Cpep machine

[Littlecook]

I use my cpep machine on a daily basis anything between 8 to 10 hours a night and I still feel very tired , I don't know if I need the program changing so that I can feel more benefit for using it , I just want to sleep .

[Fanfab1]

hi have you discussed with your sleep clinic / hospital they might be able to answer whether need an adjustment and help address why still tired despite using cpap machine?

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[Littlecook in reply to Fanfab1]

I had a good 9 hours last night but still very tired, I did use my mask for the full 9 hours, it was showing the air pressure went from 4 to 11 ,I don't fully understand how it works think I need to call the hospital.

[Fanfab1 in reply to Littlecook]

Best to call. Mine starts at 4 then reaches 10 it’s called ramp time so you dont get the full force straight away it increases gradually.

Blood test for any deficiencies might be a good idea - I was very low on iron and after a course of tablets it did improve some of the general tiredness for me.

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[CapnM]

If you are under NHS care there isnt that much you can do except go back to them. If you want to learn more there is however great content on you tube around CPAP - try "CPAP Reviews" or Sleep HQ who is a very knowledagble and amiable Australian in this field. Some of it will be too much in the weeds but it is very good conent. Far better than on this site.

Here are some comments

- Not everyone get results with CPAP. Some people only achieve mixed results either perhaps because they have complicated conditions but also lack the training/curiosity to trial differing solutions. Unfortunately many people give up on CPAP which is a shame.

- CPAP therapy and public fundede universal healthcare is not a great mix. Sleep apnea is a wide ranging condition with many triggers, many symptoms, and many many solutions. With the NHS you are going to receive basic solutionsfrom people who lack time, training budgets to be up to date and offer best in class advice or solutions.

- Some pople find they need to mix CPAP with another device e.g. Kensignton chin strap or madibular device.

- However there are some settings on your machine that can be changed but you really need to discuss these with your clinic. Being self funded I could tweak my machine at my own convienience but your clinic may be upset if you do this - especially the settings that are under the clinical menu. I could not imagine being on CPAP and not having the right to change my settings but unfortunately this is where the healthcare is, too paternalistic for modern day demands.

to give one example - you infer above that you are on variable pressure (this is called APAP) probably something like a pressure range of 4 to 20 where your pressure can go up and down to respnd to events. Well for many people this is garbage setting and leads to poor results. But it works for some. Some people benefit from a fixed pressure all night e.g. 11 (This is called CPAP). Why this matters is too complex for this post but this information is readily available on you tube.

There are other settings such as EPR and Ramp (on a Resmed machine), these are marketed as comfort settings but actually can have consequences for peoples results too.

Finally there are different masks. I tried 5 masks over 18 months before I found the bests one for me. My recorded sleep events dropped dramtically on starting CPAP but I still really struggled. When I switched from full face to Nasal mask my outcomes changed dramaticlly. The basis for this was covered in a clinical paper relased I think tint he USA on 2020 but too complicated for here.

Its stuff like this your average NHS clinician will have no idea about. But people vary so much and sleep apnea such a varying condition that noones induvidual advice is going to necessarily help you. My point here and one often given by good clinicans is "to get the best clinical results you need to be curious and be confident to demand more or push back on advice given" People who just take what the NHS has to offer often do not have the best outcomes. This applies ot life in general really but the NHS does alway encourage people to go out do their own discovery which is a shame.

good luck.