Always headache when wake up with CPAP machine

After 2.5 year using CPAP I see my cognitive functionality only slightly improved, while all the rest of the symptoms still the same: easy irritation, bad memory, bad decision making, bad multi tasking, bad concentration.

What funny is that: quite sometimes I feel more fresh and much less headache if I fall asleep WITHOUT the CPAP (of course I would wake up after some minutes due to my normal AHI of 40).

About me: Age 40, AHI measured of 40 beginning 2016, started using CPAP (Philips Resmed System One) since March 2016 until now, on CPAP that is AHI 0.5. I can easily fall asleep on the bed within a minute, but waking up using CPAP I always have a headache, and this headache last the whole day.

Other health issues: Hepatitis B (non active), Asthma (mild, not on medicine).

WHAT WORST FOR ME IS: I AM EASILY ANGRY WITH MY KIDS AND WIFE, WHICH DAMAGES MY RELATIONSHIP AND MY FAMILY.

Please help me. I am living in the Netherlands and doctors here know shit about my problem. Since 2 years I am diagnosed by a Psychological Institute for my bad concentration and high irritation, but they have found nothing, except they think I might have an Autism that makes me angry if my kids and wife do something out of my expectation. And the hospital describing the CPAP to me stops wanting to see me after they see my AHI of 0.5.

Thanks.

I am not a medical professional and can't offer you any medical advice. About all I know is that the causes of headaches are often difficult to pinpoint.

With a diagnosed AHI of 40 and it being now controlled with CPAP to the 0.5 level, certainly suggests it must be well optimized from an AHI point of view. That said some find it helpful to track their CPAP treatment with a free software program called SleepyHead. It provides very detailed data tracking and display. It may show some opportunity for comfort improvement, such as lowering pressure or setting limits differently. If you are interested post back and I can help you with it. The software needs a PC or Mac computer with the capability to read a SD card.

It may not apply to you, but I read an interesting article today that found there was an optimum amount of sleep one should try to get and there are negative symptoms not only if we sleep too little, but also if we sleep too much. I suspect that sleeping too little includes getting a poor quality sleep as well as just a short sleep. The recommendation was to get 7-8 hours per night. Here is a graph that indicates what happens when we sleep too much or too little. STM is short term memory, and the others are obvious.

The article at this link:

In Search of Sleep's Sweet Spot

I found the link below that has comments by four doctors on what might be causing morning headaches when being treated with CPAP. A pressure that is unnecessarily high was mentioned, as I suggested earlier. Also some comments about optimizing the air humidity and temperature to minimize any sinus congestion/pressure issues. Are you using the optional heated tube humidifier?

Why is my CPAP giving me headaches?

Elevated CO2 levels can cause headaches. I'm not sure how you would go about having that assessed where you are.

I find that my neck position changes when I'm using my CPAP and I get neck pain/headaches from that. Chiropractic adjustments have helped me tremendously. I am trying to find the right pillow but in the meantime if I make sure I have more neck support as I'm falling asleep it's helpful.

I also had the pressure set too high at one point and that caused some headaches/facial pain.

I do see that my headache is much increased if there is no water in my heated chamber. So one cause is found. Thanks everyone.

There seems to be a link now between my physical symptomps (headache, chest pain) and my cognitive functions, together with sleep deprivation. It is about the blood O2/CO2 level

1) Doctor's diagnosis & treatment Asthma was found, and "Budesonide + formoterol fumarate dihydrate" (e.g. Symbicort) was prescribed Not sure about COPD: I have quickly a shortness of breath while running, but in daily physical work I look like normal.

2) My CO2/O2 measurement

• I have a Spirometry to measure O2, sometimes I see 93% when I feel tired, but normally it is around 94-96%
• CO2 measurement: I have never been aware of such one. From the hospital there were 2 sleep tests before and after CPAP, with some sensors attaching to my body. But the hospital has never told me enough on what was measured.

3) My sleep symptomps

• Short sleep of 30 min only gives me more headache and brain "strangeness". It used to be my power nap before age 20, now I am 40.
• Direct headache anytime waking up
• Always a chest pain as if my lung is "too dry" or "not enough oxygen"
• Waking up often or notice that I am dreaming chaotically.
• These symptoms (headache, chestpain and dreaming) are only reduced if window is open, even in winter.

4) My cognitive symptomps

• Bad concentration on computer: Very quickly distracted on computer, would switch between task very often. Examples: (a) Open the computer to do a certain task, but if laptop has already some tabs opened then I would read those tabs first and sometimes forget what I wanted to do, or even if I remember I don't have the energy or wanting to do that anymore. (b) While reading an article I would click on links to read another article before finishing the first, and keep on wandering that way
• Lower IQ: I used to be proud of my IQ: good memory, high thinking speed including the ability to do mental math calculation very quickly, not anymore.
• Forgetting things: e.g. eveyday I need to find my phone at least once even if "it was just around 1 min ago"

5) What I do to improve my health

• Walk outside to think: Boost upto 300% of concentration: I can think deeply, can connect dots in my understanding of things, can have good overview of things to design things at helicopter view (I am a computer programmer).
• Breathing with awareness: it is either a slow but deep breathing (Taichi exercise) or a slow, deep and hard breathing (Sanchin exercise as in this video also incorporates a hard muscle contraction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kybxNOlnl20). Manytimes when I am stuck while trying to solve a problem, if I do a Taichi or Sanchin breathing I will come back to my desk and BUM, the solution arrives.

6) Links

• COPD and headache: this seems very relevant to my symptomps, however I don't know if I have COPD https://www.healthline.com/health/copd/headache
• Asthma and headache: many links don't seem to be relevant to me.

So my headache problem is helped 50% by

• Using Budesonide + formoterol fumarate dihydrate
• Having water in the heated humidifier Thanks for your help that triggered me into this finding.

https://www.thecpapshop.com/blog/connecting-cpap-to-an-oxygen-concentrator/

"Many older adults who are on CPAP also may need supplemental oxygen. Supplemental oxygen is typically required for people who are diagnosed with some form of pulmonary disease such as COPD, Emphysema or lung cancer. It also may be the case that a CPAP user might need oxygen at night while asleep becomes of low blood oxygen levels. Whatever the case, if supplemental oxygen is needed, a new or veteran user might run into challenges when purchasing an oxygen concentrator and connecting CPAP to an oxygen concentrator"

I might need this oxygen concentrator, don't know why it's not prescribed.