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Permalink Reply by Carolyn on December 4, 2009 at 11:13am

j n k said:

Sounds very similar to what I experienced when starting out.

The brain has experienced years of doing everything it can to help you breathe while asleep, and it takes it a while to learn it can relax, that the machine has the problem solved. Give your brain time to figure that out. When the body has been pumping out panic hormones to keep you alive at night, but then suddenly finds it isn't being called on to realease them into the bloodstream anymore, at first the body concludes it must be falling down on the job and is missing the signals. After a while, those little panics subside and stop occurring. The trick is to just laugh about it and roll with the process for now.

I keep my humidifier around 2 myself.

Four hours of sleep is great at first. If the body has been suffering through fragmented sleep for years, it gets all happy with itself when it completes a sleep cycle or two and wakes you up to send you on your way, thinking its job of sleeping is done. At first, you may want to humor the body and go ahead and get up. Eventually, after a few days, you ease it into going back to sleep, though. In the meantime, you console yourself with the fact that the few hours of sleep you got were more effective than the nights when you used to sleep eight hours but weren't getting effective sleep. Little by little, you train your brain to allow you stay asleep all night again. It is just part of the process for some of us.

Sleeping well is a new sensation that your body/brain has to get used to. A sudden improvement in an aspect of health, like sleep, involves its own form of stress, since it is a change, just a very good change. But it is still stress and something to get used to. Don't let those adjustments discourage you or make you resort to medications just yet. Ride the wave for now. Hold on. Relax. Get to know your new way of sleeping. Let your body and brain adjust to it.

Everything you describe is a good sign. Find joy in it. It proves your PAP therapy is accomplishing things that needed to be accomplished. Eventually you will get to the point of having 7 to 8 hours of effective sleep. Then your body will realize it has the energy to begin repairing and healing--physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, relationships, etc. Be sure to take full advantage of every ounce of imporvement along the way in your habits and thought processes.

The above is based mostly on my personal experiences and partly on those I have read from others in the apnea forums. I am not a sleep professional.

jeff

Thank you Jeff. What words of encouragement and explanation!

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Permalink Reply by Jan on December 4, 2009 at 12:19pm

Carolyn-- First-- keep up the good work, it will pay off...now two quick suggestions.

1. Get a cover for the hose-- sold online for between $10-$20 -- that will cut down on the condensation that occurs because the air in the room/temperature of the hose is colder than the warmed air coming through it.

2. I think I am mostly a nose breather, but I do sometimes get that feeling that I REALLY want to breathe out of my mouth a couple of times to just get enough air in. When that happens, I try to remember that I am getting sufficient air in through my nose and to just calm myself with some easy inhaling and slow exhaling through my nose. That panicky sensation usually goes away after a few breaths and I am able to settle down.

Best of Luck

Jan

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Permalink Reply by Andy on December 4, 2009 at 1:52pm

Hi Carolyn,

Believe it or not, it sounds like you're getting better! CPAP is a wonderful thing, but a bit strange at times.

I've been on less than two months, and loving it. But last night I just did not want the thing on my face! Things like you describe will happen, just stick to it and it'll get better!

BTW, my panic attacks happened only in the middle of the night. During my last sleep study, I had a full-blown panic attack right in the middle of it. I'm looking forward to seeing the report, and how much my stats went nuts during that time!

Luckily, though, I'm having far less panic attacks and when I do, they're less intense. Keep at it, and I'll bet yours diminish too!

.

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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on December 4, 2009 at 9:54pm

I would say 4 hours is pretty good. Next to a good noght sleep 4 hours a night should be your immediate goal. I know that we typically talk about "insurance compliance" being a not so good thing sometimes. In this case it is good. Once you prove that you can wear it for 4 hours a night the insurance will buy out your machine. Once you ownthe machine you are basically a free agent. Plus it is a great step in the right direction. Just remember baby steps. Do not push yourself. stress and anxiety are also bad for sleep.

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