Reasons Why You Might Not Feel Good After Using CPAP Therapy
One of the most effective ways to treat sleep apnea is the regular use of continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP therapy. If the therapy works well, it can turn out to be a revelation. However, not many of you will enjoy the benefits of this treatment since the beginning. In this article, you will learn how long it will take to reap the benefits.
Daytime sleepiness
The most common reason for untreated sleep apnea is excessive daytime sleepiness. Not everyone who likes sleeping during the daytime has this kind of issue. The quality of sleep can be affected due to the awakenings related to abnormal breathing. If you feel like waking 15 times an hour to resume your breathing, this is a symptom of mild apnea. Even if you take 8 hours of sleep, it is highly possible that the sleep will be non-refreshing.
In the beginning, it could be a bit difficult to adjust the CPAP therapy. If you wake up in the night, the mask may get removed and the whole process needs to be reset. Sleep apnea usually worsens in the last few hours of your night sleep. During this stage, you usually experience muscle relaxation and vivid dreams to put off dream enactment.
If the muscles of the airway relax, it can worsen the condition. Hence, if you have removed the mask during the night, it would not give you any major benefits. Hence, it is always advisable to hire a specialist like Blooms the Chemist who will assess the actual results.
Issues experienced in the beginning
In some cases, CPAP could introduce a few problems of its own. If you do not get adequate support and interventions, these issues can undermine your efforts to treat the condition. In the beginning, you might feel uncomfortable breathing against the pressure but it can be easily improved with proactive. Many people also face issues with the fit of their masks.
If the mask is not adjusted properly, it can lead to marks on the face followed by sores and ulcers and a lot of pain. Always ask your equipment supplier to find the right mask for you as per the requirement. There are plenty of options to choose from like nasal masks, nasal pillows, full face masks, and so on. Besides the mask, it is equally important to adjust the humidity and temperature of the air to get full comfort. If you feel problems like nasal congestion or obstruction, it can cause dry mouth and mouth breathing.
If you have mild sleep apnea, you may not notice much benefit from this therapy. Mild apnea might include less than 10 breathing disturbances occurring every hour. If this number is reduced to say less than 5, you might not feel any significant difference due to the same.
Insomnia is another common symptom of sleep apnea. Many people wake up at night for an unexplained reason. In case you have this issue, it might get worsened by wearing a mask.