bad headache - after 8 hours cpap

My first full night on cpap was ok, I could sleep and got along well with the mask.
But the next day I was very weak and got bad headache. After 3 days it is not over. ( I was sleeping without cpap the last nights to recover).
Did anyone else react with headache?

I have on occasion went to bed with my sinuses slightly stopped up, and believe that I may have opened my mouth during the night to breath. I have waken up the next morning with a busting headache. I also have bad sinus problems, so I'm not sure if the headache is due to sinus problems or not getting the benefit of the machine due to opening my mouth. If you have the software, how does your leak line look?

It could also be that not being used to air blowing up your nose all night irritated your sinuses and caused the headache. It is a major change for your body to get adjusted to. It can also affect your ears sometimes, almost like when they pop going into a higher elevation, or on an airplane.

Could it be from a sore neck, unused to sleeping in a position to accommodate the mask?

You might want to have a good look at your mask. I find that if my pillows or cushion is not working properly I get a headache and then I change them. I realise yours must be new so check fit and leaks.

If it is CPAP related it may take a bit of trial and error to pinpoint an issue, but here's a checklist of sorts of things you might consider. identifying the location of headache pain could narrow things down a bit.

!. Based on machine data, is your treatment effective and leaks under control?
2. Are exhalation vents free of obstruction during the night (blankets etc)?
3. Does your headgear have a tight strap around the lower back of head near the neck? This was a real problem for me with some designs.
4. Is the headache of a sinus type? If so, maybe a humidity change could help.
%. Are you using a ramp feature? I suffered when I overused the ramp feature, not understanding i was nearly staying at a pressure of 4.
6. As was already mentioned, holding the neck in an awkward position can cause pain in the neck, which can seem like head pain.

If a headache that lingers 3 days is not a usual thing for you, a doctor's visit could be in order. Good luck.

kteague,
what would be the problem with a pressure of 4? I had the pressure limited to 7, so I was most of the time on about 6. My sleepyhead data of this night is posted on 08-26. I think it looked good, AHI of 0.78.

Maybe the headgear? The headache was all over and changed every day for 5 days now. It was too much air in the sinuses, also air in the stomach.
My doctor was not helpful, he thinks I have to just use it every day. Obviously he never tried to wear the mask.
Maybe I should not use the cpap over 8 hours.

Headaches aren't a normal side effect of cpap use except for maybe a tension type of headache from having the straps too tight or perhaps sleeping in a weird position and putting the cervical spine in an odd position.
Certainly not something that would come on after 8 hours of sleep and last 3 days and you not using the machine for 3 nights because of it.

Now sometimes the nasal passages and sinuses get out of whack due to the humidity or lack of and will cause headaches but that normally comes with some sort of nasal or sinus symptoms. You didn't mention any nasal or sinus symptoms....were there any?
What humidity setting did you use?

Are you prone to headaches in general?
I have a bad neck and if I sleep in a weird (for me) position I have been known to wake up with some killer neck caused, headaches.
Do you have any cervical spine issues that you know of?

bluesky5 wrote:
I was very weak and got bad headache. After 3 days it is not over.

Could you have had a virus such as the flu, or hayfever-type allergies that just happened to coincide with the use of the CPAP? I can't think of anything with CPAP or mask that would cause symptoms for 3 days.

I personally had a reaction to the mask when it was new, as the "new" smell and the scented soap I was using on the mask cushion irritated my nasal passages. Could it be something like that?

It really is important that you keep plugging away-got to give your doc credit for saying that.

If it were me, I would re-read what others here have asked and see if anything rings a bell. They had some great ideas about what could be causing symptoms like headache.

Good luck!

[quote="bluesky5"
But the next day I was very weak and got bad headache. After 3 days it is not over. ( I was sleeping without cpap the last nights to recover).
Did anyone else react with headache?[/quote]

If the headache is still there after not sleeping with it, go to ER and get it dealt with. For most people if they pull the straps too tight or it is a sinus headache it is gone by the afternoon.

bluesky5 wrote:kteague,
what would be the problem with a pressure of 4? I had the pressure limited to 7, so I was most of the time on about 6. My sleepyhead data of this night is posted on 08-26. I think it looked good, AHI of 0.78.

A pressure of 4 would only be problematic if events happened that needed much more pressure to resolve and it took a long time for it to rise to that pressure.