10-13-2012, 05:43 PM
Questions from a new user - sore eyes and sleeping pills
Hello Apnea Board,
I have been struggling to get used to CPAP for almost 3 months now. I went through 7 different "interfaces", as my provider calls them, and am still having difficulty sleeping - both falling asleep and staying asleep.
I never had issues with sleep before. The sleep apnea was diagnosed after I was asked some screening questions by the respirologist I see for my asthma. I did not have typical symptoms, such as falling asleep during the day, but I did have low energy levels in the morning, so he thought I should have a study. I was recovering from a bad bout of asthma and had been on steriods for several weeks, causing a weight gain of about 30 pounds. My husband had complained that I was snoring.
By week 4 with the CPAP, I was having difficulty making it through the day at work. I was so very tired - the treatment seemed worse than the condition being treated!
It took me a couple of weeks to see my sleep doctor. In the meantime I was visiting my provider every week. Eventually my machine was exchanged from a very basic model that just indicated how long I wore the mask to one that provided more detailed downloads. The new machine showed that I was having about 25-30 AHI even with the CPAP on, down from 51 during my sleep study but having apnea with the mask on was an awful experience.
When I finally got in to see the sleep doctor, I was hysterical! I had had almost no sleep for weeks and needed to reduce my hours of work to cope with the increased fatigue. It turned out that the titration study had indicated a range between 5-6 for the pressure setting and the prescription had just said 5. The pressure was increased and the next download showed improvement in my AHI (averaging 4.4).
The problem by then was that after so many weeks of difficulty sleeping, I had developed insomnia. I am doing everything that I have been taught about "sleep hygiene", regular routines, exercise, avoiding caffeine etc...
Nothing helped, so eventually the doctor gave me some sleeping pills, but only a few and warned me they were habit forming. Honestly, the only time I can get any sleep is when I use the pills (zopiclone).
I know that my health will improve if I keep using the CPAP, so I am continuing with it, but if I don't take a sleeping pill, I lay there all night struggling to try to fall asleep.
Have others on the site had issues with trying to sleep?
Another issue is that I have really sore, runny eyes. I read somewhere that conjunctivitis was a possible side effect of CPAP. It is hard to keep the mask away from my eyes and whenever the mask leaks, that seems to be where the leak is, even with a very small nasal mask.
Any ideas or solutions?
Thanks,
I have been struggling to get used to CPAP for almost 3 months now. I went through 7 different "interfaces", as my provider calls them, and am still having difficulty sleeping - both falling asleep and staying asleep.
I never had issues with sleep before. The sleep apnea was diagnosed after I was asked some screening questions by the respirologist I see for my asthma. I did not have typical symptoms, such as falling asleep during the day, but I did have low energy levels in the morning, so he thought I should have a study. I was recovering from a bad bout of asthma and had been on steriods for several weeks, causing a weight gain of about 30 pounds. My husband had complained that I was snoring.
By week 4 with the CPAP, I was having difficulty making it through the day at work. I was so very tired - the treatment seemed worse than the condition being treated!
It took me a couple of weeks to see my sleep doctor. In the meantime I was visiting my provider every week. Eventually my machine was exchanged from a very basic model that just indicated how long I wore the mask to one that provided more detailed downloads. The new machine showed that I was having about 25-30 AHI even with the CPAP on, down from 51 during my sleep study but having apnea with the mask on was an awful experience.
When I finally got in to see the sleep doctor, I was hysterical! I had had almost no sleep for weeks and needed to reduce my hours of work to cope with the increased fatigue. It turned out that the titration study had indicated a range between 5-6 for the pressure setting and the prescription had just said 5. The pressure was increased and the next download showed improvement in my AHI (averaging 4.4).
The problem by then was that after so many weeks of difficulty sleeping, I had developed insomnia. I am doing everything that I have been taught about "sleep hygiene", regular routines, exercise, avoiding caffeine etc...
Nothing helped, so eventually the doctor gave me some sleeping pills, but only a few and warned me they were habit forming. Honestly, the only time I can get any sleep is when I use the pills (zopiclone).
I know that my health will improve if I keep using the CPAP, so I am continuing with it, but if I don't take a sleeping pill, I lay there all night struggling to try to fall asleep.
Have others on the site had issues with trying to sleep?
Another issue is that I have really sore, runny eyes. I read somewhere that conjunctivitis was a possible side effect of CPAP. It is hard to keep the mask away from my eyes and whenever the mask leaks, that seems to be where the leak is, even with a very small nasal mask.
Any ideas or solutions?
Thanks,
