Last night was my 6th night on CPAP!  

My first few nights went pretty well:  Generally, it took me about 30 minutes to an hour to fall asleep, followed by 4 -5 five hours on CPAP before taking it off about an hour before my regular wake-up time.  On a couple of occassions, I woke up at around 3:00 AM but got back to sleep quickly with the mask on until the morning.  

Recognizing fully that any changes will be slow/gradual, I did notice some very subtle improvement:  a little more energy, less drowsiness at the computer at work, no napping on the couch in the evening at home.  

So today, I'm a little surprised:  I had over six hours straight with CPAP, with no arousals until just before it was time for the alarm to go off!  I was really proud this, especially since I had such a struggle getting used to CPAP before.  But I felt a little sluggish in the morning and now I'm feeling particularly drowsy at the computer.  

What's going on here?  Shouldn't more time on CPAP minus arousals/awakenings = less drowsiness?  Or is this just a bump in the road as my body adjusts?  I'm just perplexed here....

thanks to all,
Stodd

You have probably been sleep deprived for years.  It will take some time for your body to "catch up" on all that lost REM sleep.  Keep with the CPAP it will get better and you will feel more rested!

I had the exact same experience this morning. I recently started with an APAP machine and I slept through the night for the first time since I can remember last night, but I woke up feeling tired. I am feeling better as the day goes on, but I am still a little perplexed by this. My Doctor told me yesterday that I would need at least a couple weeks to really catch up on the sleep I have been missing, but I read stories all the time that people had immediate improvement. Should I be concerned?

I just had to give you some support.  I was going to post the exact same thing a few days ago.  I've been on the machine for 14 nights, and I still haven't made it through the nite yet, but I've been doing between 5 to 6.5 hours a nite on my CPAP.  Everyone keep saying some is better than none.   I feel only marginally better, but my wife said she thinks I'm much less irritable and I'm just overall happier.  I also wonder why after 14 nites I don't feel awhole lot better, when several people post feelings of immediate improvement?    What am I doing wrong?

Anyway, I think homecareRRT hit the nail on the head.  I think it will take months to reverse the "damage" that has been done from the potential years of poor sleep that I've been getting.  I'm going to switch to nasal pillows, since it is usually my uncomfortable mask that wakes me up, not the pressure.  I also have a humidifier on order, so hopefully my nose will feel better.  I'm going to keep tweaking this thing until I get it right.  

Not to end on a downer, but a "friend of a friend" who was 38 died a month ago, and the cause of death was "sleep apnea".  A true eye opener for me.  

Keep up the good work and I am a firm believer, it will get better.

Bspeters -- thanks for the words of encouragement and my condolences on the loss of your friend.  That's an awful tragedy and a real reminder of why it's important to address the problem aggressively if you've been diagnosed or to get diagnosed if you suspect OSA.

I think the support of a wife or friend is important and you're lucky to have someone.  Others can notice those subtle changes in us that we often miss.  

My DME told me that they view 4 hours or more as the baseline, meaning any night where you can do at least 4 hours on the machine has therapeutic benefits.  So I have to think we're both doing really well.  And I am feeling a little better; just a little but it's noticeable.  But I know that I'm naturally impatient!

Last night was only number 7.  Again got to sleep pretty quickly and got up close to my normal alarm clock time.  But I did wake up again at around 3 a.m., which is starting to get annoying.  But I was able to get back to sleep quickly and keep the mask on all night.  

regards,
Stodd

SLEEP DEBT. We all have been suffering from it for who knows how long-now we're paying it back. Hopefully you will be feeling better shortly.I usually wake up at about 3am;turn over and go right back to sleep.While this is annoying it's a blessing to me because preCPAP I woke up 2-3x a night to use the bathroom.


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EVERY SILVER LINING HAS A TOUCH OF GREY
-Grateful Dead

Last night was my 8th night with my CPAP machine and the first one where the mask didn't come off before the end of the night or I spent a lot of the night staring at the ceiling. So, like you, I am surprised that I am yawning today more than I have the last 3 or 4 days when I didn't get as much sleep.

I've already decided that I just need to be patient and not worry too much about the weird things that I'm experiencing right now. I figure it will all calm down in a couple more weeks and I'll slip into some new, wonderful routine.

I hope.  

Hi All,

I have been on cpap for just under 4 months. In that time I have been 100% compliant, having logged over 1000 hours on my machine. I still get tired quite easily. My specialist told me that it wpould likely be 6 months to a year from the time I started treatment, till I really got back to "normal". I know I have also read of folks who felt better immediately, but I think they are the exception rather than the rule. This condition takes a terrible toll on us, especially if it goes untreated for a long time. I know it's hard to be patient sometimes. After I had a couple of good days, I wanted to feel like that all the time. If you are noticing any improvement at all after a week or so, that's great. It will get better with time. Good luck all and keep us posted as to how you are doing.

Brian

Brian wrote:

Hi All,

My specialist told me that it wpould likely be 6 months to a year from the time I started treatment, till I really got back to "normal".

Brian

6 months to a year?!?!?  Oh well, we are all in this for the long haul, right?  

I think the interesting, unanticipated side effect of starting CPAP is you become more focused on (and thus more aware) of how your body is responding and feeling.  I find myself these days mentally scanning my body and emotions just to see if the CPAP is "kicking in."  

Had I done something similar before starting CPAP, I probably would have recognized earlier just how sleep deprived I was and the impact on me.  I developed all these coping mechanisms over the years, which had the basic result of dulling my senses to what was really going on underneath...

I am at nearly 6 months, and here's what I've noticed...

- My first week or so, I was in major REM catch-up, and each morning I felt like I could sleep a few more hours.
- After about a month I felt pretty "normal" in the mornings, my afternoon joint pain was gone, and while I still had some late day fatigue, I didn't feel compelled to nap.

But because of colds and other sinus issues that have sometimes made it impossible to cpap, I've also observed this...

- After giving up on the cpap for a full week, 100% of my pre-cpap symptoms returned - naps, pain, fatigue - just like I never cpap'ed before.  It actually took 3 whole weeks of cpap before I got back to "normal" again.

- If I miss a single night, have a really rough night, or simply get too few hours of sleep (for me, it's 7 hours), I get significant joint pain and sleepyness that lasts for 1-3 days.

I don't know what to conclude from all this, but I guess what has suprised me most is that even after 6 months, how little "reserves" I seem to have.  That any trip ups - even a big leak at night - will have an almost immediate effect on me the next day.  What's also suprising is how it takes me sometimes several days of compliance to "make up" for it.

For me, it's a real motivator to make sure I am compliant  

But it also makes me wonder about people that don't get a solid night of cpap, and are frequently in non-compliance for various reasons - or people that don't realize the cpap isn't working for them (for example, that they are still having apneas or sleep arousals and are not aware of it).  If it were me, based upon my own observations, I'm not sure I would notice any positive effects.  I'm not suggesting that's anyone's case - I'm just making a personal observation.  Like I said, for me, even one night of non-compliance has a major effect on my symptoms - so what would my state be if I never had a good night?   What if all I got was a few hours each night of cpap?  Frankly, I'm not sure I'd notice any improvement.