Posted by jane d on September 5, 2012, at 3:14:58
In reply to Anyone using/benefiting from CPAP?, posted by Chris O on September 3, 2012, at 20:47:58
> Just curious if anyone on these boards is using and benefiting from a CPAP machine (for sleep apnea). I was recently diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea (25 wakings per hour). I'm two months into CPAP use, and don't feel it's working much, if at all. I've upped the pressure twice after a titration study. Basically, I feel like I am awake the whole night when I use the machine. I don't feel paranoid about using it. I just wish it would work and I would sleep for significant periods with the machine on. I also have many sleep interruptions due to anxiety, but the sleep doctor says most of my events in the study where of the airway, not brain-based, type. Anyway, just curious about others' experience with this machine and if it had alleviated symptoms of anxiety/depression.
>
> Thanks,
> ChrisI use one. I don't think there's ever been a detailed discussion here about it. Some posters have posted that it helps them (google poster noa here about 10 years ago).
Could you give a little more detail. Just how much are you sleeping each night? Is it different from before you started treatment? How often are you using the cpap machine? Why did you raise your pressure and from what to what? (It's a little unusual to be raising your pressure at this point.) Do you have a professional helping you adjust?
It's possible the cpap machine is successfully treating your apnea but waking you up for another reason negating the benefit. Another possibility is that it is working just fine but you are waking up for some other reason such as anxiety. That probably wouldn't have shown up in your sleep study. Both can be dealt with.
Now for the testimonial part. Personally the cpap was not a miracle cure for my depression. I did start sleeping through the night almost immediately. It probably helped fatigue a bit. I think if I'd started it earlier it might have made it easier to measure my response to different medications which was confused since I seem to have had fatigue both from apnea and from depression. I believe, but can never prove, that after years of use I'm probably less unhealthy than I would otherwise be in terms of things like blood pressure and glucose levels.
poster:jane d
thread:1024801
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120830/msgs/1024931.html