Anyone use CPAP for Sleep Apnea?

Ive had sleep problems most of my life and after getting a sleep study done in march I saw the doc and he confirmed I stop breathing about 9 times an hour and my brain waves are out of wack (brain never goes into sleep mode). So I got a CPAP machine this week expecting to feel better. Fucking aye. I feel like shit! Does this go away after a week?

Surprisingly after having the mask on for 20 minutes I feel pretty relaxed and comfortable so I don’t think that is a concern. I saw a post on another forum and someone recommended getting a webcam and film yourself sleeping. That seems like a good idea.

And holy shit since I am more tired than usual I am in one bitch of a mood. I want to smash everyone’s face into a window today.

Lots of folks here use them and iirc most love them. Funny enough a sleep doctor was on a local radio station yesterday talking about CPAP machines and he said it can take up to a month to fully benefit from use.

I’ve been thinking about getting one myself.

[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Ive had sleep problems most of my life and after getting a sleep study done in march I saw the doc and he confirmed I stop breathing about 9 times an hour and my brain waves are out of wack (brain never goes into sleep mode). So I got a CPAP machine this week expecting to feel better. Fucking aye. I feel like shit! Does this go away after a week?

Surprisingly after having the mask on for 20 minutes I feel pretty relaxed and comfortable so I don’t think that is a concern. I saw a post on another forum and someone recommended getting a webcam and film yourself sleeping. That seems like a good idea.

And holy shit since I am more tired than usual I am in one bitch of a mood. I want to smash everyone’s face into a window today. [/quote]

Aero-

I am 9 days in to my cpap and it does get better. The first few nights I struggled with having the mask on (the tube was all over the place). Give it a few more nights before you start smashing things (or people). You have to recognize that you haven’t slept well in years and getting used to a good nights sleep will take time.

My brother has had one for years and he says that he does not even notice it anymore and that he sleeps better than ever.

Good luck

jnd

The alternative to smashing people was driving a tank through a childrens hospital, but I forgot my wallet this morning when I went to work and I wouldn’t want to get pulled over in my tank without a license.

I’ve posted queries about it myself in the past (run a T-Nation search for “CPAP” or sleep apnea)

In my experience, I’ve had a Resmed S8 for the past few years, even took it on my last vacation out to Cali to visit family. Helped out a lot in terms of keeping me awake, alert, & have a much better time overall.

Prior to that, I had a another Resmed model but to be honest I was not really into wearing it consistently, hence I suffered from daytime rage & exhaustion, headaches, etc.

I am confident my current medical issues are in part due to my not wearing my CPAP more often, so make sure to wear yours, suck it up, & just get used to it…

It will take some time to get used to strapping up like an astronaut/fighter pilot before bedding down, but the benefits of not passing out while stuck in traffic in the morning & not drinking cups of coffee in the afternoon just to get by are worth it.

You also stop having to get up so often to urinate, as sleep apnea F**s with your kidneys to some extent (increases pressure in your kidneys or something along those lines, increasing rate of urine production & need to urinate)

My wife gets to say she sleeps with Darth Vader

Granted, I need to still get my bodyweight down, the sleep specialist I saw said a lot of Asians have this (I’m Filipino, a high # of us have sleep apnea, in his practice he has seen) & I might still explore the tonsillectomy option.

For now, though, it’s the best solution & bottom line, give it a month or so to see the benefits… Your strength will go up & your recovery time will benefit as well (more restful recuperative sleep)

Just a thought; you might just need to be fitted for a better-fitting mask/nosepad setup for comfort maybe?

Good luck.

[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Ive had sleep problems most of my life and after getting a sleep study done in march I saw the doc and he confirmed I stop breathing about 9 times an hour and my brain waves are out of wack (brain never goes into sleep mode). So I got a CPAP machine this week expecting to feel better. Fucking aye. I feel like shit! Does this go away after a week?

Surprisingly after having the mask on for 20 minutes I feel pretty relaxed and comfortable so I don’t think that is a concern. I saw a post on another forum and someone recommended getting a webcam and film yourself sleeping. That seems like a good idea.

And holy shit since I am more tired than usual I am in one bitch of a mood. I want to smash everyone’s face into a window today. [/quote]

I use one. Apparently my neck is too long.

I use the nasal pillows, not the whole mask. It does take a bit to get used to it, but not it’s like Pavlov’s dog – I put it on and am instantly asleep.

I’ve bought several now and keep them in different spots, with one in the truck in case I have to stay out of town.

It can take some time to get used to a CPAP. I got the Resmed Autoset S9 which has some settings which can be helpful. It has a bi-level setting which cuts the pressure when exhaling, which was helpful in the beginning. It also automatically increases the pressure as necessary if it detects that the throat is closed.

I absolutely love my CPAP.

Yes.

Life changing (for the better).

You get used to it, and you’ll learn to deal with the tubing. I use the nasal pillows vs a mask.

Can’t sleep without it. Literally.

You had an AHI of 9 !?!

Noob.

Mine was 98…

I got the full face mask and I do have a compliance of 98% or so because the first time I got the machine I practically slept for 3 days.

Anyways, there could be a few issues:

Maybe you have a mask for the nose and need a full face mask.

Maybe you have a mask that is not the right size and you have leakage.

Maybe your CPAP is not set to provide the right amount of pressure, forget that if its an Auto CPAP.

Get thee a pulse oxymeter and perform thee a pulse oxymetry at night and thou will knowest whether thine CPAP does its job.

And actually, it might well be that you are not more tired than usual.

It could well be that you are actually awake enough to notice how tired you really are.

I know, I know, does not make sense intuitively but my doctor told me that I had slept better than I did in years.

I was like, wut!?!, I did not sleep at all !!!

And he was like, yeah, you did, these are your REM cycles motherfucker !

And I was like, no way !!!

And he was like, yes way !!!

Actually, even after a night of subjectively rotten sleep I got more done than on any day I could remember.

I recently got one and my experience was similar. I went through a few masks before settling on one I liked. Also if you have an auto CPAP it will run at different pressures until it finds the right one for you. This could also be a source of problems for the first several days. Hang in there, it will get better.

Funny thing. I slept with it again last night and noticed I stopped breathing and the machine upped the pressure to help me. I definitely feel less tense when I wake up (I have woken up shaking like I just got out of a UFC fight), but I still have grogginess. I notice that the pressure in the morning is a few cm H2O higher than at night, so I am sure the machine adjusts itself based on how I am sleeping.

[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Funny thing. I slept with it again last night and noticed I stopped breathing and the machine upped the pressure to help me. I definitely feel less tense when I wake up (I have woken up shaking like I just got out of a UFC fight), but I still have grogginess. I notice that the pressure in the morning is a few cm H2O higher than at night, so I am sure the machine adjusts itself based on how I am sleeping. [/quote]

Just wanted to add, do really get a pulse oxymeter.

They are dirt cheap and easy to get now, and you just clip them on a finger and read it out on your computer the next day.

Cheap, easy, but very informative.

I have the Resmed S8 myself and use the nasal pillows mask. I definitely sleep MUCH better with it. I did have some say with mask choice and started with the nasal mask.

I’ve had the CPAP since 2008 and the first week, I wanted to give up on it. My sister did give up on hers almost as soon as she got it. She’s the one who falls asleep everywhere. I was so bad that I couldn’t stay awake at work and I was getting moved into a populated office area… the timing was good. I can now drive for hours, before I would be dozing off after an hour of driving.