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Will it get better?
#1
Will it get better?
I too am very new to CPAP - I am in my 3rd week of using it. I have to say I feel no different to when I was not on treatment. My AHI is something like .8 over the past 4 days. I have gone from using the small nasal pillows to medium just last night and the leeks are now lower. But I still feel crap in the morning and am not in a hurry to get out of bed. I know the treatment is good for me but nothing has changed for me.

I still get dog tired in the evenings/afternoons. For instance today, I had about 8 hours sleep and got up at 08:30 - Sat at the PC for a bit then took my son to soccer - standing around for about an hour and 45 or so and then 30 minute drive home and I was whacked - vegged out on the lounge and had a good sleep.....

Please tell me this is normal and things will improve.....
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#2
RE: new cpap user
Well Sky, first you need to be in your very own thread. So maybe one of the all-so-very-cute-and-darling mods will wander by and move this from here to there.

However, as to your questions? Yes what you describe can be very normal. Your body is getting used to a whole new way of repairing itself, called normal sleep. See! There's that normal word again. The sleepiness during the day should resolve itself after a bit. Sometimes a bit and a half.

Your AHI looks great. What are your leak numbers doing? And your pressure settings. With these things perhaps we can come up with some other ideas for you.

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#3
RE: new cpap user
(06-14-2014, 09:24 AM)Skypilot Wrote: Please tell me this is normal and things will improve.....
Depend on normal, some people had instant success but for most of us there is an adjusting period. After all sleeping attached to 6 ft hose and blower is not the most natural thing in the world but like everything else can take some time to overcome the hurdles and in time becomes very normal thing to do while sleeping

Feeling like crap does not tell much, more details needed so we can offer some ideas





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#4
RE: [split] new cpap user 2
Yes, it gets better.

We can offer better advice and encouragement if we knew what machine and mask you have etc. Please fill out your profile?
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...13#pid4713
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#5
RE: [split]will it get better?
(06-14-2014, 09:24 AM)Skypilot Wrote: I too am very new to CPAP - I am in my 3rd week of using it. I have to say I feel no different to when I was not on treatment. My AHI is something like .8 over the past 4 days. I have gone from using the small nasal pillows to medium just last night and the leeks are now lower. But I still feel crap in the morning and am not in a hurry to get out of bed. I know the treatment is good for me but nothing has changed for me.

Things will improve, but not just because you keep using it. They'll improve when you figure out what's wrong and change it.

I'd suggest downloading SleepyHead software and looking at the data on your machine's memory card (SD Card) to see what's going on, and when.

It's entirely possible to have a low AHI, but still have other stuff going on that doesn't show up in the AHI number, for example, you could be snoring your butt off, but it won't effect the AHI number, since that's only composed of Apneas and Hyponeas, however you'll still feel like crap.

Also the AHI number is an average for the night, an hour of high AHI and 7 hours of low will still look pretty low, even though it's actually not.

Check out your actual data and you'll probably see something that isn't right. The less stuff that shows up on the event graph, the better you'll feel.

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#6
RE: [split]will it get better?
tcarmen, this is a great perspective. My AHI is pretty darn good but when I look at my graphs, it seems that around 3 hours after I go to sleep, I'm having several events, like 6 -8, then it goes way down, then back up close to getting up. So I'm wondering if that is why my feeling is not night and day difference. Have my first appt. with the doc this Thursday and I'll ask some of these questions. Also wonder what changes could be made to smooth this out. I did just start thinking about this over the weekend, so I'm glad you posted this. Makes sense.
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#7
RE: [split]will it get better?
(06-16-2014, 09:54 AM)Buckeyedog Wrote: tcarmen, this is a great perspective. My AHI is pretty darn good but when I look at my graphs, it seems that around 3 hours after I go to sleep, I'm having several events, like 6 -8, then it goes way down, then back up close to getting up. So I'm wondering if that is why my feeling is not night and day difference. Have my first appt. with the doc this Thursday and I'll ask some of these questions. Also wonder what changes could be made to smooth this out. I did just start thinking about this over the weekend, so I'm glad you posted this. Makes sense.

A lot of the problems, like snoring, just require a little more pressure. Some problem require more/less humidification, some require other things. Whatever it is, it's fixable if you're persistent enough. Also, the "auto" machines if set to "wide open" (5-20, etc.) don't always adjust to the pressure needed to fix *everything*. The min/max need to be set to a range that's right for *you*.

Make sure you impress on him that you still don't feel good and that he needs to fix it. A lot of docs will just look at the number or the mostly clean graph and say "good enough". You may need to be pro-active and impress on him/her that the current improvement isn't enough. People can get used to almost anything, but that doesn't make it right and you shouldn't have to. You're entitled to wake up in the morning and think "Hey! I'm awake, time to start the day!", not "Crap. Hope my head clears up soon."


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#8
RE: [split]will it get better?
(06-16-2014, 10:09 AM)tcarmen Wrote: You're entitled to wake up in the morning and think "Hey! I'm awake, time to start the day!", not "Crap. Hope my head clears up soon."

Wow! Entitled? Perhaps if you're lucky you can count that among your blessings.

Good physical and mental health may also be required.

I don't expect CPAP therapy alone to do all that for me.
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#9
RE: [split]will it get better?
(06-16-2014, 08:00 PM)Sleepster Wrote:
(06-16-2014, 10:09 AM)tcarmen Wrote: You're entitled to wake up in the morning and think "Hey! I'm awake, time to start the day!", not "Crap. Hope my head clears up soon."

Wow! Entitled? Perhaps if you're lucky you can count that among your blessings.

Good physical and mental health may also be required.

CPAP won't fix emphysema or arthritis, but it should certainly fix night time snoring and apneas.

Being informed and assertive (not abusive, but assertive) when dealing with your own health care almost always produces a better outcome than just floating through with whatever is handed out.

You would be amazed at the difference in response when you go to the doc, and he looks at your AHI and says "You're fine," and when the same thing happens, but right after he says "you're fine", you tell him that you're still snoring your butt off and feel terrible, and you want it fixed.

The first one gets continued misery and the second one gets a pressure adjustment or maybe a different kind of machine.

But yes, I feel entitled to breathe properly at night and wake up feeling good. If it's not happening, I'll keep pushing until it does. There's an entire industry built around phenomenally overpriced tiny blowers with circuit boards and plastic tubing. If they can't make me feel good, they have no reason to exist.









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#10
RE: [split]will it get better?
(06-16-2014, 08:18 PM)tcarmen Wrote: Being informed and assertive (not abusive, but assertive) when dealing with your own health care almost always produces a better outcome than just floating through with whatever is handed out.

I agree.

Quote:There's an entire industry built around phenomenally overpriced tiny blowers with circuit boards and plastic tubing. If they can't make me feel good, they have no reason to exist.

They definitely will make you feel better and increase the quality of your life. And they help prevent heart attacks and strokes.

I still wish I slept better and felt more refreshed in the morning. I'm MUCH better than before CPAP, but there is still room for improvement. After 2.5 years I'm still improving.

I'm just cautioning people to not expect miracles.
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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