Lost weight...feeling MORE sleepy...EH?

[discoian]

Since starting CPAP nearly 2 years ago now i've lost 5st in weight (all in the last 12 months I must add) and since doing that I wake up in the morning more sleepy than ever! I don't get the "falling asleep" symptoms during the day but in the mornings I just feel totally crap.

Also, my mouth is as dry as the sahara in the morning. I fill the water chamber up in the evening before I go to sleep and in the morning it's almost gone but the inside of my mouth is absolutely bone dry and it feels awful!

We live in a particularly hard water area so I try to take care of cleaning the water chamber (I use standard tap water rather than bottled water) as often as possible but I reckon the inside of the machine is getting "limed up".

I know there's a moisture setting or something on the machine (i've not actually been given any training on using it, the nurse simply said "it's set, off you go") so i'm not sure if there's anything I can switch on inside the machine to stop my mouth going dry. The machine is a Fisher & Paykel Icon, does anyone else have one of these?

Also, I do get a bit of air escape now and then. Could it be now that my mask is too big for my face? (it's not been changed in the past year). When I got it it was quite a snug fit as my head was quite big/round but now because it's slimmed right down it actually feels massive. I can actually for for 3 days or so without it but I prefer to wear it each night.

[Barely Awake]

Are you diabetic, or had your sugar levels checked ?
I have also lost 5 stone in the last 9 months and for a period also started feeling much worse - fuzzy and sleepy. Although I have been on CPAP for 7 years I have had numerous problems with masks and kit, I also lose sleep through back pain, so this set-back was nothing new, except I had recently adopted the Sleepweaver and was getting on really well with it. Changing to an APAP sorted the problem and although I have had an unrelated kit problem that has been costing me sleep in recent weeks (large leak due to getting hose caught by movement I think), I have now got the AHI back down to 0.8.
What puzzled me when losing weight was that I thought that theoretically my pressure requirements may have changed, but in fact they were roughly the same.
What I think was costing me sleep was my sugar levels, which was also creating thirst.

[Tigers Fan]

Impossible to be much help without you give us some data, discoian.

In the meantime, sounds like a chin strap might help your dry mouth.

TF

[Sparticus]

Dont know?

My reading go from 16 AHI to around 1.0 AHI Ive use my machine in patches over the 2 years and Im still waiting to wake up feeling rested. I go without sometimes for weeks due to feeling better if I dont use it, so I dont know what the hell is going off with mine, I should get checked out at the hospital but its over a hundred mile round trip.

"C'est la vie",

[ElleCee]

I have had similar problems, I lost 8 stone in a year and thought that I could manage without cpap but that was not to be.
I also had loads of probems recently with leaking masks but after a visit to the clinic and a 2 week test on an apap they have decided to let me keep the apap because my average need is low, however the aponeas need a higher pressure so a cpap is no use to me any more.
I hope that make sense?
I used to use cpap at a pressure of up to 18 but now I only need it at 5 for the majority of the night the other times it varies quite a lot, so as you can see cpap on 5 would be no good but on 12 would be too high for all night and may still not be high enough when having an episode.
It is worth talking to the clinic even if you dont want to go there.

Regards
L

[Sparticus]

I have had similar problems, I lost 8 stone in a year and thought that I could manage without cpap but that was not to be.
I also had loads of probems recently with leaking masks but after a visit to the clinic and a 2 week test on an apap they have decided to let me keep the apap because my average need is low, however the aponeas need a higher pressure so a cpap is no use to me any more.
I hope that make sense?
I used to use cpap at a pressure of up to 18 but now I only need it at 5 for the majority of the night the other times it varies quite a lot, so as you can see cpap on 5 would be no good but on 12 would be too high for all night and may still not be high enough when having an episode.
It is worth talking to the clinic even if you dont want to go there.

Regards
L

I had that problem and went to my clinic to explain after attempting 2 weeks on cpap. I told them it didnt work right and they put me back on APAP which I believe is so much better than cpap and it gives you what you need when you need it and is not stuck on set parameters

[discoian]

Ok you'll have to forgive me...what is AHI? Also APAP?

When I turn my machine on it says "12" so i'm guessing that is the pressure it's set at.

Someone mentioned data, what data?

Chin strap?

[Sparticus]

Ok you'll have to forgive me...what is AHI? Also APAP?

When I turn my machine on it says "12" so i'm guessing that is the pressure it's set at.

Someone mentioned data, what data?

Chin strap?

Ok where do I start, Apap is an automatic version of Cpap it regulates your preasure unlike cpap where it is fixed by your clinic other than that the machines look identical.

AHI is how many episode you have an hour but with not good at explaining things let me pass you over to the pro's:


AHI explained (Apnoea Hypopnoea Index)

People who don't have sleep apnoea can be expected to have natural pauses in their breathing which may last for 10 seconds or slightly longer. These tend to occur after a deep breath or sigh, and a few of these each hour are completely normal.
Thus a person with normal breathing may have an AHI in the range of 0 to 5 events per hour of sleep.
When sleep apnoea is present, these periods of apnoea (no breathing) tend to be longer (typically lasting 20 to 40 seconds each, and possibly lasting even over a minute for each event). In addition, more severe sleep apnoea usually means more frequent apnoea events.

Severity of sleep apnoea as described by the AHI

Normal
0-5 AHI

Mild
5-14 AHI

Moderate
15-30 AHI

Severe
above 30 AHI

If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnoea, you should discuss the appropriate treatment options with your doctor.

Hope that helped.

As for chin straps this is a devise that will hold your mouth shut while sleeping, for some this help and for other it dont. Its all about preference

Spart