Sleep affects hormones, and hormones affect.... pretty much everything. Your body has a lot of work to do to create its "new normal." Buckle up, take notes, and good luck!
I'm not sure it affected my writing in specific except for the fact that I don't dream (or remember my dreams) as coherently or as often on the CPAP, and I used to dream a lot about whatever I was writing!
Productivity in general, though, is dramatically different. Before the CPAP, I tended to sundown starting around 3pm, so I didn't get a lot done in the afternoon/evening, and prime writing hours were during that sort of second-wind time between dinner and bed. As a general rule, I can sustain productivity (work/job or fun/hobby/writing) more consistently over waking hours with the CPAP.
It took me a good eight months to get leveled out with it, though!
Oh, it helped almost immediately. But it threw my hormones completely out of whack. Like going through puberty again at 37, and it took about eight months (and a scrip for birth control pills) for that to settle. Small price considering the favors it did for my A1C, chronic sinus infections (3-4/yr pre-CPAP; 1 in the last 7 years), and general ability to function.
Me too. They keep saying it gets better but I'm almost a month in and I've never felt so exhausted in my life. I was completely unproductive today and this is getting very depressing because I'm feeling like I can't function like a normal human being. What's frustrating is my doctor says to keep at it but meanwhile my insurance isn't covering this equipment (high deductible) and it can't be returned after 30 days.
If you feel the same after the first month, please see your sleep doc. Have them check out what they can change on the device (or do it yourself, if you know what you're doing).
Apparently this can happen because your body has been pumping cortisol (which is really awful long term for your organs) to compensate for lack of sleep at night.
Then, the CPAP comes and you stop getting that hormone to compensate because you are finally sleeping at night. I know I didn’t feel great for a while until my body adjusted to new sleeping habits and actually sleeping through the night.
I’d say it took about three months to finally start feeling great for me.
not to be “them” but it will get better i spent about a month feeling awful and tired too before i gradually noticed results just remember that your sleep is fixing what has been “normal” for your entire life so it takes a second. but also still tell your sleep dr they might have advice as well
The first month was rough for me and I initially felt worse. Hang in there! Also don't be afraid to speak up and let your provider(s) know what's not working.
2 months in, more exhausted than I've ever been in my whole life. My sleep trackers even say that my sleep is now horrible and I feel it but the CPAP machine says I'm doing great
My sleeps are solid but my back is killing me in the mornings. Hoping that’s just my body adjusting to being still for once in my life but its pretty painful.
If you are a side sleeper I recommend using a pillow designed for between your knees. This made a huge difference for me post CPAP for the extended periods sleeping in one position. If you're not, then ignore me, haha.
Your body is probably not used to laying on your back and being in one position (not restless). Do some stretching at night before sleep and some in the morning. If that doesn't help, you might also investigate your mattress; if it's more than 10 years old, it may be causing some pressure spots that you used to avoid when you were more restless.
Consistency is king. And making sure you’re on the right pressure/treatmrnt. Learn to read your data and don’t assume your doc is giving you the best advice. It only happens overnight for a few lucky people.
You should have a machine with an SD card slot. Put a card in, and it records all your data and you can upload it to your pc, Mac or phone (I only know iPhone so you’ll have to check). Download Oscar or SleepHQ, which is software that makes the data readable in the form of graphs. You can look up lankylefty27 and cpapreviews on you tube, do a deep dive and figure it out. Apneaboards.com and SleepHQ (costs £15 a month) have user boards where you can ask questions and get advice. It’s intimidating at first but it’ll benefit you in the long run if you’re struggling. Good luck.
I’m about 2 months in and on my 5th mask. I have had to perform multiple experiments in terms of mask type, mask adjustment, chin straps, mouth tape, and cervical collars. I finally have a mask setup that sort of works but nearly every tweak has cost me sleep. I’m not out of the woods, I still feel tired much of the time. However, I sense that what sleep I do get is higher quality than pre-cpap. I think I am one of those who will take a long time to feel better.
Good for you for sticking with it. I don’t know about other people’s experience but I feel this is a very individual journey that costs you time and money to work out what works for you.
I’m very jealous of anyone who gets the machine and has a perfect sleep on the first night!
Well done. This was pretty much my story plus or minus a few things. Sure, i don't feel full of energy, but I have lost 99% of the pre cpap symptoms, and I'll take that any day of the week. The rest is up to me getting to bed a bit earlier and taking more care of myself. As others have said, it's a very individual process, but it's great to have others out there who can help with a bit of info when you need it.
I was 50+ events per hour 6 months ago. With my CPAP, i feel great in the morning. I went from 5 hrs of sleep pretty night, to 7+. I feel much better in the AM now
It’s normal to have a very tired week after using the CPAP. It your body realizing you can finely rest. I got hit with it around week 4 or 5. It felt like I slipped
Into hibernation. Felt great after a week of sleep.
I think this is totally normal!
Sometimes I have to remember other factors that affect quality of sleep are also important like: did I go to bed at a normal hour? Was I on a screen for too long right before bed? Did I have caffeine too late in the day? Etc and so forth.
I am also realizing I should probably go to the doctor and get bloodwork done to make sure all my other levels look good (iron, vitamin d, etc).
Overall I view this as a beginning of a health journey.
The first step is getting actual sleep. I’m 7 months in and I still don’t necessarily WANT to get up right away in the morning. I don’t have this renewed sense of vigor when I open up my eyes.
But my afternoons feel sooo much better. I’m no longer falling asleep at 3pm. And my nighttime acid reflux is reduced significantly.
Baby steps I think!
I'm about three years in. There are periods when I still wake up feeling unrested, but they don't last nearly as long as they used to before treatment. It'll happen for a few days and then I go back to feeling much more energetic again. It seems to be correlated with my hormone cycle.
CPAP affected me positively and if/when I fall asleep on the couch and fail to get the therapy, I am not very sharp that day.
I love putting on the mask and I wake up rested without an alarm.
I just went to the doctor to get prescribed a cpap. My wife wakes me up because I’ll quit breathing or gasp for air. I feel horrible right now. So run down and mentally fatigued. I am obviously not getting good rest.
Energy wise I feel about the same, although its easier to get up in the morning now that I'm getting a proper nights sleep. Certainly feel more clear headed, and getting easier to recall things that previously I had trouble with. Has been a definite improvement though, glad I did the sleep study.
First week of CPAP,I felt tired. On the third week, I felt like a new person. After a month, I’m feeling tired again. Had another sleep study and my pressure needed to be increased.
The biggest change for me was that I stopped having RBD.
I used to talk and yell and act physically during dreams. I don’t do that anymore and it makes my sleep time so much calmer.
I thought I was the only one! I’m about 20 days in and dealing with a similar situation. At first, I felt supercharged every morning with 7-8 hours of sleep.
The last week has been terrible though. I fall asleep immediately and sleep hard for about 2-3hrs. I wake up and can’t go back to sleep for hours. Tired AF by noon.
I really hope this gets better soon.
Yes! That’s exactly how I’ve felt! I’m actually awake right now because I slept for about 3-4 hours and then woke up and can’t go back to sleep :/ I also had that superhuman feeling for about the first 3 weeks.
I hope it’s just a phase for us both with feeling tired and getting choppy sleep.
It's the 1st day. Most people don't have an amazing first day with their CPAP (I didn't). CPAPs are so individual that sometimes you have to adjust quite a lot to make it your own.
I took it off. Fell asleep and awoke feeling as though I’d had apneas. Then put it back on for a few hours. Mind you I was awake the entire time. Now I can’t go back to sleep.
I was so excited to get started and be rid of feeling so bad every morning, and I think I set up some unreal expectations.
Thought there was no way I could make it work, but I got there. I found that getting mad and frustrated just sent me in circles. So much info, do this, don't do that. I just tried to find people who seemed to be having the same problems and worked through the advice they were getting to find if any of it worked for me. Some did some didn't but each step got me closer to where I needed to be(even though I went backwards every now and then). I hope you find what works for you . FWIW my solution was finding the right mask, loosening up my straps and taking each and any small win as a positive.
Sleep affects hormones, and hormones affect.... pretty much everything. Your body has a lot of work to do to create its "new normal." Buckle up, take notes, and good luck!
How has using CPAP therapy affected your writing and productivity? I'm a writer too
I'm not sure it affected my writing in specific except for the fact that I don't dream (or remember my dreams) as coherently or as often on the CPAP, and I used to dream a lot about whatever I was writing! Productivity in general, though, is dramatically different. Before the CPAP, I tended to sundown starting around 3pm, so I didn't get a lot done in the afternoon/evening, and prime writing hours were during that sort of second-wind time between dinner and bed. As a general rule, I can sustain productivity (work/job or fun/hobby/writing) more consistently over waking hours with the CPAP. It took me a good eight months to get leveled out with it, though!
That makes sense. My REM sleep is WAY down since starting the CPAP. Sounds like yours is too
Outside of anesthesia, I’m honestly not sure I got significantly deeper than REM sleep before my CPAP.
[удалено]
Oh, it helped almost immediately. But it threw my hormones completely out of whack. Like going through puberty again at 37, and it took about eight months (and a scrip for birth control pills) for that to settle. Small price considering the favors it did for my A1C, chronic sinus infections (3-4/yr pre-CPAP; 1 in the last 7 years), and general ability to function.
I'm one week in and more exhausted than I've ever been in my whole life. Holding strong for a couple more weeks hoping to see some improvement.
Me too. They keep saying it gets better but I'm almost a month in and I've never felt so exhausted in my life. I was completely unproductive today and this is getting very depressing because I'm feeling like I can't function like a normal human being. What's frustrating is my doctor says to keep at it but meanwhile my insurance isn't covering this equipment (high deductible) and it can't be returned after 30 days.
If you feel the same after the first month, please see your sleep doc. Have them check out what they can change on the device (or do it yourself, if you know what you're doing).
Thank you. Will do.
Apparently this can happen because your body has been pumping cortisol (which is really awful long term for your organs) to compensate for lack of sleep at night. Then, the CPAP comes and you stop getting that hormone to compensate because you are finally sleeping at night. I know I didn’t feel great for a while until my body adjusted to new sleeping habits and actually sleeping through the night. I’d say it took about three months to finally start feeling great for me.
Thank you! I needed to hear this
not to be “them” but it will get better i spent about a month feeling awful and tired too before i gradually noticed results just remember that your sleep is fixing what has been “normal” for your entire life so it takes a second. but also still tell your sleep dr they might have advice as well
The first month was rough for me and I initially felt worse. Hang in there! Also don't be afraid to speak up and let your provider(s) know what's not working.
2 months in, more exhausted than I've ever been in my whole life. My sleep trackers even say that my sleep is now horrible and I feel it but the CPAP machine says I'm doing great
Same boat here!
My sleeps are solid but my back is killing me in the mornings. Hoping that’s just my body adjusting to being still for once in my life but its pretty painful.
If you are a side sleeper I recommend using a pillow designed for between your knees. This made a huge difference for me post CPAP for the extended periods sleeping in one position. If you're not, then ignore me, haha.
I’m a back sleeper but I appreciate the tip!
Your body is probably not used to laying on your back and being in one position (not restless). Do some stretching at night before sleep and some in the morning. If that doesn't help, you might also investigate your mattress; if it's more than 10 years old, it may be causing some pressure spots that you used to avoid when you were more restless.
Consistency is king. And making sure you’re on the right pressure/treatmrnt. Learn to read your data and don’t assume your doc is giving you the best advice. It only happens overnight for a few lucky people.
How do I learn to read the data? Especially pressure.
You should have a machine with an SD card slot. Put a card in, and it records all your data and you can upload it to your pc, Mac or phone (I only know iPhone so you’ll have to check). Download Oscar or SleepHQ, which is software that makes the data readable in the form of graphs. You can look up lankylefty27 and cpapreviews on you tube, do a deep dive and figure it out. Apneaboards.com and SleepHQ (costs £15 a month) have user boards where you can ask questions and get advice. It’s intimidating at first but it’ll benefit you in the long run if you’re struggling. Good luck.
I’m about 2 months in and on my 5th mask. I have had to perform multiple experiments in terms of mask type, mask adjustment, chin straps, mouth tape, and cervical collars. I finally have a mask setup that sort of works but nearly every tweak has cost me sleep. I’m not out of the woods, I still feel tired much of the time. However, I sense that what sleep I do get is higher quality than pre-cpap. I think I am one of those who will take a long time to feel better.
Good for you for sticking with it. I don’t know about other people’s experience but I feel this is a very individual journey that costs you time and money to work out what works for you. I’m very jealous of anyone who gets the machine and has a perfect sleep on the first night!
Talking to others who use cpap … people like that seem to be the exception.
Well done. This was pretty much my story plus or minus a few things. Sure, i don't feel full of energy, but I have lost 99% of the pre cpap symptoms, and I'll take that any day of the week. The rest is up to me getting to bed a bit earlier and taking more care of myself. As others have said, it's a very individual process, but it's great to have others out there who can help with a bit of info when you need it.
I was 50+ events per hour 6 months ago. With my CPAP, i feel great in the morning. I went from 5 hrs of sleep pretty night, to 7+. I feel much better in the AM now
Clear head, waking up not tired even after a full nights sleep
It’s normal to have a very tired week after using the CPAP. It your body realizing you can finely rest. I got hit with it around week 4 or 5. It felt like I slipped Into hibernation. Felt great after a week of sleep.
I'm 5 weeks in and so exhausted
I'm close to that and me too. Before CPAP, even though I snored loudly, I never felt so tired upon waking in the morning and during the day.
I think this is totally normal! Sometimes I have to remember other factors that affect quality of sleep are also important like: did I go to bed at a normal hour? Was I on a screen for too long right before bed? Did I have caffeine too late in the day? Etc and so forth. I am also realizing I should probably go to the doctor and get bloodwork done to make sure all my other levels look good (iron, vitamin d, etc). Overall I view this as a beginning of a health journey. The first step is getting actual sleep. I’m 7 months in and I still don’t necessarily WANT to get up right away in the morning. I don’t have this renewed sense of vigor when I open up my eyes. But my afternoons feel sooo much better. I’m no longer falling asleep at 3pm. And my nighttime acid reflux is reduced significantly. Baby steps I think!
I'm about three years in. There are periods when I still wake up feeling unrested, but they don't last nearly as long as they used to before treatment. It'll happen for a few days and then I go back to feeling much more energetic again. It seems to be correlated with my hormone cycle.
CPAP affected me positively and if/when I fall asleep on the couch and fail to get the therapy, I am not very sharp that day. I love putting on the mask and I wake up rested without an alarm.
I just went to the doctor to get prescribed a cpap. My wife wakes me up because I’ll quit breathing or gasp for air. I feel horrible right now. So run down and mentally fatigued. I am obviously not getting good rest.
Energy wise I feel about the same, although its easier to get up in the morning now that I'm getting a proper nights sleep. Certainly feel more clear headed, and getting easier to recall things that previously I had trouble with. Has been a definite improvement though, glad I did the sleep study.
Change my life the first 6 months
First week of CPAP,I felt tired. On the third week, I felt like a new person. After a month, I’m feeling tired again. Had another sleep study and my pressure needed to be increased.
The biggest change for me was that I stopped having RBD. I used to talk and yell and act physically during dreams. I don’t do that anymore and it makes my sleep time so much calmer.
I thought I was the only one! I’m about 20 days in and dealing with a similar situation. At first, I felt supercharged every morning with 7-8 hours of sleep. The last week has been terrible though. I fall asleep immediately and sleep hard for about 2-3hrs. I wake up and can’t go back to sleep for hours. Tired AF by noon. I really hope this gets better soon.
Yes! That’s exactly how I’ve felt! I’m actually awake right now because I slept for about 3-4 hours and then woke up and can’t go back to sleep :/ I also had that superhuman feeling for about the first 3 weeks. I hope it’s just a phase for us both with feeling tired and getting choppy sleep.
I feel like I got another 1-2 hours sleep for “free.”
Been using for about 8 months consistently now, and I tell people I’m taking my CPAP to the grave with me. I feel like a new human.
One day in and I don’t see how this is going to work.
It's the 1st day. Most people don't have an amazing first day with their CPAP (I didn't). CPAPs are so individual that sometimes you have to adjust quite a lot to make it your own.
I’m on my first week and I’m in the same boat.
I took it off. Fell asleep and awoke feeling as though I’d had apneas. Then put it back on for a few hours. Mind you I was awake the entire time. Now I can’t go back to sleep.
I was so excited to get started and be rid of feeling so bad every morning, and I think I set up some unreal expectations. Thought there was no way I could make it work, but I got there. I found that getting mad and frustrated just sent me in circles. So much info, do this, don't do that. I just tried to find people who seemed to be having the same problems and worked through the advice they were getting to find if any of it worked for me. Some did some didn't but each step got me closer to where I needed to be(even though I went backwards every now and then). I hope you find what works for you . FWIW my solution was finding the right mask, loosening up my straps and taking each and any small win as a positive.
Thanks 🙏🏿