I'm making my way through and haven't had any problems besides slowness (which I chose at the beginning not to treat as a problem). I did a little research before starting (for one I listened to the first season of The Cosmic Library podcast) and do a bit more when something strikes my interest (the last little dive was based on the Mookse and Gripes story: https://originalpositions.home.blog/2013/12/27/finnegans-wak...). I read it out loud to my wife some nights as she goes to sleep. It's fun and every so often intelligible; So far it seems worth it to simply press on and not try to comprehend much. I'm a rather dissatisfied monoglot and Joyce has just about managed to put me in love with English.

Also: I had a childhood habit of reading the last page of a novel before starting the book. The Wake is quite possibly the best book ever written to try that on.