First night with CPAP

Wow.....last night was my first night with my CPAP.  Can you say NO SLEEP?  I have an absolute pounding headache from the pressure.  How'd you all cope with yours?  I'm not looking forward to this at all.

Hi Devin.  Sorry you had such a rough night!  It does get better.  Do you have the ramp feature on your cpap?  I found that very helpful to get to sleep with less pressure being delivered.  The first few nights, I only used it for a few hours....I needed to sleep too!  Gradually, I was able to increase the time I wore it.  I also got dried out with mine, so the humidifier was a HUGE help! It IS irritating and takes ALOT of getting used to....but, knowing what the end result will be.. ie: surgery to make you healthy..... do the best you can.  I truly feel for you!  If the pressure still feels like it's too much after a few days, call your doc and see if they can lower it a bit until you can get used to it.  Sorry I don't have more to offer....keep pluggin away at it..build up your wearing time and do the best you can!  It should get better!  Good luck and keep us posted!  Ruth

I think you're right.... if I only wear it for a few hours at a time until I get used to it....atleast I'll still get a few hours of sleep.  It will be worth it!!  (I think)

So sorry that must be horrid to have to deal with.Hopefully it gets better for you soon.

I hated my from the first time I ever used it.. they finally after 3 sleep study said I no longer need it.. Thank god because I was getting less sleep with it then without it..I am so happy its gone...............I only worn it 2 hours and off it went or when it went to cpap off it went to much pressure and they kept changing it finally they figured I no longer had sleep apena..Hope you get it figured out just call your doctor and let them know

That's exactly it!!  Too much pressure.  I'm okay with it when it's on like 3, but mine stays on 10.  I told them I thought that was too much, but they told me I'll get used to it.  I think that's why I have such a bad headache... I'm going to try it again tonight and if I get a whopping headache again....I'm going to have to call them and see if I can get a lower pressure.  What amount of pressure did you guys have to deal with?  Was it more or less than 10?  I'm just curious.  Thanks!

they set mine at 14 at first and it was too much from the beginning then they moved it down to 10 then 8 then 5..if it was just ramping it wasnt bad..i got wicked headache felt like i never slept..i bet it too much pressure,,i even got a cold nasal infection it really sucked,,,

My pressure was only on 6 and it still felt like it was gonna blow the brains outta my head!  I'm no longer using mine either (I saw the doc about it earlier this week and they are gonna do an overnight pulse ox test to see if I still need it or not) I'm sleeping ssssssoooooooooo much better without it!  Call the doc if it's just not working for you!  Ruth

Ruth, I am not using mine anymore either.  I was never able to sleep through the night with it and I have not used it from the time I went into the hospital.  (I had it with me but they did not have me use it).  My apnea was mild only.  My husband has also told me he has not heard me snore since I came home from the hospital.  When I see my PCP in July I am going to ask for a new sleep study to see if I can get rid of it. Peggy

Hi devon, I have been out of the loop here for a few weeks but wanted to respond to your post. You should definitely have a cpap with a ramp feature so it will increase gradually, I started mine at a 4 and ramped to 9 until I had a titration done and then they moved me to a bipap and increased the pressure substantially (13/19) but it was still ramped. My issue has been skin irritation and finding the right mask that won't leak...I have tried about 6 different ones. I am a mouth breather so that has been a challenge. I have managed to fall asleep on it but when I wake up to go to the BR anywhere from 1-3 hrs after going to bed, I can no longer tolerate it. I have been so stressed with finishing school that I decided to go off it completely until after commencement and I come back from vacation. That may delay my surgery a few weeks but it just couldn't be helped. So I will be back to day one on May 26th with the cpap/bipap. I wish you luck. Just stick with it as long as you can. My technician says they consider that if you can keep it on for 4 hours it is a success.