New Guy with a question

[schujo278]

Hello everyone! I am a 28 year old male. I have snored for as long as i can remember. Well my wife finally had enough and made me have a sleep study done. She would record me at night and show me the videos in the morning and it was kind of scary. I sounded like i was fighting for my life. I would stop breathing for up to a minute at times but i had no memory of it. I would always be tired through out the day no matter how long i had slept. Once i did the sleep study and got my results back i was shocked. My API was 128.3 times a hour that i would stop breathing. My doctor told me this was the worse he has ever seen. I was prescribed the Vpap resmed s9 and a full face mask. my pressure is set to 12 (i think). It was a little hard to get used to but after a while i got used to it. I started feeling better and more alert through the day. I have been using it for about 6 months now but i all of a sudden started feeling tired again throughout the day. My wife said the last couple of nights i have been snoring like i used to. Is this normal? Am i just getting to use to my settings and need to change them? Im glad i found this site because i dont know anyone else that uses a cpap. Thanks in advance!

[Tez62]

Welcome, schujo278, you need to really thank your wife for saving your life. Each one of those 128 times per hour you wake up in whats called the fight or flight response and your blood rushes to your heart and brain. You wake up either consiously or subconciously each time as well, so you basically never sleep. I know a friend that had an AHI of 120, he also had a few heart attacks, strokes, diabeties and depression. With an AHI that high I would be surprise if your pressure was that low, I suggest you download either Sleepyhead software or ResScan from here and start looking at your data daily, we can help you if you need, below are some links.
If the symptoms are coming back, your treatment isn't working correctly, you may have mask leaks or your pressure is not high enough, whichever it is get it looked at quickly.
Sleep Apnea and CPAP's are becoming more common and more people are becoming aware of how dangerous it is.

http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-P...-and-Links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuAnzBVWYD4 Link to Sleepyhead Youtube Video part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmhXkmeJDIM Link to Sleepyhead Youtube Video part 2

[trish6hundred]

Hi schujo278,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
It's good your wife suggested that you get a sleep study.
Hang in there for more suggestions and best of luck to you with your CPAP therapy.

[zonk]

Hi schujo278, welcome to Apnea Board
Which machine are you using? S9 VPAP is a bilevel machine but your pressure set at 12

S9 VPAP are data capable machines but S9 models with Escape in the name, are not
Followup with your sleep doctor, pressure might be need some adjustment
How old is the mask cushion? washing it each morning helps with the seal
Are checking the data on LCD screen ... AHI and leak

[drgrimes]

YES, your profile shows that you have Rescan? If you haven't learned how to view your data, do that soon. I think you will see quickly what is causing your problem.

In the beginning I had the typical mask leakage problems. But one big thing in my opinion is what your mouth is doing while you sleep. If it opens, it can sabotage everything. I had this problem even with a full face mask. Sometimes the air would inflate my cheeks, sometimes my lips would make a blubbering sound...nice. AND sometimes I would be eating the bottom of my mask. Ask your wife or watch your videos and see if that might be the problem. During that stage of cpap I felt worse than before cpap. This too will pass. Trust me.

[PaulaO2]

It is quite common for there to be a need for adjustment after the first while. You can either adjust it yourself or see your sleep doc. If you've been watching your data, you may have been seeing an increase in the AHI. If not, then there may be a leak issue.

If you've not been watching your data, then see your sleep doc.