Sleep but no rest

Hello everyone!

So I've been on my Cpap for four nights now - the nasal pillows are working well and for the first time in weeks I have had no continuous chest pain - that is a blessing - I had just assumed it was stress.

My energy is not as great as it was before Cpap but after reading I understand it takes some time. My question is this: Is it possible to be sleeping well with the machine but not resting?

Hi Rebamom. Yes, that is distinctly possible. You have a new 'bed mate' who is very demanding and can't seem to leave you alone. Every which way you turn, you are encumbered by this foreign entity. It takes time to adjust to this new reality. I've been 'on' CPAP for four months now. Occasionally, I still want to throw the thing across the room. I sleep better just by virtue of less snoring, but I still find myself on occasion feeling like I didn't sleep much. Those nights usually correspond with periods where my AHI tops 20 - usually the latter half of the night.

I am still not fond of having to use a CPAP and doubt I ever will be, but I never imagined for a minute that I would be able to sleep with this strange-looking device clamped to my face. I was wrong.

Cheers,

MC

P.S. Hey admins, how about a smilie wearing a full-face mask?

As has been mentioned, the newness of it all can affect the quality of your sleep. Even if the machine is doing its job in regards to the sleep apnea, it can't help with factors like pain syndromes, medication or supplement side effects, external stimuli, other sleep disorders or medical conditions, etc. If the new sensations are the only factor, sleep should improve naturally as long as the settings are therapeutic and the mask fits well. Many on here, including myself, have reported feeling worse before feeling better. I think once the brain knows it can safely sleep it craves more of it in an effort to heal from what may have been a lengthy time of untreated apnea. This can be interpreted as feeling worse. It may just be part of the healing process. Having the proper proportions of each stage of sleep is needed to feel rested. One can sleep but not have "normal" cycling of sleep stages, and it will affect whether one feels rested. When sleep apnea is treated, it changes hormones in the body. The reduced production of stress hormones (stimulants) that accompany sleep apnea may be a factor in feeling a bit less stimulated. If you have reasonably considered and ruled out other contributors, your answer may be time.
P.S. If RLS and/or limb movements are a factor, that would be another conversation. No need to go there unless there's a cause.

I think the key lies in what kteague says above about the stages of sleep. It would help if you had access to a monitor that records the stages of deep sleep, maybe some wearable tech if you can afford it, or press unused items into service once again. I have an app on my phone which reads the sensor on the back of my Samsung S3 sports watch. When I get up, I get a graphic indication of how long I spent in the depths of sleep vs. the lighter first two stages.

Even so, the subjective feeling you have is very strong and seems to override the 'science' and any graphic readouts. And yet, the brain loves what it takes to be veridical information. If you consistently 'show' your brain strong indicators of deep sleep on a regular and consistent basis, it will eventually turn itself to other intractable problems....real or imagined.

I'm in the same boat. I'm at 4 years and have always maintained that I rarely feel the great rest that I used to get before being diagnosed.

Of course, having a kid around the start of treatment, I also rarely get to sleep the long hours I used to. My therapy has done nothing to decrease the amount of sleep I need, which, after working a few 12 hr shift days in a row, sometimes has me needing in the neighborhood of 12 hours of sleep. I even switched from working night shift to days with no improvement.

Anyway, I still have a suspicion that I am missing something.