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New user here and looking for some guidance. I've been using my cpap regularly since 10/12/24 and have noticed a lot of improvement in my quality of sleep. I am still having some events during the night, but feel rested and better overall. One thing I have noticed though is that since starting my cpap I have had a slight pain in my upper sternum. I am trying to decide if this is due to the machine and getting used to the therapy or if it is something else entirely. Some days it is better and some days it is worse, but it's never anything I can't handle during the day. I have talked to my primary doc and they suggested that it might be that the machine is blowing air into my gut and causing gas bubbles to come up and sit in that area, but just trying to see if anyone else has had this issue. It's been driving me crazy and I just want to know if anyone else shares that burden and has a way to mitigate it. Thank you all and looking forward to hearing back!
First what I'm seeing: sometimes the mask leaks, it may coincide with body repositioning. This itself can cause increased disturbance to sleep.
Next I'm seeing clustered events indicating Positional Apnea patterns. It might be associated with a thick pillow causing chin tuck, or something similar. It's akin to kinking the garden hose, it'll restrict flow externally.
What you're experiencing might be aerophagia, air swallowing. It could also be for some reason the CPAP is exercising your lungs a bit, your pressures are moderate. Even at Max 20 cmH20 your CPAP can generate, you'll not be able to inflate the lungs like a ventilator. It's more down to your lungs may be tight a bit for some reason.
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Thanks for the response! Yeah, I sleep with two pillows on my back and can't seem to get rid of one or sleep on my side. I've tried a few times, but I almost always wake up midsleep and take off my mask. It's a problem and I know it's something I need to get fixed.
You are having positional apnea. You can see positional apnea where either H or Oa events are clustered together. Getting rid of as many as you can will lower your AHI. Positional apnea can NOT be controlled by pressure changes. You have to find out what position you are getting into and cutting off your own airway. Have you changed your sleep position? Sleeping on your back? Using more (or new) pillows? These things can cause positional apnea by chin dropping to your sternum and cutting your airway. Think of it of a kinked hose – nothing can get through – you have to unkink the hose…
IF you can’t make a simple change like changing to a flatter pillow helps then you will need a collar. I have a link to collars in my signature at the bottom of the page. It shows people who are not wearing a collar and the SAME person wearing a collar. There is a huge difference between the two.
