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07-17-2024, 03:51 AM (This post was last modified: 07-17-2024, 04:12 AM by Weld3z.)
RE: Montacute's Therapy Thread
Is it just that CPAP is so far not working well for me?
Yes, explain your situation to him he knows more than everyone else.
I can't handle the CPAP at all last sleep study was around 20 days ago, they started with CPAP I couldn't sleep I prefer to sleep without it, that day I learned that there was a difference, the technician changed my device setting after we finished by mistake my life turned to nightmares until I called them to fix it and discovered it was on CPAP mode!!
I have 2 sleep studies 1st one 2105 the 2nd just beginning of this month because insurance ask to do it for new device (I'm still using the Phillips system one) both studies mentioned that I required BiPAP so I'm not really sure how they knows if this person needs CPAP or BIPAP
My biggest suggestion is get a sleep oxygen monitor like the SleepU and set the alarm to buzz, I use 87 as my threshold. This will wake you before the panic sets in and often only enough to adjust the mask and go back to sleep. If my threshold is too high I'll get woken too easily but if it's too low it'll be too late and I won't notice so fine tune. And of course it'll show how the CPAP is helping or not enough and it's empowering to know oxygen is fine, this is just anxiety, or vice versa if it drops too much I need to change something despite it being middle of the night. Once you have a rhythm you can use it just to spot check or lend to family members.
Argument for the BiPAP is that fine tuning of exhale pressure is critical especially because of the childhood trauma and the delicacy of your nasal passages from prior surgery, as well as those flow limits. Anything that can help make breathing easier for you should be explored. It's also got a lot more adjustable settings, like how fast of a rise time etc. CPAP has those settings hard coded.
Try fine tuning the mask in tiny bits when you are lying in your normal sleep position. Spending the minutes between lying down and sleeping meditating on relaxed breathing makes a big difference for me. Maybe it's just my machine but if I can find a rhythm where it's smooth it carries over into the night.
Machine: ResMed Airsense 11 Auto Mask Type: Full face mask Mask Make & Model: ResMed Airtouch F20 Humidifier: none CPAP Pressure: 7-8 CPAP Software: OSCAR
07-17-2024, 12:05 PM (This post was last modified: 07-17-2024, 12:08 PM by Montacute.)
RE: Montacute's Therapy Thread
Thanks for sticking with me. I'll go over your studies carefully Weld3z. Thanks for posting them. I did sleep with the cervical collar on last night. I think it helped. It made a difference just barely closing it. When I tried before I had it too tight and that did not work for me at all. I could not tolerate it. I do go into the fetal position a lot during sleep and that has to mean chin tucking. I think the collar also forces my mouth closed--it felt less dry on waking than usual. I wanted to post my Oscar data but I did something wrong and it did not collect my data last night. I can only report my machine data, which said my leak rate was zero, so that is something!!! I had tightened the mask more than I like to. My main problem last night was I woke up with the mask kind of digging into my face on the pillow side, which hurt. It was hard to get comfortable. My pillow is not particularly tall either. I don't know how to solve that. Even if I used no pillow at all the mask would dig into my face where it hit the bed. AHI was 0.9, Total AI was 0.7, Obstructive AI was 0.5 and Central AI was 0.1. My throat feels sore today. Not sure why. Nasal passages always feel a bit sore.
Thanks TechieHippie, I will order the sleep oxygen monitor. I will try a little more with the CPAP before asking about the BiPAP. I am trying to focus on my breathing when I first put the mask on, both to relax and calm down and help distract me about feeling confined.
Machine: ResMed Airsense 11 Auto Mask Type: Full face mask Mask Make & Model: ResMed Airtouch F20 Humidifier: none CPAP Pressure: 7-8 CPAP Software: OSCAR
07-25-2024, 01:06 PM (This post was last modified: 07-25-2024, 01:12 PM by Montacute.)
RE: Montacute's Therapy Thread
I had visitors so have not been able to post until now. I am utterly flummoxed. I have been trying all suggestions here (except oxometer--came broken. Need to send it back.) The nasacourt, cervical pillow and neck collar seemed to make a world of difference. I had my best night EVER on the 16th, with an AHI of 0.7. (No data because I did not put the microcard in right). I was pleased and now am flummoxed. My numbers have been up and down since then despite changing nothing and last night I had my worst night ever, with 21 AHI!!! Can anyone help me figure out what is happening? I am exhausted today and have a headache.
I had horrible leaks on the 23rd and 24th, but not on the 25th, the 21 AHI night. Something else I noticed was I do not have many obstructive apneas even on large leak nghts. They all seem to be clear airway.
