Getting my CPAP today, wish me luck!

[walkerstop]

Hi all!
I am 38, slightly overweight, and found out I have mild sleep apnea (AHI 9).
I get my CPAP today. I am just learning about all this. It's a little overwhelming. I hope I will be able to sleep with the mask on. I hope it will actually HELP my condition.

I basically have fibromyalgia symptoms, Tourette syndrome, and I'm tired all the time. The chronic pain is hard to deal with, but being so tired all the time is probably the worst thing about my health.

If this machine can help me get my life back, it would be great. Right now I'm just so tired it's like I'm too tired to go on living. I feel like my job, marriage, and my child are all suffering. I can't be the father my child needs me to be because I'm so tired. I try, but there's only so much I can do.

I'm not even sure if sleep apnea is really why I'm so tired. Does it even make sense that having an AHI of 9 could make me feel extremely exhausted all the time? I've had my bloodwork done, CT scan, hormone panels, the works, and they can't seem to find any other explanation.

[Pugsy]

Chronic pain messes with sleep quality which in turn messes with how a person feels during the day and then the poor sleep makes it harder to deal with chronic pain and we end up in a nasty little circle.

Good luck, and yes, even an AHI of 9 can mess with sleep enough to make an already bad situation worse.
We fix what we can and work from there.

Let's see what happens and how you feel after you have been on cpap a few weeks and your AHI gets reduced to at least eliminate the sleep apnea caused sleep issues.

When you have time you might read this...I do understand about chronic pain even if it isn't fibro.
It sucks when we have to deal with more than one issue that screws up our sleep quality and how we feel.
viewtopic/t156398/When-you-dont-always- ... mbers.html

[SangreJoven]

Well, my AHI is 8.7 (so essentially 9), and I just got my CPAP on August 30th. I'm also 38, and I was ALWAYS tired, and falling alseep just about everywhere. Since I've been sleeping with my CPAP, though, I've had WAY more energy, and I have not trouble making through the day.

I hope you have similar results too! Good luck!

[walkerstop]

SangreJoven that is good to hear that someone else in a similar situation got good results. I will keep my fingers crossed, because something has to give, I feel like my life is goin' down in flames here!

[walkerstop]

Well I competed my first night! It wasn't that hard to sleep. I think it went pretty well!

The machine says events per hour were 0.5 and I used the machine 8.5 hours.

I feel pretty good, not any dramatic improvement or anything, but maybe it's too soon? Anyway I slept and that was the main thing I was afraid of, that I wouldn't be able to sleep in the mask.

[Bertha deBlues]

Well I competed my first night! It wasn't that hard to sleep. I think it went pretty well!

The machine says events per hour were 0.5 and I used the machine 8.5 hours.

I feel pretty good, not any dramatic improvement or anything, but maybe it's too soon? Anyway I slept and that was the main thing I was afraid of, that I wouldn't be able to sleep in the mask.

Congratulations, walkerstop! That is a phenomenal first night.

[SangreJoven]

Well I competed my first night! It wasn't that hard to sleep. I think it went pretty well!

The machine says events per hour were 0.5 and I used the machine 8.5 hours.

I feel pretty good, not any dramatic improvement or anything, but maybe it's too soon? Anyway I slept and that was the main thing I was afraid of, that I wouldn't be able to sleep in the mask.

Nice to hear! Heck my events per hour hasn't been lower than 1.5 so far. Good luck!

[walkerstop]

Well shoot, it's lunch time now and I'm dozing off during my lunch break. How long should I expect before the therapy makes me feel less tired during the day?

I wonder if this is a red herring and my fatigue is caused by something else.

[Bertha deBlues]

Well shoot, it's lunch time now and I'm dozing off during my lunch break. How long should I expect before the therapy makes me feel less tired during the day?

I wonder if this is a red herring and my fatigue is caused by something else.

It's possible that it's something else, but don't give up on PAP therapy. It's not uncommon to go through an adjustment period. Some people take to it right away, and for others (like me) it can take weeks of getting used to it so you start feeling better. Your first night was excellent, but one night isn't enough to erase your sleep deficit. You need to give it time - that's easy to say, harder to do.

[Okie bipap]

You got off to a good start. It took me four nights before I could leave the mask on the entire night. As far as feeling better, some people notice a big improvement the first day and others, like me, have a very gradual improvement. It took about two months before I really noticed improvement. About two months after starting treatment, I noticed I could sit and work the crossword puzzle in the newspaper without falling asleep, and could sit and watch a television show without falling asleep. Hopefully, you will begin to notice improvement sooner than I did.

[Bertha deBlues]

About two months after starting treatment, I noticed I could sit and work the crossword puzzle in the newspaper without falling asleep, and could sit and watch a television show without falling asleep. Hopefully, you will begin to notice improvement sooner than I did.

Yes, that was my experience, though it was closer to three months. Still, what an amazing feeling to be on full brain power all day.

[walkerstop]

I've had all kinds of tests done, they didn't find anything except that I do have allergies.

I am depressed, but I was assuming that was partly caused by fatigue, I dunno though

[walkerstop]

Second night was not as good, I got 1.1 events per hour
Is that ok or does it need to be lower?

[Rainmom17]

I think 1.1 is awesome. I've been on it almost 7 weeks and my lowest has only been 1.5. So good job! Sounds like you're off to a good start!

[Pugsy]

Your AHI can and will vary from night to night because we don't sleep the same each night.
Heck not long ago I had 3 nights
1st night AHI less than 0.50
2nd night AHI 10.8
3rd night AHI less than 2.0
I am still scratching my head over that one.

At any rate..."acceptable" within the medical profession is generally less than 5.0 AHI.
Some people say they can tell a difference in how they feel if they get over 2.0 AHI. Others...like me and my 10.8 night...can't really feel any difference and if I hadn't seen the report I wouldn't have had a clue that my night was less than stellar.

Don't worry about the AHI changing and don't worry if it increase sometimes. It's normal.