Do any of you sleep all the way through the night?

[Ineedanap]

I had worked my way down to waking up once a night before CPAP, now I sleep through the night 3 or 4 nights a week. Its heaven.

[robysue]

I've been PAPing for almost 13 months now.

Pre-CPAP, I'd usually not remember any wake ups. Bedtime was between 11:30 and 12:30 and it typically took 20--40 minutes for me to fall asleep each night. And in that last year before being diagnosed, I was having serious trouble getting myself up by 6:30 or 7:00, which is when I really need to be up by. In the last couple of years before my diagnosis, I'd wake up with significant pain in my hands and feet---pain that I'd often describe to hubby as "it feels like I slept with my hands and feet in fists all night." I'd feel more rested than when I went to bed, but seldom did I feel refreshed in the way I had when I was in my early to mid 40s. (I was 52 when I was diagnosed.)

When I first started PAPing, my sleep became subjectively much more fragmented with frequent wakes and much restlessness on many nights. Even on nights where I didn't remember waking up, I'd wake up in the morning feeling like I'd run a marathon in my sleep. Severe bedtime insomnia also settled in and I would find myself unable to get to sleep until 2:00 or 3:00 am many, many nights. And I found I had a difficult time lying in bed while awake with the mask on. It was not (and still is not) relaxing to me to be in bed, awake with the mask on and the machine running. Daytime sleepiness was a significant issue for me for the first time in my life .... And this went on for months.

Now? I typically wake up 2--4 times. It often appears (given the timing of the wakes) that I'm waking up at the end of many of my REM cycles. But on most nights, the wakes no longer disturb the quality of my sleep. At this point, I can turn over and rearrange the bed pillows and covers and drift back to sleep within 5 minutes or so. I still find that I have a fairly short tolerance for lying in bed with the mask on and the machine running. So my bedtime is still rather late: I usually do not go to bed until 1:30-2:30, but I do now fall asleep within 5 minutes almost every night. If I'm not asleep within 15 minutes of masking up, I will often have to get out of bed for a few minutes to settle myself back down before returning to bed and masking up. Wake up time is supposed to be 7:30, and I'm usually out of bed by 8:00 on the weekdays.

And when I wake up now, I usually feel pretty decent---as long as none of the wakes involves a restless period of 15 or 20 minutes (or more), I wake up feeling pretty decent. On some mornings, like today, I can even describe how I feel on waking for the day as "refreshed and rested" like I did back in my 30s and early 40s.

[xenablue]

Before CPAP - for over 45 years - I would get up at least twice every night to go to the bathroom.
Now, I sleep from when my head hits the pillow, through to the alarm in the morning, however I do semi-wake sometimes if my mask is uncomfortable or leaking. I've only had to actually get out of bed to go to the bathroom a handful of times, and every time it's because I've had too much water close to bedtime.

Cheers,
xena

[nanwilson]

I sleep 8 to 9 hours a night and get up only once to got to the biffy. I used to be up at least 3 times a night. I have only slept thru the night with no pee breaks for about the first week I was on cpap, since then its only once a night. (Been on the hose a year and a half)
Once you get used to all this "stuff" on your face and air constantly blowing, you will sleep like a log....patience.

[BlackSpinner]

From day one of cpap, except for those times when the universe sends trials and tribulations to do with family issues AKA Stress!!!!!!!

[teknomom]

I haven't started my xPAP use yet but it's really great to hear some positive experiences! Thanks!

[Roger2]

Before CPAP - for over 45 years - I would get up at least twice every night to go to the bathroom.
xena

Same here but that did not change after going on cpap, I still get up once or twice a night when nature calls. I can't for the life of me see how using a cpap could change that.

Roger

[Pugsy]

Same here but that did not change after going on cpap, I still get up once or twice a night when nature calls. I can't for the life of me see how using a cpap could change that.

Actually there is documented medical reason for nocturia and its relation to sleep apnea. With the apnea events, stress is put on the heart..we all know that. When the heart is stressed it produces a stress hormone with a long name that I can't ever remember and this hormone goes to the kidneys and it tells the kidneys to go into overdrive...kidneys work harder and more urine is produced. Pre cpap I was waking every hour on the hour to urinate with a full bladder each time and this was despite limiting fluid intake prior to bedtime. Once I had my cpap therapy dialed in those pee breaks ceased immediately. I never wake up to pee any more. Now there are other reasons for nocturia unrelated to cpap.
For men the most common issue is that old prostrate issue. Benign Prostrate Hypertrophy BPH for short. I don't know your age Roger2 but for males BPH is a common problem.

For OP here wondering about sleeping through the night. I didn't sleep through the night even once I had my therapy optimized but it wasn't because of anything related to cpap or sleep apnea. I have some other problems and the main one was back and pelvic pain. Pain woke me often. I mean like 20 to 30 times a night. That will mess with how anyone feels even those without OSA diagnosis. I have had to work on finding ways to limit the pain. Different meds, different bed and now I do sleep pretty much through the night and routinely get 7 hours of sleep now.

So while we like to blame OSA for all our problems and think the cpap machine should cure all evils, in reality it can't fix everything. It fixes sleep apnea. It doesn't fix insomnia from other reasons, nor pain, or bad sleep hygiene habits.
It does help level the playing field though so that we can have a better idea what else we need to fix.

Good luck on your therapy. Hope your road will have minimal bumps but if you do have some bumps just remember that you aren't alone and someone else has likely had same bumps and worked through it.

[Perrybucsdad]

I've only been using CPAP for about a month now, and Pre-PAP, I would wake up anywhere from 3 - 6 times a night. Most times I would have the urge to use the bathroom, and would then go back to sleep.

Since CPAP, I still wake up a few times, but not nearly as much. Feel much more rested when I wake and much more rested throughout the day and into the evening.

I don't know if I will ever be able to sleep all the way through the night, and that will just have to play itself out. I do see one thing in my waves and that is I normally will have a few events (cluster actually) still just before my wake up. I believe I have an ideal pressure setting now where that has been significantly reduced, so this is not all that often. Secondly, I drink a lot of water after dinner. I understand that this will cause issues with sleep, but it is nothing I really wish to change, so I will just live with it.

Good luck to the OP.

John

[n0hardmask]

This is only my 2nd night with the CPAP, so I know it's a little premature to make judgement or projections, but I am curious about the more experienced user's experiences. Before the CPAP machine, I don't remember waking up during the night. Now, I wake up in the middle of the night and I'm wide awake. I am making progress, I didn't pull the mask off, but it started leaking air and took me a while to be able to adjust it back so that I could rest. I'm just curious if after you get used to it, you sleep through the night or if you still wake up, but just feel more rested because you experience a deeper, better sleep.

A few folks have mentioned stress..yeah. The wife and I started CPAP this summer; she a month ahead of me. The first month, while she struggled with her FFM was my worst ever month for sleep.. had to temporarily move out due to my stress over her leaks.
So I began CPAP at end of July and began my battle with leaks, which is probably the main reason for wakeups. After seeing her struggle with plastic FFM, I opted for Sleepweaver and I've found that a good choice.. though keeping mouth closed is sometimes a challenge. Bathroom wakeups have reduced, and I'm finally starting to see fewer leak wakeups. I suspect when the leaks get under better control, I will joint the slept-through-the-night crowd. Welcome to the forum and the Apnea club.

[Ineedanap]

I was waking up worried that the machine was off or with every little leak as I moved. I started telling myself as I got into bed that I wasn't going to wake up because of those things, and I don't anymore.

[mowdoc]

No, I do not sleep thru the night anymore.

Before CPAP I slept all night with no wake-ups. I never dreamed any either that I could remember.

Since starting CPAP 11 weeks ago, I wake-up every 90 minutes to 3 hours at a time. I have to "go" too. I also have began having nightmares now. The only dreams I remember are terrible and they can stop any time as far as I care. I am tired every day and wonder WTF all these others are talking about. CPAP has not been very helpful to me, , , , yet. I am not giving up though and keep using the machine every time I sleep. I am perfect for compliance so far and have no plan to change that. I want to feel all the good things others talk about.

I have no real issues with CPAP. I do not get leaks or freak out from having my face covered. I got used to the pressure very quickly in only a few nights. I did worry about my wife seeing me at first and tried to hide from her or have the light off before masking up. She knew I was having trouble with this and asked me if she could "try it on" one night. We laughed so much and took pics. She even asked me to turn it on so she could feel the pressure. That cured me and I have no problem putting the mask on in front of her now.

I started messing with my humidity control and found that less humidity yields better AHI numbers for me. I do see a real improvement in my AHI since starting CPAP so I think it is working. It would be nice to sleep though.

[Dark Matter]

I've been using cpap therapy every night since I got the machine at the beginning of September and I am already feeling much better. I don't have reflux anymore and don't go the bathroom 2-3 times a night like I used to. I sleep long hours without waking up and husband says that I don't move very much at all. I know they say you can't catch up on sleep but I believe I am healing from all those years of not sleeping. I would encourage anyone to keep trying and keep asking questions. I have a wonderful sleep center team that is behind me and so patient with me and all my questions. I am getting real sleep for the first time in years.

[Love to Sleep]

I agree with the other posters. Keep using it, it really helps. It just takes awhile to get used to the mask and such. Make sure you are using a mask that you are comfortable wearing. The first few weeks, I was happy to get 4 hours/night use from my cpap before I ripped off the mask. Now I average around 8 hours of therapy/night. It really changed my life for the better. Stick with it, you will be happy you did. I do wake up during the night for a bathroom break, but that's cuz I'm an older guy. I used to miss alot of work because I literally was getting no sleep, and had to call in sick alot, that has all changed.

[2flamingos]

Like many others, I have slept through the night since starting PAP, not that I really remember NOT sleeping through the night before - I just know that I am not tired when I wake like I was before.