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Treatment fully kick in

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PrettyinPink07960 +0 points · over 6 years ago Original Poster

I have just been diagnosed with sleep apnea and started the treatment 2 weeks ago. One of my sleep issues was that I woke up every hour to go to the bathroom and sometimes could not fall back to sleep. I Have been told that this problem would be resolved by the treatment. But it has not and I still get very tired by afternoon and have to take a nap. My question is this, 'is this usual and how long will it take before I begin feeling fully awake in the am and not tired in the afternoon?

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snuffie3456 +0 points · over 6 years ago

I've been told it takes up to a year to see all the benefits of the therapy. Do a search on the boards-I've seen this question answered much more eloquently and with more detail.

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wiredgeorge +0 points · over 6 years ago Sleep Enthusiast

The amount of time it takes for therapy benefits to "kick in" as you put it varies per individual. Are you monitoring your sleep statistics? ResMed offers MyAir and you can see for yourself how therapy is doing. If mask leaks are off the chart, then you will need to figure that out but more importantly, if AHI is still high, then that is a more serious matter that must be fixed for your sleep to improve.

If you are on effective therapy, positive air pressure keeps your airway open and you are able to go into a deeper state of sleep than if you are having frequent apnea incidents. I too woke up several times a night prior to therapy thinking I had to go to the restroom but in fact it was just a shallow-sleep habit; really did NOT have to go. Since starting therapy, I almost NEVER have to get up for a a trip to the restroom. That doesn't help you, I know, BUT if you were monitoring your sleep stats, you would know if your AHI was reduced and it seems it may not be since your sleep is shallow. One of the issues why my sleep was shallow was low blood O2 levels when I quit breathing; when breathing kicked in, I started breathing with a big GASP. Hard to sleep soundly when this occurs.

Start self-monitoring your therapy!

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sleeptech +0 points · over 6 years ago Sleep Enthusiast

I'll try to brief. How long it takes for you to feel the difference from your treatment varies greatly from person to person. For some people everything is great from the moment they put the mask on. For others it can take weeks and, in some more extreme cases, it can take a year or more. I agree with Wiredgeorge, check your AHI and leak levels. If these are good it's probably a matter of hanging in there. If not, further investigation is required.

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SociableCarmineSpider7263 +0 points · over 6 years ago

Hello Everyone,

I am quite new, about 2 weeks. What is a good AHI number. Mine is 5.9 I don't know what that means .

Dave

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NiceSilverBison1316 +0 points · over 6 years ago

Hi Dave. An AHI of 5.9 is in the mild range. An AHI below 5 is considered good. Sounds like you aren't doing too bad.

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