To those using a CPAP - Noticing energy improvement?

Originally posted by junr I've been using a CPAP since I was 21, now 38, and I notice a difference when using for the night or not. Not sure sure where you fall with your apnea, low - severe. I have severe apnea and experience approximately 73 interruptions an hour without the machine and about half when using the machine. I notice a big difference with energy and drive between using the CPAP and not. I think the major factor is simply getting the appropriate sleep, allowing your body to rest properly, therefore helping with workouts. Clearly I'm not a Dr but for me, using the machine has helped with the energy/drive to work out and get appropriate sleep. Well, close to the appropriate amount of sleep. junr

I don't believe I'm in the severe category, I had 35+ interruptions per hour and 15-17 instances of stopping breathing... Not that I think stopping breathing isn't severe, I just know that people with severe sleep apnea stop breathing even more than that!!

I've had to resort to a sleep aid (temporarily is the plan) to even fall asleep with the mask on.  I have one that covers the nose and is "one of the best and most successful on the market" per the company my insurance company directed me to. 

Once I better understood the toll that sleep apnea has on the heart I was all in.... The part about improved workouts and more energy for them is actually a by-product I'm hoping to achieve..

Thanks

Originally posted by BigDaddyD79

Originally posted by TriMike

Originally posted by junr I've been using a CPAP since I was 21, now 38, and I notice a difference when using for the night or not. Not sure sure where you fall with your apnea, low - severe. I have severe apnea and experience approximately 73 interruptions an hour without the machine and about half when using the machine. I notice a big difference with energy and drive between using the CPAP and not. I think the major factor is simply getting the appropriate sleep, allowing your body to rest properly, therefore helping with workouts. Clearly I'm not a Dr but for me, using the machine has helped with the energy/drive to work out and get appropriate sleep. Well, close to the appropriate amount of sleep. junr

I don't believe I'm in the severe category, I had 35+ interruptions per hour and 15-17 instances of stopping breathing... Not that I think stopping breathing isn't severe, I just know that people with severe sleep apnea stop breathing even more than that!!

I've had to resort to a sleep aid (temporarily is the plan) to even fall asleep with the mask on.  I have one that covers the nose and is "one of the best and most successful on the market" per the company my insurance company directed me to. 

Once I better understood the toll that sleep apnea has on the heart I was all in.... The part about improved workouts and more energy for them is actually a by-product I'm hoping to achieve..

Thanks

Thats about the number I was at. Not sure if you wake up alot at night or not, but I noticed the amount I was waking up during the night really went down to almost zero.

I'm so new with the mask I really don't know what normal is yet...That and I'm using a sleep aid to even fall asleep so once I wean from that I'll have a clearer picture....

Pre-CPAP I took forever to fall asleep but "thought" I slept sound all night... However my wife said my breathing scared her it was so labored (not to mention snoring like a bear)...  After the sleep study results indicated the interruptions and instances of actually stopping breathing, I'm really glad I'm using a CPAP..

Originally posted by BigDaddyD79

Originally posted by TriMike

Originally posted by BigDaddyD79

Originally posted by TriMike

Originally posted by junr I've been using a CPAP since I was 21, now 38, and I notice a difference when using for the night or not. Not sure sure where you fall with your apnea, low - severe. I have severe apnea and experience approximately 73 interruptions an hour without the machine and about half when using the machine. I notice a big difference with energy and drive between using the CPAP and not. I think the major factor is simply getting the appropriate sleep, allowing your body to rest properly, therefore helping with workouts. Clearly I'm not a Dr but for me, using the machine has helped with the energy/drive to work out and get appropriate sleep. Well, close to the appropriate amount of sleep. junr

I don't believe I'm in the severe category, I had 35+ interruptions per hour and 15-17 instances of stopping breathing... Not that I think stopping breathing isn't severe, I just know that people with severe sleep apnea stop breathing even more than that!!

I've had to resort to a sleep aid (temporarily is the plan) to even fall asleep with the mask on.  I have one that covers the nose and is "one of the best and most successful on the market" per the company my insurance company directed me to. 

Once I better understood the toll that sleep apnea has on the heart I was all in.... The part about improved workouts and more energy for them is actually a by-product I'm hoping to achieve..

Thanks

Thats about the number I was at. Not sure if you wake up alot at night or not, but I noticed the amount I was waking up during the night really went down to almost zero.

I'm so new with the mask I really don't know what normal is yet...That and I'm using a sleep aid to even fall asleep so once I wean from that I'll have a clearer picture....

Pre-CPAP I took forever to fall asleep but "thought" I slept sound all night... However my wife said my breathing scared her it was so labored (not to mention snoring like a bear)...  After the sleep study results indicated the interruptions and instances of actually stopping breathing, I'm really glad I'm using a CPAP..

Were you snoring with the CPAP, because that doesn't sound right. I snored pretty bad before and now not a peep. What type of mask are you using, I tired a few but found the one that just sits over the nose to be the most comfortable. It deffinitly takes a bit of getting used to breath with it on, but now I don't even notice it.

No snoring with the CPAP, it was prior to getting it that I apparently was very loud....My wife says either I'm laboring so hard to breathe that she thought I'd have a heart attack OR I'd snore extremely loud and also have a heart attack..

My mask is the nose kind and I'm finally starting to relax with it....The challenge for me is keeping my mouth closed and breathing nasally...I have a deviated septum so nose breathing has always been a little challenging for me...However I'm starting to learn that that was probably more mental as I'm constantly "practicing" nose-only breathing while awake and I can do it..

I wish I could have brought home two masks and then select the one that works best.  The company I'm working with allows one "free" exchange within 30 days of my initial mask pickup.  I've heard of the nasal pillow mask and honestly it sounds more comfortable than the full nose gear... My machine has a humidifier and I swear between the humidity in the air and the humidifier on the machine that the moisture in the nose thing is what causes my nose to itch during the night... And there's no easy way to itch your nose through the mask!!

My brother in-law had his septum "fixed" and that was enough to keep me from going in.... Not to say that there hasn't been improvement in the process as his was quite a few years ago too, however I just don't want to go there...

When I get an itch I can't leave alone I actually unplug the air hose then release one of the "holders" at the bottom of the mask to take it off enough to scratch.... Then it's put the mask back on, re-attach the hose and try and pick up where I left off...

None of it is smooth or quiet and when you're trying to fall asleep or were sleeping it's a PITA to say the least...

I've slept with a CPAP for the last 7 or 8 years.  I can't even go one night without it without being completely miserable and barely able to function the next day.  I've always used the nose pillow mask, and don't have any problems with it except when it's starting to wear out, and air leaks around the edges.  That's how I know it's time to replace it.

That's the consensus I'm finding, both here on BT and through people I work with, family members etc.  By that I mean it's more noticeable when a night is missed than the "up" feeling of having worn it...

And I'm ok with that, I just wondered if people noticed a tangible training improvement as a result of the much higher quality sleep.

I didn't start wearing it for triathlon, it would just be a positive by-product..

I would classify myself as a mouth breather so when I had to go back for my sleep titration to monitor my sleep with a CPAP I tried the nose/mouth mask and struggled terribly...While conceptually I felt better knowing I could breathe through my nose OR mouth, the claustrophic feeling of all that over my face was more than I could take...

In this thread as well as talking to others I know, I'm wondering about the nose pillow mask as an option for me.... Not that I'm not gong to eventually settle in with the nose mask, it's just difficult to address an itch, and I've noticed a few times when I try to sleep on my side I slightly dislodge the mask and start to hear the air leakage..

Anyway, good stuff, congratulations on all you accomplishments..