Newbie (worried)

[lsigler0001]

I got my cpap machine on May 28th and I am keeping it on all night but I keep waking up alot still and I am still so tired, it`s very concerning how long does it take to feel better?

[qckndrty]

It's a completely new experience and could take you a while to get used to it but once you've gotten it down, for me anyhow, I can't sleep without it and actually look forward to sleep

[SleepyToo2]

I got my cpap machine on May 28th and I am keeping it on all night but I keep waking up alot still and I am still so tired, it`s very concerning how long does it take to feel better?

Any reason for waking up? What machine do you have, and what pressure is it set at? What mask are you using? Is it too loose or (more likely) too tight? Are you getting lots of leaks that are waking up? How severe was your apnea (what made the doc decide that you needed a machine)?

Some people take to the machine almost instantly, others, like me, take a long time to get used to it. Some things happen quickly, but it took me ages before I realized that I was thinking much clearer than before my diagnosis. Post back here with specific questions, and I am sure you will get plenty of answers.

[Julie]

Hi - click on User Ctl panel under the main logo and then on Profile. Fill in the full name & model # (it's under the machine) plus the same for mask and type, and please use text vs icons. Now we can see (in blue under your notes) what you have and will have something to go by re questions you post (there are a lot of variables depending on equipment). Also put in your pressure settings and whether or not you use the ramp.

Things will get better!

[ups4]

I got my cpap machine on May 28th and I am keeping it on all night but I keep waking up alot still and I am still so tired, it`s very concerning how long does it take to feel better?

No need to worry so soon.
I've been using my machine since December, and I'm still not seeing the full effect. It has progressively gotten much better though. I was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea and was told it could take months to see any noticeable difference.

That being said, I do find my energy levels during the day to be much higher. This in and of itself is an accomplishment.

Make sure your mask is correctly fitted and is the right size for your face. This was one of the biggest obstacles I had to tackle. Stay with it and be diligent. Give it plenty of time.

Paul

[ups4]

Hi - click on User Ctl panel under the main logo and then on Profile. Fill in the full name & model # (it's under the machine) plus the same for mask and type, and please use text vs icons. Now we can see (in blue under your notes) what you have and will have something to go by re questions you post (there are a lot of variables depending on equipment). Also put in your pressure settings and whether or not you use the ramp.

Things will get better!

Julie, just a quick question regarding this.....and I'm not trying to hijack the OP thread, but for some reason this information does not show completely at the bottom of my posts. The type of CPAP machine is omitted even though I have chosen one in the control panel. Just wondering if there is some setting I'm missing, or did I do something wrong here

Paul

[robysue]

I got my cpap machine on May 28th and I am keeping it on all night but I keep waking up alot still and I am still so tired, it`s very concerning how long does it take to feel better?

Contrary to what many sleep doctors tell their new CPAP patients, most of us do NOT feel wonderfully better in the first week or so. You've been papping for only 10 days and you're still waking up a lot. So it's no wonder that you're still feeling really tired.

A few lucky newbies (like my hubbby) start to notice genuine improvement within the first two weeks of therapy. For most newbies, there's some sign that things are getting better within 4-6 weeks or so if they're sleeping through the night. For some it takes a lot longer. For a few very unlucky newbies, (like me), it can take substantially longer: In my case, it took four or five months before I noticed anything positive about PAP and it took almost a year before I really felt like I was consistently feeling better with the PAP than without it, but I'm an outlier who had a very difficult adjustment period.

Here's the thing: It takes most new PAPers a few weeks to simply sort out how do you sleep with a six foot hose attached to your face?. And once you sort that out and actually start sleeping through the night, it can take another few weeks before you to actually start noticing any difference in how we feel. And the "feeling better" can creep up on you---it may occur so incrementally that you never have a morning where you suddenly wake up saying: WOW! But over the course of several weeks or months things will slowly get better and better.

Since you say you waking up a lot right now, the first obvious question is: Have you any idea on what's waking you up? Discomfort? Mask leakss? Just the novelty of it all?

The second question is: WHen you do wake up, how much trouble do you have getting back to sleep?

And the last set of questions are: What's your sleep schedule look like? Are you having any trouble getting to sleep? How much sleep do you think you are getting? And how much sleep do you think you need to get to feel rested?

[Pugsy]

for some reason this information does not show completely at the bottom of my posts. The type of CPAP machine is omitted even though I have chosen one in the control panel. Just wondering if there is some setting I'm missing, or did I do something wrong here

Some of the links to various pieces of equipment are broken.
What machine did you choose?
What machine are you using?
You may just have to add it to your comments section if the link is broken. Typically the discontinued machine links are broken. All of the equipment menu choices are linked to cpap.com inventory and if they don't sell it now or never have then the links won't be active.

[kteague]

In the early weeks of use it can be hard to tell exactly why one feels as they do. My first suspect is all the new sensations the brain hasn't yet learned to accept as the new normal, so the brain stays "on guard" and quickly awakes at every sensation it interprets as a warning. Just based on my limited experience I believe the brain prefers repetition and habit, and that it will take the well worn familiar pathways unless/until new ones develop over time and become the new "habit". Setting new sleep patterns may take a while. In the interim, providing the best opportunity for the brain to sleep is the first order of business. That includes confirmed therapeutic OSA treatment and equipment with the least discomfort possible. Also, it's a good time to make sure there are no medicines or supplements or food intake that could be contributing to sleep disruption. And look at evening routines and habits to make sure they are conducive to sleep. Also consider if there are health or pain issues interfering with sleep that need addressed.

About you waking up a lot during the night - are you using a ramp feature on your machine? If not, ignore the rest of this paragraph. If you are, and if you're hitting the ramp repeatedly during the night, that can be a problem. I made that mistake early on not realizing overuse of the ramp feature was condemning myself to so many hours of my night at a non-effective pressure. That's especially true if one is falling asleep rather quickly after wakings and is sleeping during the ramp period. And on the flip side of that, if the low ramp pressure isn't comfortable, it can make relaxing enough to fall back asleep an issue. If you think you may have a ramp issue, you can either stop using it, or increase the ramp starting pressure and/or shorten the ramp time.

As with the ramp topic, this one may or may not relate to you but I'll throw it out just in case... I was one whose active legs disturbed my sleep and the problem even worsened after my OSA treatment stabilized. I have RLS and PLMD. If you are prone to lots of movement during sleep, you might want to take a closer look at this subject.

At any rate, your are still in the adjustment phase, so hopefully things will resolve on their own with consistent effective treatment. Just don't want there to be something that needs addressed that waiting won't help. Good luck going forward.

[lsigler0001]

The mask I have is a full face because I m a mouth breather its a res med mirage quattro and the cpap machine I have is phillips respironics REMstar plus C Flex and its set for 10.0

[kaiasgram]

The mask I have is a full face because I m a mouth breather its a res med mirage quattro and the cpap machine I have is phillips respironics REMstar plus C Flex and its set for 10.0

Your "Plus" machine does not record any information that would help you get a handle on whether your therapy is working (with regard to apnea events and mask leaks). It records only the number of hours you've used the machine. Is there any chance you could exchange your machine for a comparable machine that offers full treatment data?

On one hand, what everyone is saying is true, that it typically takes a while to get adjusted to PAP therapy. On the other hand, if you continue to not feel rested after some time, neither you nor your doctor will be able to tell whether sub-optimal therapy is the problem without any data from your machine. Is the machine actually controlling your apnea? Does the pressure setting need to be adjusted? No way to know.

Check out forum member Janknitz's article, Help, I'm Stuck With a Brick!

[Pugsy]

phillips respironics REMstar plus C Flex

Is it this machine? Model 250/260? Model number is on the bottom of the blower unit.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/pr-sys ... chine.html
If so your machine doesn't offer anything in the way of data to help you evaluate your therapy to see if it is even optimal. No way to know if the pressure is doing its job or if leaks are an issue.
All it gathers on that SD card is how many hours you use it
Please read this blog......especially the part down near the bottom of the page where it says "Help, I have been given a brick".
http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/

No way to maybe help you figure out what is waking you up so often....and as long as you are waking often there's not much chance of ever getting good restful sleep where you feel better.
Without data we are pretty much flying blind.

But things to look at while flying blind....
Hours of sleep? How many hours of sleep are you getting with the mask/machine on?
How many times are you waking up? Do you go right back to sleep or does it take a while?
Ever sleep without the machine?
Do you take any meds of any kind? If so, what?

[robysue]

If you do have the 260, that's a real shame.

Because Pugsy and Kiasgram are right: That machine won't provide any useful data for anybody to help you figure out what's going wrong if you don't start feeling better soon.

Follow the advice in the link that Kiasgram provided and lets hope that you can get that brick switched out for a better machine.

It always makes me both sad and angry when we get yet another newbie in potential trouble who's been stuck with a brick. *sigh*

[ups4]

Some of the links to various pieces of equipment are broken.
What machine did you choose?
What machine are you using?
You may just have to add it to your comments section if the link is broken. Typically the discontinued machine links are broken. All of the equipment menu choices are linked to cpap.com inventory and if they don't sell it now or never have then the links won't be active.

I chose the Resmed S8 for my profile. I see in actually checking my machine, it is in fact an S9 Escape? with EPR. That's all the info I find from the bottom and back of the unit. The paperwork from Apria says Respironics CPAP unit S9 Escape W/O HH...whatever that means. The nameplate on the unit says Resmed though.

Anyway, it's not that big a deal. I just wanted it to be accurate in my profile.
Thanks for your help.

Paul

EDIT: I just went back and reviewed the choices again and the S9 Escape w/EPR is listed. I guess what threw me off was the Resmed S8 was the only Resmed listed

[kaiasgram]

Paul -- The Escape is also a "brick." Maybe not a big deal for you, but if you're having any issues now or down the road you and your doctor will have no way to know what's going on with your sleep apnea therapy.