Hi. I'm new to your site and have been reading everyones submissions. I was diagnosed about 6 months ago with severe sleep apnea. I had interrupted sleep 38 times in 1 hr. The longest I went without breathing in the 6 hr study was 138 seconds. I went on the CPAP with full face mirage mask. I started at a pressure of 8, and over a period of time increased to 16, and I am still unable to sleep on my back. I tried increasing the pressure beyond 16 but I wake up with bad gas pain (for lack of a better word). The first night with the mask I slept 10 hrs, and woke up shaking, felt like I was overdosed on caffiene. The second night I slept 9 hours, woke with the same feeling. I have much more energy now. My sleeping has leveled off at about 6-7 hrs per night. I am 46 yrs old and have had snoring issues all my life and had no idea that I had sleep apnea, let alone severe.
So the problem I have encountered after having been on the CPAP is shift work. When I get home in the morning 7am, I'm tired, go to bed, but only sleep about 3-4 hrs. I can't go back to sleep. In the past, before CPAP, I was always exhausted and could sleep 5-6 hrs (if you could call it that). So for the last 26 yrs of shift work I got by, but now I am having difficulty. Gravol works a bit, sleeping pills leave you to groggy when I wake up. My internal clock seems "out of wack" and it is affecting my job productivity. I am a 911/Dispatcher and am required to be alert 100% of the time. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks

Morning

For those that might be experiencing the same problems.
I attended for a second sleep clinic, and the Doctor has decided that because I still snore when on my back, and I am unable to go higher than 16 without experiencing severe gas pains. He prescribed a BI PAP machine, luckily these are covered under my insurance.

As for the sleeping during the day he wrote me a prescription for Melatonin, but said that I should be careful to obtain a Pharmacutical Grade, that there many types that claim to be the same that are not. The dose is 1 mg ($10.00 for 90 capsules). The brand that I am using is Rx Balance - Professional's Choice, I suspect there are many Pharmacutical Grade Companies out there.
Also a prescription for Oxazepam, 10 mgs, that I take if I have difficulting falling asleep.
I have never "dreamed" as much since I have been taking the Melatonin. I slept 10 hrs last night. Feel Great today.
Can hardly wait to get the BI PAP, to see if it gets better.
These machines are incredible!!

Shift work has long been associated with health problems in general. But you may have hit the nail right on the head...your internal clock might be out of wack.

What you've described may well be symptomatic of a circadian rhythm disorder. The good news is that there are effective treatments available for many of these conditions today. I would suggest a consult with a doctor who is board certified in sleep disorders.

Let us know how it goes! Carl

Morning,

Its been a while since I posted. I am now on a Bi Pap machine and at a level of 18
It has stopped the snoring but, I find that I am now waking up with a very dry mouth.
As for the difficulty in sleeping.....The Melatonin (not sure on the spelling) works GREAT for me. Its cheap, and the results are amazing.

JD

Are you using a heated humidifier with your biPAP?