You are very fortunate to see the improvement in your sleep resulting from cpap usage. I have forced myself to use it for 10 years and to this day I cannot tell any difference in how I feel. I have had several sleep study retests and used a variety of equipment and masks. I use it at night only because I am told I need to by the doctors. It would be so much easier to accept if I could feel a benefit.<br><br>

Have you discussed raising the pressure? Mine is set at 12. What kind of mask do you have, and have you tried other types? Are you tired during the day, or wake up frequently. I'm wondering if your sleep study showed many non-breathing events. Perhaps you need a different treatment, such as for chronic fatigue syndrome. Of course, I don't know what your diagnosis was, or the reason you were prescribed a CPAP. There are so many things to consider.

I AGREE WITH, IT CHANGES YOUR LIFE

I first learned of sleep apnea in 2007. I hadn't had a deep sleep in many months. I did the sleep test and they were convinced I needed C-PAP. They put one on me and for the remaining few hours I got the best sleep ever. I was a true believer.

I was on an extreme weight loss program and eventually shed 100 pounds. One great benefit was I no longer had trouble with sleep apnea. Now I've gained back about 40 pounds and am back using C-PAP.

I had leakage issues due to a deteriorated mask. Your comments on that are helpful...thank you. I use mine each night and have an oxygen booster. I also use it when I lay down to rest during the day. I bring it on weekend trips, but not the oxygen booster.

I bought a loaner CPAP machine a number of years ago, because we were living 130 miles from the nearest stores and doctors, and a trip to town often meant a night in a motel. I got tired of packing up my CPAP, so I have a second machine that's always ready just to grab it and go. If I go on a longer trip, I take my home CPAP, because it's newer, and can be downloaded for the sleep doctor. The other one is old enough that they can't gather information from it, so sometimes my reports are skewed.

Pre-CPAP, I would wake up several times every night and go to the bathroom. That stopped when I got the CPAP. I do get up once at night now, probably half of the time. I no longer sleep 11 hours and then take a 3 hour nap because I'm chronically fatigued. I try to keep it down to under 9 hours, and rarely take a nap. That's per doctor's orders. I can once again work all day, or as long as the pain in my feet permit. But I'm no longer lethargic, tired or a zombie, thanks to good sleep.

@jimhd You are a very resourceful person! Thanks again for sharing your experiences with everyone at Mayo Connect.

I AM HAPPY FOR YOU KEEP ON WITH YOUR CPAP

THANK YOU I AM HAPPY THAT I COULD HELP YOU

@jimhd One of the helpful tips my sleep specialist did for me was change my setting from straight 24 to now it is set at 12 - 30. This actually eliminated my panic attacks at night. Not sure if you have tried but worth a shot.

Thanks
Dawn

What do you mean by 12-30?