Falling asleep holding breath

[onetwothree]

I'm a few weeks into my CPAP therapy. At home sleep test indicated ahi of 28. I have the airsense 11 with nasal pillows. Started with pressure 8-20 and then had it changed to a fixed 8 after reporting my initial troubles. EPR started at 3, now 2.


I initially couldn't fall asleep with it on. After a week I got past that hurdle. But now every time I fall asleep I immediately wake up feeling like I'm holding my breath. So, I start the night with it on for 45-60 mins while I lay in bed reading, so I can get used to the feeling. Then I attempt to fall asleep. So far it seems like I haven't made it past 20 mins having woken up not breathing multiple times. Will this go away or do I need a different approach?

Further context: I just started looking at OSCAR data. I called into the sleep clinic to discuss this and they said, well it doesn't look too bad, I show AHI of 3.7, but you're only using it for about an hour. We need at least four hours to have reliable data. I responded with, of the 1 hr and 4 mins, I was only attempting to sleep for 7 mins. It flagged 4 CAs, but when I look at the OSCAR data, It looks like it was actually 7. So, 7 out of 7 mins is an AHI of 60. That point didn't seem to register, and all I got was the OSCAR data is not reliable, try to sleep with it on for 4 hours. If I fall asleep and immediately hold my breath, wake up for 30 seconds and then repeat, I'm not going to do that for 4 hours. My day will be significantly worse.


Anyone have anything to consider here? OSCAR snapshot attached of that 7 mins I tried to sleep.

[Dodies]

I would personally turn on the machine in autoset mode and make the minimum 7 and the max 15. Turn off the ramp feature and turn on EPR to 3 and then see if that helps. 

Also, there's a better way to format the OSCAR data so we can see all the relevant data points, you can find info here https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph...ganization

Do you normally breathe thru your mouth or nose? Or a bit of both?

Also, better not to post zooms of the chart unless people request, as its more helpful to see it all.

[Dodies]

Also, I wouldnt worry about the CA's just yet, I get loads when I drift off to sleep. Setting EPR to 2 removed most of them for me, but if theyre just happening when youre drifting in and out of sleep, theyre probably just junk readings.

[onetwothree]

Thanks for the tips on posting. I'll do that next time. 

I don't mind changing the EPR, but I don't want to p*** off the people at the VA by changing the pressure. 

Okay, so the CAs falling asleep are normal? That's good to know. But the thing is I can't fall asleep and stay asleep. I don't know if it's a mental thing if I'm waking up after the first breathe or two after falling asleep. I'm really starting to wonder if I need to try a different mask. The large pillows seemed more comfortable and like they might be better overall, but they can start leaking air if I move too much. Maybe my nose just isn't ideal for that type? Idk.

---

Oh, and I normally breath through my nose.

[Dodies]

You can change the pressure, that's what we all do here and we're solving our problems.

[Dodies]

I used the medium nasal pillows to begin with and they hurt like heck, so now use large and way more comfortable, so you should probably err on the larger side, whatever that is. In terms of leaks, tighten up the headband and make sure the 2 bands are above and below your crown.

I used to sleep on my side, but now sleep on my back as cpap makes that very possible to do (no snoring), maybe try more positions, also a flatter pillow, or even NO pillow and just something under the neck can help, I use a travel pillow and no other pillow.

Its just a matter for finding the comfort zone. Once you get it right, its the best thing ever, if youve suffered all your life with sleep depravation. I love cpap now. Ive never felt better.

[onetwothree]

That all makes sense. Glad you're happy with CPAP now, that gives me hope.

So, I changed to Autoset mode and EPR of 3 and the larger pillows two nights ago based on your recs. I'm finding those settings much more comfortable. Two nights ago I couldn't fall asleep, so I abandoned it around midnight. But last night I was finally able to fall asleep and stay asleep more than 1 minute! It was almost a full 90 minute sleep cycle. So, now I know it's possible! I could only fall asleep on my stomach, however. And when I woke my nose was in a lot of pain from basically sleeping on my mask, so I pulled it off the rest of the night. I really have to figure out how to fall asleep off my stomach. I have been a stomach sleeper for the past 10 years or so.

I might try the 7-15 CM settings tonight, though that isn't going to do anything about the face pain. 

Is AutoSet APAP therapy? That might've been the biggest help for me.

[Deborah K.]

123, you need to post the full Oscar chart, not just the enlarged section if you want anyone to be able to help you.

[onetwothree]

Apologies. Here is a screenshot from last night. I think I fell asleep around 23:08. (it was actually 00:08, but it appears to be in the wrong time zone) Can you deduce anything from this?