I am very exhausted today. I had to force myself to go out to do my errands. I only had one night this week with 5 hours of the c-pap.  The rest of the nights were only 2 & 3 hours.  Last night I could not fall asleep even though I was so very tired; I had excercised even though I was still not feeling well and by the time I was in bed I was so tired but could not sleep so I had to take the mask off then fell asleep!  I am going to stay up later tonight and try again.  I have perserverence so I will keep trying.  I do not give up on any challenge in my life!  I have accomplished so much so I can do this too.  All I want to do is lie down and watch TV so that is what I will do. I tried putting the mask on while watching the TV as someone on this forum kindly suggested but it is very difficult to see the TV with on. I cannot believe I have dealt with this for so long and gone to work everyday feeling this way and done well. It's really unbelievable to me when I think about it.  I am still grateful for my life and for you wonderful people!  I am going to try my darndest to get rid of this feeling; I do not like it anymore; it makes me feel like crying; and I may just do that then I will put my mask on and hope for some good ZZZZ's tonight with my mask.

What seems to be the problem? Is it that you're feeling claustophobic? Or is it that you wake up after a few hours?

I had problems with waking up after 4, 5 hours, but now, my body is used to it, so I am able to sleep 7, 8 hours or more.

If you have trouble due to claustophobia, you have to force yourself to calm down, and accept it. And just go to sleep with the mask on. Maybe you can set the C-Flex / A Flex settings if you have trouble exhaling.

You should be able to sleep 7, 8 hours a night.


_________________
5'9 234lbs 37 years Old Male
Original Sleep Study: AHI = 30

Owner of Remstar Auto A Flex M series
ResMed Ultra Mirage Full Face Mask
Viewer 1.0 Software, Smartcard Reader
Integrated Heater/humidifier
Prescribed setting: 7-10 Cm

Grateful, keep trying.  I, too, was hoping my BiPap would provide instant results, but it does take time.  Your two or three hours will gradually increase to four or five.  You will have more energy and add more hours.  Keep checking into the forum too, the encouragement we can give each other is so helpful.  It's great to be a Hosehead!

Maybe you are getting yourself too tired out before you try to sleep.  When you have trouble adjusting the mask you just are too tired to deal with it.  Try for a happy medium, ready to sleep, but not exhausted. I think most of us have experience being too tired to sleep, our bod y is exhausted, but our minds are wide awake.  Wishing you sweet dreams, Virginia


_________________
Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

Thank you Katesmom so much!!  
And SleepIsHell thank you and I am not clausterphobic with the mask; I simply have trouble falling asleep with it on. I Just am not able to fall asleep with the mask on sometimes and last night was one of those nights.  I am going to stay up later tonight; that seems to help. And if I when I do fall asleep with the mask I and get up a few hours later to go to the bathroom it is sometimes difficut to fall asleep again with the mask.   So I go back without it because I have to get my sleep to go to work the next day and other times I can fall right back to sleep.  The effects of getting my sleep disturbed are worse than my apnea; depressing; anxiety, etc.  Thank you; I will post tomorrow how my night went.

Thanks.  Last night I fell alseep with my mask but got up to go to the bathroom then put my mask on and fell asleep.  Then I got up again and then fell asleep without my mask; So I got three hours with the mask.  It may have something to do with still recovering from my sinusitus and/or the recent change in my medication.  I am not going to try to figure it out but just try again tonight and the next night and so on.  I just can do the best I can.  I am even trying not to drink too much water during the day so I will not wake up during the night but it is hard becasue I am very thirsty due to medications and I love water!  But I do  not get up as much has I used to before having the mask so that is good news. I am so tired that I took my chair in the bathroom this morning and sat down to dry my hair after my shower.  And I am tired sitting at the computer.  My older sister who is 67 went to an event during the day yesterday then went to an event last night till after 10pm.  I was so hopefull that I could possible do those types of things because I had started feeling better a few weeks after my mask use but now it seems like I am getting worse and now as I am writing this I am crying.
That's not a bad thing; its cathartic. My antidepressants and mood stabilizer still allow me to feel feelings; but they prevent me from going into a deep long lasting depression.  Lack of sleep will trigger my deppression even with the sleep apnea if I get 9 hours of undisturbed sleep I will not get depressed.  I will just be tired like I am today. Anyway, I have gone on long enough.

The reason you are still tired is that you are still not being treated.  You must MAKE yourself wear the mask all night. When I started a year ago, I thought I would never get used to it but I was determined to leave the mask on all night no matter what. I had many sleepless nights but one thing I found was that no matter how much water I drank, I never got out of bed.  That was a miracle by itself.   It took a good 3 months before I could go to sleep easily and 6 months before I was used to the thing. (I have a full face mask).  Now I can fall asleep within 5 minutes.   Wear it as soon as you get to bed and watch tv.  You will soon find that you will drift off to sleep while watching.  Be patient, you will get there.

Hi Grateful,

Keep trying, but also let’s review your treatment to try to figure out if there are any adjustments that might help you to use the CPAP.

It would be helpful to know how much follow-up care you have received. What type of doc is treating your condition? A pulmonologist who is certified to practice sleep medicine?

Did you undergo a titration study? This is the one during which the patient wears the mask. If so, then:
How did you respond to CPAP during the titration study?
What was the optimal pressure setting determined to be to treat your condition?
What was your treated AHI at the optimal pressure?
The above info can be found in the full sleep study report, or by asking your sleep doc.

Do you have a data capable PAP device?
Has your sleep doc downloaded the data to review your treatment?
What has the AHI been during your at home treatment?

You have mentioned that you have difficulty falling asleep with the CPAP.
Does your device have Ramp feature? Have you tried using it? If so, what were the settings?

If you can try to answer the above questions, other people may be able to spot something that might help with your treatment.

Guest MJ

Merrywidow, the problem is I cannot take any more sleepless nights (the last two times it was horrible) because then I get depressed and become a basket case then I cannot go to work the next day.  I cannot believe no matter how much water you drank, you never got out of bed. That was a miracle!  I know from other posts that nocturia is a symptom of SA and when we get better we wake up less and less.  I will wear my mask shile watching TV but I have never been able to fall asleep watching TV and now with a mask?  I'll try.
GuestMJ,
Yes, I had a Titration study.
I had no apnea with the mask (By the way I had taken two sleep specialist Dr. Prescibed Ambien).
Pressure 12 with start at 4 ramp to 12.
My cpap has no download capabilities
I do not know- no data machine.
My second follow-up with the ENT; he said see you next year even though he knows I have trouble sleeping.
Thanks, I will keep trying because I did have succes before. I figure three hours is better than no hours and I looked back in my (hand written) log and I have had as much as 7 hours with the mask so I know I can do it again. I feel hopeful again, thanks again.

When I first got my bipap, I would wake up 5 or 6 times a night. I would remove my mask and go back to sleep this went on for weeks.  After a couple of weeks and repeated attempts of wearing my mask all night I haved managed to sleep the whole night without wakinh up.

So keep on tryiing.


_________________
Respironics M Series BiPAP Plus with BiFlex, Heated Humidifier
Resmed Ultra Mirage II Nasal Mask with Headgear
Pressure @ 6/11

I'm sorry I can't remember, but what kind of insurance do you have? If you went to your phychiatrist, and told him the problems you are having , would he be able to refer you to a phychiatrist who specializes in sleep disorders?  If you can't work out these problems on your own, that kind of specialist might be your best bet. Virginia


_________________
Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

Is it possible your medications are causing this?

You mentioned anti-Depressant medication. You should talk to your doctor whether these medications have any side-effects that might interfere with your Sleep. From your posts, it sounds like it's not the Mask or even Sleep Apnea, but something else, possibly your Medications. Talk to your doctor. Maybe you can change your medication that does not have this side effect.


_________________
5'9 234lbs 37 years Old Male
Original Sleep Study: AHI = 30

Owner of Remstar Auto A Flex M series
ResMed Ultra Mirage Full Face Mask
Viewer 1.0 Software, Smartcard Reader
Integrated Heater/humidifier
Prescribed setting: 7-10 Cm

And just switching to a morning dose instead of an evening one could help a lot also.  Virginia


_________________
Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

Grateful! wrote:

Pressure 12 with start at 4 ramp to 12.

Each person is different in the preference of ramp settings. Some people like the ramp feature, and some people dislike it. Many people have reported that too low of pressure makes them feel like they do not get enough air. It might help to experiment with starting the ramp at a higher pressure than 4cm.

The time of the ramp can also be adjusted. It may also be possible to increase the time period of the ramp to accommodate increasing the starting pressure.

Regarding the treatment pressure of 12cm, are you aware of any difficulty with exhaling? Does your device have exhalation reduction feature? If so, what is the setting?

Grateful! wrote:

My cpap has no download capabilities. I do not know- no data machine.

If you were responding well to treatment, then this would be acceptable. But if a person is not doing well, then a data-capable device could help to determine what is the problem. I think that a good sleep doc would be willing to prescribe this feature.

Grateful! wrote:

My second follow-up with the ENT; he said see you next year even though he knows I have trouble sleeping.

IMO, I don't consider this to be good follow-up care. There are numerous steps that can be taken to monitor, review, and possibly improve your treatment. ENTs are often not the best type of doc to see. Is it possible for you to get an appt with a Pulmonologist who is a certified sleep specialist? One who is willing to work with you to upgrade your treatment.

Guest MJ

I have very good insurance Blue Cross Blue Shiled; Federal Govt.
Going to the sleep specialist is a good idea.  If I do not improve in a week I will call him instead of the ENT.
It's not my medications.  I have been on the same meds for over 20 years.  My psichiatrist is thrilled I finally got diagnosed and is working with me.  I am giving her a progress report this week.
I love starting the ramp at 4 and I even start all over again in 10 minutes if it gets to be too  much pressure and too noisey to be able to fall asleep.
Thanks for all the suggestions.  I am not going to worry about it becasue I got upset today with anxiety about it all.  I feel better just sharing my struggles; sometimes we just need to be heard and I feel so much like everyone heard me and I appreciate it!  Its been a little over two months since I receive my cpap so it just may take longer than some. Many thanks.