RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
Thank you hh9797
Yes we have checked all of the usual suspects and more. We even took it to ruling out MS because the head MRI found nonspecific lesions.
My hormone levels are actually fantastic all around. I do everything right, I’m in shape, eat heathy and exercise on top of working a physical job. I have great vitamin D levels because I supplement all year round. I have blackout curtains, take magnesium, have no trouble falling asleep. You name it
The flow limitation is something I was not aware of until my initial post on here and it makes me think that this could still be the culprit. And I don’t really know how to proceed with trying to solve it.
RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
Yeah I kind of figured that would have been one of the first things checked, but you never know seeing as some people get stuck in their ways of thinking and don't expand their horizons when medical information changes and develops, hence why I asked seeing as what you are describing sounds very similar to what I was going through post Thyroid cancer surgery. I figured that that was part of the "blood work" you mentioned but it is better to get confirmation then just assume that the person did all the standard checks for the most common causes.
RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
If you haven’t had a blood panel for autoimmune diseases in the connective tissues family, that would be a good thing to raise with your doctor.
I only looked at your first chart for information about your flow limitations. If nothing much has changed since then, you might consider getting a bi-level machine. Th ResMed Aircurve VAuto would be ideal. No guarantees at all that it would mak a difference, of course. But it can reduce flow limitations when they are due to flaccid tissues in your pharynx by boosting your pressure when you inhale. It would be unlikely to help if the FLs are originating in your nose.
RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
(06-15-2022, 08:01 PM)Dormeo Wrote: If you haven’t had a blood panel for autoimmune diseases in the connective tissues family, that would be a good thing to raise with your doctor.
I only looked at your first chart for information about your flow limitations. If nothing much has changed since then, you might consider getting a bi-level machine. Th ResMed Aircurve VAuto would be ideal. No guarantees at all that it would mak a difference, of course. But it can reduce flow limitations when they are due to flaccid tissues in your pharynx by boosting your pressure when you inhale. It would be unlikely to help if the FLs are originating in your nose.
Thank you. Yes, I did buy a secondhand BiPAP in February after hearing the recommendations from users here. But I remember we discovered that my machine the AirCurve 10S doesn’t record flow limitations.
So if the flow limitations originate in the nose, how is that fixed?
RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
Could that leak rate be causing flow limitations?
RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
leak rate = less pressure to fight the flow limitations.
You can check in Oscar if the leaks and flow limitations are in the same time frame.
How do you feel in general?
RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
The machine compensates for leaks that are below the "large leak" threshold to maintain the appropriate pressure.
As for FLs that originate in the nose, the approach has to be via treatment for what's going on in the nose. A visit to an ENT would be a good start.
RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
Ah yes, I thought I read before that the machine will compensate.
I have been waiting for an ENT appointment for 8 months. May have to call and follow up again
Overall I don’t feel great. The worst part is that it’s unpredictable as far as I can see.. there have been 4 days in the last 2 months that I’ll wake up feeling decent with no dizziness/tingling plus sustainable energy throughout the day. But the majority of the days I’ll wake up feeling sleep deprived despite 7.5 hours of sleep with AHI under 1. Dizziness, fatigue, increased anxiety on some of these days, tingly feeling in my legs for the first few hours.
RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
I'm not certain what I may already have posted in this long thread, so forgive me if this is repetitive.
Have you considered the possibility of hyperventilation syndrome? More information here:
https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-934...1/fulltext
Worth a discussion with your doctor?
RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
Yes you mentioned that last week, thanks for that article though.
I don’t think that’s the case for me for a couple reasons. The dizziness isn’t the lightheaded, white spots type of thing. It’s more like a subtle rocking/unsteadiness. Also, if anything I breathe too slowly, not too fast lol.
The one thing I haven’t really explored is a digestive issue, possibly GERD or something. I do think that there is some aerophagia happening from the CPAP but I’ve always had a sensitive stomach and really over the course of the last 6-8 months it’s gotten worse. I’m almost always burping, feeling bloated and most days I could definitely burp some food back up into my mouth. I don’t really feel heartburn though.
Lately I’ve begun making 7PM the cutoff time for eating for me and this weekend strip my diet back completely to the foods I know don’t bother me. I do have regular bowel movements so I’ve never really considered anything seriously wrong digestively.
With that being said, I guess it is definitely possible that something like GERD, or less likely some sort of autoimmune gut issue, could be zapping my energy and potentially causing FL during sleep when I’m on my back? There are definitely times in the day after eating where I feel like it’s more difficult to get the full breath in.. this feels like an AH-HA moment lol
