New CPAP user. Waking up a lot

[altaire4]

I am new to using my macine. I started firstly using nasel cushion pillows but found that they made my nose and lip very sore. I have now changed to a nasel mask and find it much more comfortable. I am finding it a little hard to get used to using the machine waking up a couple of times during the night and usually around 5am in the morning. How long does it take most people to get used to using the machine and sleep through the night?

[retired_guy]

How long does it take most people to get used to using the machine and sleep through the night?

Don't know, haven't gotten there yet. But it's ok. Sometimes I have to get up to go to the bathroom but often not. Used to be that was a several times a night thing. So that's better. Also, it's kind of fun, in a sick sort of way, to wake up feeling great, like you've had a week's worth of rest --- then look at the clock and realize it's only been two hours. But that's ok too.

So how long until you or I sleep through the night? Don't know. ...and that's ok too. Geesssh, I'm beginning to sound like that funky comedian from awhile back.

[Tez62]

altaire4, welcome, we ae all different, some people take to it very quickly and others struggle. Most people take 3-6 months to feel the full affect of the treatment and start to feel really better but again it is an individual thing. You need to look at it that it is an investment in your future rather than getting an instant result, I look at it as a marathon not a sprint, good luck with it and most of all stay positive.

[zonk]

How long does it take most people to get used to using the machine and sleep through the night?

Hi altaire4, welcome aboard
Really does not matter how long it take, I know using CPAP is better than not using CPAP ... Rome is not built in one day
Everyone is different, took me few months to get the right mask and dial it in. Even now after 3 years, problem do crop up from time to time, that is why this support group is important

Here is a wiki might answer some of your questions http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...CPAP_users

[trish6hundred]

Hi altaire4,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
CPAP therapy can take some getting used to but it does get better.
Hang in there for more responses to your post, best of luck and don't give up.

[Sleepster]

How long does it take most people to get used to using the machine and sleep through the night?

Some people take to it right away and have no problems. Others have a much more difficult time. You're off to a good start. It may take you only a few nights to adjust, or it may take a few weeks, or even months.

There's just no way to know.

[Gabby]

Hi altaire4, Welcome to the forum, I have been using for just over three weeks and I am still not adjusted. I am getting good results with my machine and mask but I still wake through the night, I still dread going to sleep at night and I am still tired throughout the day.
Having said all that, I am prepared to hang in there as I know I have had this problem for a long time and I cannot expect to be feeling on top of it overnight. I am giving myself the three to six months option. I don't mind telling you I will be feeling a bit dirty if I get to the end of the six months and feel no different.
Good luck with your journey.

[Doc J]

I am one of the lucky ones who took to it quickly, when I started the FFmask was the main reason I would wake up cause it was leaking. That mask and the nasal mask would make my upper/lower lip area hurt from the pressure. Felt like it was pushing my teeth back and I believe it would have. Now with the nasal pillows I get very little of that feeling.
I do know that you need to have the pillows loose and let them inflate into place rather than trying to tighten before they come on. We are all built different but the least amount of pressure I've felt is the pillows adjusted correctly. Good Luck and keep trying till you get to a place you can stand and I think the waking up will slowly go away.
Keep up the good fight, Doc J

[herbm]

Based on reading posts by lots of people on several forums, even 6-9 months isn't unheard of before someone feels comfortable AND feels like health improves.

As some have said, your body didn't take the cumulative damage all in one night and it won't recover that fast either.

I too was one of the lucky ones (and the forum helped immensely and my plan for doing the therapy was excellent) and took to the therapy day 1.

Though as for feeling better, my health FELT good before the therapy so a change is my energy, concentration, memory, etc. may not ever be noticed.

For me it is about the long term effects on my heart and other organs.

I can say that my nocturia (getting up 2-6 times each night for the bathroom) immediately moderated also: on no night in the 37 days have I needed to get up more than once and a few nights not at all.

We are all different.

As to a pillow mask hurting your nose, that makes sense, but if you get a truly comfortable pillow (and mask) that won't happen. As to the upper lip, I don't understand that.

My Airfit P10 doesn't even really make contact with my upper lip, except all the way up at the base of the nose, and barely there.

The pillows have varying levels of comfort (S, M, L) and varying fit depending on how well I set them and how much I LEAVE THEM ALONE once they are set correctly.

It's amazing how much more comfortable a mask (the Airfit) with almost no head strap and worn very loosely is when compared to a mask (my Hybrid FFM) that has to be literally STRAPPED onto my face.

Most of the time, when awake, it's easy to forget the Airfit is even there.

Stick with the mask that is working for you, but don't expect all pillows will be just like the one you tried (even if it was an Airfit.)

If you are able to deal with all the little inconveniences (or make them unimportant) and wear your mask ALL of the time, then count yourself well ahead of the average.

That is our job -- the therapy will sooner or later take care of the rest.

One other item: You might be getting MORE QUALITY sleep in LESS TIME.

I have been sleeping both more in one session and less in terms of how late I rise. Overall it might be about the same FOR ME, but it does seem like I am ready to awake sooner than in the past.

You might just be getting BETTER SLEEP and waking up with your body thinking it is finished for the night.

That too should normalize to fit you actual sleep hours.

[robysue]

I am finding it a little hard to get used to using the machine waking up a couple of times during the night and usually around 5am in the morning. How long does it take most people to get used to using the machine and sleep through the night?

A few wakes during the night is a pretty common thing even for normal people with NO OSA problem. The wakes usually occur post-REM at the end of a full sleep cycle. The person wakes up, realizes everything is ok, and then falls back asleep within a few minutes. And if the wake lasted less than 5 minutes, the person likely doesn't even remember it in the morning.

I point this out because it may be that your "couple of wakes" during the night are nothing more than simple post-REM wakes, but with all the CPAP stuff on your face, the brain is rousing itself more than it needs to in order to figure out that there's nothing really wrong and go back to sleep. And it could also be that with all the CPAP equipment that it's taking you longer to fall back asleep, and hence you're remembering the post REM wakes much more often than you used to before CPAP.

So---as long as you're only dealing with a couple of wakes each night and those wakes are relatively short, the best thing you can do for now is to not worry about them. If you start worrying about them, the worry itself will cause you to wake up more alert than you ordinarily would and the worry will also cause you to stay awake longer than you ordinarily would. Both of which will prolong the tendency to wake up at night and may also lead to an increasing number of wakes.

You may find it useful to NOT look at the clock when you wake up. And you really should not clock watch while you're awake. Seeing the minutes tick by only keeps you awake longer.