Not sure if I'm making progress

[groggygirl]

I have been popping in on and off for 9-10 months. Initially, I couldn't sleep with my APAP at all, and then I needed help with the settings. I think my body has adjusted to the nasal pillows and the last chart I posted looked reasonably good. It took quite a while for me to be able to sleep longer at a time, but eventually I went from 90 inutes at a time and then being able to fall back asleep, to 5-6 hours straight through but then not being able to fall back asleep. Lately it has changed a little and I'm only able to sleep 4-5 hours straight through and then generally not able to fall back asleep.

Obviously, going from 90 minutes sleep at a time to 4-6 hours is a huge improvement. But I'm still only getting an inadequate total sleep amount. And I still never wake up feeling rested. There is no change in my chronic daytime sleepiness. I don't wake up choking any more, which I am thankful for, but is this as good as it is going to get for me?

[Sleeprider]

The difficult question to answer is, why are you arousing after 4-5 hours? How much total sleep do you get, assuming your sleep is fractured by this interruption? Has your CPAP therapy become comfortable, or is it still a disruptive experience? Medications? Have you consulted your doctor on this problem?

Your therapy seems to be effective, although with the Apex we never really got a good close look at what is going on. I know the pressure relief is not up to par with Resmed, and we have had people make a change from Apex to Resmed, and they didn't look back. You probably got the Apex for budgetary reasons, but eventually an upgrade might help...or not. There is nothing we can point to yet in your therapy as a problem other than a lack of sleep duration. Think through the questions above, and maybe a solution lies in the answers.

[groggygirl]

Why i'm waking up: wish I knew. I've had problems sleeping more than a few hours at a time for decades, I was hoping the CPAP would fix it.

Total sleep varies. Often that 4-5 hours is it and I'm unable to get back to sleep at all. Sometimes I get another hour or two, and once in a blue moon I get another 3-4 hours.

CPAP is reasonably comfortable. The good advice I got previously about loosening the nasal pillows helped a lot, as did just getting used to wearing them. The only current annoyance is that the band that goes behind my head keeps slipping up on my long, fine hair, and I have to pull it back down several times while trying to get to sleep in order to get the pillows back into position.

Medications are warfarin, Bystolic, and Prilosec, all taken in the morning and nothing has changed for several years. I usually take melatonin at night to help me get to sleep and again, that hasn't changed since months before I started on cpap. 

I don't really have a doctor to consult about something as nebulous as not feeling rested or sleeping fewer hours than I would like, for the same reason I bought the Apex on ebay from a private party who didn't require a Rx. Jerk sleep doctor insisted on me coming back for the titration instead of doing it all the night of the sleep study and refuses to give me the report or an Rx unless I come in for an appt - more money for him, of course. I need to report him to the medical society but haven't gotten around to it. I'm sure you can understand why I see no point in going back to him for help.

I really think the Apex is doing fine, though. The pressure relief is adjustable and I don't feel any strain on exhaling after the first couple of breaths it takes for the machine to pick up my timing. I use a short 5-minute ramp and it seems fine too.

If anything else occurs to you, please feel free to ask or suggest.

[DaveL]

I saw your message and wanted to say I respect you for staying at it.

I've used cpap for a long time. At times I doubt myself.

I've learned I need to watch my habits. Am I going to bed too Late? Getting enough sleep?

It seems to me that things go bad gradually...then after a while I find I have little energy and don't feel well

Usually my mask is at fault. It's old, doesn't seal well, and it's time for a new one.

Keys that helped me

Finding this forum
Finding a good supplier that cares and lets me try masks
Remembering to check Sleepyhead
Holistic remedies

Hope this helps