaked her out on day 2 and she almost woke me up to make sure I wasn't in a coma!).

[LexTac]

Welcome to the Forum!

I'm still a newbie and I'm going to wait for others to chime in, but congrats on trying again and coming here for answers!

[trish6hundred]

Hi ndynamics,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Sometimes it can take a while before you notice improvements but it sounds like you are noticing some slight improvement, just stick with it.
Sounds like you are off to a good start, keep on going.
Hang in there for more responses to your post and much success to you as youcontinue and get used to your CPAP therapy.

[ndynamics]

I was reading some related posts and someone asked about 90% pressure rates, so I thought I would post them here to get ahead of that question.

90% IPAP
Most Recent 16.7
Last week 16.8
Last 30 days 17.6

[eseedhouse]

Here's the issue: I feel ok during the day but not *great*. I would say I feel 20% better than before therapy. I still feel like falling asleep in the afternoon. I don't shoot out of bed ready to go in the morning, but it takes me 45 minutes to wake up instead of the two hours it took before.

The people who get an immediate miracle cure on *PAP therapy do exist but I don't think they are the rule. I think they are the exception. It took me several months to start feeling clearly better. Well, I was already 70 and had probably been living with apnea for twenty years or so. So it's hardly surprising it took some time.

What I first noticed was that I had stopped going downhill, which I could feel myself doing before they added oxygen into my APAP therapy. I don't know how old you are, but older people I would expect to have to wait longer to notice improvement. The longer you'vbe had apnea untreated the longer it will probably take for your body to repair itself.

So you are doing the right thing and tracking your results with SleepyHead and your results show that you have stopped strangling yourself many times every night. I think that the more damage you did while you were strangling yourself the more likely it is you will take some time to really notice the improvements.

If after a few months you still haven't noticed an improvement or feel yourself getting worse you may need a different type of therapy and you should be proactive in telling your DME and your doctor that you feel you need more help than you are getting. But in the meantime give it a chance to help you.

It would be nice if we all had a miraculous recovery to normalcy upon starting therapy, but the world rarely works that way.