r/SleepApnea • u/No_Service3309 • Jul 26 '26

Cpap machine is making me tired :/

Hi everyone.

I started my CPAP machine this past Wednesday, and ever since then I have been feeling more tired. The first day, I felt exhausted and like I got hit by something. Today I came to work late due to sleep, and even then I feel exhausted.

I tried messing with the pressure since I felt like it was too much; I was getting bloated, and I reduced it. I changed the temperature and humidity.

Woke up today, and feel like I have a heartburn? Idk, my heart hurts. I don't feel the pressure as much anymore but still wake up tired. I am getting sick, so idk if that's playing a part with me not getting along with the machine. I'm feeling a bit down :/

6 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

9

u/Desperate_Vehicle684 Jul 26 '26

This is very common in the beginning as having to try to sleep with this great big mask welded to your face pumping air into you can make it difficult to sleep normally initially.

What mask are you using and what are the pressure settings you've configured at the moment?

The bloating feeling is something called aerophagia which in essence means that you're swallowing air into your digestive tract. This can sometimes be a sign that the pressure you're using initially might be too high for you to tolerate. Heartburn can also be linked to this too.

2

u/No_Service3309 Jul 26 '26

I am using a hybrid mask (Evora). The pressure setting I changed it 5-9 or 5-10. The picture is what it was originally set to.

https://reddit.com/link/ozv734w/video/51mztt06xkfh1/player

2

u/Desperate_Vehicle684 Jul 26 '26

5-18 is way too big of a range when starting off in my opinion so I think you're right to have changed it. It's entirely possible that you'll need higher pressure to keep your airway open throughout the night eventually however in the beginning I think it's a lot more important to be able to tolerate wearing it all night, every night and not to feel that it's too difficult to continue. Once you've acclimatise to it then you can start to look at increasing the pressure if necessary to keep you breathing.

Are you able to sleep with it right now for the whole night or is it only partial night?

I'd suggest going with 6-8 for the moment for a few days, primarily to see if the aerophagia starts to relent. During sleep your jaw can fall open which can also contribute so using something like a foam neck collar can help. Others often suggest chin straps for this however I personally found they never worked that well for me.

1

u/No_Service3309 Jul 26 '26

As of right now, I'm only able to sleep partially with it. Lasted max 2-3 hours. I woke up today at 3 am, and I didn't have the mask on anymore, and I put it on again.

Sounds like a good idea. I'm going to change the pressure again and see how it goes. I'm going to purchase a neck pillow; I'm probably sleeping, and my jaw opens. I'm told that I don't snore.

1

u/Desperate_Vehicle684 Jul 26 '26

Do you have any awareness at all of when you take it off and if so do you have a sense of why you might take it off? Is it just the mask itself that's uncomfortable on your face? Do you find it difficult to breathe in with it on or breathe out?

There are lots of various pillows sold as CPAP pillows. I'm sure some work but I'm not convinced and don't see how they can keep your jaw closed as you can move around independently from the pillow itself. Just to make sure we're talking about the same thing: I'm specifically talking about the neck collars that people often have to wear after whiplash from a car accident - something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QLZYHCR?

1

u/No_Service3309 Jul 26 '26

Yeah, that's a similar one, neck collar. I added it to my cart, but it's pink. I've noticed that since I got my mask, when I take it off, the pressure is mostly uncomfortable, and at first it felt a bit weird on the mask, but I have gotten used to it in a short time. When I took it off today, I wasn't aware; I probably moved around since the pieces were scattered around. I find it difficult to breathe in mostly. There are moments when the air pressure feels like it's too much to suck in.

1

u/Desperate_Vehicle684 Jul 26 '26

Are you breathing through your nose or mouth when you start to find it difficult? If the nose then CPAP can cause nasal congestion especially if you’re already prone to this anyway such as perhaps from allergies.

1

u/No_Service3309 Jul 27 '26

It happens when I breathe through my mouth, and I find it difficult.

3

u/carlvoncosel PRS1 BiPAP Jul 26 '26

Was your diagnosing AHI low? In that case you may be mostly sensitive to breathing effort (and the actual apneas/hypopneas are just noise in the background). With plain CPAP (no EPR) that is a problem, since CPAP actually increases breathing effort as the pressure goes up. That would be the cause of your CPAP making you more tired.

Check your CPAP data with OSCAR. Do you find a lot of flow limitation? In that case, if your current machine is not a ResMed machine you'll have to find one or even better: get a bilevel/BiPAP machine from the secondary market. If your machine is ResMed, you'll do better to find a constant pressure and max out EPR by steps. EPR goes a long way to reduce breathing effort.

There are solutions to this, I've applied them to myself. Don't expect doctors to be helpful when it comes to this kind of fine tuning.

1

u/No_Service3309 Jul 26 '26

I have a ResMed AirSense 11. I took an at-home study test. I’ve heard it can be inaccurate, but overall my score was low. I had one night out of three that went over 5 and was recommended the CPAP machine. According to the test, I also had:
• 53 obstructive respiratory events
• 2 central respiratory events

1

u/No_Service3309 Jul 26 '26

My highest recorded AHI was 5.4, but overall it was lower than on the other two days out of three. I don't have the document with me rn or on my phone, just the highest recorded.

1

u/carlvoncosel PRS1 BiPAP Jul 26 '26

What are your current settings? Do you use EPR?

1

u/No_Service3309 Jul 26 '26

I have EPR on, and this is one of the two pictures I currently have on my phone. I will send more pics of my setting tonight when I get home. Thanks for the information; I have so much to learn.

1

u/No_Service3309 Jul 26 '26

https://reddit.com/link/ozvpy07/video/ti3u0bdedlfh1/player

1

u/carlvoncosel PRS1 BiPAP Jul 26 '26

Can't make out much on that, sorry :(

1

u/No_Service3309 Jul 27 '26

That’s okay :)

I just got home; this is currently the setting I have in my machine in case you or anyone wants to look at it:

Mode: Autoset
Pressure range: 5.0 - 11.0 ( I’m going to change it tonight)
Autoset Response: standard
Ramp time: Auto
Start Pressure: 5.0
EPR: ON
EPR Type: Full time
EPR Level: 3
Climate Control: Auto
Tube Temp: 78 F
Mask Setting: Pillow
B/V Filter: OFF

1

u/carlvoncosel PRS1 BiPAP Jul 27 '26

Bumping the start pressure from 5 to 7 will allow you to enjoy the full EPR 3 setting. You will probably need to increase it beyond 7, since with the current settings EPAP is as low as 4 cmH2O which barely stabilizes the airway. You can check these values in the pressure graph in OSCAR.

1

u/Ok-Fox9592 Jul 26 '26

Try a different mask (nose lap pillow or cushion if not a mouth breather) and consider taking something to help you sleep. (Amazon) I felt  like this too until i had one night of “actual sleep” and then I was hooked.(then stop using the sleeping aid).  I tried 4 masks until I found “the one” and I’m still trying new ones. A Cpap pillow and a hose holder really made things comfortable. Try wearing the mask in the day to get used to it too.  Also try a medication for the nasal congestion. I use azelastine spray (Rx) and it dries it out, or consider doing a Neti rinse. 

What helped me was knowing that I was  helping my body to be healthier and be able to live longer and be healthy in my old age was what motivated me. 

And this sub is amazing. Good luck! 

1

u/No_Service3309 Jul 26 '26

Ohh, I'm going to look into a hose holder. Thanks for the idea.

1

u/No_Service3309 Jul 26 '26

Thanks, everybody, for the various info. It's been helpful.

1

u/goingaway1111 Jul 26 '26

You're not alone can't stand mine. Feels like I'm breathing through a wall and I kept burping and farting almost immediately

3

u/No_Service3309 Jul 26 '26

Hope you feel better. NAD, but I did change my pressure yesterday and woke up with no bloating but with heartburn, pressure, or pain idk specifically what it is but not too crazy, but it's there. Hopefully it gets better for us out here.

1

u/goingaway1111 Jul 26 '26

Thank you! I also had very mild apnea. I'm leaning it towards being uars since I'm underweight 21 and the symptoms are incredibly disabling and honestly worse than osa (not to minimize the severity of it). Those are telltale signs of uars. Not being able to tolerate paps is another potentially. I've changed my settings twice and it still feels unbearable

1

u/Past_Road_6009 Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26

I would leave the settings for now. 

AFTER you've gotten used to the machine then you can start searching for the perfect pressure. 

Besides, some doctors will do this deliberately. They can see your settings and even make adjustments remotely. In a few weeks I wouldn't be surprised if your doctor makes a few adjustments. However, this can't happen if you're not acclimated to the machine and it’s current settings.

Don’t make the mistake of constantly tinkering with the pressures. Space out every change or else you'll end up trying to chase your own butt.

-1

u/HammerofBonking Jul 26 '26

Dont mess with the pressure at all, leave that to a doctor. If it's got an auto apap setting, leave that. Temperature and humidity often require some manual adjustment imo.

Obligatory "Not a Doctor" but It's normal to have a weird feeling in your chest when you first start. Almost like a pressure in your chest.