Feeling shattered

[Gaspnea]

Hello wonderful people! What is the average length of time before one can expect to feel better with CPAP therapy? OK, I have only been using it since 9/20/12 but my pattern is weird. I can sleep 7+ hours every night with the mask on but I wake up feeling like I haven't slept at all. Then I'll take the mask off and fall into a great sleep, even dream, for only an additional hour and then wake up feeling fantastic. One would think this would indicate that I don't have sleep apnea and that's why I sleep great when I take the mask off. But I know I have it because I've run a voice recorder in the room with me and I gasp, snore, etc...plus my doctor says I have it, . Does anyone else have this pattern?

[PaulaO2]

It can take a while. Weeks or even months. You've only been using it for 8 days.

Think of it this way: for a long time, your body has gotten used to the damage happening. It thinks it is normal to have, for example, 85% blood O2. The human body (especially the brain) has a great memory. Even if it is something bad (like weight) it gets used to that as being normal. Trying to teach it a new normal takes time.

Now add in that you are using a mask. And have air being pushed into your nose. And the noise of the machine. And the stress of having this diagnosis. It's a wonder you get any sleep at all!

Look up "Sleep debt".

[trish6hundred]

Hi Gaspnea, What PaulaO2 said.! I just encourage you to stick with it, I know CPAP therapy can be discouraging when you don't notice much right away but sometimes it takes quite a while. Hang in there.

[zonk]

do you sleep right through those 7+ hours with the mask?
feeling better can be misleading. every time sleeping w.o the mask your oxygen drop and causing great damage to your heart and brain.
beside it would make getting used to PAP therapy take longer also its slippery slope as you,re telling yourself its Ok NOT to use the mask for an hour and eventually the machine end up in the closet. As for how long it take .. its the million dollar question. everyone is different. I've been using PAP for nearly 2 years - would not sleep or nap w.o PAP. I don,t wake up feeling ready to run marathon and don,t feel as if ran a one either

[Gaspnea]

OK, thanks. Yes, I'm being impatient. I admit it. What is confusing about it is that yes, I sleep straight through the 7+ hours and usually don't wake up until the alarm goes off. But I feel as though I never even fell asleep at all. Then I'm a zombie at work all day.

[zimlich]

I assume you had a lab or home sleep test. What was your AHI and O2 sats? There is a sleep debt to be repaid sometime after we first start therapy. Insurance companies don't pay for these machines unless you need them. What you're going through is both normal and very hard. Stick with it. Work up to using it all night if you feel like you need that time in the morning without the machine.
Best of luck.

[Gaspnea]

I had a home study and titration. What the report says is:
AHI/RDI @4% criteria: 13.26. That's the average over the 3 nights. The actual AHI's for each night were 9.6, 9.8 and 20.3. This doesn't seem that bad to me except for that one night with 20.3.

[zonk]

you need to followup with the sleep doc
the machine cannot tell if you were awake or asleep
whats the breakdown of AHI and leak?
you need to download ResScan software to see whats going on

[Gaspnea]

Hi zonk. I can't take the data off of the SD card because I'm still in the 3 month compliance period for the insurance company. I know some people here gave me suggestions on how to copy the data to my computer but I'm just going to wait 'til the 3 months is up and I can do whatever I want with the machine. I have Sleepy Head software on my computer but have not used it, of course.
The 3 AHI numbers I gave were from the sleep study. The lab diagnosed me as having "moderate sleep apnea." My oxygen saturation was as low as 70% five times over those 3 nights.

[zonk]

do you have the clinical manual .. if not, its available by Email (section three)
http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-pr...tup-manual

unlike other machines, the S9 shows efficacy data (including breakdown of AHI and leak) on the machine lcd screen
standard info menu: press the info button for 3 sec- allows you to view your sleep stats for last night but you need to check before noon -
after noon it reset to zero

advanced info menu: press and hold info/setup buttons for sec - it allows you to view machine settings and stats/compliance data (as in standard info menu but with more details)

http://www.apneaboard.com/resmed-s9-cpap-setup