30 yr Male Just Diagnosed w/ Severe OSA

[ReturnofXile]

Thanks Dormeo and Sheepless for taking the time to respond. I had to stop using the lanolin cream because it seemed every time I used it, it would cause my nose to run. Although I do remember it being very good at preventing leaks. I might try it again. I suppose I could've had an underlying cold at the same time. 

Out of all the suggestions mentioned, I haven't tried the buckwheat pillow. I think I'm going to order one and see how that goes. Currently, I use a memory foam pillow, but it's old. 

Overall, I feel like my treatment is going in the right direction and I'm quite happy with it. The only thing that worries me is that I still have quite a few days (like today for example) where I get up earlier (9am) after 8 hours of sleep, and I still feel like I want to sleep longer. It would be relatively easy to fall back asleep and sleep for another couple hours. I really thought that when I started CPAP therapy, I would go to sleep and wake up naturally after 8 hours and not even want to sleep longer because I'd feel so refreshed and alert. But so far (a month in), that hasn't really been the case. Are these unrealistic expectations? I've had many days where I will sleep 9+, 10+ and even 11+ hours.   

I'm about to start an accelerated nursing program at the end of August, and there's going to be 3-4 days a week where I have to be at the hospital at 6am for clinicals. I want to be able to feel alert and be at the top of my game during those days. But given the workload of the classes, I don't think I'm going to have the luxury to sleep 9 or 10+ hours a day. So I'm just trying to get everything in order.

[Dormeo]

You already know you are able to wake up refreshed after a night with the machine. With time and continued problem-solving, that experience should become more and more frequent. Under the best of circumstances, we all have lousy nights for all kinds of reasons, but the overall trend for you will probably be one of improvement. How fast? Wish I knew! Best of luck with the nursing program.

[ReturnofXile]

Here is an update for you guys. Last night, I tried using the breathe right strips in conjunction with my cpap treatment. As I was wearing them throughout the day, I did feel like it was much easier to breathe through my nose. So I thought, why not try them with cpap?

Overall, I felt it was good but when I looked at the charts I saw a couple of clusters of CAs. I'm not too worried about them as they appeared during the onset of sleep and when I was near the end of waking up. However, I will keep a close eye on them. It was my theory that maybe the increased air was displacing the carbon dioxide levels in my lungs and that was what was causing the CAs.

Anyways, I wanted to use the breathe strips because it is very hard for me to breathe through my nose, especially during the day. It's hard for me to feel like I get enough oxygen. However, with the nasal pillows, I feel like it is much easier to breathe. Lately, as I've gone over my charts, I've noticed that my respiration rate seems to almost always be hovering in the low 20s with a tidal volume of usually around 360-380mL. To me, this seems to indicate shallow breathing. I was really hoping to see some deeper breathing as it could be a signal that I'm getting into the deeper stages of sleep. But most of the time the respiration rate stayed in the 20s range. 

At first, I thought maybe there was something wrong with my nose, like it was too small or something. But then I realized as I'm partially awake waiting for sleep, I can consciously breathe through my nose and have tidal volumes of 600+ml. Honestly, I think this could be a problem of not using proper diaphragmatic breathing during the day. I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on this. It would seem to me that a lower respiratory rate with a higher tidal volume would indicate deeper breathing, more oxygenation, and sounder sleep. Has anyone ever experienced something like this?

Thanks and have a great day.

[ajack]

It's a good idea to just sit quietly in a chair, watching TV for an hour or so with your cpap on. See what your awake stats are. If you have any real issues it will show up there. Funny stuff happens when asleep and I saw one guy double his resp rate with lower volume. The doctor was fine with it. Take the stats to your next appointment.