Still have insomnia even with the cpap.

[Susan1962]

I have had insomnia for many years now and am not sleeping any better with the cpap. I'm averaging 4.5 hours of logged in sleep. I had hopes that the cpap would allow me to sleep longer. I just want to get a normal night's sleep. Could use some feedback.

[mesenteria]

Sorry you have this perception of your sleep.  When you say 'better', do you in fact mean 'longer'?  Or, how can you say you sleep no better after CPAP therapy than you did previously?  With what metric besides your clock?

[Susan1962]

Sleeping longer is what I mean. I just cant seem to sleep more than 5 hours a night. I'm very frustrsted.

[johndee]

Hi Susan,
Insomnia is a fairly common side effect from cpap. Often happens to people who never had insomnia before. CPAP is a rather alien thing to get use to. People often take a fairly structured approach to the insomnia component. Same bedtime, avoid coffee and tea (anything with caffeine) late in day. A little melatonin or benadryl to aid in drowsiness. Search cpap insomnia and see what hits you get.

It took me about 6 months until I was able to fall asleep consistently...but now it's just not an issue. Hang in there.
JD

[Susan1962]

JD,
Thanks for your reply. I was not aware that cpap causes insomnia. That's disappointing to know. I want so badly to get at least 6 hrs. of sleep per night. I'm also very tired in the morning due to lack of sleep. I appreciate your feedback.

[mesenteria]

It does suggest asking the question, Susan; how is your sleep hygiene?  Apart from not being able to sleep as long as you'd like to, do you maintain a schedule, avoid the blue light of screens, not keep your smart phone close by, not consume caffeine later than about 1300 hrs, get lots of walking or other exercise in most days...that type of thing?  I would think that most of us eventually get used to our PAP therapy and all its intrusions.  It would be too bad if you are in the group that just can't seem to get past whatever it is that draws you out of sleep or that keeps you from entering it.

[johndee]

Susan,
Believe me you are not alone. I am posting a link to a blog by a woman who has struggled with cpap and insomnia. She's put a lot of work into it so check it out.

http://adventures-in-hosehead-land.blogs...er_19.html

Hope it helps,
JD

[SarcasticDave94]

Hi Susan1962, and welcome to Apnea Board.

I've dealt with what seems like basically the same circumstance as you when I began. First, most on a CPAP takes a bit of time to adjust to using the machine and the mask. There's an adjusting the mask to minimize leaks and maximize comfort phase as well. And there's adjusting the pressure settings on the CPAP.

I'd suggest downloading Sleepyhead onto your PC. Use this program, and using your SD card from the CPAP, import your sleep data.

From there, you may post graphs and the chart reading gurus will assist you by looking at the info and suggest setting edits to optimize your therapy. That is how my therapy got better.

My signature has a bit of info in 2 links you may wish to view. The black bar at the top of this page has Sleepyhead access and other info is available to assist like a clinician manual.

Best to success.



PS the advice above should help you to sleep longer and better than without therapy.

[Ockrocket]

Hi Susan,

Pertinent points..

1. You say you have had insomnia for many years. ( so CPAP didn't cause it )

2. How long have you been using CPAP? 

It takes time to settle in and get over the strangeness of having a mask strapped to your face and air blowing up your nose.

And it will take time to get it fine tuned for you personally to the point where you are comfortable with it each night.

For ten years my sleep each night consisted of 4.5 hours per night on average, now I'm sleeping a minimum of 7 hours.. and can do up to 11 hours if I'm feeling like a lazy weekend and want to have a really good sleep in ( reliving my teenage years some weekends when I can   )

It took me about 3 months to adjust to using CPAP, then another few months to get the settings sorted to the point where I felt I had it "right"... now I just fiddle with little minute adjustments for the sake of seeing just how perfect I can get it.

Everyone is different, for some things fall in to place very quickly, for others it takes months ( or even a year or two perhaps, but unlikely ).. so don't despair if you have the odd setback along the way. 

Hang in there, with the help of this forum you will find the answers to getting it worked out for your needs and comfort. 

Now when I go to bed, I put my mask on and am asleep within a minute or two.. ( having said that, last night took me almost an hour to get to sleep, and I woke again in the night and it took me about 15 minutes to get back to sleep.. my point here is that there are some nights that don't go as per normal, but I no longer stress when I can't sleep because I know the next night will be back to my regular sleep pattern )

My regular night is now asleep within a minute or two of laying my head on the pillow, and being woken by the alarm 7 > 8.5 hours later for whatever time I need to be getting up to go to work. 

You too will get to the point of a good night's sleep as your normal nightly pattern.