CPAP Still Effective for Treating Fatigue Caused by OSA; Compliance is Key

If you have sleep apnea and use a CPAP or are looking for a new one, you’ve probably noticed the latest study published in the January 2011 issue of the journal Sleep. The story has appeared in Science Daily, MedPage Today, WebMD, and others.

The study results reinforce the value of complying with your therapy. In the study 59 men and women with OSA were randomly assigned to therapeutic or placebo CPAP in a double-blind fashion for a three-week intervention period. Doctors learned that patients treated with the therapeutic CPAP showed significantly reduced fatigue and increased energy and the therapeutic CPAP treatment reduced daytime sleeping.

According to the study’s lead author Lianne Tomfohr, a graduate research assistant in the joint doctoral program at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego, "These results are important, as they highlight that patients who comply with CPAP therapy can find relief from fatigue and experience increases in energy and vigor after a relatively short treatment period."

What does compliance look like? The journal Sleep Review focused on this topic in October 2008 and the advice is still good today. According to the article, CPAP compliance “is often defined as using the therapy for an average of 4 hours a night for at least 70% of the nights.” However, “…studies show that somewhere between 29% and 83% of patients do not meet the criteria for compliance due to removing the CPAP early in the night and/or skipping use altogether.”

So…what could you be doing to adhere to your therapy? Often adhering to your sleep apnea therapy can be traced back to problems using and acclimating to the CPAP machine. According to a very helpful article by the Mayo Clinic staff, if you have a problem with one CPAP device or mask there are many options to finding a system that works for you.

1.    The wrong size or style of CPAP mask.
2.    Trouble getting used to wearing the CPAP mask.
3.    Difficulty tolerating forced air.
4.    Dry stuffy nose
5.    Feeling claustrophobic
6.    Leaky mask, skin irritation or pressure sores
7.    Difficulty falling asleep
8.    Dry mouth
9.    Unintentionally removing the CPAP mask during the night
10.  Annoyed by the noise

Every patient is different and there are a variety of sleep apnea therapy systems available from which to choose. The important thing is to stick with the treatment and to find a system that best fits your needs.

Read more from the Mayo Clinic about how to avoid the 10 most common problems encountered when beginning treatment with a CPAP.