Newbie needing reassurance

[Safire]

I slept in the sleep clinic last night with a CPAP for the first time. I know it's just the first night which can be the worst, but I'm so disturbed by the experience that I'm hesitant to go through with buying a machine. I used the nose pillows where the tube sticks out off the top of your head instead of nose, which was comfortable enough for me. I eventually got some sleep (after getting past the drowning sensation I felt when the air was switched on). I slept on and off all night. The part that is disturbing me is not the mask itself, but how I'm feeling today. It's 6+ hours since I took the mask on and my head is still super fuzzy (it wasn't before), my sinuses are tingling and aching (weren't before), I hear high pitched whirring in my ears and I feel like I'm on drugs (I'm not). What the heck happened to me? Are these sensations normal after the first use?? This feels horrible.

[justMongo]

Your experience is not uncommon. Your experience at home on your machine does not have to be that way. With the right machine and a little tweaking, most become accustomed to CPAP. It will be interesting to hear your sleep study results. Be sure to ask for a copy.

[PoolQ]

remember that a sleep test is NOT to try and get you a good nights sleep. It is to change settings all over the place and find the correct settings for you, this means that they will have tried many really bad settings for you to rule them out. Many times the first test is jut to see if you do indeed have sleep apnea, which means that they WANT you to have a terrible nights sleep so they can document it.

You could have had a split study where they first see if you have sleep apnea and then try and find the correct settings later in the night

In that situation the settings may not be all that accurate for when you get home and use a machine. Many people need to tweak the settings to get it right.
My first mask seemed great, then not so much, I am on my third mask and this seems to be the one-been about a year now with it.

Hang in there and do not expect the same results at home that you had at the center.

[TASmart]

I am in my first week, and after the first day, I started noticing positive effects. The sleep center experience can be near traumatic. You are totally trussed up like a hog ready for the butcher, and in a strange bed and watched via camera. Nothing there could be discombobulating. Plus, depending on how you procure you xPAP most that go through insurance are on a rental basis for the first several months, so you can return them if they don't work out for you. Personally, I cannot say enough good things in my experience. I am sharper, more awake, more observant, and nicer. Plus I can get out of bed for the first time in decades without feeling like I need to sleep more.

[SleeplessinPgh]

I'll never forget my night in the sleep clinic early last year. The mask felt awful, I had trouble getting to sleep, and I was groggy and disoriented the next morning - not to mention trying to get all that goop out of my long hair. I went home thinking "oh no, what am I getting into?" It was a struggle at first, but I was determined to make it work. Now, I couldn't imagine going to bed without it. I fall asleep very quickly, and wake up feeling rested and ready for the day. There is still the occasional restless night, but I don't worry because the next night is usually fine. Don't give up hope.

[Galactus]

Don't give up, keep pushing on, it will indeed be worth it.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Safire,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
It’s very common not to sleep well in the sleep lab at all, so don’t base your future nights with your own CPAP machine on the night at the sleep lab. I know this is overwhelming, but when you get your machine, things will be a bit different, you’ll be in your own bed, you won’t hav wires glued on you, you won’t be watched by a camera.
I wish you good luck as you start your CPAP journey, hang in there for more responses to your post.

[Gideon]

IMY first sleep study was before 2003 and had an A H I of 90.
I needed to repeat that study in November 2016. That was a nightmare. It was supposed to be a split study and they needed only 2 hours of sleep before starting the 2nd phase. I only slept for 123 minutes that night with an AHI of 70. I never got to t h e titration study.

The point is that I sleep every night with my PAP machine with few or no issues and consider myself to be an experienced cpap user and I had an extremely rough time with my recent study. That experience is not an uncommon one .

[Galactus]

The funniest part of my sleep study was by the time I sought treatment I was falling asleep anywhere and everywhere as I didn't know what was wrong with me. When they pasted that gunk all over my head and all that and I finally got some CPAP I just passed out, and slept better than I ever had in a long time. It stunk too because it was such an annoying experience but damn did I sleep.

[Ockrocket]

Welcome to the Apnea Board forum Safire.. 

Mongo is spot on, and as others said as well, doing a sleep study is not comfortable, nor is it a sample of what using a CPAP machine at home is.

Once you start on the course of working out what machine you need to treat whatever type pf apnea you have, and what kind of mask works best for you, it will all eventually become a nightly routine that you do as easily as cleaning your teeth before bed.


It is a process, don't expect amazing results and instant relief in the first night or week of using a CPAP, getting it all refined takes a bit of time... but in the end it will all work out. 

Easy for some, a bit more difficult and frustrating for others.. but with the help of the knowledge base in this forum you will get there. 

A CPAP clinic with good and intelligent staff is a must for a successful outcome as well.